I would imagine that appearing on The Voice is already stressful enough. But one contestant was also about to be a father as well. Contestant Jan Dan revealed that his wife was currently in labor while he battled for his spot on the show.
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Dan hoped to win the favor of Gwen Stefani by showcasing his vocal chops against Jaylen Dunham. The two artists battled for their future on The Voice by singing Stevie Wonder's "For Once in My Life." For Dan in particular, the lyrics "I have someone who needs me" had to resonate.
Jan Dan ended up giving it his all during the Battles round. And I thought the big day was stressful for me when my wife was in labor. Fortunately, I was able to take off work and spent all day at the hospital sitting next to and supporting my wife The hardest thing I had to do that day was hold her hand.
I can't imagine the stress Dan must have gone through. I'm sure that he felt torn between wanting to be there for his wife and also knowing he needed to be on The Voice to follow his dream. After the performance, he informed the coaches.
"She's due today," he told them. "She's 2.5 centimeters dilated right now!"
"I've already worn out three Kleenexes!" said an emotional Reba McEntire to both of the singers. "Because when y'all got finished and you were just so thrilled — it was like Christmas Day!"
Dan used all of his emotions to let it power through into his music, and I think that gave him the edge. Suddenly, he had something to fight for bigger than himself. Fatherhood changes you.
"The words in the song — it's literally what I'm living right now," he explained during rehearsals. "My wife is pregnant — and with our first child!"
'The Voice' Contestant Baby Drama
Of course there were jokes as well about the situation.
"Get the scissors — he gonna have to cut that umbilical cord!" shouted Snoop Dogg. He then added, "I remember them [dilation] numbers!" He told the singer to go be with his wife during the birth of their child.
I sincerely hope he made it in time and didn't have to sacrifice being there. My wife had a C-Section, and it was a very chaotic time period. There was a lot of stress on my wife, who really leaned on me through the experience. There was nothing like seeing your child for the first time.
Fortunately, Dan is going to stick around on The Voice for a little while longer afterward.
"I'm excited to get deeper into his confidence and getting him a little bit more stage presence," said Stefani after declaring him the winner. "I don't really think he needs much help with singing — he's a really good singer!"
She also teased that "he should definitely name his baby 'Gwen.' It has to happen!"
