Although, Blake Shelton isn’t judging the NBC reality singing competition The Voice this season, he was represented during a blind audition.
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On the October 3, contestant BIAS took the stage to perform a cover of the former judge’s song “God’s Country.” Once the opening notes played, the judges perked up and listened closely, and even Shelton’s wife, Gwen Stefani, seemed excited about the song choice.
[RELATED: The Musical Marriage of Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani]
While BIAS added his own twang to the song, he added in exaggerated stage movements including some kicks. Stefani picked up on it quite quickly knowing how much it takes for her husband to perform the song live.
Niall Horan opened up the judges’ comments with a blast of truth: “Some of the pitch issues I was hearing were literally the reason why I didn’t turn. And also Blake would tell you, that’s a very, very hard song to sing. I mean you got the approval from the Queen of Country… and the Queen of Shelton. You’re doing alright.”
Stefani followed up with her long-awaited response. “I’m so glad I turned around so I could see the end of that. That was just — it was crazy. I loved your energy. I love your spirit,” she said. “And at the end of the song, you had some really cool kind of texture and growl that if I was your coach, I would try to bring that out more. I think it’s just really exciting getting to meet a young country guy that has that much spark and energy, and I would love to work with you.”
Reba McEntire added on, saying, “When you started singing, and then the crowd got into it, I knew you must’ve been doing something really good out there. And I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I love the way he sings.’ That’s when I hit my button, and I was so glad I did because you were kicking some major butt out here.”
She further convinced the Chattanooga, Tennessee native with her Reba Tots to get him to join her team.
Legend concluded the judges’ remarks. “What I loved the most was how soulful your rendition was,” he said. “I thought it was a really cool take on Blake’s song. And the fact that you were able to nail it in the way that you did, I thought it was very impressive.”
After much consideration, BIAS did indeed go close to home and chose Team Gwen. The Voice airs on Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
Photo by: Greg Gayne/NBC
