Nini Iris is the latest Directioner to take The Voice stage — and Niall Horan’s fellow coaches have “no control” over their allegiances.
The 27-year-old Georgia native (the country, she clarifies to the coaches) impressed all four coaches during Monday’s Blind Auditions, earning a four-chair turn from Niall, Reba McEntire, John Legend and Gwen Stefani for her show-stopping rendition of Everybody Loves an Outlaw’s “I See Red.”
While she intrigued Reba and Gwen with her desire to sing songs by powerful women, it was Niall who made an impassioned pitch to Nini to try and win her to his team, calling her performance “strong, powerful, commanding — the whole room was with you.”
As it turns out, he didn’t need to try so hard to win her over. Nini admitted to being a big One Direction fan back in the day — a common thread this season, it seems — even confessing to Niall, “I wrote maybe a few fanfictions.”
Revealing that her works mostly consisted of fantasies about getting to meet the band in person gave John the ability to take a swipe. “You know what’s sad is when reality doesn’t live up to the dreams that we’ve had,” he teased.
Ultimately, there was no stealing his girl — Nini is the latest Directioner on Team Niall! Watch her full audition below:
Niall’s habit of winning over 1D fans was a problem for his fellow coaches just last week, when he landed impressive singer Laura Williams, who recalled attending a 1D tour in her formative years.
“Dang boy bands!” Reba cursed.
“It reminds me of when Nick Jonas was on the show,” John agreed. “He had a certain pull with a certain generation of girls.”
“Niall’s been a thorn in my side all season,” he added, “and I have no chance against him with these girls.”
The Voice airs Mondays at 8 p.m. PT/ET and Tuesdays at 9 p.m. PT/ET on NBC.
RELATED CONTENT: