"The Voice" aired the last round of blind auditions for season 24 on Monday night (Oct. 16), and one audition from a 20-year-old South Carolina native brought out strong emotions in the coaches.
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In his pre-audition segment, contestant Dylan Carter revealed his mom recently passed away at the age of 47 due to a heart blockage. He shared that his mom always asked him to sing Whitney Houston's "I Look To You" at her funeral. He followed her wishes, but says he couldn't make it through the song on the day. The singer then decided to audition for "The Voice" with the same song in his mother's honor.
None of the coaches knew Carter's backstory when he took the stage, but the emotion he naturally infused into the rendition caused all four of them to turn their chairs for him almost immediately. The coaches were shocked when they saw the young singer onstage, and although the excitement of their chair turns slightly tripped him up, he finished the performance strong.
Before even hearing Carter's story, Reba McEntire began to cry when speaking to the singer about his performance.
"So much emotion," McEntire said. "I saw it, I felt it, I heard it when you were singing."
"That's the kind of songs that do that to me," she said, as she began tearing up. "I saw you get so emotionally involved, and that's how you know you've got a good song and a great singer -- when it touches your heart."
As Niall Horan began speaking, he remarked that Carter "made the Queen cry, in the best way possible." He then called the performance "spectacular." Gwen Stefani also praised Carter's performance, saying from the moment he began singing, she knew, "This is my guy."
John Legend then mentioned that the emotion of the song felt very real. That's when Carter revealed his mother's passing to the coaches. More tears followed, especially from McEntire and Legend.
"This was her dream before it was mine," Carter said.
McEntire especially related to Carter's story, as her mom — who passed away in March 2020 — was also the first cheerleader in her music career.
"Mamas are so special," she told Carter. "We're very blessed to have them, right?"
In the end, Carter chose McEntire as his coach. He later said McEntire could serve as a "comforting, mom figure" for him in the competition.
Carter was the final addition to McEntire's team, and she officially closed up "Reba's Tots" for the season after his audition.
"The Voice" airs Monday and Tuesday nights on NBC.
