In “The Voice,” Niall Horan is passing on his teen star wisdom to the new generation while also becoming a four-chair assassin.
During the third round of blind auditions Monday night, Horan, along with coaches Kelly Clarkson, Chance the Rapper, and Blake Shelton, sat in for 15-year-old Ryley Tate Wilson.
The Alabama native wowed the crowd with his young vocal talent and tender rendition of Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own.”
“I remember what I was like at 15 auditioning for a show like this. I was shaking like a leaf,” Horan, an “X Factor” alum, said. “It’s so nice to hear a 15-year-old have that confidence in their own ability.”
Clarkson, who competed on the first season of “American Idol,” also used her reality-competition pedigree to her advantage. “I love working with young people too,” she said.
“I started as a young talent in a singing competition…and it can be a different thing than making an album.”
Clarkson could not match with Horan, and Wilson chose to join Team Niall.
“I could see a lot of myself in there,” Horan said of Wilson. “We’re a match made in heaven.”
Kelly Clarkson scores ‘incredible’ hearing-impaired singer
Ali, a singer from California, revealed that she had a musical soul. The 24-year-old, who was born deaf, stunned Clarkson and Chance with her soulful rendition of “Killing Me Softly” by the Fugees.
“Your runs were so intricate and cool and different,” Clarkson said. “That’s a gift.”
Apart from enjoying her talent, Chance was moved by the representation Ali’s audition gave to people with disabilities.
“I’m just still so stunned to hear that you’re hearing impaired,” Chance said. “I’ve made a lot of friends from the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, and I think it’s so dope that they could look to somebody that loves music as much as they do.”
Ali ultimately chose Clarkson as her coach.
“Ali is incredible,” Clarkson said. “I’m just excited to work with someone who experiences music on different levels than I do.”
