Mariah Carey is moved to tears by 20-year-old contestant on 'The Voice'

Mariah Carey made a special appearance at “The Voice” as the key adviser for this year’s contestants. And while most of them were excited to meet their idol, only one 20-year-old girl from Kentucky made the diva tear up with her performance.

The former “American Idol” judge made her first appearance on the rival singing contest show “The Voice” this week. Carey’s role was that of an adviser, working closely with every judge: Jennifer Hudson, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, and Kelly Clarkson, and their respective teams, to help the contestants bring their best to the Knockouts round.

AN EMOTIONAL PERFORMANCE

Carey sat with every judge and gave keynotes to each of their acts, but it was MaKenzie Thomas, from Wallingford, who wowed both Carey and Hudson, her mentor, with her fantastic performance of Bee Gees’ hit “How Deep is Your Love.”

Thomas’ wide vocal range helped her stage an emotional performance, making Mariah tear up by the end of the song. “You are making me cry over here," said the singer after Thomas’ rehearsal.

“Oh gosh, no, don't cry!" the 20-year-old singer replied, visibly stunned for being so close to Mariah. She then told the cameras: "I was like, 'Oh my goodness, I just made Mariah Carey cry.'"

Carey explained that she finds Thomas’ stage presence and vocals to be powerful, and added:

“I like this version of the song, and I would buy it. You feel genuine to me, and that's what I love about it."

Hudson advised Thomas to “open up” more in the actual performance of the song, and the girl admitted that she was just nervous of being in front of Carey and that messed up a bit her vocals.

THE KNOCKOUTS

However, the night of the Knockouts, Thomas outshined everyone on stage. Her high notes made Kelly Clarkson stand from her chair to show how blown away she was with the performance.

The 36-year-old judge exclaimed:

“I was like, 'Oh my God, I don’t know what to do!' Why are you hurting me, MaKenzie?! I turned around; I didn’t know where to go. The one riff went to the Lord, said hello, came back down, gave me a leg cramp. If I had to choose, I’d definitely go with leg cramp girl, MaKenzie.”

Thomas was facing up against teammate Mike Parker, who performed The Script’s “Breakeven,” but Hudson decided to choose Thomas for the next round, justifying her decision by saying:

“She made Mariah Carey cry, and I just want to continue to see what more she has in store.”

Thomas will now move to the show’s live playoffs.

Mariah, on the other hand, is getting ready to drop her 15th studio album, “Caution,” next week.