Kelly Clarkson Calls Jonah Mayor’s Italian Performance Her Best Audition on The Voice Season Premiere
Kelly Clarkson declared Jonah Mayor her “favorite performance thus far” after the contestant sang in Italian during The Voice: Battle of Champions season premiere on Monday, Feb. 23. Mayor is…
Kelly Clarkson declared Jonah Mayor her "favorite performance thus far" after the contestant sang in Italian during The Voice: Battle of Champions season premiere on Monday, Feb. 23. Mayor is 31. He's from New York. He performed "Il Mondo" and got chair turns from Clarkson and Adam Levine.
"Can I have a hug? You are my favorite performance thus far," Clarkson said. "You are so incredible. What a gift! Oh my God! That was so sexy!"
Before his audition, Mayor described himself as "the sexy, muscular, long-haired, sensitive but determined boy band member." Singing in Italian? He admitted that was "a big risk."
The Maroon 5 frontman turned his chair but knew he faced tough competition against the former American Idol winner.
"Jonah, I think you're super awesome, and I think you are going to do great things," Levine said. "You are the complete package in terms of performer and singer. There's so much power in your voice. There's a lot of presence in you."
John Legend did not turn his chair. Still, he praised the audition as "flawless" and called Mayor "a charismatic, super-gifted person." Legend said he was "thoroughly impressed" by what he heard.
Clarkson made a final pitch before the Mayor picked his coach. She compared him to Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli.
"You sang, I think, three syllables and I was like, 'Choose me, pick me, love me,'" she said. "I'm down for the ride. I have won the most."
Mayor picked the "Since U Been Gone" singer for his team. She responded with an emotional statement about helping him share his talent with the world.
"I love you. I'm so in love with you," she said. "I want to help you so much just so everyone can hear that beautiful gift in all the languages."
In a confessional interview, the coach explained her strategy for season 29. "This season, I'm adamant about finding people in different genres and he is perfect for my team," she said. "I was so afraid I was going to lose him to Adam. I would have cried."
The season premiere also introduced a new triple turn competition. Whichever coach gets the most artists who receive three-chair turns during blind auditions will earn an advantage later in the competition.
