Jacob Doesn't Sound Like You Think He Would

There have been very few contestants on this season of The Voice that have completely shocked me this season — until now. Eighteen-year-old Jacob Rummell completely blew the judges — and me — away with his simple but unique voice. Oh, and with the fact that he looks NOTHING like you would expect him to look like based on his voice — and that's why this show is so amazing. Though Rummell desperately wanted to earn a chair turn from Christina Aguilera, neither she nor Pharrell hit their buttons. Instead, Rummell gladly accepted an invitation to Team Blake, but if the coaches had been able to see his performance before making a decision the results would have been much different.

There was a genuine look of shock in Pharrell's face as soon as his chair turned and he saw Rummell for the first time. Why? Because he was totally expecting to see a girl standing on stage. And to be totally honest, so was I. I was listening to the audition as I was grabbing ice cream from the kitchen — gotta have snacks! — and was completely shocked to see a boy standing on stage. Rummell's rendition of Bruno Mars' "Count On Me" was absolutely beautiful thanks to his high-tenor voice and smooth tone. Levine compared his sound to that of a young Michael Jackson, and he couldn't be more right.

Rummell will definitely be able to grow on Team Blake, but he would've done so much better on Team Pharrell — if only Pharrell had pressed his button. There's no doubt that the hat-loving coach would have turned around immediately if he had seen the young Ohio native performing. Pharrell has experience working with artists like Rummell and could have trained him to follow in the footsteps of his idol, Bruno Mars. While I'm sure Rummell's The Voice journey on Team Blake would be a good one, I hope he loses his battle round — only so Pharrell can steal him and take his career to the next level.

Check out Jacob's unbelievable sound below:

Image: YouTube - Jacob Rummell