Why The Voice's Felsmere Was Declared the “Newest, Biggest Pop Star” in the World
An Artist returned to The Voice more than a decade after she appeared on the first season.
Season 26 The Voice Artist Felsmere had been here before. She had been on the very first season of the hit singing competition some 13 years ago, and she’d advanced past the Blind Auditions and made it to the inaugural Battles Round. However, 25 seasons ago, that’s where Felsmere’s journey ended. But, in the latest episode of Season 26, Felsmere triumphed in her Battle with fellow Team Gwen singer Cozy Len to advance to the Knockouts — and she received high praise from all the Coaches.
Gwen Stefani opted to pair Felsmere, a 33-year-old from Vero Beach, Florida, with Cozy Len, a 43-year-old Baton Rouge, Louisiana native, and had them sing Seals & Crofts’ 1972 soft rock hit “Summer Breeze.” And Cozy Len was excited about it.
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“My wife’s name is written all throughout the song,” he said, as the lyrics mention “Jasmine” a lot. For Cozy Len, who said he had contemplated throwing in the towel on his musical career after years of working as a gigging musician while raising two step-daughters, there was “a lot riding on this.” The same was true for Felsmere, back for her second stab at a Battle.
The Voice Season 26 Team Gwen Battle: Felsmere vs. Cozy Len
The two singers brought their all to the performance, and all of the Coaches were blown away. Michael Bublé gave them a standing ovation despite not being their Coach. Comparing Cozy Len to Marvin Gaye or Sam Cooke, Bublé said he might lean towards Cozy Len if he was the one having to choose the winner based on the strength of his voice. But, Bublé also saw immense potential in Felsmere.
“If I was on my TikTok and, because I’m getting old, I didn’t know that the newest, biggest pop start was Felsmere, I wouldn’t be surprised,” he said. “If I wanted a pop star, I’d go for you.”
Reba McEntire called it “a perfect duet,” and Snoop Dogg complimented Cozy Len for being “a gentleman” in the way he let Felsmere take the lead. The rapper was impressed by both singers, but he advised Stefani to pick Felsmere because he saw “a lot of things that [Stefani] would know how to coach” in the singer.
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That was ultimately Stefani’s rationale for naming Felsmere the victor.
“I’m just going to go with the person I feel like I can take the furthest at this moment, and the winner of this battle is Felsmere,” Stefani said.
“I do want to see more from her,” she continued afterward. “I want to see what we can do together. I don’t really have any girls like that on my team with this great voice, and she has this confidence, and I feel like I could help her to get even better.”
Felsmere, for her part, was extremely emotional upon advancing farther than she did during The Voice’s premiere season when she was a young, new-to-Los Angeles singer in her early 20s.
“It’s just crazy because I got sent home at the Battles the first season, so just making it past this round means everything to me,” she said through happy tears.
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