‘The Voice': Blake Shelton Amazed by Miami-Based Manny Keith’s Performance [Watch]
Heading into the final round of Season 21's Blind Auditions on The Voice on Monday (Oct. 4), it seemed clear that coach Blake Shelton was in search of a pop artist. And, he found that in Ariana Grande superfan Manny Keith.
Keith impressed Shelton with a cover of Dua Lipa’s “Break My Heart," which he dedicated to his late mother, who died from cancer in 2017.
The Miami resident put a male voice on the song that is usually sung by a female artist, making the tune his own. He barely got through the end of the first verse before a grinning Shelton swiftly turned his chair around and continued bobbing his head along to the performance.
Afterward, Shelton was seemingly surprised that his fellow coaches didn’t turn their chairs around for Keith, especially Grande, who made it known that she was digging the performance while facing away from the Season 21 hopeful.
John Legend and Kelly Clarkson also didn’t turn around for Keith, but Legend insisted he was impressed with the contestant's vocal delivery, calling his voice both “inviting” and “welcoming.”
“I’m so excited that you’re on The Voice,” Legend exclaimed ahead of Shelton’s comments.
“You sounded amazing and hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to steal you at some point,” Grande also noted.
“Ariana looked over at me and she was like, ‘He’s really good, and at that moment I was like, ‘Bring it on,’” Shelton said, speaking to Keith. “I hit my button and I think I scared her. I think she was intimidated.”
“Anyway, I think you're an incredible singer. I think you may have been in John Legend's closet picking out his shirts and jackets and stuff,” he quipped before pointing out Keith’s boots, “But [you do] have the cowboy boots on! Anyway, you’re stuck with the loser-y eight-time champion of The Voice. Welcome to Team Blake!”
Where it stands, Shelton has only two spots open before capping out his team of twelve. Although not all of his members are country performers, Shelton attributed having different style artists on his team to his growth as a coach.
The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8PM ET on NBC.
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