Donel Mangena wowed on The Voice UK 2018’s first blind auditions at the weekend.
16-year-old student Donel from Southampton performed Cold Water by Major Lazer and Justin Bieber.
And he got all four of the coaches turning – and his gran up on stage dancing.
As always on The Voice UK, the four coaches had their backs to the stage for the blind audition so could only base their decision to hit the button and spin their chair on what they heard.
Every artist has to hold their nerve as each coach creates a team of talented artists using every trick in the book (including plenty of name dropping) to persuade the very best acts to join their team.
Will.i.am was first to hit his buzzer followed by Olly Murs, Jennifer Hudson and finally Sir Tom Jones.
Donel’s gran couldn’t hide her excitement after her grandson’s success, dancing across the stage.
Sir Tom Jones quipped to Donel: “I wouldn’t take her on stage with you because she’d steal the show from you.”
There was then an epic pitching battle as all four coaches competed to get Donel on their team – with Olly and Jennifer fighting over the teenager.
But it was Will who won the fight for Donel, securing the teenager as the first act for his team this year.
Speaking before his audition, Donel said: “My inspiration to sing is my dad. We’ve built a studio in our shed where we write songs and play music.”
Donel also spoke of living in Zimbabwe with his family.
He said of his blind audition: “This is massive, I’ going to do something crazy with my lyrics with the Zimbabwean language. It’s going to be a bit of a challenge but I hope I can make my family proud.”
Following the performance, Will told Donel: “This is the truth, you pick me bro you’ve got me for however long you want me in your life.”
And it was the Black Eyed Peas star that Donel went with, becoming the first member of Team Will on The Voice UK 2018.
The blind auditions continue Saturday on ITV.
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