When Chari and Marcus Ladden Jr. decided to contest NBC‘s The Voice, they sure did come to the right place.
Chari, a surgical technologist by day, bagged a perfect four-chair turn in the Blind Auditions with a performance of Oleta Adams “Get Here.” The 31-year-old Atlanta singer went on to join Queen Latifah’s team.
Ladden turned up the feels for his audition, hitting Julie London’s “Cry Me a River,” and earning himself turns from Queen and Kelly Clarkson. The 19-year-old hopeful is also from Atlanta, he attended the same school as Chari, and went with Team Queen. Both are impressive talents, too.
With the Battle Round underway, Chari and Ladden went head-to-head with Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald’s “On My Own,” a Billboard Hot 100 leader in 1986.
Progress in the competition awaits the winner, exit for the loser. If that wasn’t enough pressure, LaBelle herself was on board as the Battle Advisor to Latifah.
Chari and Marcus went at it with style and class. “Well, that was ‘On My Own’ but y’all sound pretty good together,” quipped Riley Green. It was a joke there for the taking, and the country artist and judge got in first. “I loved every second of that. Y’alls vocals are unreal. That was an awesome performance.” Queen, he said as he looked at her, “good luck. I don’t know how you’re going to do it.”
Kelly Clarkson remarked that Marcus’ tone was “gorgeous” and “fills the room,” with runs that were “crazy beautiful.” Chari, well, Clarkson has been in love with her vocals since the Blinds. “It seems effortless from you.” Both are “gifted vocalists,” she enthused. They crushed the song.
Like all his rival coaches, Adam Levine turned for Chari. “In a way, it’s no surprise,” he said of her elite effort in this knockout phase. Marcus, however, showed a lot of grit and guts for a lad who was not expected to triumph. He stepped up to the challenge and “did an amazing job,” the Maroon 5 frontman noted.
Latifah had a difficult decision to make. “I thought it was incredible. I’m so proud of both of you,” she explained. “You have done a phenomenal job.” The teen reminded Queen of Jeffrey Osborne, Latifah added, while Chari did “an extraordinary job” of making the song her own.
Ultimately, Latifah went with Chari. But that wasn’t the end of the line for Ladden, who earned a lifeline when Clarkson used her steal. Everyone wins.
The Voice is currently celebrating its 30th season, with episodes airing Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, streaming next day on Peacock.
Watch Chari and Marcus’ Battle below.
