Brandon Diaz Returns to ‘The Voice’ 15 Years After His First Audition
For Brandon Diaz, returning to The Voice meant stepping onto a stage he first encountered as a nervous teenager. Fifteen years after auditioning for the show without earning a single chair turn, the now 29-year-old singer came back with a very different level of confidence.
And this time, the chairs turned.
Diaz originally auditioned during Season 4, when he was just 14. Looking back, he remembers how overwhelmed he felt.
“I remember being so nervous,” he said. “I didn’t really know myself as an artist, so I was kind of figuring that out.”
Rather than letting the rejection end his pursuit of music, Diaz used the experience as motivation. He went on to attend Berklee College of Music, where his musical path eventually crossed with another The Voice contestant: Jackie Foster, who would later become his wife.
Jackie Foster Gave Diaz Another Connection to the Show
Foster is familiar to The Voice viewers in her own right. She competed on Season 14, appearing on teams led by Kelly Clarkson, Adam Levine and Alicia Keys before her run ended in the semifinals.
That history made Diaz’s return to the show even more personal. He wasn’t simply revisiting a competition he had once tried and failed to enter. He was now coming back with years of musical experience and a connection to someone who had already experienced the competition from the inside.
When Diaz finally stepped onto the stage again, he made no secret of what the moment meant to him.
“A chair turn is something I’ve been dreaming of since I was 14,” he said. “Being back here feels incredible, and I’m having major deja vu moments.”
He described the audition as a long-awaited second chance.
“I’ve been waiting for this for 15 years. My redemption! Doing this, it feels like I’m living my dream all over again. Now I’m back to show them I’m meant to be here.”
Brandon Diaz Finally Gets His Chair Turn
Diaz chose Justin Timberlake’s “Drink You Away” for his return audition, and the performance quickly changed the story of his The Voice journey.
This time, two coaches turned their chairs: Kelly Clarkson and Queen Latifah.
Clarkson was immediately struck by Diaz’s vocal ability.
“You can sing your behind off sir. Vocally you’re insane,” she told him. “I think you are so talented, man. You have that soulfulness going on.”
The moment became even more interesting when Diaz shared more about his history with the show, including his connection to Foster. Adam Levine and Riley Green both acknowledged that they wished they had known more about Diaz before the performance ended.
“I wish I would’ve known all this before,” Levine said.
Green similarly admitted that it had become difficult not to turn his chair.
Clarkson couldn’t resist pointing out the obvious.
“And yet they didn’t,” she joked.
Queen Latifah then made her own case for Diaz, emphasizing that he had already been through the experience once and deserved a fresh start.
“He’s been here. He needs some new energy. The vibe is right coming from the Queen,” she said. “I feel like you came with everything you needed to to win the show.”
Diaz Chooses Team Queen
Queen Latifah’s pitch ultimately won Diaz over, and he became the latest singer to join Team Queen.
For Diaz, the decision capped a comeback that had been 15 years in the making. The teenager who once stood on the The Voice stage without a single chair turn had returned as a more experienced artist, earned the recognition he had been hoping for and secured a place on a team.
Latifah was equally impressed by what she saw from him.
“I loved Brandan’s confidence,” she said afterward. “He owned that song from beginning to end.”
After years of wondering what might have happened if a coach had turned around for him, Diaz finally got his answer. His second chance on The Voice ended with two chairs turning and a spot on Team Queen.
The Voice airs Mondays on NBC.
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