Kelly Clarkson is already in love with considered one of her newest contestants from The Voice.
Through the Monday, February 23, season premiere of The Voice: Battle of Champions, viewers at home were introduced to Latest York singer Jonah Mayor.
“I’m known within the band because the sexy, muscular, long-haired, sensitive but determined boy band member,” Mayor, 31, said before performing in Italian. “I’m taking a giant risk with my blind audition.”
Quickly after Mayor began his rendition of “Il Mondo,” Clarkson, 43, immediately turned her red chair.
“Can I even have a hug? You might be my favorite performance up to now,” she said. “You might be so incredible. What a present! Oh my God! That was so sexy!”
Although fellow coach Adam Levine acknowledged it was going to be hard to influence Mayor to select his team, he did his best to praise the Latest Yorker.
“Jonah, I feel you’re super awesome, and I feel you’ll do great things. I feel what you do is so singular, and there isn’t going to be anyone such as you,” the Maroon 5 frontman, 46, shared. “You absolutely are the entire package by way of performer and singer. There’s a lot power in your voice. There’s loads of presence in you.”
Kelly Clarkson Trae Patton/NBC
Although John Legend didn’t turn his chair for Mayor, he described the contestant as a “charismatic, super-gifted person.”
“It was gorgeous, flawless, beautiful,” Legend, 47, added of the audition. “I used to be thoroughly impressed by what you probably did.”
Before Mayor could officially pick which coach he desired to be a part of for season 29, he heard one final convincing argument from Clarkson.
“You sang, I feel, three syllables and I used to be like, ‘Select me, pick me, love me,’” she said while comparing Mayor to Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli. “I’m down for the ride. I even have won probably the most.”
Jonah Mayor Griffin Nagel/NBC
After careful consideration, Mayor picked Clarkson, leading the previous American Idol winner to profess her admiration much more.
“I like you. I’m so in love with you,” she said. “I would like to provide help to a lot just so everyone can hear that stunning gift in all of the languages.”
In a confessional interview, Clarkson added, “I like Jonah. I do love folks that can sing opera. I like folks that just have those full-body voices, just a pleasant glass of wine, red. This season, I’m really adamant about finding people in numerous genres and he’s literally perfect for my team. I used to be so afraid I used to be going to lose him to Adam. I’d have cried.”
Through the season premiere, viewers also learned about The Voice’s latest triple turn competition. Through the blind auditions, the coach with probably the most artists on their team who received three-chair turns will earn a special advantage to make use of later within the competition.
“It really just depends upon what artists are coming out and who they’re inspired by and need to work with,” Clarkson said on the show.
Watch the competition unfold when The Voice airs on NBC Mondays at 9 p.m. ET. Stream latest episodes the following day on Peacock.