Jay Ammo from Clarksville, Tennessee, got all four coaches to turn for his performance of ‘The A Team’ by Ed Sheeran.
Watch the Military Veteran Who Got the Final 4-Chair Turn on ‘The Voice’ Season 27
The Blind Auditions came to a close tonight on Season 27 of The Voice as coaches Adam Levine, John Legend, Kelsea Ballerini and Michael Bublé filled up their teams. This season each coach goes into the Battles with 12 team members.
Taking into consideration the fact that the night started with each coach only having room for one or two more artists, it took someone “magical” to get a four-chair turn. And that artist – the final four-chair turn of the season – was 29-year-old Jay Ammo, originally from Georgetown, Guyana, who after a deployment tour to Afghanistan in the U.S. military, now resides in Clarksville, TN.
Ammo opened the show with a performance of Ed Sheeran’s “The A Team,” and won over the coaches and the audience.
John was first up to make his pitch to Jay, and he mentioned that he once had done a concert in Guyana. The singer asked “Did you come to the show?”
Jay got a laugh for his reply, “I was driving past. I couldn’t afford it.”
But that didn’t deter John, who said, “What a lovely voice you have. It was floating through the room. I was almost thinking you were from Africa because I could hear an Afro beat kind of vibe. Is that the music you listen to?”
“Yes, my calm down song was yours,” said Jay, who had earlier explained in his video package that his job in the military was nerve-wracking as he dealt with “live bombs in your hands,” so he had to train himself to be mentally still.
John was surprised, but used it to his advantage, telling Jay, “We have a strong connection musically. Let’s just remember the musical connection that we have, and I would love to coach you.”
Then it was time for Adam to try to woo Jay to his team. And, at this point in the Season, Adam had won the most four-chair turns. He has five to John’s two, so he was feeling pretty confident.
“The word that came to mind is ethereal,” the frontman for Maroon 5 said. “You are very special and magical and singular in that nobody else in this competition is doing that. It gives you this really unique window, which is what this is all about. I think it’s going to get nasty over here. We’re going to fight. You’re amazing. Congratulations.”
Then Kelsea chimed in, “You kept the integrity of that song, but you also kept just the right amount of you in it and that’s artistry. I know you’re thinking, ‘Country girl, what do you have to offer me?’”
Jay stopped her, saying, “I love your music. I covered your song one time ‘Better Luck Next Time.’”
Kelsea was surprised to hear that, replying, “Did you now? I didn’t expect that. Now I feel taller and more powerful. Yes, my roots are country. They will always be country, but I am a fan of music. You really inspire me. I see you as a creative force and I would really, really love to work with you.”
Then Michael, who could come up with no connection to Jay, tried to play it for a joke. He said, “Remember that time that you came to my concert and listened to my music?”
He got the laugh, and then went on more seriously, “Congratulations. I turned my chair late because I heard pitch issues. What’s funny is the second those other chairs turned, your pitch issues subsided. You have a beautiful tone, and you tell a story really well. The last thing I want to say is thank you for your service, my man.”
Then the time had come, and John called the question: “Who do you pick as your coach?”
And Jay admitted he knew from the get-go that he was going to with Team Legend.
“Jay’s voice is so cool,” said the winning coach. “He has this kind of lilt to his voice. I really think that Jay has got an interesting musical tableau that he’s working with. We’re going to have a lot of fun picking songs together. I am so glad I convinced him to come to Team Legend.”
The Voice airs Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Streams next day on Peacock. The Battle rounds begin next week.