‘The Voice’ Recap: Reba McEntire Moved to Tears by Singer’s Emotional Tribute to His Mom
The coaches round out their teams with some big voices on the last night of the Blind Auditions
The teams are all full. On the seventh and final night of The Voice Season 24's blind auditions, each of the four coaches — John Legend, Gwen Stefani, Niall Horan and Reba McEntire — rounded out their squads with some solid new voices.
Here's a look at how the last round of blinds played out!
Huntley (33, Fredericksburg, VA)
Song: "She Talks to Angels" by the Black Crowes
The coaches might have had very few spaces on their team going into the seventh round of blind auditions, but they wasted no time turning around for this rock singer with a gentle gravelly sound and a so-smooth range reach. The father of two, who came in with a mission to impress his children by getting a yes, had each of the coaches dancing with his ditty. Reba compared his sound to that of Chris Stapleton, while Niall was reminded of James Morrison. Meanwhile, Gwen said he sounded a bit like Bradley Nowell from Sublime with his signature rasp, and John said he's the most radio-ready auditioner they'd yet seen — so, basically, all of the coaches were buttering the guy up in a big way. Ultimately, they should've been paying compliments to his daughter, Stella, because it was she who decided which team this four-chair-turner would join.
Team: Niall Horan
Azán (28, Dallas, TX)
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Song: "Golden" by Jill Scott
By day, this contestant's career title is quality control specialist, and while that might be a term of art for the finance world, it also applied to what she achieved with her joyous performance of this soul song. Both Reba and John were taken by her graceful runs and infusion of personality into the number. Ultimately, Azán, who married her high school sweetheart and has a history in jazz and high step dance styles, decided to take her radiant energy over to John's squad.
Team: John Legend
Eli Ward (21, Waterloo, IL)
Song: "Bruises" by Lewis Capaldi
Though his vocals weren't the tightest of the blinds, this auditioner possessed a tenderness to his tones that caught the attention of both Reba and Gwen. Though Gwen noted that his performance pretty much fell apart as soon the coaches turned and took him by surprise, she still thought he had enough raw talent to work with in the next stage of this competition.
Team: Gwen Stefani
Brailey Lenderman (33, Nashville, TN)
Song: "If It Makes You Happy" by Sheryl Crow
After experiencing some of the uglier parts of the music industry by being told to lose weight, dress a certain way and otherwise conform to certain expectations, this auditioner decided to do things her own way. She described her genre of choice as coffee shop pop, and she showed what that might sound like with this slowed-down rendition of what is usually a bit of a banger. Gwen praised her textures, while being honest that some of her note choices were a bit off, but Niall thought her decision to take a big swing with the song choice showed real promise.
Team: Niall Horan
Colby Cobb (19, Centre, AL)
Song: "Somebody Else" by The 1975
This contestant's lifelong goal was to be a doctor, but he also wanted to change lives with his music and decided to give it a go with this slow-marching love song that showed off his skills navigating the scales. Unfortunately, there were just a few too many pitchy points in his performance to earn a turn.
Team: N/A
Dylan Carter (21, St. George, SC)
Song: "I Look to You" by Whitney Houston
This song choice might seem a bit odd, since this contestant seems to be a country kid who came in with hopes of joining Reba's team. However, it held a special significance for him, as it was the song his mother wanted him to sing at her funeral — and when she unexpectedly passed away of a heart condition, he honored her in the way she wanted. This audition was the first time he sang the number since then. His emotional performance wasn't pitch perfect, but the power of his voice still earned all four chairs turned at a time when most of the coaches had just one spot left. Reba was moved to tears by the feeling in Dylan's delivery, and while the other coaches made solid pitches to sway him, it was already a foregone conclusion that he would become Reba's final recruit.
Team: Reba McEntire
Claire Heilig (30, Virginia Beach, VA)
Song: "Tennessee Orange" by Megan Moroney
This singer, who used social media to make her stand in the industry before joining The Voice, easily captured Gwen's attention with her steady sound and natural rasp. She didn't have to fight for Claire, who came in wanting to work with her anyway, but if Reba's team wasn't already full, she would have gone to bat to bring her "Barbie" singer over.
Team: Gwen Stefani
Lennon Vanderdoes (27, Phoenix, AZ)
"The Night We Met" by Ben Schneider
It took barely five words of the lyric for this performance to have Niall, Gwen and John all fighting for this steely singer. He had a lot going for himself: tender tones, ease with range, and personality to spare throughout the performance, and all three coaches were enthusiastic about possibly filling out their teams with this talent. Niall was especially jazzed about how "pure" Lennon's voice was, and, fortunately for him, Lennon came in with admiration for Niall already, which made the decision easy.
Team: Niall Horan
Taylor Deneen (23, Oklahoma City, OK)
Song: "Redbone" by Donald Glover and Ludwig Göransson
The last two coaches with spaces on their teams both gave it a go to win over this groovy R&B singer who threw every note in the book into the mix with this high-power performance. If that wasn't impressive enough, she also had a custom number written for the occasion of being on the show. Gwen gave her best effort to grab this last-but-not-least auditioner, but her vocals simply made her a shoo-in for John's crew.
Team: John Legend
Katie Wheatley (27, Owasso, OK)
Song: "The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World
This auditioner made history the second she took the stage by being the first pregnant person to try out in the blinds. Unfortunately, despite presenting a fun, dialed-down rendition of this rock number, it just wasn't enough to convince Gwen to spend her last spot.
Team: N/A
Calla Prejean (22, Nashville, TN)
Song: "You're So Vain" by Carly Simon
Closing out the blind auditions was this singer who has done every odd job imaginable to make it through to this point, including working for country singer Sara Evans. For her audition song, Calla went with a song that she considered to be an audacious anthem, and she matched that intensity with her opening, earning the last spot on Gwen's roster right away. She especially got the coaches grooving when she leaned into the lower notes and then flitted into a high-note surprise.
Team: Gwen Stefani
Previous episode recaps:
Team Standings:
Team John Legend
Deejay Young | Mara Justine | Emphraim Owens | Stee
Claudia B. | Talakai | Kaylee Shimizu | Lila Forde
JaRae Womack | Elizabeth Evans | Willie Gomez | Caleb Sasser
Azán | Taylor Deneen
Team Gwen Stefani
Joslynn Rose | Kristen Brown | Juliette Ojeda | Jenna Marquis
Chechi Sarai | Rudi | Jason Arcilla | BIAS
Jacquie Roar | Brandon Montel | Kara Tenae | Eli Ward
Claire Heilig | Calla Prejean
Team Niall Horan
Sophia Hoffman | Alexa Wildish | Olivia Minogue | Julia Roome
Reid Zingale | Noah Spencer | Laura Williams | LVNDR
Tanner Massey | Nini Iris | Olivia Eden | Huntley
Brailey Lenderman | Lennon Vanderdoes
Team Reba McEntire
Jordan Rainer | Jackson Snelling | Ruby Leigh | Mac Royals
Tom Nitti | Alison Albrecht | Ms. Monét | Rachele Nguyen
Angelina Nazarian | Al Boogie | CORii | Crystal Nicole
Caitlin Quisenberry | Dylan Carter
The Voice Season 24 airs on NBC on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET and Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET. The episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
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