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Reba McEntire praised a singer on The Voice following a powerful performance that earned a four-chair turn during his blind audition. McEntire, who is serving as a coach for the first time this season, emotionally shared her feedback.
Dylan Carter, 20, delivered a stunning rendition of “I Look To You” by Whitney Houston, garnering support from coaches Gwen Stefani, Niall Horan, John Legend and McEntire.
“I love the songs when you can take it spiritual or secular, either one, (and there’s) so much emotion,” McEntire said, appearing to get emotional. “And I saw it, and I felt it, and I heard it when you were singing. That’s the kind of songs that do that to me, too, because I saw you get so emotionally involved, and that’s when you know you’ve got a great song and a great singer, when it touches your heart. To me, as a performer, that is when you really hone in to why you’re put on this earth, is to touch people’s hearts. And you did.”
“You made the queen cry in the best way possible,” Horan noted as he spoke next. Horan, Stefani and Legend echoed praises for Carter, who opened up about losing his mother and previously singing “I Look To You” at her funeral, at her request. Carter said that although he tried, “I couldn’t make it through it, so this was the best second chance. I just made her so proud. This was her dream before it was mine.”
McEntire’s voice appeared to break again as she reflected on an opportunity to go to Nashville, Tennessee, “to meet with some folks. Mama took me.” The beloved country star told Carter about her mother’s support of her dream, and recently shared in an interview that she didn’t want to sing anymore after losing her mother in 2020. She recalled telling her sister, “because I always sang for Mama.” McEntire shared with Carter, “mamas are so special. We’re very blessed to have them, right?”
Though Carter admitted it was a difficult decision, he opted to join Team Reba. Watch the audition here: