Blake Shelton’s team members Carlos Rising and Grace West offered a sweet take on a country classic with their Battle Round performance on The Voice.
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With dueling guitars, West kicked off the performance of Randy Travis’ “I Told You So” with her sweet voice, matched by Rising’s smoky vocals. Their voices united in harmony on the mournful chorus, belting out I told you so, but you had to go / But now I’ve found somebody new / And you will never break my heart in two again. Rising showed off his soaring voice on the final notes of the chorus before the two joined in harmony to close out the performance which ended with a hug.
“That was magic,” coach Niall Horan raved, describing Rising’s tone as “so cool, so husky.” “To hear that blend against Grace’s sweet, piercing tone was really nice.” He then praised West’s voice as “phenomenal” and that she has the potential to “go all the way” in the competition, voting for her as the winner of the round.
Chance the Rapper also praised Rising’s tone and “unique voice,” admitting that he felt like the performance was a draw and couldn’t pick a winner.
“I thought that was so well done,” Kelly Clarkson said, telling Rising that he has a voice that can fit into a variety of genres that she calls “an incredible gift.” She also praised West’s “unteachable gift” of the way her soul comes through her voice. “It sounds pure to me,” Clarkson observed, picking her as the victor of the battle.
Shelton agreed with Clarkson that Rising’s voice is adaptable to any genre, calling back to his audition with an Eric Clapton song to now fitting into Travis’ country hit. “You sound incredible on both of them,” he remarked. As for West, Shelton said she was “doing what you’re born to do” in singing country music. “It’s country whether you like it or not when it comes out of your mouth and you embrace that and that’s what makes you classic,” he said.
Despite feeling as though it was an “evenly matched” round, Shelton chose West as the winner, solidifying her place on his team. “I just feel like Grace has got an edge on a lot of artists in this competition because she is so authentic in what she does,” her coach said. “Grace could be a huge artist in country music and I want to be a part of that journey.”
The Voice airs on Monday night at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
Photo by: Tyler Golden/NBC
