Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Jej Vinson became a proud member of Team Kelly Clarkson during The Voice blind auditions. (NBC Photo)

It worked. He’s one of just six singers so far from Season 16 to turn four chairs during his blind audition.

“I chose ‘Passionfruit’ because it shows that I could bring something different to the table by changing up songs into something completely different,” the 22-year-old from the Philippines said.

“‘Passionfruit’ was a product of messing around with my piano back in music school. I really liked the arrangement that I came up with, and I knew it could be awesome, but also risky to do it for my audition, just because I didn’t know how people would receive it.”

Turns out it was a wonderful showcase for Jej’s vocal abilities. Blake Shelton turned his chair soon after the performance began, an impressive run prompted Kelly Clarkson to follow and all four coaches were facing Jej by the time the song ended.

Kelly was so impressed, she jumped out of her chair and strolled to the stage to hug Jej. Adam Levine, in a sing-song voice, proclaimed “”you’re a better singer than all of us.”

“That’s not true,” replied Jej, who ultimately decided to join Team Kelly.

“I wanted to go with her because, apart from being one of the best vocalists of our time, she’s just so real and vibrant, her energy was infectious,” Jej told Voice Views.

“I could just see how passionate she is to work with artists like me who want to breakout in the industry. I got drawn to her energy the moment I saw her and I just knew that I would learn a lot from her during my time on the show.”

For much more on Jej, including how he wound up performing for a president, head here.

The Season 16 blind auditions conclude Monday on The Voice.