Sadie Dahl made such a strong impression on “The Voice” during her blind audition that country music star Reba McEntire declared the singer from Draper, Utah, could “definitely win this thing.”
But during the competition’s next round, Dahl found herself on the brink of elimination.
Sadie Dahl and Tori Lorene compete in ‘The Voice’ Battles
In a twist this season on “The Voice,” the contestants on each team picked their own partners for the Battle round.
Dahl and her fellow Team Snoop Dogg member Tori Lorene ended up joining forces to perform Rihanna’s “Love on the Brain” — a pairing Snoop Dogg said he was struggling with since both women were “some of the strongest singers” on his team.
Leading up to the performance, as the two singers rehearsed and received feedback from both Snoop Dogg and guest mentor Lizzo, Dahl said she had moments where she believed this round would be the end of her time on “The Voice.”
“I like to be an optimistic person and be hopeful for the most part,” the 20-year-old singer recently told the Deseret News. “But that thought for sure was kind of looming in the back of my mind, that this could be the last time I’m on the stage.”
Both Dahl and Lorene delivered powerhouse vocals during the Battle, with the Utah singer’s lower register complementing Lorene’s higher range. The pair received an enthusiastic standing ovation from all four coaches.
“‘Voice’ fans all across America, you just witnessed something very, very special,” Horan said.
Toni Lorene, left, and Sadie Dahl rehearse for the performance in the Battle round of “The Voice.” | Trae Patton/NBC
Dahl had her arm around Lorene, a 28-year-old singer from Houston, as they received feedback from the coaches. Both McEntire and Buble indicated if they were in Snoop Dogg’s shoes, they’d pick Lorene as the winner of the Battle.
After some deliberation, Snoop Dogg followed suit and officially declared Lorene the winner.
“Rightfully so,” Dahl told the Deseret News. “She killed that. I genuinely feel that she deserved that win, and in the moment, that also felt right.”
The decision left Dahl on the brink of elimination, but the singer said she had a feeling it wasn’t over for her just yet. The show edited out part of Horan’s feedback, she said — but at one point, Dahl said Horan hinted that he’d use his steal on whoever Snoop Dogg let go.
And it turns out he had been saving that steal for Dahl.
As Dahl was thanking Snoop Dogg for giving her more confidence as an artist, Horan hit his red button to steal the singer for his team and keep her in the competition.
“It’s time to come home!” he exclaimed.
After the steal, Horan told “Voice” producers he’d been “waiting for Sadie.”
He maintained his enthusiasm for the Utah singer off-camera, too.
Dahl recalled the One Direction singer shouting “Finally!” as she joined his team.
“His energy, he just felt so excited to have me,” she said. “He seems so excited to have me on his team. And so I’m really excited for the Knockout rounds, because he seems like he values me and my voice, and he’s wanted me for a long time. He’s fought for me.”
Who is Sadie Dahl?
Nervously stepping onto the stage of “The Voice,” Dahl was hoping to get the attention of just one coach — that’s all she needed to claim a spot on the show’s 28th season.
But to her surprise, Horan and Buble both turned around just a few seconds into her blind audition. McEntire soon followed, and by the minute mark of Dahl’s performance — a rendition of Black Pumas’ “Colors” — Snoop Dogg joined to make it an impressive four-chair turn.
All four coaches praised the singer for her soulful sound — a style Dahl said often surprises people.
“Living in Utah and having this love for R&B, it’s usually a surprise,” the singer said during her “Voice” episode earlier this week. “A lot of times people tell me, ‘Oh, you look like you’d sing some Taylor Swift,’ but being able to be here and illustrate the artist that I have grown to be, it’s absolutely amazing.”
Sadie Dahl performs during the Battle round of “The Voice.” | Griffin Nagel/NBC
Dahl graduated from Lone Peak High School last year, and participated in the prestigious Caleb Chapman’s Soundhouse, a youth music training program in Utah County, for three years.
“Stepping out of that, I just had such a surety, like, OK, this is what I love to do,” Dahl told the Deseret News.
Now, the budding artist is living her next chapter out on “The Voice.”
“It was never something that I ever thought would actually be a possibility, you know?” she said. “I always was like, ‘That would be cool, that would be the dream.’ And so the fact that this year, I’ve been able to be a part of it, I’m still pinching myself, trying to believe that it actually happened.”