‘The Voice': Team Blake Singer Grace West Moves Into Top 5 With Tammy Wynette Classic [Watch]
Grace West, a singer on Blake Shelton's team, channeled a song that had never been covered on The Voice since the show's inception in 2011 on Monday night (May 15).
The 19-year-old standout from Canton, Mich., performed a rousing rendition of Tammy Wynette’s country classic “Til I Can Make It on My Own.”
“It means a lot to be performing a Tammy Wynette song on Blake’s last team ever as his last country artist ever,” West said with excitement during rehearsals. “It’s such a monumental moment. So I really want to make Blake proud.”
Indeed, she did. In fact, the moment has earned West a spot in the Top 5 of the reality TV singing competition.
West dazzled folks from the stage, wearing a royal blue pantsuit while surrounded by a handful of violin and cello players. Her effortless take on what Shelton deemed a "mountain of a song" kept all four judges engaged. Afterward, she received big applause and rave reviews from some of the celebrity cast occupying the panel.
“Honestly, you’re one of my favorite voices on this show, without a doubt. Your tone is so unique, but also, I feel like I’ve heard it in lots of different places. It’s amazing,” Niall Horan commented. “It’s incredible, and I’ve always been a fan of yours. I’ve always thought, ‘This girl needs to go to the finale.’”
Shelton added, “You got me my first gift, which was, you sang it like you did in rehearsals. It’s unbelievable. There’s a reason that no one has ever done that song on this show. It’s because you can’t do it, but you just did. I’ve got to tell you, I will be stunned if you don’t make it into the finale. Not because of any other reason than you are absolutely the real deal. To have a 19-year-old up here singing classic country music, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
West was the first artist deemed safe from elimination during the two-hour telecast. She will now compete against fellow Team Blake’s NOIVAS, Team Kelly’s D Smooth, Team Chance the Rapper’s Sorelle and Team Niall’s Gina Miles.
The live results of the Top 5 during the semi-finals proves that Shelton still has the judge's luck, even though he will be retiring from his chair at the end of the season. At this point, he has the most artists vying for the win, with two singers left standing. As for the other coaches, they equally have one finalist left in the competition.
The Voice Season 23 finale airs Tuesday, May 23 at 9/8PM CT on NBC and will be available to stream the next day on Peacock.