The Voice 20 Blind Audition: Kenzie Wheeler Might Just Be The One to Beat
Kenzie Wheeler, the 22-year-old singer from Dover, Florida who sports a mullet, truly wowed the coaches during his The Voice season 20 Blind Audition, as soon as he opened his mouth with a timeless, big booming country sound. He turned all 4 chairs with country favorite “Don’t Close Your Eyes” by Keith Whitley. Country male + 4 chairs = instant front runner on this show. He’s a threat whether you like him or not.
Only 25 seconds in, Kelly Clarkson was already gushing over Kenzie, exclaiming, “I love your voice!” She blocked Blake Shelton, making sure that Kenzie was all hers. The other coaches told Blake to just turn and get his block over with. Kelly is a smart coach, knowing that Kenzie’s genre of country, tone, and range should be enough to make him a contender for the title. Blake of course felt screwed. The coaches including Nick Jonas bantered over Blake talking about Kenzie’s mullet, and how Kenzie is a unicorn. Nick struggled to pitch Kenzie from the start–from boasting about his age, to unrelated comments about past contestants, as both Kelly and John Legend attacked him.
Kenzie was Kelly’s to lose. She mentioned that she has won the show with two country contestants, and that overall, she is still standing because she WINS. It’s true. He ultimately chooses Kelly.
I’ll be upfront. I’m not a big country fan but Kenzie has a massive voice. My one critique is the song choice and overall performance just felt a tad karaoke, and not all that current, but Kenzie’s booming voice should be enough for viewers and that alone will make him a front runner on Team Kelly. It is The Voice after all, and Kenzie might just have “the voice”.
Below I have left a few strong covers from Kenzi: Check out George Strait’s Blue Melodies HERE and a performance from Kenzie’s Tik Tok which has a decent presence (over 16K followers which is more than most country singers I’ve seen on these shows. Tik Tok seems more pop oriented). From when he headlined the House of Blues, watch HERE. Kenzie’s Instagram.
