And for the second time in a row, the contestant in question chose Rita Ora as their coach.
This time around, it was singer Jessica Stokes who confessed she had a prior connection to Mauboy – she’d worked as a backing vocalist for her in the past.
She hit notes J Lo couldn’t.Source:Channel 7
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“My career has consisted of performing as a dancer, and backing vocal work. I’ve been lucky enough to perform as a backing vocalist for Jessica Mauboy, and that was such an incredible experience …(but) I think it’s just time for me to be my own performer, up the front,” the 31-year-old Queenslander said before her performance.
Mauboy was the first to turn her chair at Stokes’ soulful rendition of the J Lo hit Love Don’t Cost A Thing – and she instantly recognised her:
“I know her!”Source:Channel 7
Fellow coach Ora followed a second later. “I completely was in awe of your confidence,” she told Stokes after the performance. “I saw the dance moves and I thought – wow, this is a real performance … I’d love to have you on my team.”
A solid pitch, but Ora hadn’t yet twigged that her fellow coach had history with Stokes.
“Rita. Something you don’t know … but Jess and I go way back. We used to perform together and we’ve been friends ever since,” said Mauboy, who told Stokes her performance had “a few breathy moments” but encouraged her to opt for her team.
It seemed like a done deal – with Ora asking Stokes to “rip the band-aid off” and hurry up and choose Mauboy. But Stokes hesitated.
Jess Stokes makes her choice.Source:Channel 7
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“It’s such a hard choice … For this opportunity, I’m going to go with Rita. Jess, I love you so much – know that.”
Mauboy put it succinctly: “Ouch.”
In other Voice news, fellow coach Guy Sebastian gave a surprisingly candid interview over the weekend about some of the show’s behind-the-scenes machinations, revealing the little red books he and the rest of the coaches hold contain notes about how to approach each contestant.
In perhaps his biggest bombshell, Sebastian said the books also include notes on who the judges should turn their chairs around for.
“This season we’ve got unlimited chair turns so sometimes if there’s one coach that goes in for a chair turn, to make it more interesting, you may as well go in there and have a crack at pitching,” he said.
The Voice continues 7:30pm Tuesday on Seven.