Brooklyn Marie created one of the biggest surprises of “The Voice” Season 30 premiere week when she stepped onto the Blind Audition stage and delivered an emotional performance of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Traitor.” At just 14 years old, Brooklyn sounded mature enough that the Coaches were stunned when they finally learned her age.
The young singer, from Alexandria, Minnesota, accompanied herself on guitar during the performance. Rather than simply trying to recreate Olivia Rodrigo’s original, Brooklyn brought her own tone and emotional connection to the song.
Queen Latifah quickly heard something she liked. She turned her chair for Brooklyn, giving the teenager her first major breakthrough of the audition. Kelly Clarkson eventually joined her, turning the performance into a two-Coach battle.
But the biggest reaction came after the song ended and Brooklyn revealed she was only 14. Queen Latifah could hardly believe what she was hearing, reacting with surprise as she realized someone so young had just delivered such an emotionally confident performance.
Adam Levine hadn’t turned, but after seeing Brooklyn and learning her age, he admitted that he regretted the decision. He was impressed by how much she was already doing musically at such a young age.
Riley Green didn’t turn either, but his explanation was almost a compliment in itself. He told Brooklyn that he didn’t think he could help her because she was already a better singer than he was, adding that everything about the performance had been great.
Queen Latifah then made a passionate attempt to bring Brooklyn onto her team. She explained that Brooklyn’s voice had immediately sounded special to her and praised the teenager for creating such a strong emotional response while singing and playing guitar.
Latifah was especially impressed by the ending of the performance. For her, Brooklyn’s ability to make the Coaches feel something so strongly at only 14 suggested there could be much more waiting to emerge from her voice as the competition continues.
But Kelly Clarkson had a powerful argument of her own. Clarkson pointed to her experience working with young singers on “The Voice” and also understood what it was like to begin a career through a televised singing competition.
Clarkson then brought out one of her biggest recruiting advantages: her record as a Coach. She confidently reminded Brooklyn that she knows how to win the competition and believed she could help guide the teenager through the unique pressures of the show.
In the end, the decision apparently wasn’t as difficult as the Coaches might have thought. Brooklyn revealed that Kelly had always been the Coach she wanted, and she officially joined Team Kelly.
Clarkson was thrilled with the result and later praised the purity and uniqueness of Brooklyn’s tone. She went even further, saying the teenager’s voice was incredible and suggesting that Brooklyn has the potential to win. At only 14, Brooklyn entered “The Voice” hoping simply to make the Coaches feel the emotion in her music—and walked away with two chair turns, huge praise from all four Coaches and the exact Coach she had wanted from the beginning.
