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Hear the “Breathy,” Morgan Wallen-Esque “Twang” That Got Ducote Talmage 2 Chairs
It's not just the Four-Chair Turns that provoke the biggest battles on The Voice.
When all four Coaches turn their chairs for a Blind Audition on The Voice, we've come to expect a battle, but you don't have to get four Chairs to provoke a showdown between Coaches. Ducote Talmage found out firsthand on Monday night's episode that, with the right voice, you really only need two.
Talmage, a 20-year-old firefighter from Alabama with a passion for country music, took the stage with The Voice veteran Morgan Wallen's hit "Sand In My Boots," clearly hoping for a response from the show's country Coaches. He got it, but he also got what might have been an unexpected faceoff when the audition ended.
Watch Ducote Talmage Perform Morgan Wallen's "Sand In My Boots" During the The Voice Season 25 Blind Auditions
After just a few bars of his audition, Talmage earned two chair turns, one from John Legend and one from country duo Dan + Shay. While host Carson Daly clearly expected Reba McEntire to turn her chair as well, McEntire and fellow Coach Chance the Rapper simply listened, later singling out some "pitchy" moments in Talmage's audition that kept them from hitting the button. Still, that gave Talmage the choice between two very different Coaches, and Legend knew from the beginning that he'd have to talk his way into the singer's good graces."
RELATED: Every Blind Audition on The Voice Season 25
"I know right next to me there is a country duo," Legend said. "I saw the way you were pointin' at 'em."
"I pointed at you too," Talmage replied with a laugh.
Legend continued to make his case, "What I loved most about your voice is that little scratch in it. It's such a cool tone, it's breathy, it's such a lovely voice to listen to. And I know I can be a great Coach for you. Even if I didn't grow up listening to country music, I do know what a great song is, and I do know how to plan a great performance. And I've taken a country artist all the way to the Lives because she trusted me."
Legend went on to point out that, as teams are filling up, picking Dan + Shay might mean Talmage was competing for time and space with many other country artists.
"Do you want to get lost in the sea of country artists on Dan + Shay's team," he said, "or do you want to do something renegade, revolutionary, and join Team Legend?"
Dan + Shay, sensing they were operating from a place of favorability, were undeterred.
RELATED: An Official Recap of Team Dan + Shay on The Voice Season 25
"John mentioned a lot of things that I think he thought was helping his case, but I don't know if it really did that," Shay Mooney said.
"I'm just telling the truth," Legend replied.
Mooney countered, "Well you're telling the truth that you're not in country, you don't know anything about country."
But it wasn't all about the friendly battling between Coaches, as Dan Smyers took time out to simply note just how talented he and Mooney felt Talmage really was.
"Your voice sounds like it should be on country radio right now," Smyers said.
In the end, Talmage was won over, and ended up picking Dan + Shay, adding another piece to the first-time Coaches' promising team.
"Dan + Shay's team is looking formidable," Legend said after the audition. "I'm impressed, they've done a good job, but I will take advantage of their youth and inexperience, and I will beat them."
For more from Ducote Talmage, keep watching The Voice, Mondays and Tuesdays on NBC, and streaming next day on Peacock.
