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56-year-old 'Voice' singer shines in one of 'top 3 blind auditions of all time'

Tennessee native Wendy Moten sang a soulful version of The Beatles' classic “We Can Work It Out.”
The Voice - Season 21
Wendy Moten at the blind auditions of "The Voice."Tyler Golden / NBC
/ Source: TODAY

It’s not every day all four coaches of “The Voice” turn their iconic red chairs around during the blind auditions but in the season premiere on Monday night, we saw it happen twice!

At the end of the season premiere, coaches Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton, John Legend and newcomer Ariana Grande all spun around for 56-year-old Tennessee native Wendy Moten.

Moten performed a soulful version of the Beatles’ song “We Can Work It Out.” Her rendition was similar to Chaka Khan’s 1981 cover of the same song.

Shortly after she started singing, Shelton and Legend turned their chairs around. Shelton used his block on Legend, meaning that even if Moten wanted to, she couldn’t join the “All of You” singer’s team.

Grande soon followed and Clarkson hit her button just before Moten’s performance ended.

“I forgot that I hadn’t even pressed my button,” Clarkson laughed later.

After singing, Moten explained that she has 35 years of music industry experience under her belt. She had a record deal and a hit single in the 1990s — "Come In Out of the Rain" — before she ended up as a backup singer for some of the greats like John Oates and Julio Iglesias.

“What a privilege for them to have gotten to sing with you,” Grande replied. “You are spectacular and I need you to be in the foreground. It’s time.”

Legend also lauded Moten’s skills, adding her “mastery” of her voice was “beyond.”

“You have so much light in your voice and I’m just sad that Blake deprived me of the opportunity,” he said. “You really are phenomenal and we are lucky to have you.”

“You are what this show is all about,” Clarkson piled on. “A voice that is so powerful, so transcendent that you kind of move people to another level.”

(Spoiler alert!)

Moten ended up choosing to join country star Blake Shelton’s team. Shelton told Moten that her performance was easily in his top three blind auditions on the show, ever

To celebrate, Shelton even did the moonwalk for the audience.

“Wendy is one of the best vocalists I’ve ever heard on this show,” Shelton concluded in his post-show interview.

Earlier in the show on Monday night, all four of the coaches also turned around for sibling band Girl Named Tom from Ohio.

They ended up choosing Clarkson's team.

"The Voice" typically airs Mondays on NBC at 8 p.m. ET. The season premiere continues Tuesday night at