‘The Voice': Gyth Rigdon and Hootie & the Blowfish Duet on ‘Hold My Hand’
The Voice's Season 16 finale seriously brought the muscle on Tuesday night (May 21): In addition to scoring celebrity duets for each of its Top 4 finalists the night of the big winner reveal, the show also trotted out some of the most wildly popular names in music for pure performance value—namely Taylor Swift, the Jonas Brothers and BTS.
So, anticipation was high, indeed, but the finalists were able to match the energy. With Blake Shelton having three contestants in the finals, the show ended up being far more dominated by country, despite the pop powerhouses in the house.
A clever example of blending both pop and country, however, was fan favorite Gyth Rigdon's performance, in which he appeared with Darius Rucker—and not Darius Rucker as we've known him for some time now, but the Hootie Darius Rucker, with the Blowfish. They took on the easygoing "Hold My Hand" from 1994, which holds up pretty well for a 25-year-old hit.
Rigdon, who's won a following that guided him all the way to the Top 4 (and, eventually, to the Top 2), has a pleasantly flexible voice that's served him taking mighty covers on the show such as Lee Greenwood's revered anthem "God Bless the U.S.A." and a very touching rendition of Earl Thomas Conley's "Once in a Blue Moon." While he was a silky and grooving match to Rucker's own easy-to-like vocals, Rigdon unfortunately lost out to Team John Legend's Maelyn Jarmon.
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