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A Keith Urban cover during The Voice blind auditions stirred a competition between coaches Reba McEntire and John Legend. The country queen and the “All of Me” superstar were vying for Tae Lewis on their teams.
Lewis, a 31-year-old country artist living in Nashville, Tennessee, took the stage with Urban’s “Somebody Like You.” Dan Smyers of Dan + Shay — coaching for their first year and serving as the first-ever coaching duo — was quick to tell Lewis, “I love your voice, man. Those runs toward the end of the song (were) incredible. That’s a great song choice for you.”
Smyers’ duo partner, Shay Mooney, said the reason Dan + Shay didn’t turn around during the blind audition was because “Reba had turned around, and I got really scared, to be honest with you. …But you’re a phenomenal talent. You’re clearly a seasoned veteran. I loved your voice, man. This is a pretty clear winner on who you should choose, in my opinion. You got the queen of country music over there. I don’t want to stand in the way.”
Chance the Rapper, however, advocated for Lewis to choose Legend’s team (though he admitted “the side of my face is hot,” as he avoided eye contact with McEntire). Chance the Rapper said “it could be really cool to see what directions John takes your arrangements in. He could kind of pull out a lot of soul, and I think you guys collaborating could just make for some fire performances on the show. …I think whoever you go with, you’re gonna do great.”
Legend urged Lewis to “ignore these country coaches over here. Your voice is so electric. You just look like you belong on the stage, singing the music that you’re singing. I took a country artist to the lives with me because ehe didn’t have to compete with, you know, the three, four, five, whatever country artists that are gonna be on Reba’s team. The lane is clear for you, my friend.”
McEntire, however, had an argument of her own to attract Lewis to Team Reba.
“John’s name is Legend,” she noted. “But according to Wikipedia and my mama, I am legend, too, you know. …You know, I’ve been in the business a very long time, and I could help you whether it’s vocal or it’s your staging. I would love to have you on my team. We’d have a blast.”
Legend and McEntire considered which one would be more likely to get Lewis on the TODAY Show, until McEntire used a megaphone to end the competition and allow Lewis to choose his team.
Lewis admitted the decision was “so hard,” though he ultimately selected Team Reba. Watch that moment here: