Season 13 Voice contestant left coach Miley Cyrus “shaking” and “in tears” following her emotionally-charged performance of “The Story.”
According to a live blog by Denton Davidson, prior to her performance, 32-year-old Janice Freeman dedicated the song to her “loving husband,” the man meeting Freeman amidst tragedy when she was in the throes of a long battle with cervical cancer.
Fans first met 32-year-old Freeman following her powerful Blind Audition to the tune of Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive,” the singer later revealing her past battle with cancer and met with hugs from Cyrus and Jennifer Hudson.
“I’ve definitely been singing my whole life,” said Freeman. “But I’ve had so many obstacles that constantly try and stop that, with cancer,” she said getting choked up.
Freeman’s Blind Audition earned her two chair turns from coaches Cyrus and Hudson, the soulful singer choosing to join Team Miley following an inspirational plea by the coach, Cyrus explaining her birth-given name was “Destiny Hope” because father Billy Ray Cyrus said her “destiny in life” was to “bring hope to the world.”
“The Story” was originally sung by American folk singer Brandi Carlile in 2007, the song gaining attention from the media following its feature on the musical episode of drama series Grey’s Anatomy in 2011. The song was later covered by LeAnn Rimes for her Remnants album and Dolly Parton for the charity tribute album Cover Stories.
Sadly Janice passed away in 2019 after being diagnosed with a second form of cancer. Cyrus and Freeman remained close after their time on The Voice and Cyrus even performed at Freeman’s funeral, with the help of her dad Billy Ray Cyrus.
You can watch Freeman’s rendition of “The Story” below.