‘The Voice': Bryce Leatherwood Joins Blake Shelton’s Team With Impressive Conway Twitty Classic [Watch]
Season 22 of NBC’s The Voice was off to a great start for all the coaches, except for one. Going into the second round of blind auditions, Blake Shelton was the only coach without an artist for his team.
That all changed, however, on Tuesday night (Sept. 24) night, as he reeled in not one, but two singers during the first half of the broadcast. First, Shelton nabbed Kate Kalbach, who auditioned with Kacey Musgraves' “Rainbow.” Her performance aired during the Season 22 premiere, which took place the night before.
Next, the longest-running country coach and eight-time The Voice champion added 22-year-old country singer Bryce Leatherwood from Woodstock, Ga., to his crew. Leatherwood was practically a shoo-in for Shelton, as he took the stage with the Oklahoma native’s version of “Goodbye Time,” originally recorded by Conway Twitty.
Decked out in a black cowboy hat and a matching shirt, Leatherwood showcased his natural country vocals and impressive tone on the classic country hit. Taking his time on each lyric, he demonstrated his impressive upper range midway through his performance, scoring positive comments from Gwen Stefani, who yelled out, “That’s a pretty voice,” and earning his first chair turn from Shelton.
Stefani and John Legend also turned their chairs before the end of Leatherwood’s vocal showcase.
“Well, well, well. Welcome to Team Blake,” Shelton confidently said afterward. “I wanted to get my push in before you got to the chorus, because I could tell you already hit the two tough notes. I was blown away. And, what a great country name — Leatherwood.”
Camila Cabello was the only coach who did not turn for the hopeful, but that didn’t stop her from sharing a few comments of her own.
“You have an incredible voice. There’s just, you have better coaches than me. I know if I’m like, ‘Hey! Sing a Bad Bunny song,' you’re going to wanna kill me. But, you are incredibly talented,” she told Leatherwood.
Stefani, who was fighting to lure Leatherwood to her team, admitted that she didn’t grow up on country music, but she said she was familiar with the song choice because she has heard her country singer husband sing it.
“I didn’t realize that was a cover,” Stefani confessed. “What I like about you is your character. We’re here for the voices, but also here for the personality. I think that’s important even though I’m not country. I’m into country. I’m a part-time Oklahoma girl now and a good coach.”
“You sounded fantastic,” Legend chimed in. “I heard the richness in your voice. No matter what genre you sing, it’s about the charisma you have as an artist. I didn’t want you to waste your experience on this show being on Team Blake. I would be a great coach for you.”
When it came down to Leatherwood having to choose his coach, he didn’t hesitate. He chose Shelton based on their similarities and love of the country genre.
Fans can tune into The Voice Monday and Tuesday nights on NBC.