Though all the different musical competition shows have their own strengths, there’s something addictive about The Voice.
All the contestants on all of these kinds of musical shows always have incredible talent, but on some shows the competition aspect gets a little bit predictable.
Because The Voice has another layer of competition between the judges themselves, things always stay interesting. The judges have their own strategies for getting the people they want on their team—and there are always steals and swaps as the season goes on.
It’s that additional dynamic that made one audition so interesting.
Like all the other first auditions, this one started with the judges facing away from the stage.
As the very first chords start playing, Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton both look at one another because they recognize the artist. “Brooks and Dunn!” Shelton says. Everyone seems very excited for the performance as Mikele Buck takes the stage.
From the very beginning, he has a great country-inflected voice with plenty of power and accuracy to spare. As the emotion of the song builds, his family watches tearfully from the sidelines.
Still, even though the song is great, none of the judges seem like they’re going to turn around.
Although there’s been no reaction yet, Buck keeps chugging along through the song.
As it progresses, his vocal performance only gets stronger and more confident. Towards the end, his voice soars and hits high and low notes alike with soulful assurance. Regardless, nothing is happening on the judges’ side—and Buck’s family is clearly getting a little bit nervous. At the very end, he nails the last couple notes as the song draws to close.
Then, at the same time, Clarkson and Shelton both hit their buzzers to turn around.
As soon as they both realize what happened, the competition is on immediately!
Clarkson shouts at Shelton and even gets up out of her chair to beat him up. For those who are unfamiliar with the show, both of them were trying to time their buzzer hit so that it landed at the very end and none of the other judges could compete!
As it turns out, that was Shelton’s exact strategy as well. To help Clarkson out, judge Adam Levine stands up and says he’s going to coach her through how Shelton always wins these country artists.
After a brief pep talk, the two are ready to give Buck their pitches.
For his part, Shelton tells him that he loves the album, he loves the artist and he loves the song.
Fortunately, Clarkson has a good pitch of her own. She says that Brooks and Dunn are her favorite country singers, that her husband is Blake Shelton’s manager and that she’s just as qualified to mentor country artists!
Through all of this, everyone is expecting Buck to go with Shelton because he always seems to win.
After deliberating for a long, long time, Buck makes his decision: he’s going to go with Kelly Clarkson!
Needless to say, the crowd (and Clarkson) loses their mind.
While everyone discovered a fresh new talent that day, the real thrill is seeing established and talented artists fight among themselves to capture the new talent! While most shows have the contestants idolizing the celebrities, The Voice proves again and again just how effective it can be to invert that dynamic.
Congratulations to Mikele Buck on his audition and for making the right choice! Watch the full clip below:
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