John Legend was moved to tears by an emotional performance and dedication on The Voice. The episode, which aired on Monday evening, featured live performances from the Top 9 contestants which included John Holiday. Legend is Holiday’s coach and he performed a beautiful rendition of Coldplay‘s 2005 track, “Fix You.” The singer dedicated the performance to Legend and his wife, Chrissy Teigen , following the loss of their third child in September.
Holiday’s unique voice lit up the room as he played the piano on a fog-covered stage. Holiday sang the emotional lyrics before standing from his piano bench to leave it all on the stage. The performance brought Legend to his feet and he was visibly moved. The song details a loss in the lyrics.
Kelly Clarkson is known for crying during the show and told Holiday after his performance that the last part of the song “broke me in a way that I had to shut off.” It was then Legend’s turn to share his thoughts about the rendition, through tears. “I mean, I‘m over here crying,” admitted Legend. “When I talked to John [Holiday] about doing this song, I just said it would mean a lot to us if you just give your emotional best performance and let yourself be not perfect, let yourself just live in the emotion of the song.”
In the episode, Holiday told Legend during rehearsals that he had him in mind when he chose the song to perform.“It‘s one of those songs that is so special and I definitely thought of you and Chrissy.” Legend also recalled hearing the song alongside Teigen. “I was just sitting there working, and we started playing this song,” Legend said. ”My wife was sitting next to me, my daughter’s in my wife’s lap. We all just started crying ... The lyrics of the song just spoke to us.”
After the show, at a virtual press junket, Holiday told PEOPLE that he “really did want to sing this for John and Chrissy,” calling it “a really special moment.” “When you‘re performing up there, sometimes you can’t see all that. But when I was listening to [the coaches] talk back to me, it just let me know that I was able to do what I wanted to do, which was to make people feel something,” he continued. “Not because it’s an emotional song, but just to remind people of where we are. People are looking at us on the stage and thinking right now, ‘They’ve got it all together. Nothing’s wrong.’”
The contestant added: “We‘re still in the middle of a pandemic, and for us to be able to be on that stage and have these coaches reacting to our music — I mean, what planet am I on where that can happen for this little boy from Rosenberg, Texas? So I am so grateful for it. Anytime that I can get them to see me — and I really do mean see me — anytime that I can get someone to see me, hear me and feel me through my music, I know that I am loved,” he continued. ”I know that they love what I am doing and they have a connection to that. It was huge affirmation. I have never done this song before publicly, but I’ve done it in private. So it was really beautiful to have that moment of connectedness. We all just want to connect with each other — that’s it.”
It was announced Tuesday evening during the live results show that Holiday has made it to the finale of The Voice.
The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.
