Blind auditions are currently underway on The Voice, and the coaches pull no punches when it comes to getting talented singers on their team. The four coaches rely mostly on their success, reputation and persuasive pitches to add to their teams, but they have a few other tricks up their sleeves as well. One of these is the "block" button, which any coach can press to prohibit another coach from having a singer on their team. On Monday night's episode (Oct. 2), John Legend blocked Niall Horan from an incredibly talented singer by the name of Stee.
Stee took the stage with energy — and impressive dance moves — as he sang Maroon 5's hit song "Sugar." He also showcased his versatile vocal skills, including his strong falsetto, which impressed the coaches. Legend was the first coach to turn his chair, followed by Gwen Stefani. When Horan turned his chair, he quickly realized — much to his dismay — that Legend blocked him. Reba McEntire also turned her chair, but thanks to Legend's block, Stee only had three coaches to choose from.
After the performance, Legend rubbed in his little trick, sarcastically telling Horan, "You've got a good shot with this one!"
The block certainly left Horan dejected as he said, "This makes me so upset, Legend!'
Legend responded with sage words of wisdom.
"Life's isn't always going to be easy for you, Niall," he said. "We all have adversity, we all have challenges, we all get blocked."
Horan later said he will steal Stee at some point in the competition.
Beyond the antics between Legend and Horan, the coaches praised Stee's performance, as well as his confidence in taking on a Maroon 5 song. Legend — who worked with Maroon 5's Adam Levine on The Voice and now sits in his old chair — specifically expressed his awe at Stee's performance.
"Singing a song sung by Adam Levine is a challenge because he's one of our more gifted pop singers in the world," Legend said. "He actually sat in this chair, and the fact that you convinced all of us that you could pull off Adam Levine's song is pretty amazing."
Before choosing a coach, Stee turned his attention to Legend to tell him an emotional story about his cousin Matthew, who was a huge fan of the singer. Stee says his cousin was supposed to join him at the audition but passed away three weeks before the audition.
"I dedicate this entire thing to him," Stee said. "I just want to say thank you so much for giving so much to Matthew. You really, really helped him get through some tough times."
In the end, Stee chose to be on Legend's team. Watch the full audition below:
