Spoiler alert! The following story contains results from The Voice's third night of Blind Auditions.
Ariana Grande was out to get John Legend on the third night of The Voice Season 21's Blind Auditions. As the only coach still holding a Block, rookie coach Grande knew Legend was her biggest competition for the artists she was interested in. Not to mention, he previously had used his Block to keep Grande from having a chance with Joshua Vacanti. But when the time came for her to block Legend from having a chance with Samara Brown, Legend was too fast, and Grande missed out on a stellar artist. The misfire, however, might end up working in Grande’s favor, as it ultimately set her up for an even bigger opportunity later in the show.
Let’s break this down. When Samara Brown took the stage with a soulful rendition of “Sweet Thing” by Rufus and Chaka Khan, Ariana Grande knew she wanted to block John Legend, who was enthusiastically dancing to the music. The EGOT winner saw it coming though and turned his chair before Grande was able to hit her Block button. Brown ultimately chose to go to Team Legend, sticking a dagger in Grande’s first Block attempt.
Fast forward a couple of artists to Holly Forbes. The music of “Rocket Man” by Elton John kicked in, and the coaches’ reactions to Forbes’ voice made it pretty predictable she was going to get a coveted Four-Chair Turn. Ariana Grande smashed the Block button and beat John Legend out by fractions of a second.
So was it a lucky turn of events for the pint-sized pop star? Did missing out on Samara Brown grant rule-breaker Ariana Grande the opportunity to win her first Four-Chair Turn? We’ll have to wait to find out. In what I think is the first time in its 21-season history, The Voice ended on a cliffhanger, not revealing who Holly Forbes chose as her coach, and I am not okay.
Ariana Grande stands a solid chance at nabbing Holly Forbes. For one thing, Forbes said her daughter is a huge fan of Grande’s. It could also realistically go in Kelly Clarkson’s favor, though. Clarkson tried to play the “Ariana stole your opportunity to work with John Legend” card, but also gave some meaningful feedback on the performance. Clarkson’s also had success netting the Four-Chair Turns. Of the four artists before Forbes who enticed all four coaches this season, two of the singers have joined Team Kelly, with the other two going to Blake Shelton.
It’s really anybody’s game (well, except John Legend) Sometimes a coach using their Block proves to a singer how much they want them on their team, and that’s enough to push their decision. Whoever gets Holly Forbes might be dealing with the frontrunner of the competition, and that would be a big damn deal for Ariana Grande and prove that life is full of happy accidents, such as flubbing your first Block. Check out Forbes’ audition, and the antics that followed below:
The Voice returns to NBC at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday for Night 4 of the Blind Auditions, when we will learn which team Four-Chair Turn Holly Forbes chooses. And be sure to check out our 2021 Fall TV Schedule to keep up with all of the upcoming premieres.
