In an episode that aired this week, contestant Tanner Howe took the stage to perform the song “Mercy” by Shawn Mendes — and apparently did so well that Camila thought it was her ex.
“Is that my — is that Shawn up there?” Cabello wondered, turning to Blake Shelton for confirmation. “I thought that was Shawn.”
She remained in shock even after the performance was over:
“I was like, is Shawn onstage right now?” she told Tanner after his audition.
“You sounded like him,” John Legend added.
Tanner then remarked that Camila would know, given that she dated the singer — to which she said that she actually knows Shawn “better than everybody in this room.”
“But the reason I didn’t turn around was I felt like you sounded a little bit too much like him,” Cabello continued, explaining why she chose not to join the other judges in turning for him. “Obviously, he has an amazing voice. I love this song. But I would be curious when you pick your coach for you to just kind of distinguish yourself.”
Tanner replied that he “totally” understood what Camila meant but noted that he does see himself in the same “lane” as Shawn. She, in turn, made a joke that she “was in [Shawn’s] lane, deeply” when they were together.
“Hey! Alright now,” John said, chiming in. “She’s trying to make it as awkward as possible.”
