Ever since American Idol, reality television and singing competition shows have been on the rise all over the world.
For those who didn’t watch the original show, the basis of Idol was pretty straightforward. Producers would go to cities all around the country trying to recruit under-appreciated talent to compete in a singing elimination show.
Still, that show’s model has been expanded upon and innovated over the years to make new shows that arguably even better than the original.
In our humble opinion, one of the best of all these is The Voice.
For anyone who doesn’t already know, The Voice is an international franchise that started in Holland in 2011.
Like Idol, it’s a singing competition—but there are some twists built in. Unlike other shows, each contestant must come out to do a “blind audition” before a panel of judges who have their backs turned.
If the judges like what they hear, they can hit their buzzers to turn around. After that, they compete to recruit the singer onto their team. In each season, there’s one winning singer and one singing vocal coach.
Beyond that, the show has expanded into countries all over the world, each with its own unique performances.
The clip we’re talking about today came from the 2018 season of The Voice France.
As the performance begins, a man named Gulaan walks out onstage with his guitar. From the beginning, he’s gently plucking his own guitar as backing music.
Right away, all the judges think his playing is absolutely beautiful. A moment later, his voice rings out as well and it sounds incredible! After just a few moments, Gulaan gets his first yes from the judges.
And as soon as she sees him up there, she gives him a huge smile.
Though the song seems like an unusual choice, there’s a deeper meaning behind it.
The performer is singing a traditional Kanak song, the indigenous culture of New Caledonia, which is a French colony in the Pacific.
As such, his choice to perform it on French television presents a powerful message and brings awareness to the culture and history. Needless to say, his voice and his guitar playing are absolutely gorgeous—and it only gets better as it goes on.
As his voice shifts and stretches, he gets yet another yes from the judges!
Meanwhile, his friends and family have tears in their eyes because they’re so moved by his performance!
Before the song is finally over, Gulaan gets his fourth “yes” from the judges for a full four-chair turn! Although there have been great auditions on the show over the years, it’s moments like these that make the show particularly special.
All too often, the people auditioning choose contemporary pop songs or ballads that everyone already knows to show the range of their voice.
By picking something traditional and unique to him, Gulaan definitely stood out.
Since the clip was originally posted, it has been viewed some five million times—and it’s easy to see why!
The best thing about shows like this is just when you think you’ve seen it all, another performer comes along to show how there’s still so many new possibilities.
Of all the performances on the show, this is definitely one of the most affecting.
Congratulations to Gulaan on his amazing performance! Be sure to watch the whole thing in the link below:
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