‘The Voice’: See Competitor’s Impressive Bruno Mars Cover in Blind Audition
Night two of Blind Auditions on The Voice Season 15 is in the books, with Tuesday’s September 25th episode showcasing a real life soul-pop survivor.
Houston’s DeAndre Nico earned a resounding four-chair turn from coaches Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson and Adam Levine, a rare feat achieved by his slow-burning cover of the Bruno Mars ballad “When I Was Your Man.” Nico, who’s family suffered through two days with no power, food or water after Hurricane Harvey struck the Gulf Coast in 2017, sang with a dynamic, wounded vocal that was equal parts full-bodied gospel and light-as-feather falsetto. The coaches all tried to secure him for their own teams, with Clarkson praising his style as “sweet and sincere,” but Nico ultimately chose to become the first member of Team Levine.
Meanwhile, a Nashville-based hopeful narrowly missed making it through the show’s first round, but was brought back into the fray by Kelsea Ballerini. Ele Ivory, who works part time at the Caverns music venue (home of PBS’ Emmy-winning Bluegrass Underground) and sings regularly at the Bluebird Café, impressed the coaches with her cabaret-cool rendition of Julia Michaels’ “Jump,” playing the keyboard as she sang. Due to some pitch issues, Levine and company concluded that she wasn’t quite ready — but Ballerini aims to help with that. Ivory is now the second artist to join Ballerini for The Comeback Stage, an online-only addition to the show which will eventually re-inject one near-miss contestant into the competition later on. It airs immediately following each episode of the full show.
NBC’s The Voice returns with more blind auditions next week on Monday, October 1st at 8 p.m. ET.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcL95qyGqbc