On a 2015 episode of The Voice, Blake Shelton and season nine runner-up Emily Ann Roberts shared a captivating duet of the Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers‘ 1983 hit “Islands in the Stream.” Throughout their performance, both remained faithful to the original, written by the Bee Gees, with Shelton kicking off the song with Rogers’ opening Baby, when I met you there, was peace unknown / I set out to get you with a fine tooth comb / I was soft inside / There was something going on.
Then Roberts came in with You do something to me that I can’t explain / Hold me closer, and I feel no pain / Every beat of my heart, we got something going on before both sang in unison around the bridge Tender love is blind, it requires a dedication / All this love we feel needs no conversation / We ride it together, ’cause we love one another and chorus.
The two had a natural chemistry moving through each verse and trading off lyrics before repeating the bridge and chorus, then hugged at the end of their performance. Throughout season nine of The Voice, Roberts impressed the coaches and viewers with her performances of Lee Ann Womack and Sons of the Desert’s No. 1 hit “I Hope You Dance,” along with Patsy Cline‘s “She’s Got You,” Patty Loveless’ “Blame It on Your Heart,” The Judds‘ “Why Not Me,” and more before losing to winner Jordan Smith.
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[RELATED: 11 Songs the Bee Gees Wrote, Made Famous by Other Artists]
In 2019, Roberts returned to The Voice and performed her single “Someday Dream” released her debut album Can’t Hide Country in October 2023 before joining her former coach Shelton on his Back to the Honky Tonk Tour in February 2024.
“Emily Ann was on season nine of ‘The Voice’ in 2015,” said Shelton in a statement and joked, “We were both so young.” Shelton added, “She has such a pure country voice and I’m so damn proud to have her on the Back To The Honky Tonk Tour … she’s a perfect fit.”
Roberts added, “It feels like such a full circle moment to be able to open for Blake Shelton. He has been such a supporter of me through the years. I am so thankful for this opportunity.”
[Get Tickets to Blake Shelton’s Back to the Honky Tonk Tour at Stubhub]
Released on Rogers’ 1983 album Eyes That See in the Dark, “Islands in the Stream” was written by the Bee Gees’ Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. Inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s posthumous 1970 novel of the same name, the brothers originally penned “Islands in the Stream” for Marvin Gaye before it became a crossover hit for Parton and Rogers.
“Islands in the Stream” went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Country and Adult Contemporary charts. The song also earned Rogers and Parton an AMA for Favorite Country Single and an ACM for Single of the Year.
Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartMedia
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