The Voice season 26 released episode 5 on Monday, October 14, 2024. The segment saw hopeful singers from various walks of life take on the stage, vying to secure a chair-turn from coaches. While some artists faced rejection on the fifth night of auditions, others managed to impress the coaches and the audience.
Hawaii resident Beya mesmerized the mentors with her rendition of Our Day Will Come by Ruby & the Romantics. Her performance earned her the sole chair-turn from Gwen Stefani. Michael Bublé didn't press the red button, even though her voice enticed him. The singer seemed to be contemplating Beya's ability to sing different genres.
The Voice fans took to X to comment on Beya's performance. Many complimented the singer's tonal quality, vocal skills, and stage presence. On the contrary, a few felt Beya's musical abilities were average but had room for improvement.
"i like Beya she got a smooth voice very jazzy and she has great stage presence," a fan wrote.
"This is a great performance by beya," a netizen tweeted.
Many fans of The Voice praised Beya's performance on night five of the Blind Auditions. However, one netizen was surprised Michael did not turn for the singer.
"Beya's voice is so jazzy and bluesy," a user reacted.
"Beya from Hawaii, slithered into this melody. So slinky, playful, seductive. The midtempo section was a nice repeat, crazy stage movement, not the most range on this one, but you can hear she has more gears," a person commented.
"Beya and Gwen are going to be awesome!!" another fan wrote.
"WTF is up with Buble?! How did he not turn for Beya?" a user tweeted.
At the same time, many fans of The Voice felt Beya had a lot of potential and could flourish with some work.
"Beya seems to have potential. Not bad," a person reacted.
"Beya started off great. I think it would have been spectacular if she leaned more into the initial arrangement. “Our Day Will Come” is one of my favorites. Shoutout to Bob Hilliard & Allen Stanton," another netizen commented.
The Voice season 26 contestant Beya joined Team Gwen
Beya, a 24-year-old Hawaii native, sang Our Day Will Come by Ruby & the Romantics, impressing coach Gwen. Although her old-school sound resonated with Michael's way of singing, he did not turn his chair for Beya, confusing fans.
At the end of the performance, Michael explained that, despite loving her voice, he wondered if Beya could be versatile. He said:
"And I couldn't talk myself into going, 'yeah, she'll be able to do that!' Now, here's what's gonna happen: You are gonna prove me completely wrong...and I will flog myself for this."
The Voice coach regretted his decision after discovering that Beya could not only sing multiple styles of music but also do that in two languages: English and Spanish. She learned Spanish while touring Central America to visit her father's native country, El Salvador. Beya currently works as a professional singer.
While introducing herself in the pre-performance interview, Beya said:
"I'm a full-time musician and I have to play some kind of Latin music at every gig. The crowd loves it; it's a really sweet treat. Usually, I perform in intimate settings and now I'm about to step onto the biggest stage that I've ever sang on in my life."
The Voice contestant added that although she would love to do a Latin song on the show, her "go-to genre" was soul and R&B.
Gwen Stefani was excited to have Beya on her team. She complimented the artist's voice, calling it, "classic and controlled and perfect." Gwen wanted to help Beya find her musical identity and "blow everyone away" with her performances. She also stated that the other coaches made a mistake by not turning for Beya.
The Voice season 26 airs every Monday and Tuesday at 8 pm ET only on NBC.