The Voice 25 Blind Audition: 4-Chair Turn Dani Stacy Strips Back “I Will Survive”
While the big twist of Monday night’s The Voice Season 25 premiere was the introduction of the first double chair featuring new coaches Dan + Shay, the first Blind Audition of the night 31-year old Dani Stacy, a California native, wowed the judges with simply her voice and guitar. (Read our Recap)
Having a double-chair duo as coaches on the show means more groups and duos, as the premiere featured both. But it was a solo singer who transformed the classic “I Will Survive” who not only got all 4 chairs to turn, but inspired the first block of the season.
Dani lives in an RV with her cats, dog, and musician boyfriend where she both sleeps and records music. She is a traveling musician who describes herself as “genreless.” In her video package, the singer shared the perks of life on the road, “it’s amazing to see the different music in each state.”
Dani’s stripped back acoustic version of “I Will Survive” displayed a tone with an interesting raspy quality. This version was a bit sleepy for a Blind Audition, but still, John Legend, Chance the Rapper, Reba McEntire and Dan + Shay quickly turned.
A 4-chair turn but Reba is BLOCKED
When Chance pushed his button, he also blocked Reba. While the performance was not perfect–Dani swallowed some of the notes up in what was probably a stylistic choice–the coaches seemed to appreciate that she put her own artistic stamp on the song. She did unleash some power towards the latter half of the performance. Dani could be a bigger threat in the competition if she taps into that rasp as her voice breaks in some really cool ways. A Melissa Etheridge song would truly bring out this quality. Blues or Pop Rock seem like genres that would suit Dani’s voice well.
Reba acknowledged her block, saying, “Dani, do you see this?” She thinks it’s John who blocked her. She added, “I think you’re spectacular, I can hear all kinds of genres in your voice.”
Chance asked if Dani grew up singing country. She revealed that she grew up on Destiny’s Child and The Chicks. Dani had “an amazing performance,” Chance remarked. He added, “You were poised, you were ready for it, you were just so connected throughout the whole performance.”
John said, “I heard in your voice the crackle, the tone, the rasp, and it was just so interesting and cool,” adding that she has “soul.” Dan noted, “the thing that made us turn was your lower register.” Shay added, “You know exactly who you are” and mentioned that he also had early R&B influences and was signed to T-Pain at the beginning of his career.
Dani picks Chance, the coach who blocked Reba
Ultimately, Dani picked Chance The Rapper as her coach. Chance reacted, “with her being an instrumentalist and her interest around different genres, we’re going to have a lot of fun”. Dani added, “I chose Chance because he sees the artist, he’s innovative, and he felt connected to my performance. That’s the biggest compliment I can get.”
Two more artists from the premiere with potential were country singer and Team Reba’s Josh Sanders and his booming voice, in addition to Team Chance’s Nadege, a singer with a unique tone.
In the past, The Voice has kicked off with better premieres. Dan + Shay are entertaining, but the performances didn’t wow me. The coaches may have fought over 4 chair trio OK3, but they weren’t my cup of tea. Hopefully night 2 is stronger.
