‘The Voice': Blake Shelton and Jennifer Hudson Go Head-to-Head Over Bluesy Sensation
The Voice's Season 15 Blind Auditions continued this week on Tuesday night (Oct. 2), featuring coaches Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson and Blake Shelton. This week resulted in a couple of unexpected coach clashes over snagging certain contestants.
When smoky, high-pitched vocalist Chris Kroeze, a small-town guy from Wisconsin, took the stage and blasted out a supremely bluesy version of "Pride and Joy" by Stevie Ray Vaughan, both Shelton and Hudson spun their chairs around.
After Levine humorously noted that he had thought Kroeze might be a female at first ("a gruff one," he amended), Shelton and Hudson settled in to debate their respective merits.
"I know my lane," admitted Hudson. "But I heard a bit of blues up in there." She pointed out that his hometown wasn't too far from her own of Chicago, and "I heard a mighty voice," so she was in it to win it.
"I'm from Oklahoma, which is nowhere near Wisconsin," coolly retorted Shelton. "In fact, as a kid, I thought it was called 'West-Consin.' But your singing is electrifying. You can make it into the finale." He threw in a Ricky Skaggs comparison to seal the deal.
After Clarkson noted with a smile that Kroeze's type of vocals was exactly what she likes to listen to with a glass of wine after her kids go to bed, she put forth the big question: Who would he choose for his coach?
"This is really hard for me to say," said Kroeze, but didn't seem to have too hard of a time delivering his decision: Team Blake.
We'll be following all the Voice shenanigans from start to finish this season, with a focus on country music's offerings, so check here each week to see how your favorites are faring. We'll keep you up to date!
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