There have been more than a few emotionally charged chair turns on The Voice this year but none more so than that of Jess Mauboy’s niece, Saraya.
WATCH: Saraya Mauboy-Hudson brings Auntie Jess to tears
“I usually tell my Aunty everything but Aunty Jess has no idea I’m auditioning today. There’s a big chance she won’t recognise my voice at all,” Saraya revealed before heading to the stage.
The teen turned three chairs with a hauntingly beautiful rendition of Rihanna’s hit song, Stay.
As the 17-year-old belted out the final verses of the song Rita was the first to turn her chair quickly followed by Jess and Guy.
While we can’t say for sure she recognised her voice, Jess certainly knew her face, crumbling over her chair and fighting back tears as she realised who it was.
“What’s going on?” Rita asked. “What’s happening?”
“Hey Raya,” Jess said through tears.
“Do you guys know each other?” Rita asked.
To which Jess responded: “Yeah, she’s my niece.”
After short deliberation and her auntie’s blessing, Saraya chose Rita to be her coach.
“It is a really great decision what you’re doing,” Jess told her.
“You see Aunty Jess take this long journey and experience and you’ve heard Aunty Jess so many times, you’ve seen every performance. Now you need to come out of that circle and see something different.”
While the emotional audition had us on the edge of our seats, even bringing a tear to our eye, not everyone felt the overwhelming love and joy like we did.
Given Guy’s brother, Chris, auditioned last year before going on to win the entire competition, fans felt Saraya’s addition to the show was an unfair and foregone conclusion the same would happen again.
“She goes with Rita and wins The Voice 2021! No need to see the grand finale, folks!” one fan commented.
“I wish this show would stop letting family and friends enter. I don’t know any other competition that allows it,” another argued.
“I guess The Voice is there to launch the careers of the judges’ family members,” a third remarked.
Will Saraya take out the competition? We will just have to wait and see.
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