Monday night (Nov. 13), The Voice Season 13 Playoffs kicked into gear. Coaches Blake Shelton and Jennifer Hudson had the honor of kicking off the three-night round, and they will each hand-pick three members to move on to the Top 13 live vote that begins on Nov. 20.
Country fans, of course, had their eyes on Team Blake, which included the return of Natalie Stovall for a second chance.
First up was Red Marlow, who has represented traditional country throughout the run of the show so far. He performed the 1988 heart-tugger “Chiseled in Stone,” by Vern Gosdin, appealing to the audience with his solid honky-tonk sensibilities. A wise move that continued to keep Shelton on his side (as well as Coach Miley Cyrus, who opined that he could win the entire show).
Next was Chloe Kohanski, who made her claim to fame with ’70s rock covers by Fleetwood Mac. It wasn’t surprising that she didn’t choose a country song here, instead selecting “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper. Cyrus here admired her punk rock style, while Shelton nodded approval at the big ending.
Stovall, the aforementioned second chancer, whipped out her fiddle and took the stage with an energetic version of “Callin’ Baton Rouge” by Garth Brooks, a song about touring that Stovall, a road warrior herself, belted out without bothering to reverse the male-oriented gender callouts in the lyrics. Coach Adam Levine calls this the “Blakiest” performance.
Esera Tualolo, the former NFL player who came out as gay after his retirement, approached the anthemic “How Do I Live” by LeAnn Rimes, which he said he related to in terms of fearing repercussions after revealing his true self. Unfortunately, he had rather glaring pitch issues during his performance, and Shelton did not seem impressed.
Following was Mitchell Lee, who tackled the ballad “Heaven” by Bryan Adams. This is a nice song that’s hard to mess up, and indeed, the crowd-pleasing tune additionally made Shelton happy as well, with the coach saying Lee’s performance was solid.
Finally Keisha Renee tied things up with “Love Can Build a Bridge” by the Judds, a personal favorite song of Shelton’s. Her delivery prompted Coach Jennifer Hudson to muse that she was creating a “bridge between gospel and country,” while Shelton himself noted she was special.
So, who made the final cut? Blake selected Renae first and Marlow second….then noted he was in the toughest situation he’s ever been in. In a surprise move, his final choice was Chloe Kohanski, an artist that he stole back in the Knockout rounds.
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This Article Was Originally Posted at www.TasteofCountry.com
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