The Voice has officially wrapped up its blind auditions, moving on to a segment that has never been seen before on the show: The Cut.
With the coaches being given unlimited chair turns this year, The Cut forces them to condense their team down to five members.
UK pop star Rita Ora had 14 team members, including girl group, G-Nation, which meant she had to make the difficult decision on who she would be sending home.
Categorising them in their own little sub-groups of popstars, original creators, dancers and those who are “finding themselves”, Rita found herself at the crossroads.
In the end, it came down to four contestants, two of which will be sent home before the competition even began. Tanya, Isiah, Sian and Jessica Mauboy’s niece Saraya stood before the coach as they waited to hear their fate.
And in a shocking turn of events, Rita chose Sian and Tanya to remain in the competition, sending Jess’s niece home.
Before her audition, Saraya felt jitters knowing she would be performing in front of her aunt.
“Watching her become who she is was amazing,” said the 17-year-old, before taking the stage. “But growing up she was just ‘Aunty Jess’.”
“I don’t really sing in front of her, I just sing in my room. I’m not very out there as I would like to be.”
“I usually tell my Aunty everything but Aunty Jess has no idea I’m auditioning today. There’s a big chance she won’t recognise my voice at all,” Saraya added.
Her rendition of Rihanna’s Stay had three of the judges immediately turn their chairs, and while she was expected to choose Team Jess, Saraya chose Rita to be her coach instead.
Jess was happy with Saraya’s decision.
“It is a really great decision what you’re doing,” Jess told her. “You see Aunty Jess take this long journey and experience and you’ve heard Aunty Jess so many times, you’ve seen every performance. Now you need to come out of that circle and see something different.”
