Everybody on The Voice is trying to win, but that’s not all the hit NBC competition show is about, as evidenced by one of the Blind Auditions in the Season 26 premiere on Monday night. Chrisdeo, a 16-year-old from Queens, New York, had such an emotional time singing that she had the Coaches joining her in what they hoped would be the first of many tears of happiness.
Chrisdeo lives with her single mother and three sisters in the projects for low-income families in Queens, an environment that she says is not conducive to music. The teenager said there are shootings and gang activity around her, and that when she tries to play the piano in her family’s apartment, her neighbor bangs on the wall.
“It’s really hard because that’s my life,” she said. “And that’s my way of getting out.”
For her Blind Audition, Chrisdeo chose to sing “I Won’t Give Up” by Jason Miraz, a song that she said reminds her of her mother and how she “never gave up on me.”
Watch Chrisdeo’s Performance of Jason Miraz’s “I Won’t Give Up” During Blind Auditions for The Voice Season 26
Snoop Dogg was the first Coach to turn his chair, pushing the button after only a few notes. Chrisdeo was initially visibly happy to see one Coach turn around, but when Michael Bublé turned his chair right as the song ended, the emotions got to be too much for the 16-year-old and she broke down sobbing.
Coaches Gwen Stefani and Reba McEntire quickly, lovingly rushed to the stage to hug and support the overwhelmed teen in an earnestly sweet moment, and McEntire promised that “those guys are gonna take good care of you.”
“Your voice is angelic. It’s like a diamond in the rough,” Stefani said. “It sounded like you didn’t have the experience to me. That’s okay because we’re here to coach you. And right now you have Michael Bublé, who is one of the greatest singers of all time, and Snoop Dogg, who is my idol.”
As for who would be her Coach, Bublé kicked things off by joking that it was seeing him turn around that made Chrisdeo go from happy to sad, but the realty was much deeper. Chrisdeo explained that she performs on the streets of New York and is used to people laughing at her.
“Everybody was so happy to see me and I’ve never felt that before,” she said through tears.
“Thank you very much for sharing your talent with us,” McEntire said. “And next time those people say bad things to you on the street, just know that all the angels are around you listening to you doin’ what God gave you to do, and that’s sing with your beautiful voice.
“When I heard your first note, I knew to turn and hit that button,” Snoop Dogg said. “And then to hear your story, because you had the confidence to come up here and sing after saying that they laughed at you. But we couldn’t hear that. You are strong. You have a gift, and you’re young so you’ve still got time to grow and learn how to cry tears of happiness.”
And so Chrisdeo joined Team Snoop.
“I pushed the button for her because I wanted to see what spirit went with that vocal,” Coach Snoop said.
Clearly, the Coaches on The Voice are better judges of talent than Chrisdeo’s next-door neighbor.
How can you watch The Voice?
Catch a new episode of The Voice next Monday at 8:00 p.m. ET on NBC. Every episode also arrives on Peacock the next day, so if you missed it the night before, you can always catch up.
