Blake Shelton’s Former Bandmate Auditions For “The Voice”
on Mar 02, 2021 • Updated Apr 07, 2023
After so many seasons on The Voice, Blake Shelton still gets surprised sometimes when he turns around for a singer during the blind auditions.
The Voice‘s 20th season debuted on March 1, 2021 and featured a wealth of talented performers. One of those performers was 45-year-old Pete Mroz.
Mroz sang a cover of “Can’t Find My Way Home” by the blues/rock supergroup Blind Faith. He first caught the attention of John Legend, who turned his chair early in the audition. Shelton soon followed.
Neither Kelly Clarkson or Nick Jonas turned their chairs, so Mroz was left to pick between Legend and Shelton. After letting Legend speak for a while, Mroz revealed that he and Shelton share a prior connection.
Mroz said he got his start writing songs in Nashville, and that he previously sang under the name Pete Mitchell. That’s when Shelton exclaimed “Oh my God,” as he suddenly realized who Mroz was.
Turns out, Mroz and Shelton were former bandmates! They performed together in a group called the Young Riders. Shelton didn’t recognize Mroz after he turned his chair for him because it had been over 25 years since they last saw each other.
This bit of information shocked Clarkson, who stood up, wide-mouthed, and asked “Are you serious?”
Mroz then poked fun at his old friend and bandmate, telling Shelton, “You stole my bass player!”
Shelton laughed before delivering his comeback, saying, “I gave your bass player a job.”
Legend used this bit of information to try and convince Mroz to join his team. But in the end, Mroz couldn’t deny his prior connection to Shelton, and picked him as his coach!
After the episode aired, Shelton took to Twitter to share an old photo of him and Mroz singing together in the Young Riders.
Talk about a full circle moment @pete_mroz! I’m excited to be working with you again man!! #TeamBlake #TheVoice pic.twitter.com/96UsSf40kw
— Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) March 2, 2021
“Talk about a full circle moment @pete_mroz! I’m excited to be working with you again man!!” Shelton wrote.
Watch the below video about Mroz’s audition. How cool is it they were able to reunite after all this time…and on The Voice of all places?
