Team Riley’s Joe Henley Secures Frontrunner Status With “Incredible” Keith Whitley Cover
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Joe Henley, the 19-year-old Alabama teen who had never sung on stage prior to The Voice, managed to get all four coaches on their feet with a stunning performance of a Keith Whitley classic.
The Voice introduced its first-ever Cut Round for Season 30.
The new phase of competition replaces the long-standing Knockout and Playoff rounds of previous seasons.
Each coach starts Cut Week with 7 members on their team and ends it with what The Voice calls “the biggest elimination” in the show’s history. The coaches are each tasked with choosing two competitors to send straight to the Live shows. The remaining five members of each team will sing once again in hopes of securing a spot in the Top 12.
America will then be given the opportunity to vote to send one final competitor to the Live shows and the Top 13.
Joe Henley’s Cut Week performance was released early, though we don’t know his fate in the competition.
Late Friday, The Voice released a video of Henley singing Keith Whitley’s “Don’t Close Your Eyes.”
In the clip, the coaches are clearly mesmerized by Henley’s voice. Kelly Clarkson and Riley Green shake their heads in disbelief after his opening line. As his performance concluded, all four coaches stood to their feet, along with the crowd, to give him a well-deserved standing ovation.
Kelly Clarkson told Joe that she would be “mind blown” if he didn’t make it to the finale.
Joe’s coach, Riley Green, praised the singer’s God-given talent, saying that if he could sing like Joe, he would “be so rich and famous.”
“This was so fun because you’re so naturally talented,” Riley said. “Keith Whitley does some really unique things, and to be able to go and do what he does is really difficult. You can somehow go do that and then do your own thing.”
Watch Joe Henley’s incredible cover of “Don’t Close Your Eyes” in the video below.
Joe Henley earned a two-chair turn during the Blind Auditions.
Henley garnered chair turns from Riley Green and Kelly Clarkson during his performance of Travis Tritt’s “Anymore.” Prior to his audition, Joe admitted that he was a Riley Green fan and hoped to earn a spot on his team. So it was no surprise that he chose Riley over Kelly.
Kelly made it known at that time that she thought Joe Henley could win this season of The Voice. And week after week, Henley has shown that her prediction may come true.
During the Voice Battles, Joe went head-to-head with teammate Kenna Elpers to sing the Riley Green-Ella Langley duet, “Don’t Mind If I Do.”
Henley won the Battle, and returned to the stage a few weeks later to deliver his jaw-dropping Keith Whitley cover during the Cut Round.
Learn Joe Henley’s fate during Monday night’s episode (Nov. 2) of The Voice on NBC.
