This Four-Chair Turn Artist is Unlike Any Other on 'The Voice'
Maddi Jane
Night two of The Voice brought the coaches – John Legend, Dan + Shay, Reba McEntire and Chance the Rapper – an artist unlike any the singing competition normally produces: a rapper-singer.
Her name is Maddi Jane and she’s from Chicago, IL.
The 24-year-old performs “Escapism” and brings the judges to their feet.
“We’ve got a rapper singer from Chicago here and I feel like I'm at a disadvantage now that I'm trying to get you on my team,” John says. “That was so fun to listen to and then when I turned around, so fun to actually watch you perform. You're a star. Having somebody with that level of confidence and stage presence but also with the voice to back it up, it is not easy to rap-sing. All of that takes a lot of breath, takes a lot of rhythm and flow. You did all of it really well. We don't get a lot of artists like you on The Voice. I would love to have you on Team Legend."
“That was incredible,” Dan Smyers said. “It was so entertaining. You were working the whole stage. You were working the crowd. The rap stuff was super in the pocket and then you opened up your voice and the notes were perfect.”
Shay Mooney jumped in, joking, “I'm known as a pretty good rapper as well. A lot of people have been talking about it. Reba was like, 'You're pretty good,' and I was like, 'Thanks, Reba.'”
John jumps in, saying, “Reba, well known rap connoisseur.”
Shay said, “Yeah, she is. It’s a little-known fact. People don't know that about Reba. She kind of came up a little bit in the rap scene as well. She's got the moves.”
Again, John interjected, “A rap sommelier.”
Shay continued, “A rommelier. But we would love to have you on Team Dan + Shay and I think that we’d have a blast together.”
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Chance was short and to the point, “Come get on Team Chance. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
But Maddi asked for more than that. She wanted to be wooed.
Chance continued, “The reason I think it took everybody a second to turn around is 1) we’re not used to rappers coming on the show. 2) Because it is so difficult to rap and sing, like John was saying, there were a couple of moments where it felt like the breath control wasn't there but when you switched into your full-on singing voice, I think that's what made me and John turn simultaneously. There's an added bit of pressure that goes on the artist because they're working so hard to get the chair turns and instead of you shrinking in or being distracted by it, you instantly started turning up this side of the crowd and then you ran to that side and turned up that side of the crowd. That's really what we look for on the show. You're obviously a star like everybody said. What I would bring to you as a coach is I like to genre blend, and also, my whole job here is just to platform young artists and to give them the opportunity to tell their story and show the songs that they grew up listening to and just be a support system for that. So, you should make the right choice and join Team Chance today."
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The guys then try to bribe her. Chance with his “3” hat, Dan + Shay with their jerseys and John with his jacket. Maddi does think the jacket is dope.
Finally, it’s Reba’s turn. “Let me paint you the picture from my perspective. I'm facing that way, the music starts, and you start your rapping, and I'm like, ‘Well, OK.’ Then you kicked into singing and I'm like, ‘Holy crap.’ I was so surprised you were getting down, you were singing, you were on pitch, you were having fun. I've learned a lot from Chance on the rapping. My mentor right here. I've been headlining concerts since ’84, so I've got connections, I know a little bit about myself, and I would love to have you on my team. I think we would have a lot of fun.”
Who does Maddi Jane pick as her coach? She went with Chance the Rapper giving him his second four-chair turn artist for the season.
The Voice airs Monday and Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC, streaming next day on Peacock.
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