The first Knockout Round performance of The Voice season 28 brought Reba McEntire to tears. The country superstar paired Leyton Robinson and Aubrey Nicole, her singers of the same genre, together for the high-stakes round.
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Both McEntire and Mega Mentor Joe Walsh helped the ladies prepare for their performance, thus setting Robinson and Nicole up for success.
The contestants got to select their own songs for the performance. Robinson decided to sing Maren Morris’ “I Could Use a Love Song,” while Nicole selected Martina McBride’s “I’m Gonna Love You Through It.”
While both women delivered show-stopping performances, it was Nicole’s time on stage that moved McEntire to tears. In rehearsals, Nicole revealed that she selected the emotional track in the wake of her dad’s battle with cancer, a hardship McEntire knows all too well.
Back in August, McEntire suffered heartbreak when Brandon Blackstock died following a cancer battle. Kelly Clarkson’s former husband, Blackstock was the son of Narvel Blackstock, to whom McEntire was married from 1989 to 2015.
Addressing Nicole, McEntire spoke through tears as she discussed how the song touched her personally.
“I do know this song. Martina’s a good friend of mine,” McEntire said. “I lost my oldest son because he did not win with cancer. That was a real reminder that life goes on. We sing songs about it so we can remember the ones around us that we love so much and that we lean on at times like this.”
Nicole’s ability to put that emotion in her performance prompted McEntire to pick her as the winner of the Knockout. She’s the first of 16 contestants who will move onto the Playoffs, the last round before the Live Shows.
Reba McEntire Remembers Brandon Blackstock
McEntire previously spoke out about Blackstock’s death in an Instagram post.
“There is no one else like him, and I’m thankful for the time we had together,” she wrote in part. “His legacy and laughter will be carried on through his family. Rest in peace cowboy. Happy trails to you til we meet again.”
Later, in an interview with People, McEntire called her relationship with her late stepson “precious.”
“I absolutely love that child,” she said. “Along with his mom and dad, I helped raise him… Brandon is sorely missed. Truly missed. With his mischievousness and his love of life, he brought joy to everybody that met him, and we’ll never forget him.”
The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays on NBC.
Photo by Ashley Osborn/NBC
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