The Voice sneak peek: Selkii from South Africa sings ‘I Try’
So what do we know about her? For starters, she’s originally from South Africa and that seems to inform much of her musical soul. She’s got a little bit of R&B in her voice, but also a jazzy pop swagger … and then also a guitar. It’s almost cliché to say to a contestant on this show “oh, you can do anything,” but we really do think in her case that she can! She’s got significant cross-genre appeal and the irony here is that the coach that probably would’ve been the best for her in John Legend didn’t turn. That just means that she’s left to choose between Adam Levine and Blake Shelton (Kelly didn’t turn, either), who each have to come up with their own arguments for why she’s right for their team.
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We do find a certain degree of amusement in breaking these pitches down.
Adam’s pitch – He can help her hone her craft, as he likes her music and liked her even more as soon as he saw her whole vibe. Also, his wife is from Namibia and feels like she’ll be mad if he doesn’t get her. (Not exactly the greatest argument in the world — it’d be like Blake saying that a Canadian singer should pick him because he and Gwen Stefani are from America — it’s only significant because there are so few South African contestants.)
Blake’s pitch – Look everybody! It’s some of the greatest hits, including that Selkii’s performance style has similarities to country music and that he’s been far more successful than Adam on the show over the years. It’s true that Team Blake rakes in the wins, but typically, that happens with country singers or non-country singers who occasionally happen to sing country songs. It’s a little less commonplace for people from other genres.
Our advice for Selkii
Go with Team Adam for now. He does have experience with singer-songwriters aplenty and the two feel like a reasonable match. If you fail out in the Battle rounds, someone’s likely to go for the steal. She’s that sort of artist who people are probably going to regret snubbing down the line just because there’s so much stylistically she has to offer. Her audition song in “I Try” is good, but it didn’t necessarily push her to the limit. There’s almost certainly going to be more that she can do.
What do you think about Selkii’s blind audition? Who do you think she should pick as her coach? Sound off now in the comments! (Photo: NBC.)