Soulful Fort Worth singer Luke Wade made his television debut on the premiere of The Voice Monday night with a croon-worthy cover of Otis Redding’s “That’s How Strong My Love Is.” His emotional performance got all four coaches to turn their chairs around, giving him the power to choose the celebrity musician he wants as his mentor.
The Voice is a singing competition on NBC where amateur musicians compete to get matched with one of four vocal coaches. Ultimately, they vie for a spot as the favorite performer throughout the show.
Singer Adam Levine couldn’t contain himself during Wade's impressive audition and excitedly stood on his chair for much of it; People.com called it a “Tom Cruise moment.” Levine kept his pitch to Wade simple, exclaiming, “We did it! We won The Voice!” as soon as Wade finished. (It should be mentioned: Wade is far from winning the show; Levine was showing Wade that he could help him win.) The coaches continued to duke it out, with platinum artists Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams making the most noise, though country singer Blake Shelton also was interested in working with Wade.
After careful thought, Wade went with Williams.
The Fort Worth singer admitted that it’s a tough road being a professional musician: He has been at it for 11 years, playing in bars and coffee shops across Texas. His confident, sexy chords have helped him build a fan base in North Texas, but this national stage just might give him the break he’s been pining for.
The Voice's season premiere continues Tuesday night on NBC with more blind auditions. Expect to see Wade in the coming weeks as he fights to win more fans during the battle rounds.
