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Watch Kendall Eugene’s Blind Audition on The Voice Season 26
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Watch Kendall Eugene’s Blind Audition on The Voice Season 26

One of the most exciting things about the Blind Auditions on The Voice is the tension of the selection process. You have coaches making split-second decisions, vocalists trying to impress four legends in the span of just a few minutes, and of course family members wondering if their star will be drafted into a coach’s team.

How to watch

Watch the Season 26 Premiere of The Voice on Monday, September 23 at 8:00/7:00 p.m. on NBC and the following day on Peacock.

Unfortunately, those Blind Auditions sometimes don’t end the way the singer had dreamed, but thanks to a new feature on The Voice This year, coaches have the chance to change that.

In the Season 26 premiere, viewers were introduced to Kendall Eugene, a 37-year-old singer from Texas who grew up in a musical family, helped raise his younger brothers after his mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and has overcome adversity on his way to what he hopes will be musical stardom.

RELATED: A full explanation of how The Voice To work

“The journey to get here has been extremely long,” Eugene said. “I’ve been through a lot of things in my life that have kind of held me back as a professional musician, and I feel like it’s finally my time.”

In order to make the most of his time, Eugene selected a song by former Vote Morgan Wallen, “Don’t Think Jesus”, which he hoped would lead him to similar success as Wallen.

“It’s so crazy. Just a few years ago Morgan was here on The Voicein an attempt to get started,” Eugene said.

After choosing his song and his family looked on, it was time for Kendall Eugene to take the stage.

Watch Kendall Eugene Perform Morgan Wallen’s “Don’t Think Jesus” During Blind Auditions for The Voice Season 26

When Eugene launched into “Don’t Think Jesus,” it was clear that host Carson Daly and Eugene’s father and brother expected the Queen of Country, Reba McEntire, to turn her chair. But McEntire waited and listened with the rest of the coaches. Even when you could tell they were feeling the music, the coaches didn’t turn, and the wait grew longer, until Eugene finally finished his number without a single chair turning.

“It sucks because when it came to the choruses, it was believable, it was genuine,” coach Gwen Stefani explained as the song wrapped up. “I didn’t push it because in the beginning, even though I loved the tenderness of your voice, there was a lot of fine-tuning going on. I just think you need to come back.”

New coach Michael Bublé had similar thoughts, suggesting that perhaps it all had to do with the choice of songs.

“I wonder openly, would I have turned the chair if you had chosen a different song with a different range? Probably,” Buble said.

RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About The Voice Season 26: Premiere Date Announced

Meanwhile, new coach Snoop Dogg explained that he didn’t turn because he kept expecting McEntire to turn and didn’t want to compete with a country legend for a country artist. McEntire, for her part, was surprised at her own indecisiveness.

“I don’t understand why I didn’t turn around,” she said.

Then, as the reality of leaving The Voice As Eugene’s realization began to sink in early, McEntire revealed that for the first time in the show’s history, she would be using the Coach Replay button (which allows a coach to select a contestant even after they have finished singing) and selecting Eugene as part of Team Reba.

“After the song ended, I felt a little numb and I knew in my heart that I wanted him on my team,” McEntire explained. “I’m so happy that for the first time we have a Coach Replay button. It’s a second chance for the coaches when we realize we missed this moment.”

The moment McEntire hit the replay button, Eugene burst into tears, and the moment became so emotional that even Snoop Dogg began to cry as he demanded that his fellow coach come up on stage and give Eugene a hug. McEntire sealed the hug by saying, “I believe in you,” thus cementing Eugene’s spot as one of the first members of Team Reba.

“I feel like he has so much more to show us and I can’t wait to hear him sing again,” said McEntire.

How can you look? The Voice?

Watch a new episode of The Voice next Monday at 8:00pm ET on NBCEach episode drops the following day on Peacock, so if you missed it the night before, you can always catch up.