Drake‘s 2015 smash “Hotline Bling” got a jazzy update during The Voice‘s blind auditions on Tuesday (Oct. 3), when contestant LVNDR wowed the coaches with her unique, reworked version of the rapper’s track.
The singer took to the stage with her guitar and delivered her soulful rendition, causing coaches John Legend and Niall Horan to turn their chairs before she could even complete the first verse.
“You used to call me on my cell phone/ Late night when you need my love/ Call me on my cell phone/ Late night when you need my love/ And I know when that hotline bling/ That can only mean one thing
I know when that hotline bling/ That can only mean one thing,” she sang.
After she gave each of the coaches lavender necklaces in their favorite colors, the commentary on LVNDR’s performance began, with Legend stating he was more than impressed with her take on the song.
“What I loved so much about it was the vibe and the feel, which was just magical and transported me. Your voice, your tone was so slinky and ethereal and felt like this [lavender] smells. It was peaceful, but also musically daring,” the EGOT winner gushed. “You made so many great melodic choices because you changed almost the entire melody. Do you write a lot of your own original material?”
“I only just started taking music seriously a few years ago,” she revealed. “I actually taught myself guitar using YouTube. I never showed anybody that I could sing.”
This cemented Legend’s impression of her. “For me, you can sing and you have a point of view and you have a story to tell and I think that’s really beautiful and it’s really fun for me to work with artists like that, so I would love to work with you,” he gushed. “It would be a joy.”
Horan was equally stunned by LVNDR and stated that he initially was considering turning his chair well before she got through the first verse. “That was something special,” he told the 27-year-old. “I was thinking, ‘Do I let her finish the first sentence before I press the button or what?’ Because I just love character, and you’ve got it in abundance.”
“I felt like I was watching a movie and listening to a soundtrack. To say that you’ve been nurturing this in your bedroom just playing the guitar off YouTube, everything you said, I kind of did the same thing,” he continued. “Those voices that when you’re facing away and you get get goosebumps and your ears perk up — because we’re over there staring at that wall staring and hoping that someone catches your attention, and you absolutely did that.”
While it was a tough decision for LVNDER, she ultimately picked the former One Direction member to be her mentor.
Watch LVNDR’s performance above.
