‘The Voice': Blake Shelton Makes Difficult Choice Between Cecily Henningan and Selkii
The Voice season 16 Battle Rounds continue this week, with Tuesday (Apr. 9) ushering in the final few episodes of the coaches pitting their team members against each other in epic duets—and training them with the help of celebrity advisors.
Team Blake Shelton enlisted Brooks & Dunn to help groom the hopefuls, and he's been giving the country duo some pause for thought, as his team is full of "dark horses" that don't necessarily fall neatly into the realm of country music.
Two such artists took the stage this evening: Cecily Henningan and Selkii. Hennigan, a teenager with a preternaturally mature voice, came to attention first for a viral video singing her order to a take-out window (really), and auditioned for the Blinds with Jewel's moody "Foolish Games." Meanwhile, Selkii, a singer from South Africa, belted out Macy Gray's "I Try" in the Blinds and ended up on Shelton's team because (apparently, solely) her husband said that was the team she should choose.
Needless to say, neither of these women lean particularly country. However, both showed up for rehearsals in stylish hats, prompting the cowboy-hatted Kix Brooks to approve: "Cool. I want a hat trade already."
Fashion aside, Shelton assigned them Avril Lavigne's "Head Above Water," noting that the song "not only shows the intimate side to their voice, it also shows the range of their voice."
Shelton showed yet again that he's needlessly placed in the country box, as the two singers brought a velvety, powerful dual force to the tune.
"I've been torn on this one since we started rehearsing," Shelton observed. "Both of you surprised me." He eventually gave his vote to Selkii.
"Selkii definitely knows who she is as an artist. I think she's gonna sneak up on the other coaches and she's gonna be somebody that's gonna be around for a long time," Shelon explained.
However, Hennigan did not go home without regrets. "I would have stolen her if I'd had a steal," lamented coach John Legend to coach Kelly Clarkson...who replied, "I would have stolen her if I'd had a steal!" Both had used their steals up, alas.
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