On the fifth episode of The Voice season 22 Blind Auditions, fans may have recognized Ansley Burns. The 15 year old from Easley, Georgia had a memorable run on America’s Got Talent in 2019 (Read our Recap).
On The Voice, Ansley took the difficult melody of the classic “Unchained Melody” on. The song has tricky transitions that are quite tough for a singer to nail. Ansley struggled with some of the transitions, but her voice really shined on the high notes. Her range is quite impressive. She hit several high notes towards the end of her performance, with the climatic last moment being the cherry on top.
Ansley sings with a soulful sound that is slightly nasally giving her tone a country flavor. She has a great voice, but she is still a little green and could use some coaching. Her performance was a bit karaoke, and lacked some technical prowess too. She has all the tools though. Coach Blake Shelton turned midway through her performance as she started to hit some of the high notes, Gwen Stefani also turned, but realized she has been blocked by Blake. It was a bit funny because a few lines into the song, Blake said he was done turning around for a while.
Blake Shelton wants Ansley on his team, so he BLOCKS his wife Gwen Stefani
The coach stood next to his new team member Ansley, noting the height difference, and the two took a picture. Blake asked the young singer if she heard the song from Leann Rimes. She says yes, and that she looks up to her. Blake thought that the last note was an interesting choice, highlighting her vocal ability, and noted that he used his block on his wife. Shocked, Ansley said she didn’t even realize Gwen was blocked until Blake told her. Camila Cabello didn’t turn, but complimented her “beautiful tone.” Ansley shared that she wants to make country music, so Blake is a fitting pick. Gwen thinks Blake will help with her growth. John Legend mentioned her her range and said “America falls in love” with that. Blake finally gave her his cooler, calling it a Capri Sun cooler which is appropriate for Ansley’s age.
The young singer has always loved countrifying classic songs. In her AGT audition, Simon Cowell stopped her mid-song because he didn’t like the backing track. She then sang an acapella rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “Think” and blew the panel away. After being cut during the Judges Cut round, she was brought back as a wildcard where she made the semifinals. Carrie Underwood also reacted to a viral cover of hers, and her grandfather worked with Hank Williams Sr. Country music is her dream. She hoped that Blake would turn.
The episode was a mixed bag
The episode was a mixed bag genre-wise and talent-wise with some strong auditions. We got some interesting song choices that haven’t been done before on The Voice. It also appeared that some of these auditions may have been taped towards the end because a few of the 1 chair turns deserved a few more turns.
The standouts of the night were Kique Gomez, Bodie and Zach Newbould who all showed great potential for their futures on the show. Honorable mentions to Lana Love and Hillary Torchiana who also brought great vocal prowess. I also find Daysia intriguing as she showed great potential with a nice soulful tone, although her song choice was a bit dated. The Voice Night 5 was a strong night, overall.
