Adam Levine realized almost immediately that he had made a costly mistake on The Voice when 24-year-old Saade finished her powerful Blind Audition — and Riley Green certainly wasn’t going to let him forget it.
Saade, who was born in Iran and now lives in San Francisco, arrived on the Season 30 stage carrying a dream she had imagined for years. Before performing, she explained just how much reaching The Voice meant to her after growing up far away from the show.
For her Blind Audition, Saade took on RAYE’s demanding “Oscar Winning Tears,” a song that gave her the opportunity to show both the theatrical side of her voice and the power she could produce when the performance reached its biggest moments.
The coaches initially took their time. But as Saade continued building the performance, Kelly Clarkson, Queen Latifah and Riley Green all pressed their buttons.
There was just one coach who didn’t turn: Adam Levine.
That became particularly painful for Adam once the performance ended and Saade saw the coaches for the first time. Despite having three coaches interested in her, she revealed that there had been another person she desperately wanted to see turn around.
“I really, really wanted you,” Saade told Adam.
The revelation clearly hurt. Adam jokingly acted as though he had been struck in the heart as Saade reassured him that she still loved him despite his failure to press his button.
Riley immediately saw his opportunity.
As Adam dealt with realizing that a singer who already admired him had been available for the taking, Riley summed up his fellow coach’s mistake with two brutally funny words: “Dumb idiot.”
But Riley wasn’t only interested in teasing Adam. When he turned his attention back to Saade, he delivered enormous praise, calling hers the most powerful vocal performance he had heard since joining The Voice.
Riley even introduced himself in case Saade wasn’t familiar with him, only for her to quickly assure the country star that she knew exactly who he was. Queen Latifah also praised Saade’s ability to express herself, while Kelly focused on just how difficult the song had been vocally.
The teasing of Adam wasn’t finished either. When Saade admitted that the entire experience felt so unbelievable that she wasn’t sure she was awake, Adam assured her she was — giving Riley another perfect opening to joke that Adam had apparently been the one “sleeping” during her performance.
Kelly happily joined in on the fun, reminding Saade that Adam had been the coach who let her down. But beneath all the joking was a serious battle between three coaches who clearly wanted Saade on their teams.
Then Saade revealed why one coach had an emotional advantage the others couldn’t easily match. She explained that she had grown up with Kelly Clarkson’s music while living in Iran.
That connection ultimately decided everything. Saade chose Kelly, officially joining Team Kelly and leaving Riley and Queen empty-handed. Adam, meanwhile, could only watch after discovering that one of the night’s standout singers had actually walked onto the stage hoping for him — and all he needed to do was press his button.
