Joe Henley just did his coach proud. During The Voice‘s first-ever Cut Week, the country singer took the stage to perform Keith Whitley’s “Don’t Close Your Eyes,” impressing both his own coach, Riley Green, and the others on the panel.
“Oh my gosh. From the first notes out of your mouth, that natural style, that natural tone of your voice is just incredible,” Kelly Clarkson said. “If you’re not in the finale, I would be mind blown.”
Green agreed, praising Henley for how “naturally talented” he is.
“You haven’t been doing it a long time, but Keith Whitley does some really unique things,” he said. “To be able to go and do what he does is really difficult. You can somehow do that and then go do your own thing.”
“If I could sing like you I wouldn’t answer the phone when Adam called,” Green continued of his fellow Voice coach, Adam Levine. “I would be so rich and famous. Awesome performance, dude.”
What to Know About Riley Green’s ‘Voice’ Team Ahead of the Live Shows
Henley’s performance came during Cut Week, a new, high-stakes phase of the competition.
Ahead of the performances, each coach selected two artists from their team to automatically advance to the Lives. The remaining five artists were then forced to perform for one remaining spot.
Henley was one of those artists for Team Riley alongside Allie Rae, Everett Bounds, Keiyana Osmond, and Kayleigh Matthews. He wasn’t the only one who impressed, though, leading to an incredible tough decision for his coach.
“Just when I thought I was close to making my mind up, Joe comes out and does exactly what I asked him to do,” Green told the cameras.
Ultimately, though, Green decided that Henley was the artist he wanted to move forward with.
“Every performance today was great. I remember when I saw the song that was being done by this person, I said to myself, ‘If this is right, this is who I’m going to have to go with,’” Green told his contestants. “Joe, you crushed it, man.”
Green noted that, while it “was a really tough decision,” he simply “had to go with Joe.”
“Joe’s voice is warm,” he explained, “but also it has a cut to it that will make you sit your beer down and look up to see who’s singing.”
Now, Henley will join teammates Cade Mower and Ferryn and Brinkley in the Live Shows.
The Voice airs Mondays on NBC.
Photo by Cory Osborne/NBC
The post “If You’re Not in the Finale, I’d Be Mind Blown”: Riley Green’s ‘Voice’ Contestant Wows With Keith Whitley Cover to Advance to the Lives appeared first on American Songwriter.