The 16-year-old improved hugely from her audition on The Voice two years ago.

hen Serenity Arce first auditioned on The Voice two years ago, none of the four Coaches turned their chairs for her. Blake Shelton, who was a Coach at the time (Season 21), said he was glad that nobody pressed the button for Arce, who was 14 back then.

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“I’m glad nobody turned around, because you’re at the point where you’re good enough to have gotten on the show, but then you probably wouldn’t have gotten that far in and that might have been discouraging for you,” Shelton said of the Jupiter, Florida, resident. “What you need is like a year.”

Arce, who said she was “grateful that Blake said that,” took two years before making another much, much more successful appearance on The Voice. Her rendition of “This City” by Sam Fischer had all the Season 25 Coaches fighting to have her join their team.

Watch Serenity Arce Perform “This City” by Sam Fischer During The Voice Season 25 Blinds

Serenity Arce appears in Season 25 Episode 5 of The Voice Photo: Casey Durkin/NBC

Arce, now 16, said that she “put in the work” during the time between her two auditions, taking vocal lessons and letting her voice mature. (“It got a lot deeper,” she said.) The result was a performance that had Chance the Rapper, John Legend, Reba McEntire, and Dan + Shay slamming their buttons almost right away in that order — though Legend used his Block on Dan + Shay.

Legend, the only Coach this season who was around during Season 21 when Arce first performed, said she sounded familiar and that he was thrilled that she’d returned to the competition series.

“All of us have had people tell us no, and we’ve had to come back and say no, we’re going to try again, and that’s how we got to where we are,” Legend said, speaking for the other Coaches as well. “And I’m so proud of you for doing that.”

With Dan + Shay out of contention due to Legend’s Block, the three other Coaches each made their pitch, though it really seemed like it was between Legend and Chance.

Legend said Arce’s voice “sounds like it could be on the radio already.”

“John is covering up for the fact that he didn’t turn for you two years ago,” Chance responded. “If I was there, I would have turned for you.”

And so, Arce decided to join Team Chance.

“I’m feeling crazy right now. I’ve been waiting and waiting for the right talent for Team Chance,” the rapper said afterward. “What I love about Serenity is how developed her voice already is. Whatever I throw at her, she’ll be more than prepared for it.”

“I wasted my block! I should have blocked Chance!” Legend lamented. “The one that got away.”