“The Voice” returned Monday night for its 13th season with a round of exciting blind auditions, including former NFL player Esera Tuaolo, who surprised judges with an emotional performance.
The 49-year-old may be remembered by football fans as an NFL defensive tackle throughout the 1990s, but it was his strong, impressive vocals that won over judges in his rendition of Andra Day’s “Rise Up.”
On the show, Tuaolo also shared his coming out story. “When I finished in the NFL, I came out to my family,” he said. “When I said those words for the first [time]; when I said that ‘I was gay,’ it was like this huge mountain just crumbled.”
While in the league, Tuaolo was very open about his singing abilities, and performed the national anthem at various sports events and even released his own songs, TODAY reported.
The six-foot-four-inch, 300-pound Samoan was born in Hawaii to a family of banana farmers. He played football at Oregon State University before playing on teams like the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings.
His performance impressed judges Jennifer Hudson and Blake Shelton. Tuaolo decided to join Shelton’s team.
Sundays just got that much better with my new buddy Esera! And he’s a great singer too? Double whammy! #VoicePremiere
— Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) September 26, 2017
