Lane Pittman earned a four-chair turn with his emotional blind audition on The Voice Australia, where he covered a fan-favorite Luke Combs’ song in honor of his late father.
While strumming an acoustic guitar, the 15-year-old contestant took to The Voice Australia stage to showcase his country vocals with a cover of Combs’ “Even Though I’m Leaving.”
“Daddy, I’m afraid, won’t you stay a little while? / Keep me safe ’cause there’s monsters right outside / Daddy, please don’t go, I don’t wanna be alone / ‘Cause the second that you’re gone they’re gonna know / Before he went to bed he grabbed my hand and said,” the mullet-bearing contestant began to sing. His tone quickly catching the attention of coach Guy Sebastian, who turned his chair for him almost immediately.
As the young singer continued to sing the tune, putting his deep southern drawl on full display, the other three coaches, Keith Urban, Rita Ora, and Jessica Mauboy, all turned their chairs for the rising star.
At the conclusion of Pittman’s performance, Urban asked him why did he choose to sing the emotional Combs’ track, to which he replied, “So about three, nearly four years ago, my Dad passed away. So, that song kind of hits home with the lyrics and really makes me think of him.”
After Pittman explained the reason for picking the Combs’ song, the judges better understood why they connected to his performance so much.
“So, that makes all the sense to me right there because when you started singing you had a really beautiful tone and it felt like you really knew what this song is about and then it was a bit shaky with the pitch and everything, but that’s why,” Urban shared. “I so understand that, I can work with that with you and I would love to have you on my team.”
Ora told Pittman she was so mesmerized by his performance that she nearly forgot to push her button to turn for him.
“I really felt you, you know, and I think that Keith says this all the time. It’s like feeling someone, it’s completely different and I think that I turned around last because I forgot that I was here,” Rita Ora said. “I genuinely was like wow this was… oh gosh yes! And, you know, that was my reaction and that’s just me kind of being in a trance and I think that’s what you did with that performance, you put everyone in a trance and I can’t believe you’re 15 and it just makes it even more amazing. I think that this is just the beginning for you.”
“I feel like that was your magic moment and I love my country music. One of my first auditions was attending a country music audition. Singing a song like that, there’s so much kind of care and nurture in that and obviously that’s dedicate to your [late] father and you are an artist,” Jessica Mauboy gushed.
Sebastian Guy then praised his mullet and vocal tone.
“That was beautiful, I was in straight away with the tone and obviously there’s a bit of nerves and now it makes even more sense,” Guy Sebastian added. “The thing I loved about it the most was just the honesty and I think the audience knows as they reacted immediately. About three words in the audience were sold and you just know when you’re listening to someone who’s singing with honesty. You were just expressing something and I felt it. I was brought in, I want in, I think you’re fantastic. You got a sick mullet, personally, I don’t think I got my first chest pube until I was in my twenties. You’ve got a full mullet at 15, I don’t know how these country kids, they’re bred differently, you really are.”
Following the coaches commentary and praise, Pittman was faced with the difficult decision to choose whose team he wanted to join.
“Well mate, you’ve got four chairs to turn around. So, now you’ve got to choose,” Urban told the contestant.
After a brief moment of thinking, Pittman ultimately decided to join Keith Urban’s team.
“This is the scary bit now, um, the coach I’d like to go with is Keith,” Pittman exclaimed.
Pittman and Urban then shared the news with Pittman’s family, who were waiting in a room attached to the stage.
His grandfather praised his performance and admitted that the 15-year-old contestant’s late father “would be proud.”
The Voice Australia airs Monday to Wednesday 7.30pm on Channel 7 and 7plus.
