Though everybody has their own preferences, it’s hard to beat The Voice when it comes to overall craftiness.
Like shows such as American Idol, the main premise of everything is that talented performers go head to head and someone ultimately gets crowned the winner.
Still, The Voice makes everything more complicated by having the judges compete for contestants—and by letting the judges block one another and steal contestants from each other! Though this is built into the show, it never gets old seeing the judges fight and argue with one another.
And that’s exactly what happened in this performance.
Like any other audition, it began with all the judges’ backs turned to the performer.
After a moment, contestant Gyth Rigdon steps out and begins to sing his own version of “Drift Away,” a song originally by Dobie Gray and famously covered by Uncle Kracker.
Though the song is a pleasant one, it’s something of an unlikely choice for a show like The Voice—typically, the song choices are all about showing off vocal range. Still, Rigdon makes the song his own and injects his own impressive vocal runs into it right away.
Almost immediately, judge Blake Shelton smashes his button to turn around—but with an added twist.
As the song continues, Rigdon keeps performing and the song keeps getting better and better.
Before long, he has another two judges turning around in their chairs as well—this time, it’s Kelly Clarkson and John Legend.
After a few more moments and a couple more stirring vocal runs, the song ends and the audience applauds. Still, it’s time for Legend to realize what has happened to him: he’s been blocked by Shelton!
Right away, Shelton starts laughing at what he’s done.
Although Legend won’t be able to compete for Rigdon’s talent, Clarkson and Legend are still in the game!
The first thing that everybody notices is that Rigdon has something of an unusual first name—and it doesn’t take long for Shelton to make a joke about it.
After that, Rigdon says that he’s disappointed that judge Adam Levine didn’t hit his buzzer, especially because he “hit a high note” just for him! Regardless, it turns out that Rigdon doesn’t just want to sing country music… and Clarkson might have the advantage.
Before long, it’s time for him to make a decision.
After Shelton’s final little pitch, it’s finally time for Rigdon to make a choice.
A moment or two later, his decision is in… and he ultimately goes with Shelton! Although the outcome is a little unexpected, the most remarkable thing about the whole performance is his unique take on an old standard that nobody expected him to pick.
Beyond that though, it’s pretty funny to see John Legend getting hazed by Blake Shelton on his very first day on the job as a new coach! Regardless, we know that Legend will be scooping up some great contenders this season and should add a fun new dynamic to an already amazing show.
Congratulations to Gyth Rigdon on his awesome performance! Watch the whole thing in the clip below:
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