A former pop group singer wowed the judges with his performance on ‘The Voice’ on Saturday night (30.01.16).
Kevin Simm found fame as one fifth of Liberty X, who had hits with tracks such as ‘Just A Little’.
Following the group being dropped by their label, Kevin signed a solo record deal but that also flopped – causing a big knock in confidence.
Acknowledging that ‘The Voice’ was one of his last chances, Kevin said before his performance: "I’ve had nightmares about not having any turns!"
But he certainly needn’t have worried about that.
Just seconds into his rendition of Sia’s ‘Chandelier’, Ricky Wilson, Paloma Faith and Boy George all turned their chairs, with Ricky even standing up as he got a proper appreciation of the incredible performance.
will.i.am left it to the last minute but then turned, meaning it was a full house of coaches for Kevin to choose from.
George kicked off the comments, asking Kevin: "You’re 35, and with a voice like that – where have you been?"
After Kevin admitted his pop past, George said: "Oh you did that ‘Just A Little’ didn’t you? I love that record, it’s one of my guilty pleasures – I used to dance around to it when no-one else was looking."
Ricky said: "It’s obvious when you hear a voice of that quality sing that you have to turn around."
A visibly emotional Paloma told Kevin: "I got goosebumps all over my body because that was just stunning."
will concluded: "You’re fighting for something you can tell, and in a pop band you don’t get a chance to be emotional. This felt like you were trapped in this box and you came out here on ‘The Voice’ wanting to burn the house down and you did that."
Ricky added: "You have been burnt before and it takes a lot of guts to go back in that hard, that brilliant. This is day 1 of the future for you, and I’d like to be part of that."
The judges then began their pitches, with George kicking things off by saying: "There are a lot of big voices in this show. It’s just constantly a surprise. One thing I do know is that I love big singers, that’s my forte – and I’ve been doing this a long time."
At that point, Paloma jokingly pretended to snore before saying, "Is it finished? Is it time for us to wake up now?" – causing George to become extremely angry with her.
He said: "Excuse me? I don’t understand. That’s extremely rude, very rude, anyway, [Kevin] you’re amazing."
Paloma continued with her pitch, saying: "I feel like I haven’t got somebody in my team who’s like you. When I put my mind to something I’m determined and the one extra layer I’d like to add to what you have which is very special is that it’s created. I’m not often lost for words but I am now, that’s it."
Clearly still reeling from Paloma’s earlier jibe, George said: "One thing you haven’t done Paloma is have a hit in America, I’ve had a few, and we’re talking global strategy with me."
Paloma responded: "I haven’t yet but hopefully I will – I haven’t been in it as long as George. Maybe it could be a duet that would break us both at the same time!"
After much consideration, Kevin decided to choose Paloma as his coach – further angering George.
The row is said to have left Paloma in tears but those scenes weren’t shown on Saturday’s show.
And alongside a selfie with Paloma, George wrote on his Twitter that it’s all just "banter-mime".
Other hopefuls who impressed on Saturday’s show included 16-year-old Heather Cameron-Hayes, who sang ‘Life on Mars’ by the late David Bowie and chose to join George’s team.
Liberty X’s Kevin gets four chairs turned on The Voice
