When Jimmy Fallon Pretended to Audition for 'The Voice' and Pranked the Judges

During one of the broadcast in March of 'The Voice' in the United States, Jimmy Fallon startled the judges by auditioning. The host surprised the judges for the 23rd season (Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson, Niall Horan, and Chance the Rapper) with a performance on Tuesday night's (7 March, 2023) broadcast.

As the long-running NBC singing competition's distinctive entirely blind auditions began, the four coaches waited anxiously with their backs turned as an unidentified competitor approached the stage. Carson Daly, the host of the program, teased the audience with the promise of a "special surprise" before introducing Fallon. "Right now, we have an artist backstage preparing for the biggest performance of their entire life," he said, poking fun at the unexpected visitor.

Later, Fallon joined McDonald on stage to perform their hit 'I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)" from 1982. During the performance, three of the four judges tapped their buzzers to turn around. However, when Fallon came up to him Shelton held off from spinning his chair.

The country singer said he recognized Fallon's set, "It didn’t take me long to figure out that it was Jimmy Fallon." He explained, before embracing Fallon, "There was no way I was gonna hit my button. He does not deserve a chair turn on this show. Jimmy’s impersonation is the equivalent of walking up to Michael McDonald and slapping him in the face."

In response, after the prank was over, Fallon stated that he had stopped by on his way to shoot 'That's My Jam' to pay his respects to Shelton on his last season of The Voice, report EW. "I’m across the parking lot doing our show, That’s My Jam. I texted Carson [the show’s host] and said I gotta come over... Hey, buddy, 23 seasons, congratulations!"

 Horan said he recognized Fallon 'straight away.' A casual "I thought you were Michael McDonald." was Chance's only remark. Since Clarkson had already turned around, Fallon decided to join her squad, and he credited McDonald's unique delivery as the reason to chose the song. he goes on to add, "The thing I like about Michael McDonald is I don't have to memorize any of the words," before launching into yet another groaning performance of the song.

The 23rd season of the NBC singing competition was Shelton's last as a coach after 12 years and 9 victories. Shelton first said that he will be leaving the program in October of 2022, report People. He shared his thoughts on a social media post, "I've been wrestling with this for a while and I've decided that it's time for me to step away from The Voice after season 23, this show has changed my life in every way for the better and it will always feel like home to me."

He continued, "It's been a hell of a ride over these 12 years of chair turns and I want to thank everyone at The Voice from NBC, every producer, the writers, musicians, crew and catering people, you are the best."

References:

https://ew.com/tv/the-voice-coaches-preview-season-23/

https://people.com/country/why-blake-shelton-is-leaving-the-voice/

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