‘The Voice’ contestant chooses coach Niall Horan at the request of his six-year-old daughter

Within the first few notes of a powerful performance of The Black Crowes’ “She Talks to Angels,” all four celebrity judges on The Voice turned their chairs in awe of Huntley, a 33-year-old Virginia native and single father of two. But after receiving across-the-board accolades from Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefani, Niall Horan, and John Legend, the aspiring winner revealed he “had a dream” that his six-year-old daughter Stella came onstage to choose his coach, asking the judges if she could do so.

The answer was a resounding yes, with Stella placing her dad’s music career in the hands of Horan. The former One Directioner was delighted to welcome Huntley onto Team Niall after a stunning Blind Audition and the sweetest father-daughter moment we’ve seen in a minute.

Each of the judges heaped praise onto Huntley, who shared that he has been singing his “whole life” and that he used to pretend to be Elvis Presley when he was a child.

“Your voice is incredible,” said McEntire. “When I first listened to you, I heard Chris Stapleton in there. I’m a huge fan of Chris and that’s a huge compliment to you. Everything about your voice I absolutely loved. I’d love to be your coach.

Horan gushed about Huntley’s voice, too. “I was hearing, and I don’t know if you ever heard of an English singer called Daniel Merriweather and there was another guy called James Morrison, I’m hearing this tone, like the Chris Stapleton thing,” he said. “That’s a tone that comes naturally. I bet you were singing like that when you were 15. You sing your own way, you sing very direct… so much power and the control that you have, it’s so beautiful to listen to. I would like you to go to the Battles with me because you made us feel. That’s a really important thing, and I would absolutely love to have you on Team Niall.”

Stefani compared Huntley’s long braids to previous hairstyles she’s worn, joking, “If anything, you should pick me because I used to wear my hair like that. Your voice is just so automatic. You know exactly at what point you’re going to be raspy and it’s pure and honest. You sound like you’ve been singing forever on stage performing. You’re just very comfortable.”

Legend added: “Your voice has so much polish. It sounds like you’ve been on big stages before. So, to look at you and you’re being so humble and shocked by all of us turning for you is kind of amazing to me. Your voice sounds so ready. It’s so ready for the world, ready for the radio, and truly one of the best voices we’ve heard. It’s so impressive, dude.”

Huntley — who sings in all genres, from rock to reggae and R&B — became emotional by the remarks. When it came time to make a decision, he said, “I had a dream that my daughter came onstage.” 

The judges welcomed Stella to the stage, where she grabbed the mic to choose Horan for her dad’s big moment. Her brother, Michael, watched in amazement, while their dad’s dream came true as part of Team Niall. So sweet!