Ralph Edwards Named "Frontrunner" After The Voice Knockouts: "You Could Easily Win"
The Team Snoop Artist got high praise after performing an Ed Sheeran song during Knockouts.
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Ralph Edwards entered The Voice Knockouts with a bulletproof plan. He chose an emotional, gritty song, Ed Sheeran's "Dive," which he says is "about the hesitation of giving your heart completely to somebody."
The track carries extra resonance for the Team Snoop Artist because he proposed to his now-fiancée right after his Blind Audition. "At the beginning of our relationship, it was a little more rocky," Edwards said. "...We would break up and get back together because some people just didn't approve of me singing and didn't want us to be together. But she realized that I made her happy. At the end of the day, all I care about is her being happy and us being happy together for the rest of our lives. [We] chose to dive into this relationship. We've been happy ever since."
"Do you think it's going to trigger an emotion in you that you've never felt before?" Snoop asked Edwards during rehearsals about singing the song, to which he said, "It already has."
"When I think of you singing, I think of you as strong...but the vulnerability may be a good thing," Snoop added. "You gotta be able to tap into all of that. That's what artistry is."
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Edwards' passion singing the song during Knockout rehearsals was palpable. As Team Snoop Mega Mentor Zac Brown remarked, "Ralph, I think his voice is really special. His power and his control, and also the emotion behind it. I feel it when he's singing it. He believes what he's feeling and singing."
Ralph Edwards' Knockout performance on The Voice stuns the Coaches: "You could easily win this show"
We got just as much fire during Edwards' actual Knockout performance. His rendition of the Sheeran tune completely floored the Coaches.
"Wow, Ralph," Coach Niall Horan told Edwards. "The stuff that you were doing. I actually didn't recognize it as your voice. It was so different than what we've heard. You could easily win this show, dude."
Added Coach Reba McEntire, "Wow. What a voice. It comes from your toenails. It's just incredible."
"I'm glad you noticed," Edwards said jokingly, which got a laugh from McEntire.
Coach Michael Bublé had some technical praise for Edwards, saying, "You have that grit in your voice, but man, you sort of saved it. You let us hear the sweetness and the softness. It looked easy for you, dude."
Snoop Dogg had a tough decision to make between Edwards and his competitor, Kenny Iko. Only one of them could stay in the competition. "You did everything that Zac told you," Snoop told Edwards. "You did the things that I told you, as well. Not so aggressive, but let us see the other side [of you], to show us you have many pages in this book of yours."
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Ultimately, Snoop chose Edwards as the winner, sending Iko home. "I think Ralph has the 'it' factor," Snoop said. "The 'it' factor is that he could actually win it, this competition. Knockout performances are really the groundbreaking, award-worthy, top of the line, performing at his highest level."
Even Bublé couldn't deny Edwards' winning potential. "The frontrunner, for someone who isn't on my team, is probably Ralph. Snoop has a real, real chance of winning this with him," he said.
To find out how far Ralph Edwards makes it on The Voice, keep watching the show Mondays at 9/8c on NBC. Episodes stream next day on Peacock.
