Niall Horan is letting his love for Blake Shelton be known. On the Sept. 30 episode of The Voice, the former One Directioner called upon his past show “dad” to diss fellow coach Michael Bublé.
The antics went down amid Kenny Iko’s blind audition. The 35-year-old, who was previously in a boy band, wowed the coaches with his cover of Bruno Mars’ “Versace on the Floor.”
Both Horan and Snoop Dogg turned for the soulful singer, while Bublé and Reba McEntire opted not to do so.
Snoop complimented Iko on his “amazing” vocals and equally stunning afro. The music icon was even more taken with the contestant when he declared, “I love to serenade the ladies.”
Meanwhile, Horan quipped, “I just had to turn for the swooning alone.”
“Great version of the song,” Horan complimented. “And some of those notes you were hitting, Bruno didn’t even do them on the record. It was amazing.”
Blake Shelton Makes a Vocal-Only Appearance on ‘The Voice’
Though Bublé didn’t turn his chair for Iko, he seemed to be regretting that, as he told the singer, “I feel like you might’ve been a real good chance for me to have a three-peat.”
Bublé, who’s coached two seasons of the show, is currently vying for his third straight victory on The Voice. Horan has likewise won both seasons he coached, though he took some time off the show to tour.
Since they’re technically tied in the win column, Bublé’s statement irked Horan. The “This Town” singer decided to share his displeasure by hitting his button to reveal an audio message from Shelton.
“I don’t give a crap about a three-peat,” the Shelton recording stated.
“My father. Is that you? I miss you, Dad,” Horan quipped of Shelton. “I know you’re back there in Oklahoma. [You’re] harvesting some fields or something. I just won a couple, took a year off, I’m back.”
The silly moment didn’t help Horan nab Iko, as the singer opted to choose Snoop as his coach.
As Iko progresses in the competition, Snoop said he plans to help him “find big records, records where he can show his range and play with that falsetto and control the crowd with his movement and engagement.”
The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays on NBC.
