Calling herself an “outcast,” 20-year-old Kylee Dayne made Mega Mentor Reba McEntire cry during her Knockouts rehearsal on The Voice on Monday (April 17) by sharing her own personal struggles with acceptance, along with an explosive rendition of the 1975 Eric Carmen classic “All By Myself.”
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Opting to sing the 1996 Celine Dion version of the ballad, originally written by Carmen, it was still an ambitious song choice for the Carrollton, Texas native, but one she called “healing.” Dayne shared that being on The Voice helped her feel “included and loved,” which could be expressed in this song.
“When Kylee came on, she was real cute, real shy, and I thought, ‘Well, she’s gonna have a little bitty voice, probably,’” said McEntire during the pre-recorded rehearsal and interview.
During the rehearsals, McEntire appeared visibly moved by Dayne’s story and voice, and began crying. “You really touched my heart,” said McEntire. “That’s the biggest thing, is to capture somebody in the audience to where they’re sobbing or laughing or crying. Get some emotion out of them, and you did it for me.”
Dayne’s coach Blake Shelton knew her performance would go far from McEntire’s initial reaction.
“Kylee definitely has a connection to this song,” said Shelton. “She made Reba cry, so that tells you the effect that this song has on people when they hear Kylee singing it.”
The singer was up against her fellow Team Blake contestant Walker Wilson, who took on the 1977 Waylon Jennings classic “I Ain’t Living Long Like This.”
Of the two singers, McEntire said, “Kylee and Walker are in two different lanes, maybe two different interstates. They’re just great.”
Singing through the lyrics, Dayne hit all the highest notes in the song, particularly around the emotive chorus, soaring through All by myself / Don’t wanna be / All by myself /Anymore.
Though, the final decision of who would make it to the Playoffs round was up to Shelton, some of the other coaches offered their feedback. Coach Niall Horan said both performers were able to “rip the roof off the joint” but gravitated more toward Dayne’s performance.
“Kylee, I thought you absolutely nailed it,” said Horan, who added that he would choose her as the winner of the Knockouts round. “You really got in there, and you just kept going, and it was incredible.”
Coach Chance the Rapper added that though she “got a little pitchy,” her performance still blew him away. “You’re technically skilled in a way where your pitch is always perfect,” said Chance, taking into account her previous performances, “and you just feel comfortable up there.”
Shelton ultimately chose Dayne because, he said she “sang the hell out of the song.” He added, “You want somebody who’s willing to lay it all out there and swing for the fence like that.”
Photos by Tyler Golden / NBC
