The Voice: Team Riley Singers Face Off With Riley Green, Ella Langley Cover
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Riley Green chose to keep a rookie singer on his team over a seasoned artist during Monday night’s The Voice Battle Round.
The first episodes of The Voice Season 30’s Battle Rounds kicked off on Monday night (Oct. 12). It marked the inaugural Battles for new coach Riley Green, who was tasked with the difficult task of eliminating members of his team for the first time.
The first Battle for Team Riley was between Joe Henley and Kenna Elpers who took on the Riley Green and Ella Langley duet, “Don’t Mind If I Do.”
During his Blind Audition, Joe earned chair turns from Kelly Clarkson and Riley Green with an impressive cover of Travis Tritt’s “Anymore.” The coaches were shocked to learn that the 19-year-old Alabama native had never performed prior to his audition.
RELATED: TRAVIS TRITT COVER EARNS TEEN A SPOT ON TEAM RILEY
Kenna Elpers earned a spot on Team Riley when Kenna chose coach Riley Green over Queen Latifa after her Blind Audition performance of Chris Stapleton’s “White Horse.”
RELATED: KENNA ELPERS REVEALS HER SURPRISING CONNECTION TO RILEY GREEN
The pairing of Kenna and Joe made a lot of sense when it comes to chemistry, but their backgrounds gave them very different advantages in the Battle Round. Kenna has been establishing herself as a singer in Nashville, even opening for Riley Green. But Joe had no experience before auditioning for The Voice.
During rehearsals for their Battle, Carly Pearce helped Riley by advising the competitors. With her help, the two pulled off a beautiful rendition of “Don’t Mind If I Do,” a song Riley Green wrote and recorded with Ella Langley.
After the performance, the coaches praised the singers and encouraged Riley to keep Joe, who, despite his lack of experience, delivered a brilliant performance.
“Joe, I wanted you in the Blinds,” Kelly Clarkson said, adding that he had “the Randy Travis effect.”
“It doesn’t matter what you’re singing; your voice has such a depth to it, it just commands attention. That’s something you can’t teach. It’s just God-given,” Kelly said.
Coach Adam Levine told Joe that he had one of his favorite voices in the competition. “There’s a distinctive quality, where when it comes on the radio and I hear it, I’m like, ‘I know who that is.'”
Coach Riley agreed and chose to keep Joe Henley on his team and send Kenna Elpers home.
After the stage was cleared, the coaches huddled and heaped more praise on Joe. Adam Levine told Riley, “He’s so good, that kid.” Queen Latifah added, “He’s got THE voice.”
Watch Kenna Elpers and Joe Henley sing “Don’t Mind If I Do” in the video below.
The Voice viewers took to social media to respond to the performance, with many predicting that Joe Henley could be this season’s winner.
