‘The Voice’: Dan + Shay Teammates Deliver ‘Steamy’ Battle

The Voice 2024 has entered the Battles phase. And, for two Team Dan + Shay hopefuls, a fight to the end with a twist.

Karen Waldrup, a Mandeville, Louisiana native, all turbo power, and Ryan Argast, a Plainfield, Illinois man with range and gravel in his voice, were sent into the ring with a cover of Dan + Shay‘s 2023 number “Save Me The Trouble”.

The contestants impressed the coaches with their obvious talent, and earned a few hollers with a smoking hot conclusion. “That was just steamy at the end,” Chance the Rapper remarked.

“That’s better than the original version,” Dan Smyers insisted.

“That was so good. The energy, the passion, the power coming out of you two,” John Legend said. The rasp in Argast’s voice is his “superpower,” he enthused. Though he’s “mad he didn’t turn” for Waldrup, whose tone and vibrato worked magic. Legend would chose the latter, if he had the option.

Reba McEntire did turn for Waldrup. “I think you’re fantastic,” she remarked. And there’s a lot of love for the “growl” in Argast’s voice.

That performance was “awesome,” Chance chimed, though the pair had mismatching “energy levels.” Karen, he continued, has a “true talent. It was like there was a storm around you and you were just shining through it.” The Chicago rapper was quietly kicking himself for not turning for her when he had the chance. The final moments of the Battle were “steamy,” he reiterated, and exactly what the cameras adore.

Dan + Shay had the last word. Argast’s “presence on stage is incredible,” claimed Smyers, while Waldrup “rose to the occasion,” belting out a “guy’s song.”

It’s a voice that reminds Mooney of old country, classic stuff he grew up listening to. “I love that sound, it’s very unique.” Argast’s voice, he continued, is “powerhouse.”

With the kind words out the way, a decision had to be made. They chose Waldrup.

Dan + Shay are the newbies on this 25th season of NBC’s The Voice, joined by returning coaches Reba McEntire, John Legend and Chance the Rapper.

Watch the Battle below.


Lars Brandle

Billboard