Of all the many reality competition shows out there, The Voice is one of the most consistently interesting and surprising.
For those who don’t know, the show began in Holland and has since grown to become an international franchise.
While the main show is dedicated to having adults going head-to-head to see who’s the best singer, other versions of it such as The Voice Senior focus only on older contestants. In every version of the show, contestants come out onstage to do a “blind audition” before a panel of judges.
If the judges like what they hear, they can hit their buzzers to turn around and try to recruit that person to their team.
Today’s performance comes from another version of the show called The Voice Kids.
Although the name probably gives it all away, it’s the exact same show except that it’s exclusive to younger contestants.
The performance happened in the German version of the show’s 2014 season, and like any other, it began with a contestant walking out onstage. The boy’s name was Stepan, and it was clear he was only in his early teens.
After a moment, the backing guitars start playing and Stepan steps up to the mike.
At first, the judges aren’t even sure what it song it is that Stepan has chosen to sing—but it hits them after a moment.
Though it’s originally meant for a female vocalist, the song he chose was “Only Girl” by Rihanna. The song was originally meant to be an upbeat dance song, but here he’s turned it into something slower and more heartfelt.
Though he’s rearranged it somewhat so that it suits his voice, it still has all the same rhythms and intonations throughout the whole thing.
From the very beginning, it’s clear Stepan is onto something really special!
Once he gets to the chorus, his voice soars—and Stepan gets his first buzzer from the judges.
Though it goes without saying, one of the biggest things contestants on these shows have to do is pick a recognizable song that suits their voice. While choosing Rihanna may seem a little unorthodox, the spirit of the song is definitely rings true to his own performance.
Although it’s a hugely popular song and one that everyone already has associations with, he still finds his own way to reinvent it and to make it entertaining.
When his performance is finally over, the audience gives him a huge round of applause.
Since the clip has been loaded online, it has been viewed some 37 million times.
Still, one of the most unbelievable things about it is that he only got one judge to turn around! Stepan’s voice was definitely amazing for his age, and the way he inverted the pop song was definitely worth paying attention to.
In any event, this performance shows why people love shows like The Voice Kids. While it’s great to see talented adults perform on a major stage, seeing a little boy like Stepan do it so inventively is something entirely different.
Congratulations to Stepan on an amazing performance! Be sure to watch the entire thing in the clip below:
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