No Mercy for Camila Cabello!
As you may have heard and seen, the Havana singer is the newest addition to The Voice’s panel of judges, rounding out the team alongside John Legend, Gwen Stefani, and of course, show vet Blake Shelton — and she’s REALLY being thrust into it. During a Tuesday round of blind auditions, contestant Tanner Howe stepped on stage with the intention of wowing judges, and that he did — by singing none other than Shawn Mendes’ Mercy. All good, right? Oh yeah, except for the MAJOR elephant in the room, you know, since Camila and Shawn dated for THREE YEARS prior to their November 2021 breakup!!
Within seconds, the 25-year-old recognized the song, promptly asking her fellow judges “Is that my… Is that Shawn up there?” Confessing seconds later:
“I thought that was Shawn.”
Awkwarddd!
Related: Camila Confirms Romance With CEO Austin Kevitch!
While she was the only judge that didn’t end up turning for him, she enthusiastically welcomed the aspiring artist, stating:
“Tanner, congratulations, you’re on The Voice!”
She then glanced at her co-hosts, joking:
“I was like, ‘Is Shawn on stage right now?’”
To which John turned and looked at Tanner, stating:
“You sounded like him!”
Camila kept rolling with it, though, noting:
“I know him better than everybody in this room.”
Queue the awkward laughter, LOLz! She then admitted:
“The reason I didn’t turn around was I felt like you sounded a little bit too much like him… Obviously he has an amazing voice, I love this song, but I would be curious when you pick your coach for you to just kind of distinguish yourself.”
Fair enough! The contestant responded:
“I really respect Shawn as an artist, and I see myself in that lane, but I totally love what you’re saying. Thank you so much, I’ll try and be more unique.”
Relayed: Shawn Cancels Rest Of Tour Amid Mental Health Struggles
Love seeing an up-and-comer taking constructive criticism! But Camila wasn’t done joking, as she quickly shot back, “I was in his lane… DEEPLY,” causing all the other judges to sink in their chairs with second-hand awkwardness. John then exclaimed:
“She’s trying to make it as awkward as possible.”
Tanner ultimately went on to choose #TeamGwen after the two bonded over their mutual Anaheim roots. It also probably helped that Gwen buttered him up, saying:
“You have a really strong, quality voice that sounds like an artist, like on a record. I like the style — it felt very confident.”
See the full thing (below):
We love some lighthearted fun! It’s nice to see Camila able to joke about her past relationship. But what are YOUR thoughts, Perezcious readers? Sing ‘em in the comments down below!
[Images via The Voice & Shawn Mendes/YouTube]