Someone must have sprinkled cornbread crumbs on the judges of NBC’s The Voice Season 26 (yes, 26), because they kept turning their chairs to pick Southern singers. It’s almost uncanny how many of this season’s talented performers are from the South—from West Virginia to North Carolina to Florida.
There’s true Southern hospitality and charm happening among the coaches, too: The Oklahoma-raised country superstar Reba McEntire returns as the reigning champ judge from last season, and she’s often laughing, crying, and cheering alongside newbie judge Snoop Dogg (did you know his family roots are in Mississippi?), Gwen Stefani, and the Canadian vocalist Michael Bublé, who on at least one occasion has practiced his own spin on a Southern accent (more on that below).
At the conclusion of the blind auditions, by my math, thirty-four of the forty contestants hail from Southern states. That’s 85 percent! Now the battles have begun, and you can catch all the action on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on NBC (and the next day on Peacock). At the conclusion of the blind auditions, some Southern highlights:
No surprise, Queen Reba frequently turned her chair for Southern voices, including Lauren-Michael Sellers, who grew up in Atlanta and Birmingham, Alabama, and currently works as a special education teacher in Nashville.
(Full disclosure from this writer: Sellers and I grew up together. I’m cheering for her as a close friend, but as an editor in the South, I’m also just plain excited to see so many Southern vocalists honored.)
After Sellers’s blind audition, in which she sang “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail),” all four coaches were vying for her, and Michael Bublé even busted out a Southern-preacher accent:
Other standout Southerners on McEntire’s team include Danny Joseph from Dallas, who sang “I Put a Spell on You” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and Katie O. from Jacksonville, Florida, who sang “One Way Ticket (Because I Can)” by LeAnn Rimes.
Team Michael Bublé includes vocalist Mor Ilderton from Teays Valley, West Virginia, who sang “Coal” by Dylan Gossett, as well as contestants from Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia.
Gwen Stefani’s team includes singers from Kentucky, Louisiana, Florida, and North Carolina. And Snoop Dogg’s team is deeply Southern, with singers from pretty much every Southern state. Sixty-one-year-old Gail Bliss, who hails from Little River, South Carolina, gave a stirring rendition of “If It Hadn’t Been for Love” by the SteelDrivers, but it at first turned no chairs.
“The spirit of my mother is in me right now,” Snoop Dogg said afterward to Bliss. “My mother’s sister’s name was Gail, which was one of my favorite aunties.” He pressed his button, utilizing this season’s new “coach replay button,” inviting Bliss onto his team in an emotional moment.
“I’ve sung everywhere from honky-tonks to festivals to great big stages,” Bliss said. “If nothing else, I want to inspire the older folks to keep dreaming, keep living, keep having fun.”
