Whatever happens during Blind Auditionson The Voice, there’s no denying that showing up to perform takes guts. Standing on that stage in front of a live audience, the Coaches, and the world is enough to make an adult melt beneath the pressure, but 13-year-old Julia Roome stood strong and ruled the room.
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As the youngest person in the competition, Roome went into her Blind Audition hoping for a “jaw drop,” and she certainly got it. Roome put her own spin on “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” a 1931 song which has been performed and recorded by dozens of Artists, including Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Doris Day, The Mamas and the Papas, and Michael Bublé.
Julia Roome’s sings“Dream a Little Dream of Me" on The Voice Season 24 Blind Auditions
Julia Roome performs onstage during the Season 24 "The Blind Auditions Part 2". Photo: Greg Gayne/NBC
The song was recognizable, but Roome’s interpretation was wholly original, capturing the attention of two of the Coaches. Niall Horan hit his button early, seemingly sensing something in the performance, and Gwen Stefani followed suit just as the song was drawing to a close.
“I couldn’t tie my shoelaces at 13,” Horan said in response to Roome’s performance. Then, he pulled off a shoe — a slip-on loafer with no laces — remarking, “and I still haven’t learned.” Then, turning toward Roome, he said, “The fact that you’re 13 and you sing like that makes me want to vomit… in a good way.”
Stefani, of course, also had her eye on Roome and made her intentions known. She joined Roome on the stage to offer compliments and a hug before warning Roome against working with Horan, a rude (but cute) boy.
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Presumably feeling the energy in the room, John Legend askedRoome, “Are you a One Direction fan, a Niall fan?”
Roome responded “I sure was,” to everyone’s general amusem*nt.
“WAS?” Horan responded in jest, before turning serious. “I had goosebumps from the second you opened your mouth. It was very dream, like, Lana-esque. If I get the chance to work with you, I’ll be proud myself.”
It was guts that got Roome through the door and it was guts, in the end, which won out when asked who she would choose for her Coach. “I’m going to go with my gut,” Roome said. “I think I’m going to go with Niall.”
