IT’S WILL.I.GRAN
When talented teen singer Victoria picked her coach on The Voice she had to go for Will.i.am to please her superfan nan
WHEN 16-year-old The Voice contestant Victoria Kerley had to pick her coach at the final blind auditions, there was only one choice.
The Cynon Valley teen would have been in a lot of trouble with her nan Carol if she hadn’t gone for Will.i.am – as Carol is a huge fan of his .
Victoria, who is from Llwydcoed, impressed the judges with her performance of Treat You Better on last night’s show and it was down to Will.i.am and Gavin Rossdale to fill the final spaces on their teams with the Welsh talent.
When Victoria chose Black Eyed Peas frontman and producer Will, the star went backstage to meet Victoria’s family, getting a huge hug from mega fan Carol.
The cheeky grandmother, who gave an emotional interview about her granddaughter in her introduction video, was all in a fluster as Victoria explained: “My nan is obsessed with Will.i.a.m.”
Back out on stage Victoria had a feisty exchange with the coaches, who were bowled over with her talent and confidence.
Tom Jones told her he loved her accent and asked her where she was from. When he found out she lived near Aberdare, he said: “I know Aberdare, I’m from Ponty.”
And Victoria replied: “Perhaps I’ll pop round for a cuppa one night, it’ll be a laugh.”
Sir Tom asked if her family could sing and when he found out her dad is “tone deaf” he joked: “Your father’s tone deaf and he’s WELSH? That’s disgusting!”
He later complimented Victoria on her feistiness saying: “She’s young but she’s got balls!”
But it was more than her wicked personality that sold the young auditionee to Will and Gavin.
Will said: “You sounded amazing. I love your voice and I loved the song choice and I turned around on the first two notes. I heard it and was like, BOOM.”
Rossdale added to the compliments: “You have a beautiful sound. You have all the tools in the toolbox. And then to find out you are 16, it’s just about finding someone who believes in you because you don’t have that much experience.
“Coaching you is about letting you know how good you are. You sound so good I want to make you the best you could be.”
Will.i.am was not happy with Rossdale’s experience comment and hit back, saying: “You have the ability to command the audience, I watched you. So experience is relative. Most 16-year-olds would say they are nervous about 20 times. You didn’t say that one bit. You have confidence and you know what the hell you’re doing. All you need is a hit and you’re out of here.”
The Voice returns next Saturday, February 25, on ITV, when the battle rounds start