Jackson Snelling’s soulful take on a country hit won over the judges on The Voice. During the blind auditions for season 24, Snelling offered a beautiful rendition of Justin Moore‘s “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away” that showed off the organic flavors in his voice.
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It only took a few notes for returning coach Gwen Stefani to confidently hit her buzzer, bringing Snelling’s parents to tears backstage. Stefani had some competition though when country legend and new Voice coach Reba McEntire pressed her button toward the performance’s end, with Stefani jokingly blocking her with her long black-and-white checkered jacket.
“I’m proud to be here and say that I have autism and being on the spectrum, music has helped me so much,” the 21-year-old from Austin, Indiana, professed.
Second-time coach Niall Horan praised his song choice and admitted that there were a “couple of pitchy things” that he could work with, but didn’t want to go toe-to-toe with McEntire and Stefani. “You have a gorgeous tone of voice,” praised longtime coach John Legend.
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McEntire made a strong case to be his coach when she proclaimed, “Country music is my life, my foundation. So to hear you come on The Voice and sing like you did today, I am just so proud to be in the country music business and proud that you’re representing us here on The Voice today.”
Stefani gave her a run for her money though, stating how she’s “super selective” when choosing contestants for her team. “At that moment, it was like nothing else mattered…what you did so well with your tone and the way that you cradled the lyrics, you really did touch my heart,” she raved.
But Stefani’s powerful argument wasn’t enough to sway him from the queen of country, as Snelling ultimately chose McEntire as his coach. “What I listen for when I hear a country performer is not too much trying, just honest country singing,” she expressed. “And for Jackson to come up and so this took a lot of courage and I’m very proud to have him on my team.”
McEntire replaced fellow country superstar Blake Shelton when he departed The Voice after 23 seasons. The Voice airs on Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
Photo by: Greg Gayne/NBC
