Blind auditions are underway on The Voice Australia and one contestant that stood out among the rest is 32-year-old Kaylee Bell from New Zealand and resides in New South Wales, who sang a song she wrote as a tribute to Keith Urban in front of the superstar himself.
Bell took the stage to perform her original song, “Keith,” while Urban and fellow The Voice Australia coaches, Rita Ora, Guy Sebastian, and Jess Mauboy, listened from the signature red Voice chairs.
With her guitar in hand, Bell effortlessly belted out the lyrics she wrote as a tribute to the country superstar. The lyrics include:
“I remember we were somewhere in your car / I fell fast when you stole my heart / The long hot summer that I can’t forget / I was hanging off every single word you said / We were summer on the speakers out on road / A little KU on radio / Hand out the window, sun sinking low / Singing raise em’ up’ baby ooooh / i know those days go by / it wasn’t just wasted time / had a little bit of everything / making memories of you and me / yeah back when we were us / once in a lifetime love / can’t help but think of you / hope you’ll think of me / when you play that keith / summer out on the speakers on the road / a little KU on the radio / Somebody like you / somebody like me / yeah, it sure feels good baby / play that Keith..”
In total, Bell name-dropped at least 13 of Urban’s biggest hits throughout the lyrics: “We Were,” “Somewhere In Your Car,” “Long Hot Summer,” “Days Go By,” “Raise Em Up,” “Wasted Time,” “Little Bit Of Everything,” “Making Memories Of Us,” “Look Good In Your Shirt,” “We Were Us,” “Better Half,” “You’ll Think Of Me,” “Once In A Lifetime,” and “Somebody Like You.”
A smile flashed across Urban’s face as he realized what Bell was singing and he immediately pushed his button to turn his chair for the promising contestant.
Other coaches were quick to follow as Bell ultimately earned the coveted four-chair turn.
At the conclusion of her performance, Urban and the fellow coaches praised Bell for having the courage to perform not just an original track but a song written about one of the coaches witnessing the performance.
“That’s gravy,” Urban said, while giving Bell a standing ovation, as she concluded her blind audition.
“Did I just hear what I thought I heard,” Ora asked while looking at Urban. “Did you just say Keith’s name in a song?”
“Is this song about Keith?” Mauboy asked Bell.
“Yes, it is, I wrote it in Nashville a couple of years ago with two buddies of mine,” Bell replied.
“Holy moly, that is a smash!” Ora gushed.
“We really got no chance then,” Guy joked. “So, you wrote a song about Keith and we [all] turned our chairs with hopes to get you to join our team.”
The four coaches then fought over the contestant with hopes of Bell joining their team.
“I’m just going to go for because I also don’t feel like I have a shot and I just want to say, you are made to be on the stage,” Ora said. “To do an original in front of the person by the way that you wrote the song about. You took a huge risk and it worked. That was like a perfect package of artist.”
Bell went on to share the story behind the song.
“I actually had this crazy idea of writing a song and cramming as many Keith song titles as I could into the song to tell the story. So, I think there’s like 13 titles, but then you keep releasing songs with similar names like ‘We Were’ and ‘We Were Us’ and it just keeps growing,” the school teacher and singer/songwriter explained. “I just wanted to write a song that felt like Keith cause Keith has such a feel about his music that I really love and so that was kind of like the aim of the game was to write a song that felt like Keith’s music.”
Much to Bell’s surprise, Urban revealed that this wasn’t the first time he’s heard the song.
“Kaylee, I know about that song because somebody sent and told me about it,” Urban said. “A friend of mine told me about it and I just couldn’t believe how incredibly catchy it was and how much it sounded like the radio like right out of the gate. I never had any song written about me before and the fact that you wrote it about the songs and the titles and the feeling in those is just so touching Kaylee. It really is, and I can’t thank you enough for that.”
Keith blocked? 😲 #TheVoiceAU pic.twitter.com/iPZioesUKm
— The Voice Australia (@TheVoiceAU) April 20, 2022
Mauboy then used her block to prevent Bell from joining Urban’s team. Upon seeing the block, Urban was in shock and shouted, “you’re kidding.”
“She literally just sang a song with my name it,” Urban said laughing. “And I’m blocked.”
“Yes, she sung a song about you, but I said I was going to fight for her, and I meant that,” Mauboy said. ”I could give you country, I could even hear you singing Maggie Rogers, but regardless of that. You totally stand out and I love that about you.”
“Even though Jess, that was brutal, but I also know why Jess did it, because she doesn’t have ‘Somebody Like You’ on her team and I would’ve had you on my team in a nannosecond, so, I totally understand why she just fought for you,” Urban explained.
Ultimately, Bell chose Jess Mauboy as her coach. The contestants’ new coach and Urban then walked over to her on the stage and gave her a big ol’ hug.
The Voice Australia airs Monday to Wednesday 7.30pm on Channel 7 and 7plus.
