Season 26 may go down as the youngest season of The Voice on record. First, viewers watched 14-year-old Jaylen Dunham stun Gwen Stefani with his rendition of Beyoncé’s “Listen.” The former No Doubt frontwoman deployed her Coach Replay button to keep the North Carolina teen’s dreams alive. Then 13-year-old Jaukeem Fortson took the stage during Tuesday’s (Oct. 8) episode. And his performance of Adele’s “Easy On Me” has many fans ready to hand him the $100,000 grand prize right now.
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Teenager Blows ‘The Voice’ Viewers Away With Adele Cover
He’s barely entered his teenage years, but Jaukeem Fortson is no stranger to reality TV. Back in May 2024, the Elberton, Georgia resident won season 4 of Hallelujah Auditions, taking home the $20,000 prize.
Clearly, that experience has prepared Jaukeem well for The Voice. Almost as soon as he belted the opening lines to Adele’s “Easy On Me,” coach Michael Bublé smashed his red button.
Jaukeem Fortson got his breath in and Buble smashed the button as soon as that solid tone came through. Easy transitions from falsetto to chest and fluid melisma. Def. Blessed beyond his 13 years. #TheVoice #VoiceBlinds
— Robert Anton (@SoUWanaBaSinger) October 9, 2024
Snoop Dogg and Reba McEntire would soon join Bublé in turing their chairs. And Gwen Stefani immediately regretted her decision when she learned she’d been blown away by yet another artist too young to legally drive.
He may not have won over Gwen, but Jaukeem certainly managed to capture social media’s heart. “OH MY GOD HE BETTER SING!!!!!! THATS A CHURCH BOY!!!!!” one X/Twitter user exclaimed.
Thats a choir voice right there! #thevoice
— RaeHeartsReality (@madeforreality1) October 9, 2024
Another fan enthusiastically professed, “PACK IT UP EVERYBODY WE HAVE THE WINNER OF SEASON 26 OF THE VOICE. 13 YEARS OLD?! WHAT A TALENT !!!!!”
Probably the best performance of the night…n only 13! How is that not a 4 chair turn?!? @gwenstefani #TheVoice pic.twitter.com/7AxZH4jSdb
— Kendrick Clarke (@KendrickClarke7) October 9, 2024
Faced with a tough decision, Jaukeem eventually picked defending champ Reba McEntire as his coach. “We got ourselves a CONTENDER,” declared one X/Twitter user. “I think Queen Reba just won #TheVoice again with Jaukeem.”
How Many Blind Auditions Are Left?
Tuesday (Oct. 8) marked Episode 4 of season 26’s Blind Auditions for The Voice. We’ve got two more episodes before the Battle Rounds begin.
The Voice season 26 will air another batch of Blind Auditions Monday, Oct. 14, before wrapping up on Tuesday (Oct. 15.) The Battle Rounds will kick off Monday, Oct. 21. Each artist must face off against another contestant from the same team, with their coach picking between the two.
The Voice will air at 8 p.m. Eastern Monday and Tuesday through the first week of November, skipping Election Night (Tuesday, Nov. 5) before returning to the twice-weekly format Nov. 11.
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