State Champ Radio The Voice
This week marked the start of the Playoffs rounds on season 25 of The Voice and the show brought in some serious ringers on Monday night (April 22) to help cut down each coach’s team from five to three singers before the live, public-vote rounds begin.
Team John Legend teed up a veteran of the franchise in Colombian superstar Maluma, who has been a coach on two seasons of La Voz, in both his native country and in Mexico. Meanwhile, Team Dan + Shay got a boost from rapper Saweetie, with each guest bringing their own unique set of skills to the gig.
According to EW, Maluma seemed completely at ease with the job, serving up positive notes and encouragement and some pro tips on performance and setting the mood. In a preview video that dropped before the show aired, Maluma had a lot of good advice for the Team members, from encouraging them to write their own songs to suggesting they ditch their instruments while performing live to focus on their vocals.
Trending on Billboard
That experience came through when Nathan Chester was prepping his powerhouse cover of the Beatles’ “Oh! Darling.” After Legend — whom Maluma dubbed “Juan Leyenda” — suggested that Chester put more urgency into his performance, Maluma seconded that emotion and offered up a technical note about stepping back from the mic a bit to let his voice truly shine. The dynamic due clearly were on to something, as Chester made it to the Live rounds.
Maluma also seemed to bond with Venezuelan-born singer Mafe, who stepped up majorly with a moving version of Adele’s “Someone Like You,” but failed to make the final cut; the other Team Legend Playoffs members include Bryan Olesen and Zoe Levert.
EW noted that while rapper Saweetie seemed to be an odd choice to work alongside country duo Dan + Shay, they had a good chemistry and the “Best Friend” MC seemed to really have a vibe with the female singers on the pair’s team, offering them such poetic advice as “there’s no deadline to dreams.” When 17-year-old Anya True began rehearsing her take on Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” Saweetie helpfully suggested more eye contact to connect with the studio audience.
Admittedly not a country aficionado, Saweetie suggested that singer Karen Waldrup try to focus less on being technically perfect, but instead “strive for personality,” which she definitely did on her cover of Lainey Wilson’s “Heart Like a Truck.” That was enough to punch Waldrup’s ticket through, along with Madison Curbelo and Tae Lewis.
The Playoffs roll on next week with performances from Team Reba and Team Chance.
Check out some of Monday night’s performances from Team Legend and Team Dan + Shay below.
[embedded content]
[embedded content]
[embedded content]
[embedded content]
[embedded content]
For a band that split in 1970, the Beatles seem to be everywhere right now.
Last year, the Fab Four released their final recording, “Now And Then,” which gave the band their first No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay in more than 50 years, a leader on the Official U.K. Singles Chart which extended their record as the British act with the most leaders (18). It was also the longest-ever gap between No. 1 singles for any act, at 54 years.
Then, last week, confirmation that Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s 1970 documentary Let It Be would be released for streaming on Disney+ from May 8, restored by Peter Jackson and the Kiwi director’s team.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The Beatles’ music got another boost — and an update — during the Playoffs of NBC’s The Voice, when Nathan Chester ripped out a classic.
Trending on Billboard
For the latest episode, which aired Monday night (April 22), Chester gave an acrobatic performance of “Oh! Darling,” which appears on the Beatles’ Abbey Road album.
Chester, looking sharp in a retro, green suit, brought soul to his rendition, delivered high notes with style, and busted out some eye-watering splits. Think prime James Brown.
The Chicago, IL native hones his talents as a professional singer on cruise ships. It shows. During the Blind Auditions, he impressed with a performance of Al Green’s “Take Me to the River,” earning a two-chair turn.
“I’m always waiting for someone to inspire me, excite me,” coach John Legend said at the time. “When I heard you singing, I turned very quickly because I was like, this man’s got it.”
Guided by Legend, Chester performed Elvin Bishop’s “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” in the Knockouts.
And what is Chester comfortable singing? Jazz, opera, golden age of musical theater, funk, soul, Motown, he explained following his Blind Audition. It turns out, he’s just fine with the Beatles. And if he was to make an album, he’d want to bring back “the James Brown-style of Motown.” We got a glimpse of that on Monday night.
Watch below.
[embedded content]
Joel and Benji Madden. Lisa and Jessica Origliasso. Matt and Luke Goss. Tegan and Sara.
Twins, rock stars, standouts. Justin and Jeremy Garcia will be keen to join the crew.
The teenage San Francisco Bay Area brothers have cruised into the Knockouts round of this 25th season of The Voice, with a natural blend of harmonies and wholesomeness.
The 17-year-olds landed their Blind Audition with a cover of One Direction’s “Story of My Life,” catching the attention of coaches Chance the Rapper, Reba McEntire and newcomers Dan + Shay for a three-chair turn (only John Legend was unmoved).
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“From the first time I heard you guys harmonizing, and I found out that it was two people, I was like, ‘We have to turn around. This is amazing,’” remarked Shay Mooney.
Those words of support helped the Garcia Twins choose Dan + Shay as their coaches this season.
In the Battles, the Garcias went up again another Garcia, 19-year-old Frank Garcia, with a performance of “Million Reasons” by Lady Gaga.
Trending on Billboard
Frank delivered in a big way, and advanced. As the twins walked off the stage, defeated, McEntire used her Steal. “I wanted y’all so bad,” she enthused. “I love your harmonies, I love that you’re brothers, and it just sounds so good. I want to work with you so bad. Welcome to Team Reba.”
For these slippery Knockouts, the Filipino American pair performed Callum Scott’s “You Are the Reason,” going up against Team McEntire’s Zeya, who sang “River” by Bishop Briggs.
“Zeya, you did a great job,” coach McEntire remarked afterwards. “I would’ve loved to have seen you stay in one position in that song, but your voice is great. You know that.”
The brothers were involved in another plot twist, this time stepping out of their harmonies and splintering for individual runs. Coach McEntire was first out of her chair for a standing ovation.
“Y’all are cute as a button,” she said. “I thought you did a great job. There were a few little things where I thought you might’ve gotten lost, but congratulations on pulling this off. You did a wonderful job.”
Not only did they not get lost, they’re now on a straight-forward path. McEntire selected the brothers to advance to the Playoffs.
“It was a hard decision because Zeya is so good,” McEntire explained. “But I had to choose Justin and Jeremy because of the uniqueness of their act. Everybody’s a great singer, but we have to have something a little different and going with the brothers was part of my strategy.”
Watch the performance on NBC‘s The Voice below.
[embedded content]
Season 25 of NBC’s The Voice has entered the cutthroat business of the Knockouts.
It’s time for the contestants to get the job done or get out. And decision time for the coaches, who have to make the hardest of cuts, or choose when to steal.
“It gets so hard to make a decision in the Knockouts,” coach John Legend said on Monday night’s episode (April 8). “Everybody’s so good, everybody survived the Battle. Nobody deserves to go home.”
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
If it’s tough for the cast, it’s a blast for viewers at home.
On night one of the Knockouts, newbies Dan + Shay learned that they had some tough calls to make. Teammates Anya True (singing “Runaway” by Aurora) and Kyle Schuesler (“Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur) went toe-to-toe, with True getting the win.
Trending on Billboard
The country artists had to make a decision on Frank Garcia, who sang El Triste” by José José, and Olivia Rubini, who covered “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John.
Rubini took the Rocket Man’s classic song to another level, by singing it in a higher key, a suggestion of mega mentor Keith Urban. With it, she delivered a one-two. “There’s something special about what Olivia did,” Shay Mooney remarked, “she showed us that she was very coachable, that she was ready to go to that next level.” Her voice, added Dan Smyers, “just inherently has a bit of a retro thing to it. She was spot-on with all of her notes.”
Olivia, remarked Smyers, “I feel like that came such a long way from rehearsals.”
Rubini cruises through.
Dan + Shay served as mentors in season 20, and make their coaching debut on the show this season, where they’re joined by returning coaches Reba McEntire, John Legend and Chance the Rapper.
New episodes of The Voice air Mondays on NBC.
Watch below.
[embedded content]
[embedded content]
At this point in his career, Keith Urban is a singing competition pro. He was a vocal coach on three seasons of the Australian edition of The Voice, and spent four seasons as a judge on American Idol.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
That’s why he was the perfect selection for a mega mentor on season 25 of NBC’s The Voice, helping the contestants prepare for the Knockout Rounds starting on April 8. “It’s such a family vibe on The Voice,” the “Blue Ain’t Your Color” singer tells Billboard, noting that he loved working with coaches Chance the Rapper and John Legend, as well as his fellow country stars Reba McEntire and Dan + Shay.
As a veteran of the singing competition space, he knows that mentorship is personal, opting against “blanket advice” for the contestants. “You have to meet each artist where they’re at. What’s consistent is knowing what advice to take or to discard,” he explains. “I’m sure the coaches would agree that nobody has all the answers. Particularly, if you’re doing something unique, chances are that nobody understands yet. A lot of artists get a lot of ‘You have to change this and change that.’ Sometimes, you don’t have to change anything at all. You have to keep working and make a better version of what already is.”
Trending on Billboard
Navigating advice from all directions is a “challenge” Urban himself experienced throughout his career, adding that it’s important to be selective with your inner circle. “You can be really stubborn and immovable on certain things but that’s going to keep you stuck. Then, other times, you’d hear someone’s advice and think maybe that’s what you should do and you do it and then you find yourself to be lost and that the advice didn’t work for you,” he says. “For me, the most important thing was having people around me that I trust. Honestly, even family and friends will often have a little bias — positive or negative. You can have some friends that are super jealous or they might have a bias and they’ll give you advice that’s actually not very good. Having people around me that I really, really trust their opinions helped the most in my career.”
As for McEntire and Dan + Shay’s country takeover on The Voice, Urban isn’t surprised. “It’s reflective of the growing popularity of country music as a genre, not just nationally but all around the world,” he says proudly. “It’s extraordinary watching it take off like it’s doing.”
While he’s helping aspiring artists at the beginning of their careers, the four-time Grammy winner is continuing his own illustrious career, as he’s slated to soon release a new album, which will include the songs “Straight Line” and “Messed Up As Me.”
“It’s always fun for me,” he says when asked how he stays passionate about making music after all these years. “I know it sounds crazy, but I get more excited now to write a song than I ever did. Even making the current record was a crazy mix of fear, excitement, discovery, curiosity, passion — just everything. I went through everything with this record, because I’ve never made this record. I’ve never seen this day. We’ve had plenty of fun but we’ve never had this one. And that’s just how I live my life. Every single day is a brand new blank canvas.”
He also stressed the importance of staying in touch with how he felt when he was first beginning his journey in music. “A quick example is when I went into the record company to play my new album the other day for about 50 people,” he recalls. “I wanted to print out the lyrics to every song and while it was a lot of work, I didn’t want to have somebody do it and I wanted to do it myself. So, I stapled all the lyrics together and put together this massive presentation. It felt like putting up my own posters at the beginning of my career. If you lose that feeling, you do start to become jaded and you get bored and your passion just disappears. For me, my passion stays so long as I keep doing the things I did at the beginning and it keeps it exciting.”
Catch Urban during The Voice Knockouts, which begin on Monday (April 8) at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, before it streams the following day on Peacock.
Keith Urban is set to serve as a mega mentor on season 25 of NBC’s The Voice. The two-time CMA entertainer of the year winner will join a country music-heavy lineup of leaders on the show, including coaches Reba McEntire and Dan+Shay, in addition to fellow coaches John Legend and Chance the Rapper. Explore Explore […]
Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat‘s 2008 hit “Lucky” is already the epitome of a love song, but on an upcoming episode of The Voice, two of Dan + Shay‘s team members added an even more romantic layer to the track by making it bilingual.
Madison Curbelo and Kyle Schuesler take the stage to perform the hit in the Battles round, trading off verses on acoustic guitar — with Curbelo performing in Spanish and Schuesler performing in English, before both of them come together to sing a bilingual chorus.
“I believed you,” coach John Legend told Schuesler when he admitted he never performed in Spanish before. “When I’m able to just enjoy and not overthink it, when it’s in my heart and not my head, that’s when I know it’s great and that’s what I felt.”
Trending on Billboard
Chance the Rapper was blown away by the performance, giving a piece of advice to the duo’s coaches, Dan + Shay. “Both of you guys could win the entire competition, and neither of you guys should leave and I think John is going to try and steal Kyle, so if I were Dan + Shay, I would use my Playoff Pass right now,” he said, referring to a once-per-coach pass that allows both contestants to stay in the competition, with one advancing to the Knockout rounds while the other goes straight to the Playoffs.
“Stay out of this! Enough from you,” Legend then shouted at Chance, as his plan was clearly foiled.
It was then time for Dan + Shay to make a decision. “I am so proud of you both. This was definitely the most cohesive performance so far,” Dan Smyers told the duo. “I feel like your individual performances were incredible but together, it was just so locked in. I felt the energy, I felt the magic, I felt the chemistry between the two of you guys when you were singing. When we left rehearsals the other day, Shay and I were like, ‘They both deserve to win this show.’ Just like Chance said, you guys are incredible. This is a tough decision.”
“We didn’t sign up for heartbreak,” Shay Mooney. “Kyle, I feel like you’ve really come out of your shell, even from just the beginning of this. Madison, you are an absolute ray of sunshine. I can’t believe that we’re lucky enough to have you on Team Dan + Shay.”
Check out the full clip above, and find out what Dan + Shay decided to do on the next episode of The Voice, which airs on Monday (March 25) at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
The Voice 2024 has entered the Battles phase. And, for two Team Dan + Shay hopefuls, a fight to the end with a twist.
Karen Waldrup, a Mandeville, Louisiana native, all turbo power, and Ryan Argast, a Plainfield, Illinois man with range and gravel in his voice, were sent into the ring with a cover of Dan + Shay‘s 2023 number “Save Me The Trouble”.
The contestants impressed the coaches with their obvious talent, and earned a few hollers with a smoking hot conclusion. “That was just steamy at the end,” Chance the Rapper remarked.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“That’s better than the original version,” Dan Smyers insisted.
“That was so good. The energy, the passion, the power coming out of you two,” John Legend said. The rasp in Argast’s voice is his “superpower,” he enthused. Though he’s “mad he didn’t turn” for Waldrup, whose tone and vibrato worked magic. Legend would chose the latter, if he had the option.
Trending on Billboard
Reba McEntire did turn for Waldrup. “I think you’re fantastic,” she remarked. And there’s a lot of love for the “growl” in Argast’s voice.
That performance was “awesome,” Chance chimed, though the pair had mismatching “energy levels.” Karen, he continued, has a “true talent. It was like there was a storm around you and you were just shining through it.” The Chicago rapper was quietly kicking himself for not turning for her when he had the chance. The final moments of the Battle were “steamy,” he reiterated, and exactly what the cameras adore.
Dan + Shay had the last word. Argast’s “presence on stage is incredible,” claimed Smyers, while Waldrup “rose to the occasion,” belting out a “guy’s song.”
It’s a voice that reminds Mooney of old country, classic stuff he grew up listening to. “I love that sound, it’s very unique.” Argast’s voice, he continued, is “powerhouse.”
With the kind words out the way, a decision had to be made. They chose Waldrup.
Dan + Shay are the newbies on this 25th season of NBC’s The Voice, joined by returning coaches Reba McEntire, John Legend and Chance the Rapper.
Watch the Battle below.
[embedded content]
Getting through the Blind Auditions on season 25 of The Voice is enough of a boost. But on Monday night (March 11), New Orleans native and mega-Swiftie Zoe Levert got double-gifted when she got a last-minute chair turn from coach John Legend. Levert, 20, scored a slot on Team Legend with her confident take on […]
Books, as we know, shouldn’t be judged by their cover. Ronnie Wilson reminds us not to judge someone by their day job.
On Monday night (March 11), Wilson stepped into the bright lights of NBC’s The Voice’s blind auditions and shone right back with his rendition of Zayn’s “Pillowtalk”.
Wilson’s soulful cover was a showcase of control, range, emotion. The full package.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
John Legend turned first, then Reba McEntire. Though Dan + Shay and Chance The Rapper were clearly enjoying the art, their chairs didn’t budge.
The 28-year-old singer is proud and out, originally hailing from South Carolina, and now calls Atlanta, GA home.
“That was unbelievable,” Shay Mooney remarked after the performance.
Trending on Billboard
There was more “unbelievable” to come. Wilson pointed to his influences from gospel and “a lot of country music.” And when he’s not he’s blowing minds, he’s counting beans.
Wilson is a full-time accountant, a vocation that no-one saw coming.
In a previous life, Legend too was “crunching numbers, making Powerpoint presentations” as a management consultant, a fun fact he hoped would find a connection with the hopeful. “I know what that’s like,” he articulated.
“You created moments by being creative with the melody, you made the song your own and made it a competition song by the way you did it,” Legend explained. “I just feel like you’ve got fresh taste, great ideas musically and stylistically,” he continued. “I feel like you’re going to do so well on the show.”
Not to be left out, McEntire leaned on her 50 years in the country game. “You have a quality in your voice that just makes a person feel good,” she remarked. “You’re absolutely wonderful.”
In the end, there could be only one coach. Wilson went with Team Legend.
Watch Wilson’s performance below.
[embedded content]
