If there’s one judge who would recognize a Shawn Mendes song instantly on The Voice this season, that would be Camila Cabello. The singer was surprised when she heard contestant Tanner Howe start to perform her ex-boyfriend’s song “Mercy” during an audition on Tuesday, September 27. As soon as the contestant started singing, Camila, 25, immediately asked if it was her ex, 24. “Is that Shawn up there?” she asked. “I thought that was Shawn.”
.@thowemusic = day maker #thevoice pic.twitter.com/ooLGkPyxlR
— The Voice (@NBCTheVoice) September 28, 2022
After Tanner finished singing, the Familia popstar was the only judge to not turn her chair around, but she did tell the singer that she had first thought that the “Stitches” singer was the real one onstage, but that’s also part of why she ultimately didn’t hit the buzzer. “The reason I didn’t turn around was I felt like you sounded a little bit too much like 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,” she remarked.
Even though Camila didn’t hit her buzzer, Tanner was incredibly happy to hear her critiques, and he did say that he took a lot of influence from Shawn. “I see myself in that lane,” he said, but Camila responded with a line that made her fellow co-hosts a little uncomfortable. “I was in his lane deeply,” she said.
The judges laughed, but were definitely a little surprised by Camila’s response. John Legend remarked that she was probably trying to make the show a little uncomfortable. “She’s trying to make it as awkward as possible,” he joked.
Shawn and Camila broke up in November after two years of dating. Despite the pair going through the heartbreaking split last year, it seems they’ve both come a long way since the breakup. Camila revealed that she’d struck up a new romance with tech CEO Austin Kevitch back in August.
New relationships aside, the former couple both ran into each other when they performed at Wango Tango in June. An insider revealed to HollywoodLife exclusively that they “had a conversation,” and they’ve seen each other a few times since the split. “This isn’t the first time that they have run into each other and, from an outside perspective, their interactions with each other are always kind of flirty, but not in a lusty sorta way. They are more like flirty best friends who have a lot of love and respect for each other,” they said.