As the Blind Auditions for this year’s season of The Voice Australia continued last night, fans were left confused when familiar face Jay Sierra took to the stage.
The 27-year-old performer detailed his experiences working with Cirque de Soleil, but left out the fact that he was actually a successful contestant on The X Factor in 2012, a season judged by none other than Guy Sebastian, also a long-standing coach on The Voice.
While Guy hit the button to turn his chair, ultimately vying to get Jay on his team, there was no mention that the pair seem to have met previously.
The omission of this detail had fans questioning – why would Guy act as though he didn’t know Jay? And why would Jay’s previous success not be mentioned either?
Back in 2012, Jay was known as Jayden Sierra – a contestant on X Factor who ended up joining the boyband The Collective with four other contestants.
As One Direction was captivating the world, boybands were having a resurgence, meaning the group did well, coming in third place behind Jason Owen and now-successful singer Samantha Jade.
Although the band were mentored on the show by Ronan Keating, Guy Sebastian was a fellow mentor and judge on the show.
After The X Factor, The Collective went on to do well for themselves.
Their debut single, Surrender, made it to number six on the ARIA Singles Chart, and their first album made it to number 11 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
However, the band didn’t last, deciding to go their separate ways in 2015.
Given Jay’s appearance on X-Factor, and his previous relationship with Guy, fans were left with a few questions after his performance on The Voice.
He performed Ariana Grande’s hit God Is A Woman, and turned the chairs of Guy Sebastian, Keith Urban, and Rita Ora. Keith liked Jay so much he even hit his block button, making it impossible for Jay to choose Guy’s team.
While it’s completely possible his days with The Collective are just behind Jay now (given they began a whole decade ago), fans of the show still had questions.
“Tell me I’m not crazy. Jay Sierra was from another singing show? #TheVoiceAU I know him,” one fan tweeted.
“I love that they didn’t mention Guy was a judge the year Jay was on Xfactor. #TheVoiceAU,” another wrote.
Meanwhile, other fans were annoyed that Jay could return to the show despite his previous success.
“Way to leave out the fact that you were in The Collective, Jay, the boyband who won The X Factor about a decade or so back… But hey, he’s a rollerskating pretty boy with great teeth and a name that screams star power, he’s obv going through to the next round #TheVoiceAU,” one shared.
“Jay was on the X factor and was in the collective formed on the show and was signed to a record deal. He should not be allowed on this show. Do a season of ex signed people if you wanna allow this #TheVoiceAU,” another noted.
However, Jay is not the first artist to return to TV a few years after his first success.
Jack Vidgen had a run on The Voice after winning Australia’s Got Talent in 2011. Chris Sebastian, who is Guy Sebastian’s brother, even won The Voice in 2020 after appearing on the first season of the show as well.
There’s no question Jay exhibits pretty exceptional talent, and even though he has a past in the music industry, we’re stoked we get to watch the next chapter of his career.
You can watch The Voice from Monday-Wednesday at 7:30pm on Channel Seven and 7Plus.
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