Season 25 of “The Voice” is kicking off with a new type of contestant — a rapper.
In an exclusive preview clip from Tuesday’s episode shared with TheWrap, Maddi Jane performs RAYE and 070 Shake’s “Escapism” during blind auditions. While the 24-year-old immediately gets the judges’ attention, it isn’t until hitting a high note during the chorus that she receives a commitment from them.
Returning judge John Legend is the first to hit the red button, with Chance the Rapper following closely behind. Reba McEntire also simultaneously locks in her decision, as do Dan + Shay, marking a four-chair turn.
Legend is first to give his pitch for Jane to join his team, though he quickly picks up on the fact that Chance has a leg up on him.
“We got a rapper-singer from Chicago here and I feel like I’m at a disadvantage now that I’m trying to get you on my team,” Legend says. “That was so fun to listen to and then when I turned around, so fun to actually watch you perform — you’re a star.”
Legend also applauds Jane for her stage presence as well as her “breath, flow and rhythm” that enables her to rap-sing, noting “we don’t get a lot of artists like you on ‘The Voice.’”
Dan + Shay also attempts a pitch for Jane to join their team, with Shay Mooney joking he’s known as a “pretty good rapper,” and has received compliments from McEntire.
“Reba, a well-known rap connoisseur,” Legend adds jokingly.
Chance notes how the lack of singers on the NBC competition show likely contributed to a slower response time for the judges, and points out that he and Legend turned around when she switched into her singing voice.
“What I would bring to you as a coach is I like to genre bend, and my whole job here is just to platform young artists and to give them the opportunity to tell their story and show the songs they grew up listening to, and just be a support system for that.”
Next up is McEntire, who says she’s “learned a lot from Chance on the rapping.”
“I’ve been headlining concerts since ’84, so I’ve got connections, know a little bit about myself and I would love to have you on my team,” McEntire says in the clip. “I think we’d have a lot of fun.”
To find out which coach Jane chose, watch tonight’s episode of “The Voice” on Tuesday from 9-10 p.m. ET on NBC.
You can watch the full clip above.
