John Legend Breaks Down In Tears After Powerful Performance Of Whitney Houston’s ‘I Look To You’ On ‘The Voice’—Hear The Contestant’s Heartbreaking Story

On the Voice last week, an awe inspiring performance

by one of the contestants left the audience in tears. With his heartrending rendition of Whitney Houston‘s song, “I Look to You,” 20-year-old hopeful Dylan Carter had all four coaches— John Legend, Gwen Stefani, Niall Horan and Reba McEntire— reaching for their buttons.

As soon as Carter finished his Blind Audition cover, he revealed something truly heart-wrenching. The reason he had chosen that particular piece was because it had been a favorite of his late mother’s. In an instant, the entire atmosphere of the room shifted. This proved to be a tearjerker for members of the audience, and everyone in the room, including none other than Legend, 44.

“It feels like the emotion of the song is really real to you,” Legend said. “When I saw y’all turn around, I saw my mom,” Carter replied. He explained: “[My mom] passed back in October and she wanted me to sing [that song] at her funeral, so I did it…I tried. But, I couldn’t make it through it. So, this was the best second chance. I just made her so proud. Wow.”

Legend agreed with tears in his eyes, and told Carter: “Oh my goodness. Well, now I’m crying, so.” He added: “That’s very moving. We’re all very grateful that we get to do this show and we get to meet people like you and we get to give you this opportunity to perform this song in tribute to your mother, and we all felt it too.” Legend went on: “I know your mother is proud of you, okay?”

Stefani, 54, also said that the performance made her cry, and McEntire, 68, got teary too. Horan, 30, also complimented Carter and said he was “special.” McEntire was effusive in her praise of Carter, regaling him with a heartwarming anecdote about a poignant connection between her and her beloved mother.

The country superstar took a moment to shower the hound musician with praise and share a touching story about the profound impact her own mother had on her career. As McEntire spoke, her voice trembled slightly with emotion as she revealed that her mother played a pivotal role in her decision to pursue music as a profession.

McEntire explained that she wanted to make her mother’s dreams come true and give her the opportunity to live vicariously through her daughter’s success.

While McEntire did not mention it on the show, the truth was that her beloved mother Jaqueline had passed away in 2020. Carter told McEntire that a career in music was his mother’s dream “before it was [his].” Unsurprisingly, Carter joined Team Reba and selected her as his coach, but he thanked all of the coaches for their support and kind words.

Like many Voice fans on social media, we definitely think Carter is one to watch this season for his powerful vocals and impressive tone!