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Why Michael Bublé Feels Like an “Idiot” & Wants to "Flog Himself" for Passing on Beya
Michael Bublé might have missed out on a real talent, but Gwen Stefani was there to save the day.
"I'm an idiot," Coach Michael Bublé declared on Monday night's episode of The Voice following a Blind Audition from Hawaii native Beya. The 24-year-old Artist from the island of Kauai absolutely crushed her cover of "Our Day Will Come" by Ruby & the Romantics, and while she sounded right up Michael's alley, bringing an old school sound similar to that of Eward Preble, the Coach didn't turn his Chair around. Why?
"I was sitting here thinking, 'I love her voice, but can she be versatile?" Bublé explained. "'What she's gonna be like with R&B or pop or country?' And I couldn't talk myself into going, 'Yeah, she'll be able to do that!' Now, here's what's gonna happen: You are gonna prove me completely wrong ... and I will flog myself for this."
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Ironically, Beya is not only well-versed in different styles of music, but also in two different languages: English and Spanish. She learned the latter while on a tour of Central America, the goal of which was to visit her father's native country of El Salvador. Picking up a new language "led to this whole other treasure box of a language to write from." Now Beya's a one-of-a-kind talent on Kauai, where she works as a professional singer.
“Being a bilingual artist in Hawaii is hard to come by," the contestant said in her pre-performance interview. "I’m a full-time musician and I have to play some kind of Latin music at every gig. The crowd loves it; it’s a really sweet treat. Usually, I perform in intimate settings and now I’m about to step onto the biggest stage that I’ve ever sang on in my life. I would love to do a Latin song on the show, but my go-to genre is soul and R&B."
She decided on the Ruby & the Romantics song for her Audition because it talks about how "sometime in the future, your day will come, and this Blind Audition is my day. To get a chair turn? I’ve never wanted something so badly."
Watch Beya's Performance of Ruby & the Romantics' "Our Day Will Come" During Blind Auditions for The Voice Season 26
Bublé might have missed out, but Coach Gwen Stefani was there to save the day with a single chair turn. "I'm really excited to work with you because the foundation of your voice is just so classic and controlled and perfect," Stefani said. "Let's figure out who you are. What is the music that you want to make, write, perform? We'll just find those songs and blow everyone away!"
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Stefani continued: "What I loved about Beya's voice is the smoothness and effortlessness. She's such a cool, open, grateful person. Everybody's like, 'Oh, dang! We should've pressed!' But yeah, I got away with that one."
As Host Carson Daly explained afterwards, getting on a team this late into the Blind Auditions is a major victory in and of itself, since most Coaches are looking for a very specific sound at this point of the competition.
Where can you watch The Voice?
Catch new episodes of The Voice Mondays and Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET on NBC. Every episode also arrives on Peacock the next day, so if you missed it the night before, you can always catch up.
