Reba McEntire opted not to turn her chair for an aspiring country artist who covered a Luke Combs hit during his blind audition on The Voice. However, she revealed “my method of madness” after his performance.
Austin Gilbert, 25, took the stage with "The Kind of Love We Make,” which Combs released on his 2022 record, Growin’ Up. Gilbert, who is from Eugene, Oregon, had coaches Niall Horan and Michael Bublé vying for him on their teams. Snoop Dogg, who embraced the rising country star, said Gilbert had “two great coaches that’s gonna fight it out for you.”
Horan applauded Gilbert’s voice as “perfect for this show,” and “a country voice that we haven’t really had yet on this show.” Bublé told him, “you’re the greatest, man, so you can’t make a wrong choice.”
Gilbert bowed to McEntire, long hailed a queen of country music.
“You’re sweet,” she said, and explained, “I just wanted to let you know I’m not deserting you, OK? Now, I already have country artists. So, my method of madness is let them fight over you, and I will steal you later.”
Ultimately, Gilbert opted to continue his journey on The Voice with Bublé. Watch his audition below.