Lola, a 15-year-old French singer, turned all four coaches' chairs on "The Voice Kids" after performing "Aimer," a song from the musical Roméo et Juliette, during Saturday's blind auditions broadcast on TF1 and streamed on TF1+.
The teenager, whose biggest dream is to perform in a musical one day, impressed the panel enough that Soprano, Patrick Fiori, Matt Pokora and Santa all turned around and competed to add her to their team.
Santa's Chipmunks prank
Before delivering their verdicts, Santa played a joke on the other coaches by digitally altering their voices to sound like chipmunks. Pokora exclaimed that she had given them Chipmunks voices, joking that it would be very pleasant to talk to her that way from now on. Santa also placed a pair of dark glasses on Fiori, making him look like an anonymous witness, which left the whole panel in fits of laughter.
Coaches praise her performance
Once the laughter died down, Pokora, still struggling to keep a straight face because of his altered voice, told Lola that what she had done was technically perfect and a huge risk, and that she had performed wonderfully.
Santa turned serious and told her that, despite all the joking, what she had done was incredible, and that he would love to go further with her on the show. Soprano told her she came from another planet with her voice, adding that although he knew he looked like a Martian because of the glasses and his altered voice, she was the real extraterrestrial that day.
A surprise from the original stars
Before Lola made her final decision, host Nikos Aliagas invited her to sing the song again. As she did, she was startled to see Cécilia Cara and Damien Sargue walk out to join her on stage.
Cara and Sargue originated the lead roles of Juliette and Roméo when the musical Roméo et Juliette first premiered, and their arrival left Lola visibly stunned. Cara told her it was very moving and that she was magnificent.
Background: the show and the musical
"The Voice Kids" is the junior version of the singing competition "The Voice," in which coaches listen to contestants without seeing them and turn their chairs if they want to add the singer to their team. This season's panel features Soprano, Patrick Fiori, Matt Pokora and Santa, with Nikos Aliagas hosting.
Roméo et Juliette is a French musical based on William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," and "Aimer" is one of its best-known songs. Cécilia Cara and Damien Sargue starred in the original production as Juliette and Roméo.
Following the surprise appearance, Lola chose to join Santa's team, meaning his Chipmunks prank had paid off in the end.
Her full audition and the surprise reunion with Cara and Sargue can be watched again on TF1+, TF1's streaming platform.
