https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6yk2_GtRh4
This season of The Voice is already proving to be a showcase for country music hopefuls. And 27-year-old Wisconsin native Chris Kroeze is no exception. The country-blues singer's rendition of Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Pride and Joy" resulted in two coaches, Jennifer Hudson and Blake Shelton, turning their chairs in hopes of bringing the gravel-voiced powerhouse to their team.
Hudson noted that Kroeze didn't fall neatly into any one genre and reminded him that her hometown of Chicago wasn't far from Kroeze's Wisconsin home.
"I heard a bit of blues up in there," Hudson said. "You live in Wisconsin. Well, Chicago ain't too far from that. And this show is called The Voice and I heard a mighty voice so I don't care what genre you sing."
Shelton couldn't compete with Hudson and Kroeze's geographic similarities, but the country star expressed his belief that the singer could make it all the way to the end and even compared his guitar skills to another country icon.
"Your singing is electrifying. You can make it into this finale," Shelton said. "Your guitar skills—that was some Ricky Skaggs type picking right there."
After some deliberation, Kroeze decided to join Team Blake.
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Now in its 15th season, the NBC reality series has already spawned a slew of country singers, including Danielle Bradbery, Cassadee Pope and RaeLynn.
This season, yodeler Rachel Messer and veteran Mikele Buck are among the aspiring country singers who've impressed the coaches.
If that's not enough, there's yet another country music representative on The Voice this year. Kelsea Ballerini has joined the show as the fifth coach and host of the Comeback Stage, which gives contestants who weren't selected in the first round of auditions a second chance.
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