The Voice Season 28 continued on Sept. 30 with the fourth installment of Blind Auditions. At the halfway point of the round, coaches Michael Bublé, Reba McEntire, Niall Horan, and Snoop Dogg were growing concerned with the need to diversify their teams. Reba was anxious to step outside the country music box with her picks, but found herself fighting Snoop for an undeniable country voice. Meanwhile, Michael and Niall’s battle for “three-peat” supremacy waged on even when Michael hadn’t turned around for an artist Niall wanted.
In this first round, the coaches will have their backs turned to the auditioning artists. If they like what they’re hearing and are interested in working with the performers, the would-be coaches can press their button. If multiple coaches turn their chair, the artist chooses which team to join. This season, each coach has one block to keep another coach from claiming an artist. By the end of the round, each coach will have hand-picked 12 artists to join their team.
More from Gold Derby
Read on for our The Voice 28 recap of the “Blind Auditions, Part 5” performances which aired Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 9 pm ET/PT on NBC.
Toni Lorene
Age: 28
Hometown: Houston
Song: “‘Cuz I Love You” by Lizzo
Chair turns: Reba, Niall, Snoop
Michael’s comments: “I don’t know why I didn’t turn … you’re wonderful.”
Niall’s comments: “I just love your confidence, you exude it … you absolutely nailed that.”
Reba’s comments: “I thought you did a great job. You’ve got a great range and I love your look.”
Snoop’s comments: “It took me a long time to turn because I was hearin’ R&B and soul in your voice, but I was hearin’ the music like kinda conflict it. … I would give you music fit for you.”
Result: Team Snoop
Austin Gilbert
Age: 25
Hometown: Eugene, Ore.
Song: “The Kind of Love We Make” by Luke Combs
Chair turns: Niall, Michael
Niall’s comments: “Great song choice, perfect for the show … great tone, a lot of power and can entertain at the same time.”
Reba’s comments: “I’m not desertin’ you, I already have country artists. … Let them fight over you and I will steal you later.”
Michael’s comments: “You’re too good of a singer and I’m tired of Niall winning everything. … You can’t make a wrong choice.”
Result: Team Michael
Kenny Iko
Age: 35
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
Song: “Versace on the Floor” by Bruno Mars
Chair turns: Snoop, Niall
Snoop’s comments: “As far as my team is concerned, I don’t have nothin’ like you, I don’t have nothin’ look like you, feel like you, sound like you, act like you. You just fit and you sing for the ladies.”
Niall’s comments: “Great version of the song and some of those notes you were hittin’, Bruno didn’t even do on the record. … I wanna hear more of the falsetto coz when you were hittin’ that, it was really, really good.”
Michael’s comments: “The Voice needs a champ like you. … You might have been a real good chance for me to have a threepeat.” [Niall taunts Michael with a Blake Shelton sound clip: “I don’t give a crap about a threepeat”]
Result: Team Snoop
Leyton Robinson
Age: 23
Hometown: Nashville
Song: “weren’t for the wind” by Ella Langley
Chair turns: Snoop, Reba
Niall’s comments: “I didn’t turn and I am extremely apologetic … but in the dying seconds, the queen arrived.”
Snoop’s comments: “I turned early because the way you sound, the way you make me feel, the energy that you had movin’ around on stage, I feel like we belong together.”
Reba’s comments: “You’re cute as a button. 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.”
Michael’s comments: “You have obviously one of the greatest artists in the planet in Reba McEntire, who has a bunch of country singers on her team, or you look at Snoop and say, hey this may seem like a different brand, but there is strategy involved in winning this thing.”
Snoop’s additional comment: “Leyton, you’re just cute as a button.”
Result: Team Reba
Liv CiaraGriffin Nagel/NBC
Liv Ciara
Age: 16
Hometown: St. Peters, Mo.
Song: “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter
Chair turns: None
Reba’s comments: “You have a gorgeous voice. … Hopefully come back again … maybe with a different type of song.”
Niall’s comments: “It was all down to the song choice. … You need to give yourself a little more room to do your thing.”
Kirbi
Age: 24
Hometown: Florence, Ala.
Song: “God Only Knows” by for KING & COUNTRY
Chair turns: Niall, Michael, Reba, Snoop
Niall’s comments: “Wow … we wait all day for voices like yours. … The vocal delivery you gave there was next level.”
Reba’s comments: “You’ve got the whole package: you’re absolutely beautiful, you sing absolutely beautiful, you sound very grounded for as young as you are.”
Michael’s comments: “I love that you chose that song. I love your control. I love your tone … there’s nothing that could stop you from singing all kinds of genres.”
Snoop’s comments: “Your mother did such an amazing job with keepin’ you grounded and raising you the right way and she should be commended so that’s why I want her to stand by your side while I say what I’ma say to you. The music that you chose and the way that you standing on your faith is beautiful. The world that we live in right now with so much negativity and for you to stand for what’s right, I applaud you for that.”
Result: Team Niall
The teams so far:
TEAM BUBLÉ (8 of 12): Aarik Duncan, Austin Gilbert, Jazz McKenzie, Lucas Beltran, Marty O’Reilly, Max Chambers, Max Cooper III, Rob Cold
TEAM REBA (6 of 12): Cori Kennedy, Daron Lameek, Leyton Robinson, Manny Costello, Peyton Kyle, Ryan Mitchell
TEAM NIALL (7 of 12): Aiden Ross, Carolina Rodriguez, DEK of Hearts, Jack Austin, Kayleigh Clark, Kirbi, Revel Day
TEAM SNOOP (7 of 12): Kenny Iko, Mindy Miller, Natalia Albertini, Ralph Edwards, Sadie Dahl, Toni Lorene, Yoshihanaa
Best of Gold Derby
Sign up for Gold Derby’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.