“The Voice” moves on to the playoff round on Nov. 13. Each of the four coaches — Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Hudson, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton — has a team of six, comprised of four artists that prevailed in match-ups during the knockout rounds, one artist that they stole from a rival mentor, and one artist that they are bringing back for another chance.
In a break from the format used for the past six seasons of “The Voice,” the coaches have already culled this top 24 down to the dozen artists who will compete on the live shows that are due to begin at the end of the month. Rather than letting America vote in two live playoff episodes, these installments were taped in the late summer.
On Monday’s two-hour edition of the show, Hudson and Shelton’s teams of six will perform. Both Tuesday and Wednesday are just one hour each: Cyrus’ half dozen take to the stage on Tuesday while ‘s Levine’s wrap up the playoffs on Wednesday.
The Coach Comeback was introduced in season 9 and kept for the following season. After being dropped for season 11, it was revived for the last edition of “The Voice” and is being used once again in the current season 13. Cyrus opted for Karli Webster, Hudson chose Lucas Holliday, Levine liked the sound of Whitney Fenimore and Shelton selected Nancy Stovall.
After reading our brief bios of each of the comeback artists, be sure to vote in our poll as to which you are most looking forward to seeing perform again. And be sure to sound off in our comments section, especially if you think that there were more deserving artists who should have returned instead.
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Whitney Fenimore (Team Adam Levine)
Age: 28
From: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Current City: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Whitney grew up in Tulsa singing in the church and playing in different Christian bands. After college, Whitney moved to Los Angeles to pursue her music career. Realizing she wanted to reach a bigger audience, she started playing mainstream music. Unfortunately, the stress of trying to make it alone in Los Angeles sent Whitney into depression and anxiety. She started experiencing frequent panic attacks while performing, and eventually her dad had to come to LA and take her back home. After six months of recuperation and with the support of her family, Whitney found music again. She started playing in local coffee shops back home and finally has the confidence for something bigger. The Voice is the second chance she needs to pick up her music career.
Lucas Holliday (Team Jennifer Hudson)
Age: 26
From: Lansing, Michigan
Current City: East Lansing, Michigan
Lucas works as a cashier for a local convenience store. He is known as the singing cashier because he often sings soul songs as he checks out customers. Customers are often surprised that his look does not match his vocals. Last year, one of Lucas’ friends recorded him singing “Ascension” by Maxwell at work, and posted it on social media. By the end of the night, the video had 100,000 views and went viral with more than 1 million views in the first week. All of sudden, Lucas was invited to sing with Maxwell in front of a sold out crowd of 20,000 people. Unfortunately, Lucas’ time in the spotlight was short lived as he is back working at the convenience store. The Voice is his chance at a real career in music.
Nancy Stovall (Team Blake Shelton)
Age: 35
From: Columbia, Tennessee
Current City: Nashville, Tennessee
When Natalie was four, her grandma enrolled her in violin lessons and at age 10, she got a gig in the Opryland Kids Club. Throughout her childhood, Natalie performed everywhere from “The Oprah Winfrey Show” to the Grand Ole Opry and eventually used her earnings to go to Berklee College of Music. While at Berklee, Natalie formed the band Natalie Stovall and Green Line South. It was her first time writing and playing original music. Every summer, the band would play shows around Tennessee. Unfortunately, after graduation in 2004, everyone left the band except for the drummer, who is now Natalie’s husband. The two formed her current band, Natalie Stovall and the Drive. On the side, Natalie plays fiddle and sings for Bobby Bones and the Raging Idiots. In 2013, Natalie and her band were signed to Hitshop Records and their first single, “Baby Come On With It,” broke the Top 40 country charts. Unfortunately, two weeks before the release of their second single, the investors backed out and the company went bankrupt. Despite setbacks, The Voice is Natalie’s chance to pick up her career again.
Karli Webster (Team Miley Cyrus)
Age: 20
From: Santa Clarita, California
Current City: Santa Clarita, California
When Karli was only three years old, her father put her in piano lessons and over the years she became an accomplished pianist, winning eight state-level competitions. Karli’s mom raised her on ’70s music, including Carly Simon and Stevie Nicks, which helped inspire the musician Karli is today. After high school, Karli wanted to pursue music full time, so she decided to apply to the University of Southern California. After submitting a video reel and being tested on music theory, Karli was granted a full scholarship to the prestigious Thornton School of Music, where she takes music theory classes as well as regular college courses. As much as she loves the diverse set of music classes, she is ready to learn from the best coaches in the business.
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You can start making winner and elimination predictions for “The Voice” in a few weeks. In the meantime, be sure to make your predictions for “Dancing with the Stars,” “Survivor” and more reality shows to help set their racetrack odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before the live shows air. You’ll compete to win bragging rights and a $100 Amazon gift certificate on any shows with live episodes. See our contest rules and sound off with other fans in our reality TV forum. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
