The Voice 24 Battle Preview: Dylan Carter and Tom Nitti sing an emotional rendition of Cody Johnson’s “‘Til You Can’t”
The Voice 24 Battles continue for a fifth night on Tuesday (Oct 31). NBC has dropped a sneak peek of a Team Reba McEntire matchup between Dylan Carter and Tom Nitti.
Dylan was the 4-chair turn whose emotional rendition of the Whitney Houston classic “I Look To You” had the entire panel near tears. Reba, in particular, was moved by Dylan’s backstory of not being able to get through one of his mother’s favorite songs at her funeral. He considered The Voice his chance to sing it again for his late mother and do her proud.
Tom was a one-chair turn. He thinks of himself as a soulful country singer. If he had chosen a country song, instead of the Motown classic “Signed, Sealed and Delivered” by Stevie Wonder for his Blind Audition, he may have earned more turns. Now, he gets the opportunity to show off his country side when he and Dylan sing Cody Johnson’s “‘Til You Can’t” for a chance to move on to the Knockouts.
Dylan sings with an attractive break in his voice, while Tom brings on a country classic sound. As in his Blind Audition, Dylan’s voice soars on the high notes. But then Tom brings on the big notes in a way he did not during the Blinds, surprising the coaches.
One chair turn Tom Nitti shocks the panel
“Dylan, I could tell that song meant a lot to you,” Niall Horan commented. “But you persevered singing wise.” He added, “You were so strong and so powerful.” Niall called the duo’s harmonizing “electric.” He complimented the “serious” gravel in Tom’s voice. “You looked so relaxed while you were doing it,” Niall said. However, Tom admitted that he is “shaking in my boots.” Niall refused to call it.
Gwen Stefani called Dylan’s voice “ridiculous,” adding “You’re 20 years old and you’re able to emote so well.” But Tom’s performance just blew Gwen away. She complimented the way he built the emotion of the song from beginning to end. “It just kept building and building,” she noted. She won’t pick a favorite either.
While John Legend felt Tom may have been hiding behind the guitar a little bit at first, he eventually saw “this whole other side of you.” He added, “You turned on the heat and it just felt like a revelation. He called Dylan “consistently outstanding the entire time.” John felt that Dylan was “spiritually in tune with what you were singing.”
Reba called the Battle “absolutely marvelous.” She noted that their singing styles are “so different” yet compliment each other. Using One Direction as an example (pointing to Niall as she explained) Reba thinks the pair would make a “really good” country duo. “Dylan even looks a little bit like me!” Niall quiped.
Who will Reba choose to move on to the Knockouts? Will the loser be stolen or eliminated? Tune into The Voice on Tuesday (Oct 31) to find out. The episode begins on NBC at 9 pm ET/PT after an 8 pm recap of The Voice Battles part 4.
