13-Year-Old Brianna Cameron Stuns ‘The Voice’ Coaches and Sparks Battle Between Kelly Clarkson and Riley Green
At just 13 years old, Brianna Cameron walked onto The Voice stage and delivered a performance powerful enough to turn two coaches around — and leave them competing for her.
The New Jersey teenager closed out the first night of Season 30’s Blind Auditions on Monday, September 21, with Ike & Tina Turner’s “River Deep – Mountain High.” Her commanding vocals quickly caught the attention of Kelly Clarkson and first-time coach Riley Green, setting up one of the premiere’s most memorable coach battles.
Queen Latifah and Adam Levine were also impressed, but neither turned their chairs.
Clarkson was the first to make her move. Roughly 30 seconds into the performance, she hit her button and was soon on her feet, dancing along to the song. Green followed later, becoming the second coach to turn for Cameron.
When Cameron finally revealed her age, the coaches were stunned by the contrast between the 13-year-old standing before them and the mature, powerful voice they had just heard.
Clarkson even went to the stage to hug her.
Brianna Cameron Was Already Performing at a Young Age
Cameron may have been the youngest contestant of the night, but she was far from inexperienced.
During her introduction, she revealed that she had previously played young Tina Turner on the national tour of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. She had also appeared on The Equalizer, the series starring Queen Latifah, giving her an unexpected connection to one of the coaches who had just watched her audition.
That background helps explain the confidence Cameron displayed onstage. She began her audition with the assurance of someone accustomed to performing, then continued building the intensity of the song until the coaches could no longer ignore her.
Her performance ultimately earned chair turns from Clarkson and Green, leaving the two coaches to make their cases.
Kelly Clarkson and Riley Green Fight for Her
Once the song ended, the focus shifted from Cameron’s vocals to the decision every contestant on The Voice eventually has to make: choosing a coach.
Green was quick to praise the teenager.
“Brianna, that was the biggest voice I think I’ve ever heard on this show,” he told her, adding that he had no doubt she could sing anything.
Clarkson took a different approach, reminding Cameron that she had turned her chair first.
“Hi Brianna, remember me, I turned around first and waved? Hold on to it,” Clarkson joked.
She then praised Cameron’s vocal runs and the rasp that appeared in her voice during the performance, explaining that she had initially assumed she was listening to someone much older.
Clarkson also had one major advantage in her pitch: experience. She reminded Cameron that she had already won The Voice four times, making the case that she knew what it took to guide an artist through the competition.
Green, meanwhile, was entering his first season as a coach. But he had another strategy.
Riley Green Brings Out Carl
Rather than compete with Clarkson’s history on the show, Green decided to appeal to Cameron in a completely different way.
He left his chair, walked over to get his dog, Carl, and brought him to Cameron.
“I just want you to look into his eyes,” Green said. “What do you think Carl would want you to do?”
It was a playful attempt to win over the young singer after an intense round of coaching pitches.
But even Carl could not change Cameron’s mind.
After hearing both coaches make their cases, Brianna Cameron chose Kelly Clarkson as her coach, officially joining Team Kelly.
A Memorable Start to Season 30
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Cameron’s audition capped the first night of The Voice Season 30, which introduced the new coaching line-up of Clarkson, Green, Queen Latifah and Adam Levine.
The season premiere marked the first appearance of Green and Latifah as coaches, while Clarkson and Levine returned to the famous red chairs. NBC is presenting the milestone 30th season as a three-night premiere event beginning September 21.
For Cameron, the opening night ended with two coaches fighting for her, an unexpected reunion with someone she had previously worked with, and a place on Team Kelly.
At 13, she had already made sure the coaches knew her age was the least surprising thing about her audition.
