‘The Voice’ Contestant Earns Four-Chair Turn Within Seconds: Watch Sofronio Vasquez’s Blind Audition Performance

The Voice Season 26 is starting off with a bang! In a preview of the Monday, Sept. 23 season premiere of the NBC singing competition, Sofronio Vasquez earns a four-chair turn during the Blind Auditions after stunning coaches Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé with his rendition of Mary J. Blige’s “I’m Goin’ Down.”

The 31-year-old from Mindanao in the Philippines immediately earned the attention of McEntire, who walked away victorious at the end of Season 25. “I could not hit my button fast enough,” she pitched to Vasquez after his show-stopping performance. “Your voice is like butter. It is so easy on the ears, but your soulfulness touched my heart. You’ve got the whole package. I won last year, so I’d like to carry that victory on to this season and I think you could do it.”

Stefani also tried to woo Vasquez to her team, telling him he was performing at a Grammy-winning level. “It felt like somebody that knows God gave them a gift and they’re just trying to get on this stage to show everybody,” she told him. “One thing I would help you with is how do you find the music that is your identity through these songs on this show that you’re not writing.” When Bublé interrupted that Vasquez “can sing the phone book,” Stefani continued, “I want a piece of you. I want to be inspired by you, so I would love to be your coach on Team Gwen.”

Bublé then tried to use his experiences in the Philippines to bond with Vasquez, thanking him in his native language. “I want to start by saying ‘Salamat’ because the relationship I’ve had with the Philippines over the years makes me love you even more. Your people are such a beautiful people and I can’t even imagine how proud you are going to make them,” the “Feeling Good” singer gushed. “There is something that is so inherently beautiful about music for you. I’ve got goosebumps. I’m emotional. I’m trying to swallow because I’m emotional. I want this relationship. It’s going to get past whatever happens in this relationship because I think you’re going to help me win this competition and you’re going to win.”

Snoop quickly chimed in, “Before you start crying and all that, let’s get back to business,” pointing out that while the other coaches have their own musical specialties, he’s the king of having “soul” in his performances. “This here is soul. Your soul, your spirit, your coach, your step-to, what to what not to, how to get bigger, better. The teacher, the coach, the mentor, this is where you need to be. Team Snoop,” he told Vasquez. “Quit playing man. In 1994, I was signed to a label called Death Row Records, right? And in 2024, I own the label Death Row Records. I basically scout for talent like yourself. I see it, put it on, make it do what it do. Get in where you fit in.”

Watch NBC’s The Voice‘s Season 26 premiere on Monday, Sept. 23 to see who Vasquez chooses as his coach.