Nina Howland Turns Four Chairs with “Love Me Like a Man”

Nina Howland performs ‘Love Me Like a Man’ during The Voice blind auditions. The song gives her a blues framework built around rhythmic phrasing and a clear melodic line, while the programme places the singer in front of coaches who initially listen without facing her.

The Voice’s official video identifies Howland and the song, and its title records a four-chair turn. That result connects the musical performance with the audition format: the coaches’ decisions unfold while the singer continues working through the number onstage.

The opening establishes the voice before the programme’s reactions take centre stage. Howland’s phrasing follows the song’s pulse, giving the lines a sense of direction without needing to hurry through them. The accompaniment provides a rhythmic foundation around which she shapes the melody.

‘Love Me Like a Man’ also creates space for changes in emphasis. A phrase can lean into the beat or settle behind it, making timing part of the performance’s character. These choices help distinguish an interpretation from simply reproducing the song’s notes.

The official audition video below keeps the singing and chair turns within the same sequence. Watching the performance from its beginning makes it possible to follow both the musical development and the points at which the coaches choose to respond.

Watch the performance

Howland’s vocal texture gives the blues material a particular sound. The contrast between smoother lines and stronger accents can be heard within the same performance, with the arrangement leaving room for those differences to become part of the song’s movement.

The stage presentation maintains a clear focus on the singer. Lighting and camera framing belong to the television production, but the voice remains the audition’s central reference. The song’s pace supplies continuity as the broadcast shifts between performer and coaches.

A chair turn is a visible response within the programme’s rules. It tells viewers that a coach has chosen the singer at that point; it does not establish a final competition result. The four turns should therefore be understood as an audition outcome.

The performance and the discussion that follows have different roles. The song lets the coaches hear the singer’s musical approach, while their later remarks introduce the programme’s selection process. Keeping these parts distinct helps explain the full clip’s structure.

The blues arrangement can be followed through its repeating musical figures. Those returns give Howland a stable setting in which to vary a line or accent. The listener hears a consistent groove while the vocal delivery continues to develop around it.

Bonnie Raitt’s version provides a useful reference for the repertoire chosen here. Comparing performances can reveal differences in vocal tone, pacing and accompaniment, without requiring a claim that one singer has displaced the other or delivered a definitive version.

The source image captures Howland holding the microphone during the audition. The complete video adds the musical timing that a photograph cannot supply, making the still a visual introduction to an identifiable performance rather than a substitute for listening.

The first companion recording features Raitt performing ‘Love Me Like a Man’ in concert. It places the same song in another setting, allowing the listener to consider the relationship between an audition arrangement and an established concert interpretation.

The second companion video brings Brandi Carlile and Bonnie Raitt together on the song. That is another separate occasion, with a different vocal lineup. It offers a further comparison while keeping Howland’s audition clearly identified as the main performance.

The four-chair result is one part of the recording’s appeal, but the complete song explains how the audition reaches that response. The phrasing, rhythmic emphasis and relationship with the accompaniment remain available to hear beyond the programme’s reaction shots.

Howland’s The Voice appearance presents ‘Love Me Like a Man’ as a focused blues audition. The official recording preserves the singer’s delivery and the coaches’ decisions together, giving the performance a clear musical and television context.