[Warning: This post contains MAJOR spoilers from Part 4 of the Blind Auditions on Season 28 of The Voice.]
The coaches continued to fill up their teams on the Tuesday, September 30, episode of The Voice. Part 4 of the Blind Auditions brought some more epic performances and some tough decisions for the contestants.
Reba McEntire, Niall Horan, Snoop Dogg, and Michael Bublé fought for the singers they wanted on their teams, and one four-chair turn had all of the coaches buzzing. Scroll down for a recap of the performances and to see where all the teams stand after four nights of auditions.
Toni Lorene
The night’s first audition was from Toni Lorene, a voice actor who plays Cody’s mom on Cocomelon. She performed “Cuz I love You” by Lizzo, receiving chair turns from McEntire, Horan, and Snoop.
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“First of all, you’re an incredible singer,” Niall said. “When you’re behind there, you can hear confidence, and I knew when I spun around, you’d be all over the stage. I’ve had powerful female voices on my team over the seasons and I just love your confidence. You exude it.”
McEntire praised Toni for having a “great range” and said she loved her look as well. For Snoop, “It took me a long time to turn around because I was hearing R&B and soul in your voice, but I was hearing the music kind of conflict with it. On my team, the thing I would do for you is give you music fit for you.”
Horan agreed, adding, “Song choice is so important. There’s a genre you will specifically really like that you want to make a record of and that’s a conversation we need to have.” After hearing all of their pitches, Toni chose Snoop as her coach.
Austin Gilbert
Next up was Austin Gilbert, a self-taught musician and Army veteran, who now works a 9-5 job on weekdays and plays music gigs on the weekend. His performance of Luke Combs‘ “The Kind of Love We Make” received chair turns from Horan, and then Bublé at the last minute.
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“What a great singer I turned around to,” Horan gushed. “Great song choice, perfect for this show, and a country voice that we haven’t really heard yet on this show. Something that has great tone, a lot of power, and can really entertain at the same time.”
McEntire assured Austin she wasn’t “deserting” him and noted, “I already have country artists, so my method of madness is let them fight over you and I will steal you later.”
Bublé said that Austin is “the greatest” and made no wrong choices in his performance. In the end, his pitch won out, and Austin picked Bublé as his coach.
Kenny Iko
Kenny Iko was once in a boy band, but it broke up abruptly. Now out on his own, he auditioned with Bruno Mars‘ “Versace on the Floor.” Snoop was the first to turn, followed by Niall.
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“As far as my team is concerned, I don’t have anything like you, don’t have anything that looks like you, sounds like you, acts like you…” Snoop pointed out. Niall jumped in to say, “I just had to turn for the swooning alone. Great version of the song. Some of those notes you were hitting, Bruno doesn’t even do that on the record. It was amazing.”
While Horan tried to urge Kenny to “think a little bit differently,” the aspiring artist ended up going with Snoop as his coach.
Leyton Robinson
Leyton Robinson, another country artist, took the stage next to sing “Weren’t for the Wind” by Ella Langley. She earned chair turns from Snoop and McEntire, who waited until almost the end of the performance to push her button.
“I turned early because the way you sound, the way you made me feel, the energy that you had moving around on stage, I feel like we belong together,” Snoop raved. Reba called Leyton “cute as a button” and said, “I loved your singing. I have several country artists already on my team, but the more you sang, the more I fell in love with your voice.”
Leyton had a tough choice: Pick the coach in her wheelhouse who already had a lot of country artists on her team, or use a different strategy and go with Snoop. In the end, she unsurprisingly chose McEntire.
Liv Ciara
Liv Ciara, who’s just 16 years old, auditioned with “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter, and none of the coaches turned around.
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The decision not to turn was attributed to song choice. “Hopefully, come back again, try it again, maybe with a different song,” McEntire advised. Horan added, “It was all down to the song choice. I think you had mapped out everything that was going to happen in the song at any given moment and I don’t think that song allows you to do that. Give yourself a little bit more room to do your thing because it’s clear and obvious how good of a singer you are.”
Kirbi
The final audition of the night, Kirbi, was also the only four-chair turn. All four coaches turned around for her rendition of “God Only Knows” by For King and Country.
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“We wait all day for voices like yours,” Horan assured Kirbi. “This is absolutely incredible. From the second run, I was all in. The vocal delivery you gave there was next level.”
McEntire said Kirbi has the “whole package,” adding, “You’re absolutely beautiful. You sing absolutely beautiful. You sound absolutely grounded. We’re so proud to have you here.”
Bublé and Snoop praised Kirbi for staying dedicated to her faith and bringing that to her performance. In the end, though, she picked Horan as her coach, ending his drought from earlier in the episode.
Here’s where all the teams stand after Night 4 of the Blind Auditions:
NIALL HORAN
Aiden Ross
Jack Austin
Dek of Hearts
Carolina Rodriguez
Kayleigh Clark
Revel Day
Kirbi
REBA MCENTIRE
Manny Costello
Peyton Kyle
Ryan Mitchell
Daron Lameek
Cori Kennedy
Leyton Robinson
MICHAEL BUBLÉ
Max Chambers
Jazz McKenzie
Lucas Beltran
Max Cooper III
Aarik Duncan
Rob Cole
Marty O’Reilly
Austin Gilbert
SNOOP DOGG
Mindy Miller
Ralph Edwards
Yoshihanaa
Sadie Dahl
Natalia Albertini
Toni Lorene
Kenny Iko
The Voice, Season 28, Mondays and Tuesdays, 8/7c, NBC