Ricky Duran of Team Blake Shelton returned to “The Voice” stage during Monday’s Top 13 show and performed “You Are the Best Thing” for America’s votes. As this was dedication week, Ricky dedicated the song to his girlfriend who survived a stroke a year ago. Blake gave Ricky a standing ovation following the performance, but interestingly none of the other coaches jumped up to their feet. Do you think Ricky can survive this week’s cut and make it into the Top 11? Watch “The Voice” performance video above.
“I did a lot of traveling this week,” Blake told Ricky, “and everywhere I go from Oklahoma to Nashville to LA to Atlanta, security guards, people at the feed store, friends, everybody loves Ricky. And I see why. It’s because of performances like that, man. You always deliver a solid performance. People relate to you. That’s why you’re gonna be here for a long time, man. Congratulations.”
John Legend also critiqued Ricky’s act, calling it “another outstanding performance” and “very impressive.” “There’s no secret that I’ve loved Ricky from the very beginning,” John reminded audiences. Don’t forget, Ricky was a four-chair turn artist in the blind auditions for his performance of “River,” when he chose Blake as his coach.
In his “The Voice” live blog, our recapper Denton Davidson had this to say about the performance: “We continue with Team Blake’s Austin soul singer Ricky Duran. Ricky is singing ‘You are the Best Thing’ by Ray LaMontagne and dedicating it to his girlfriend. His girlfriend Alissa recently had a stroke but luckily she has made a full recovery. Ricky appears solo on stage strumming his guitar in a sleek green suit while filling the room with his raspy vocals. Ricky seems to be one of the most versatile singers this season and I have yet to hear hit a sour note. John thinks Ricky carries himself like an artist and appreciates the way he controls the stage. Blake says wherever he goes fans have been shouting out love for Ricky this season. He expects him to be around in this competition for the long haul.”
Be sure to make your predictions to influence our reality TV racetrack odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before the next episode airs on NBC. You’ll compete to win a spot on our Season 17 leaderboard and a $100 Amazon gift card. See our contest rules and sound off with other fans in our reality TV forum. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s newsletter with experts’ latest predictions
