Filipino singer wows ‘The Voice’ US coaches, gets four-chair turn

Filipino singer Sofronio Vasquez, an alum of the local singing competition “Tawag ng Tanghalan,” was able to get a four-chair turn during the blind auditions of the American reality competition “The Voice.”

Vasquez earned praises from show coaches Snoop Dogg, Michael Bublé, Reba McEntire and Gwen Stefani who all turned their chairs just seconds into the singer’s performance of Mary J. Blige’s “I’m Goin’ Down.”

The four coaches even gave the singer a standing ovation after his performance.

“I could not hit my button fast enough,” McEntire told Vasquez. “Your voice is like butter. It is so easy on the ears, but your soulfulness touches my heart. You got the whole package.”

Stefani then followed and described Vasquez’s audition piece as a “Grammy performance.”

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“Sofronio, that was a Grammy performance,” Stefani said. “It felt like somebody that knows God gave him the gift, and they’re just trying to get on this stage to show everybody.”

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Bublé, for his part, was teary-eyed as he thanked Vasquez using the Filipino language. “I want to start by saying salamat because the relationship I’ve had with the Philippines for so many years makes me love you even more.”

“There is something that is so inherently beautiful about music for you. I got goosebumps,” Bublé added.

Vasquez was then urged by Snoop Dogg to join his team, with the latter flaunting his achievements from signing with a record label to owning the said label.

“This here is soul, your soul, your spirit, your step two — what to and what not to, how to get bigger and better, the teacher, the coach, the mentor, and this is what you need to be,” Snoop Dogg said.

The coach Vasquez chose will be unveiled on the show’s Monday (US time) episode.