The Voice Season 28 teams are set, with the Blind Auditions wrapping on Tuesday after Reba McEntire, Snoop Dogg, Michael Bublé and Niall Horan all made their final chair turns to fill out their teams of 12. This season has highlighted the importance of choosing the right song for your audition, and I really hope future artists are paying attention, because Snoop just dropped some really good advice on the matter.
Back on the third night of auditions, 35-year-old J. Blake took the stage with a version of Teddy Swims’ “The Door.” Nerves may have gotten the best of him, as he had some pitch issues and none of The Voice coaches were inspired to turn their chairs. After hearing from Blake, Snoop Dogg offered some advice that really could apply to anyone hoping to get on the NBC singing competition. He said:
Just a bit of advice for moving forward. Whenever you’re on a show like this, sometimes you want to pick songs from the church. You want to pick songs that have a feeling rather than a sound, so we can feel who you are rather than hear who you are, because we don’t get a chance to really put it all together from having our chairs turned around.
Snoop Dogg offered these words of wisdom to J. Blake after hearing that he grew up singing in the church, but the idea behind the rapper’s message should strike a chord with artists of any background and of any genre.
With any singing competition, auditioners should pick songs that allow them to deliver an emotional message, because judges or coaches are going to remember how they feel more than what they hear. This is especially true on The Voice, since the mentors have their backs turned and can’t see the performances.
Check out J. Blake’s audition below, as well as Snoop Dogg dropping in his two cents:
The importance of song choice was spotlighted this season with the addition of the Carson Callback, which allowed the host to invite one rejected singer back to try again with a different song.
Ryan Mitchell was the lucky recipient of the Season 28 twist after getting no turns for his version of Cage the Elephant’s “Cigarette Daydreams.” However, when he returned with a cover of Britney Spears’ “... Baby One More Time,” he landed on Reba McEntire’s team.
While the new song choice didn’t apply to Snoop Dogg’s specific advice to lean into spirituality, the Britney Spears hit did allow Ryan Mitchell to convey more emotion — almost desperation — that the country queen connected with.
Each artist has to find the song that allows them to connect with its story in that way, and I think Snoop Dogg found a brilliant way to convey that to J. Blake and whoever else was out there listening.
Song choice goes back to the coaches for the next round of competition, as the Battles kick off when The Voice returns to the 2025 TV schedule. Tune in at 8 p.m. ET Mondays and Tuesdays on NBC and streaming the next day with a Peacock subscription.
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