Derek and Katelyn Drye, the country-music duo known as The Dryes nailed their rendition of the Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers 1983 hit “Islands in the Stream” during their Blind Audition on The Voice on Sept. 26, making coaches (and real-life husband and wife) Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani turn their chairs immediately and fight to get the singing couple on their own team.
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“I can speak from experience,” said Shelton following the North Carolina natives’ performance. “There’s no better way to duet than if you’re ‘doing it.'”
Coach John Legend gave Shelton a subtle side-eye and said, “I think you guys gotta pick Gwen just from that [joke].”
The real-life married coaches, Shelton and Stefani, then both gave strong cases to The Dryes on choosing one of them as their coach.
“You’re gonna break up [Gwen and Blake] by forcing them to fight over you,” joked Legend.
Stefani interjected to speak directly to the couple. “That song [‘Islands in the Stream’] would be my dream if me and Blake could do that song together one day,” said Stefani. “I think it would be really fun to work with you guys, especially because whatever genre you’re in, it doesn’t really matter. At the end of the day, we’re trying to figure out how we’re gonna connect you with America. I think that’s what I’m good at. Yes, Blake knows country music. I am an Okie [who lives in Oklahoma] now, as well. I think I could be a good coach for you guys.”
Shelton added, “Country music is all I’ve ever done. You hear me talking right now. I can’t help it. I would be honored to be your country Coach.”
The Dryes started in their hometown of Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 2008 and have released a number of singles since 2018, including “War, a deeply personal track about Derek Drye’s mother who committed suicide when he was just a baby, along with a holiday cover of “White Christmas” and their most recent single “House of Fire,” released in 2022. The duo also released their debut EP Vol. 1 in 2018.
“Anything we go through in life is not just for us,” said Katelyn Drye in a recent interview. “We take those painful moments and put them in a song to hopefully inspire someone else going through the same thing. That’s what we did on our single ‘War’ a few years back. We took the heartache Derek obviously still felt over the loss of his mom and in doing so, it was like a rebirth for him, and in a way, for the both of us.”
In the end, The Dryes joined Team Blake.
Main Photo: Tina Thorpe/NBC
