‘The Voice’ Coaches Are Stunned By Deaf Singer’s Blind Audition

etcanada.com:

There’s no shortage of talent on season 23 of “The Voice” — but the coaches were blown away by a jaw-dropping Blind Audition by a deaf singer!

Ali, a 24-year-old California native took the stage during Monday’s Blinds to perform a rendition of “Killing Me Softly With His Song” that impressed the coaches and earned chair turns from Kelly Clarkson and Chance the Rapper. “A fun fact about me is that I’m hearing-impaired,” Ali told the coaches following her performances. “I was born deaf, I wear two hearing aids, and I’m so blessed to be able to share this.” Shocked by the news, the coaches were quick to praise Ali’s musical abilities despite her disability. “That’s crazy!” Kelly marvelled. “Your runs were so intricate and cool and different.

That’s a gift!” “You just have an amazing voice, and all the choices you were making felt very soulful,” Chance agreed. “Any adversity that you’ve had in your life, you are just jumping hurdles here,” Niall Horan added, with he and Blake Shelton agreeing that the only reason they didn’t turn their chairs is because they felt Ali was in good hands with Kelly and Chance. “It’s incredible to watch.” Ultimately, Ali made the choice to join Team Kelly — check out her full audition below!

ET spoke with the season 23 coaches ahead of the premiere, who all shared how excited they were to be on the show for The Cowboy’s last go-round. “I texted him,” Kelly shared. “If he was gonna do a last season, I wanted to make sure I was there.” However, the talk show host insisted that she won’t be letting nostalgia affect her competitive nature. “If [Blake] wins, I am very happy for him, because that is super cool to win on the last season and he’s literally the show, from its conception,” she conceded.