‘The Voice': Blake Shelton Gets His Rocker for the Season
The Voice's 20th season continued its Blind Auditions on Tuesday (March 9), with Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson, John Legend and Nick Jonas furthering their efforts to build out their respective teams.
The second night of the week's Blind Auditions was woefully light on country music, but a rockin' 23-year-old from Ohio managed to spin three chairs and end up in good hands overall.
Connor Christian established right away that he was a true music aficionado. "My dad loves music, so I was always surrounded by the best, most authentic artists. And when I would put the records on, I would just close my eyes and be like, 'That's gonna be me one day.'"
He related that he'd always had playing music as a goal, and had put his time in gigging, but another talent took over as well: "I was ranked top 20 [as a tennis player] in the state. I got to play four years of college tennis. I wanted to go pro, but these guys are on a whole 'nother level. So I decided to be a full-time tennis coach 'cause it leaves a lot of time for music," he explained.
"Tennis has taught me doesn't matter how talented you are, you still need to work. I've had those times where I didn't get gigs, but I'm going to keep pushing through until I get to that next stage."
His version of Gary Clark Jr.'s smokin' "Bright Lights," on which he accompanied himself on guitar, had Shelton, Clarkson, and Jonas twirled around quickly. "Unbelievable, dude. I would be so proud and so honored to be your coach," marveled Shelton, reminding everyone that he's won in the past with a rock artist (lest anyone forget).
Jonas got a little techy, stating that he has nobody like this on his team, and that "You're an SG guy, I'm an SG guy. It's the only way to go. That's guitar talk, guys," he clarified for those of us in the dark (presumably referring to a specific style of rock guitar).
Christian good-naturedly took all the praise, and revealed that he had his parents behind the scenes watching his performance. "We support him whatever he does," his mom adorably stated. "There's only one thing we've always told him that he could not do, and that was quit."
That statement had Clarkson clapping. "That's right, Mama. I love your mom. That's right, Mama," she stated. "That's a rare thing for an artist to have. Usually their parents are like, 'Please do something else.'"
For all that, however, Christian's three-chair turn resulted in him choosing Shelton, a wise choice even if he isn't planning on going down a country route, given that the country coach has indeed flexed with several artists who fall into the rock realm.
The Voice airs on NBC at 8PM CT each Monday and Tuesday.
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