Alabama A&M alum gets ‘four-chair turn’ on ‘The Voice’
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An Alabama A&M alum is a current contestant on the 28th season of NBC’s “The Voice,” and got a rare “four-chair turn” for her performance. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, the four judges are turned away from the vocalist, and turn around when they want that contestant on their team. A “four-chair turn” means all four judges want the singer.
Well, that’s exactly what happened to Jasmine “Jazz” McKenzie when she took the stage for blind auditions Monday night.
Jazz McKenzie on ‘The Voice’
McKenzie dazzled coaches with her powerhouse rendition of Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do with It.” Country legend Reba McEntire spun first, followed quickly by Niall Horan, Snoop Dogg then Michael Bublé.
She ultimately picked Bublé to be her “coach” for the show.
She said she entered “The Voice” with one modest goal, but achieved much more.
“My thing was, if I could just get one chair turn, you know, just one. All I need is one. And to see that I got four? It blew my mind. God blew my mind. I was just so thankful, full of gratitude, and all the hard work paid off. That’s what I saw. And it just felt good to finally, in a world of everybody being overlooked, including myself, to be chosen – for that one specific thing. It was beautiful to me.”
Jasmine “Jazz” McKenzie
What to know about Jazz McKenzie
McKenzie is a Birmingham native, where she grew up singing in church. She enrolled in AAMU and continued her musical journey.
She joined Sigma Alpha Iota, an international music fraternity, which helped spark her confidence as a performer and put her on the path to pursuing music more seriously.
In 2023, she began earning attention as an opening act for headliners such as Chrisette Michele and Leela James, and even headlined at Huntsville’s Panoply Festival. Those performances built her reputation as a dynamic live artist and eventually led to a life-changing opportunity.
She was discovered on Tik Tok, and was eventually asked to audition for “The Voice.”
“It all started with a DM I got on TikTok in February for this video that started gaining attention. At first, I thought it was a scam. But when I got the same message on Instagram and through email, I called my friends – who are all AAMU grads – and we checked it out. It turned out to be real.”
Jasmine “Jazz” McKenzie
You can watch McKenzie on “The Voice,” which airs Monday and Tuesday nights at 7PM on NBC.
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