Redemption: Tori Darke Returns To 'The Voice' With Effortless Blind Audition

You might have recognised one of the singers who auditioned on The Voice Australia last night (2 September).

Brisbane-based singer-songwriter Tori Darke auditioned for the reality singing competition series in 2021, singing in front of coaches Keith Urban, Rita Ora, Guy Sebastian, and Jessica Mauboy. She didn’t turn any of their chairs.

Darke, a country singer, thought she’d do something different to win over the judges at the time, singing The Middle by Maren Morris and Zedd rather than a song she was more comfortable with.

After explaining that she was actually a country singer and expressing her admiration for Keith Urban, he went on stage with her. They performed Stupid Boy together, their voices blending beautifully. The video went viral and garnered over 4.5 million views on Facebook alone.

Returning to The Voice stage last night, it seemed Darke had learned her lesson and stuck to country this time, which was the right call.

For her redeeming Blind Audition, Darke confidently took on Stupid Boy, earning chair turns from three of this year’s coaches: Guy Sebastian, Kate Miller-Heidke, and LeAnn Rimes. Adam Lambert, who has one space left on his team, didn’t turn.

Darke received praise from all the judges, with Sebastian and Miller-Heidke trying to win her over despite Darke’s heart being with Rimes. She chose LeAnn and will go on to the next round of The Voice Australia. You can watch her Blind Audition below.

Tori Darke graduated from the Academy of Country Music in 2009 and has performed at some of Australia’s most prestigious music festivals – including the Tamworth Country Music Festival. She’s released two albums: 2011’s Dreams & Chances and 2015’s Silver Lining, with the latter earning her industry acclaim.

In 2016, Darke was a top five finalist in the Female Artist of the Year category at the Golden Guitar Awards and was also nominated for Female Artist of the Year and Oz Artist of the Year at the CMC Awards.

Following her initial Blind Audition and viral performance with Keith Urban, Darke has released single after single, including this year’s Simplest Things. Darke will appear at the January 2025 Tamworth Country Music Festival, where she’ll open for Aussie icon Daryl Braithwaite alongside The Buckleys and Lane Pittman.