Lots of people sing John Legend songs. After all, the fan-favorite presence on The Voice (and Season 16 winning Coach) owns 12 Grammy awards and the kind of vocal pipes that just have an infectious way of getting everybody in the groove. But when Chance the Rapper sings a John Legend song, even Legend himself has to take a step back and pay his respects.
That’s exactly what happened, too, after Chance swooped in to nab aspiring soul artist Nadège away from joining Team Legend during Monday’s Blind Auditions. When the singing was finished, Legend was just another admiring audience member, dazzled by Chance’s successful take on crooning out his own “best John Legend impression.”
The setup that put Chance in Legend’s R&B singin’ shoes was pretty funny in the first place: Legend and Chance were the two Coaches who’d just turned for Nadège, and Legend seemed to have the inside track on making her part of his team after Nadège confessed that his “Ordinary People” had played a key part in her early singing career.
Seizing the opportunity, Legend hopped out of his chair and struck up an “Ordinary People” duet with Nadège right there on the spot. Their harmony sounded downright awesome, too; like Legend and the aspiring Season 25 Artist had been rehearsing together for years.
The stunt even got fellow Coaches Dan + Shay and Reba McEntire totally on Legend’s side — at least for a fleeting moment. “Can I be on Team Nadège and Team Legend right now?!” gushed Dan… but then, it was Chance’s turn at the spotlight.
“I’ll sing ‘Ordinary People’ with you too!” Chance teased, and before anyone knew what was happening, Chance and Nadège were together onstage, sounding every bit as sweet singing Legend’s 2005 hit as Nadège and Legend had sounded just moments before.
Legend knew it was a smooth move, too, especially after the Coaches got a taste of how smooth Chance’s voice actually sounds when he switches into Legend-impersonating soul mode: “They call him ‘The Rapper,’” Legend said, “but he’s also a singer!”
Even though he was following in the footsteps of a literal Legend, Chance didn’t just win Nadège over to his team with the duet; he also walked away thrilled with what it all could mean for his Season 25 chances (ahem!) on the show.
“I feel like I just won The Voice!” he beamed, admitting that upstaging John Legend with Legend’s own song rated right up there with some of his own life’s biggest milestones. “That was probably one of my greatest victories,” he joked. “It goes, like: Having two beautiful children. Grammys. Beating John Legend at the John Legend contest? …It’s really high up there!”
Watch his performance below:
