Lila Forde wows “The Voice” audience with long awaited Joni Mitchell cover

The singer also choked up when talking about her coach and mentor, John Legend.

Tis the season for giving, right?

After The Voice Blind Auditions where she gave us all the 70s singer-songwriter vibes she could muster, Lila Forde is giving everyone what they’ve been asking for: A cover of a Joni Mitchell classic.

Just last week, even guest mentor Chance the Rapper was encouraging the Team Legend singer from Seattle to take on Joni. It feels right that it’s finally happening during the Top 9 semi-finals, which just happen to be dubbed “Fan Week,” where The Voice audience suggests songs they want to hear their favorite artists perform. Lila has a lot of expectations on her to nail the iconic “River,” perhaps the saddest Christmas song in existence, but she doesn’t seem too worried — and neither does her coach John Legend.

During rehearsals, John has some suggestions for how Lila can play a bit within the melody of the song and it inspires Lila to reflect on how integral her coach has been in giving her the confidence to believe she could win this thing. She gets choked up talking about how she’s had mentors in the past who’ve told her she isn’t good enough, but John believes in her and it’s made a huge difference. Perhaps that’s why Lila sits down at her piano on stage and absolutely crushes her version of “River,” complete with some changes that make the song feel a little more modern and a little more Lila Forde.

By the end, the coaches are all on their feet. Reba McEntire tells Lila that she’s “glad [she] didn’t listen to those other people,” because she is just “so good” and is an artist who doesn’t just  sing, but sings “with her heart.” Meanwhile, you can hear Niall Horan in the background still wowed, asking “what just happened?” and telling John Legend that he’s “a lucky man.”

John can’t argue that — and now it’s his turn to get choked up (is it just me or is John Legend more emotional than ever this season?). He knows it must be difficult to go up against big belters on this show as a quieter artist, but he tells Lila that she once again “made it [her] own show” and stands out in her own way. He gets a little caught on his words praising Lila’s performance for its “heart, integrity, musicality,” among others in a long list. It may sound wildly effusive but hey, it is “Fan Week” after all.

While the heaps of praise were being flung all over the place during the Top 9 Performances, only five artists will make it to next week’s finals. We’ll see if Lila Forde’s big Joni moment moved the voters as much as it did her coach.

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