Over the years, we’ve seen a ton of musicians perform on “The Voice” stage, and most of them are fantastic. The reality singing competition, which has been airing on NBC for more than ten years, continues to produce performers of the highest caliber and offers possibilities to those who are just breaking into the industry.
The 22nd season of “The Voice” debuted on September 19, 2022, with a new cast of coaches occupying their respective seats. Camila Cabello, the singer of “Havana,” joined the group most recently when Ariana Grande left for Season 21. This season, Kelly Clarkson’s replacement, Gwen Stefani, makes a reappearance as well. Blake Shelton, “The Voice’s” most adored coach, and EGOT Award-winning musician John Legend are both still active on the program as it enters its seventh season.
Each contender on a team in “The Voice” must go through a difficult process: after securing a coach’s support during the Blind Auditions, they must face off against a member of their team during the Battle Rounds. If they succeed, they will have to face off against two additional competitors in the Knockouts phase. The last four competitors from each team would now compete in the Live Playoffs, where public voting is now permitted.
The 16-year-old Michigan native Brayden Lape may have caused Team Blake’s coach one of the biggest headaches in the competition during “The Voice’s” Season 22 Knockouts as Lape moved Shelton’s wife Stefani to tears after his performance.
Lape won Shelton over with his country interpretation of “This Town” by Niall Horan. Despite getting just one appearance from the legend of country music, he nevertheless managed to establish himself as a fan favorite for the squad. He defeated Benny Weag in the Battle Rounds by singing Parker McCollum’s “Pretty Heart” with soul.
When Lape was teamed with three-chair turner Austin Montgomery and another fan favorite, Eva Ullmann, during the Knockouts, his future became uncertain.
When it was finally his turn to perform, Lape belts out Brett Young’s “Mercy” in possibly one of his best competition performances. The song now holds the No. 1 spot on the US Country Airplay charts and has already earned four times platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America.
Stefani, Shelton’s wife, was visibly brought to tears both during and after Lape’s performance because of his endearing voice and boy-next-door appearance.
Lape advanced to the Live Playoffs when Shelton selected him above the other two, according to WITL 100.7 FM.
Lape will now give some of his colleagues his quarterback’s jersey from Michigan as he leaves for the Live Playoffs in sunny Los Angeles, where he will compete against 15 other contestants before being crowned the season’s victor.
