Firefighter Impresses ‘Voice’ Coaches With Gritty “Sand In My Boots” Cover

The Voice/Facebook

20-year-old Ducote Talmage earned a spot on team Dan + Shay with an impressive cover of Morgan Wallen’s “Sand In My Boots.”

The final week of The Voice‘s Season 25 Blind Auditions kicked off Monday night (March 11). The episode brought more standout performances, including one from country singer, Ducote Talmage.

Talmage, a firefighter from Auburn, Alabama, impressed the coaches with his rendition of Morgan Wallen‘s 2021 hit, “Sand In My Boots.” The performance earned chair turns from John Legend and Dan + Shay.

“What I love the most about your voice is that little scratch in it. It’s such a cool tone. It’s breathy. It’s just a lovely voice to listen to,” Legend told Talmage.

Rookie coaches Dan + Shay plead their case and rebutted Legend’s argument that Talmage would “get lost in a sea of country singer” on their team. “We have no one that is like you. You’d be an absolute standout, I promise you that,” Shay Mooney said.

“Your voice sounds like it should be on country radio right now. It was incredible. And you really opened up…you’ve got a lot of power to your voice,man,” Dan added.

Coaches Reba McEntire and Chance the Rapper praised his performance, but cited pitch issues as the reason they didn’t turn.

Ultimately Ducote chose to join Team Dan + Shay. Watch Ducote Talmage’s performance here:

Tune into The Voice on March 18 for the first episodes of the Battle Rounds to see how Ducote progresses in the competition.

About “Sand In My Boots”

“Sand In My Boots” was released by Morgan Wallen in 2021. The song was the third single from Wallen’s second studio album, Dangerous: The Double Album. In early 2022, the song became Wallen’s fifth No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart. Watch Morgan Wallen’s official music video for “Sand In My Boots” below.