See ‘The Voice’ Contestant Who Went from Zero Chair Turns in Season 20 to a Four-Chair Turn
Madison Curbello
One of the lessons to be learned from The Voice is that a no-chair turn isn’t necessarily the end. Especially when the coaches give advice and suggest returning if you've listened to them.
Such was the case for 21-year-old Madison Curbello from Westfield, MA, who auditioned for Season 20 of The Voice only to be sent home without a chair turn, but with Blake Shelton telling her, “Sing as much as you can for another year.”
It’s been a couple of years since then, and not only did Madison take Blake’s advice, but she also graduated with a degree in music.
“I was 18 and I was really scared,” Madison said. “Even though I didn't turn a chair, they had beautiful things to say and they're beautiful people. Blake said for me to just go kick around a bunch of places and then come back. I really took Blake's advice to heart. For the past couple years, I've just been gigging at every restaurant, any place that would have me sing, I was there. I recently finished up at Berklee College of Music in Boston. It really gave me the push that I think I needed to come back. It feels different this time around. It feels like it might be meant to be.”
Madison wasn’t any less nervous the second time around than the first. It had to be hard for her considering she'd already been rejected for her first Blind Audition, but to help allay her nerves, she brought her family along to give her reassurance and hugs if she needed them.
“I'm a proud Puerto Rican through and through,” she continued. “I'll be singing ‘Stand by Me’ with some English and some Spanish. Getting to do a song with that bachata beat is so exciting. I'm taking more risks and trying new things. I hope that that pays off. If my prayers are answered, then I'll get a chair turn. I'm thinking about my family when I sing this song, so I'm just really excited to see the outcome.”
And the result was the best Madison could have hoped for: a four-chair turn from coaches Reba McEntire, John Legend, Chance the Rapper and Dan + Shay.
“Madison, that was a beautiful song,” Reba told her. “You did a great job on it as you can tell since four chairs turned around for you. Congratulations on that. So, what is your background on your music?”
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Madison said, “I started singing when I was 9 years old. I was actually on Season 20 of The Voice.”
Reba: “What's the difference between then and now besides the four chairs turning around?”
Madison: “That's a pretty big difference. I would say confidence is the biggest thing that's changed. I've been writing so much music, so I kind of discovered the sound that I love and just finding Madison, I think, was a big thing.”
Reba: “I think you did. You did a great job. I love your version of that song and welcome to The Voice.”
Then it was John's turn to try to woo her. “I love your story, Madison," he said. "I like Finding Madison as an album title, too. I feel like that could be cool.”
Madison: “Maybe we could write a song on it.”
John: “Maybe we could.”
Dan + Shay jumped in on that idea of writing a song, but John got control of his pitch back and said, “Don't let them distract you, Madison. I'm keenly aware that I was one of the people who did not turn for you. They will point it out, so I’m saying it now.”
Dan interjected, “We would have turned.”
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John: “I think you’re just ready now. I love that you say you found your sound and you found the way you want to express yourself. Is it what we heard today?”
Madison told him: “Yeah, it's kind of in that pop acoustic space. I'm Puerto Rican so getting to sing in Spanish is pretty freaking cool.”
John said, “When I turned around, I saw the smile on your face and I turned around pretty quickly before any of them. I heard your smile before I turned around because your voice has this brightness to it and this charisma to it. Every run you did was so tasteful, and I would love to work with you. I would love to have you on Team Legend.”
Shay: “That was so phenomenal. I don’t usually agree with John but…”
John interrupted to say, “I’m usually right.”
Shay shot back at him, “You weren’t right last time she came though. There’s no need to argue. It's our turn now, John.” Then to Madison, “You radiate life and joy. It is true when you get told no sometimes in your life that that pivots you and puts you on a different trajectory and allows you the opportunity to grow in those moments. Your voice was just flawless. I do agree you can hear the smile in your voice. It's just amazing and everything that you represent, everything that you are, you should be really proud of that. We're the lucky ones that you are here. I still can't believe that John didn’t turn. Remember that when you're choosing.”
Shay added, “We’ve got a lot going for us here. That was a great song choice, that performance was amazing, the energy was great, the crowd was feeling it. We don't have anybody like you on our team. We’d love to have you on Team Dan + Shay. You're going to do so well on this show.”
Finally, it was Chance’s turn. He told Maidson, “You’re an awesome talent. You have a really cool energy. It makes me smile just listening to you sing. I think whoever you go with, just think about ways that we can help you in terms of arrangements, but this is your moment, your platform, your stage, and welcome to The Voice.”
John asked, “Can you tell us a little bit more about the kinds of songs you’d be interested in covering?”
Madison said, “I'd love to do some Michael Jackson but kind of a stripped-down version of it.”
John suggested, “‘I Can't Help It’ would be fun.”
Shay said, “Did you say you can’t help her?”
Then it was time for Madison to pick her coach.
Maidson said, “This is insane. The craziest thing that has happened, but I think I’m going to go with Dan + Shay.”
An excited Dan said, “That was our greatest accomplishment. Winning our first four-chair.”
Shay said, “I just love Madison. She was a ray of sunshine. She was genuine and authentic. She was exactly what we were looking for.”
Dan added, “I thought she was going to choose John. But doesn’t it feel good to get a win over Team Legend?”
John said, “The lesson is if I don't turn for them, then they come back, they’re not joining my team.”
Madison explained her choice, “I chose Team Dan + Shay because they're songwriters and they just seemed so excited.”
John complained, “I'm really disappointed that Madison is holding this grudge against me but Dan + Shay are pretty good at this. I’ve got to say they're picking this coaching thing up pretty quickly.”
The Voice airs Monday and Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Next day on Peacock.
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