The Voice 28: Aubrey Nicole Has Coach Reba in Tears Over Cancer Dedication Song

The Voice Season 28 Knockouts finally arrived on Monday (Feb 27). The first half of the episode wrapped up Battles. Next, the competitive Knockouts started, beginning with the highlight of the night, Aubrey Nicole, who had a very personal connection to her song. (Read our Recap)

Team Reba McEntire’s 19-year-old, Battle save recipient, and country balladeer faced 23-year-old country singer, Leyton Robinson. In rehearsals, Aubrey acted super excited to see mentor Joe Walsh, the guitarist of The Eagles, who she said her friends at Belmont will be jealous that she met.

Aubrey chose “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” by Martina McBride In rehearsal she said, “I realized I could talk about something that really means a lot to me, like supporting people through hard times especially with cancer.” Her dad had cancer right before she moved to college, 700 miles away. He has since gone into remission. She is dedicating the song to him. Reba and Joe looked pleased in rehearsal, and Reba was happy with the song choice, working on the dynamics of the song with her. Joe advised the singer to “step back a bit” in her mind when delivering the big parts of the song. He too relates to the song as his wife is a cancer survivor.

Aubrey’s tone shone right from the beginning of the performance. She emoted beautifully with clear enunciation and a slight yodel in her tone. Her vocals are angelic and pure, yet she performed with so much feeling. She blended seamlessly with the backing vocalist, and hit the chorus in stride. I’m not even a country music fan, but Aubrey’s tone is one that can please fans of all music genres. It’s special.

Aubrey’s opponent, Leyton Robinson, also performed a country song

Her opponent, Leyton Robinson sang “I Could Use a Love Song” which is a great song choice. She had some nice moments in the chorus. The song took a bit longer to build up though, and there were parts that felt just a bit one note in comparison to Aubrey’s performance.

Michael Bublé can’t believe Leyton is 23, saying that he sings “like you are 40.” He also can’t believe Aubrey is 19 years old to which he remarked jokingly, “You have the voice of an 80 year-old,” and he thinks it was “stunning.” Snoop Dogg called Leyton’s performance “tremendous,” and he told Aubrey that he related to the message of the song. He added “You hit me in the heart, and that’s what music is supposed to do.” Niall Horan stated that Maren would be happy with Leyton’s rendition, and he called Aubrey’s performance “incredible.”

Reba McEntire speaks movingly of her stepson, Brandon Blackstock’s death

Reba felt that Leyton took “great direction” from Joe on the eye contact piece. But as she began speaking about Aubrey’s performance, she broke down. “I lost my oldest son because he did not win with cancer,” she said tearfully. Reba was referring to Brandon Blackstock, ex-husband of Kelly Clarkson and her step-son that she lost only shortly before taping this round. She added, “It was a real reminder that life goes on, and we sing songs about it, so we can remember the ones around us that we love so much.” She commended Aubrey for conveying the message

Aubrey won the Knockout

Ultimately, Aubrey won the Knockout with Leyton being eliminated since there are no Steals or Saves in the round this season. Aubrey seems to be a dark horse after getting montaged, and if Reba carries her through the Playoffs, I could see her finish high this season.

Aubrey gave a standout performance, but at the beginning of the night, the battle that ended it all was another highlight; a battle between Team Niall’s country-pop trio Dek of Hearts and musical theater singer, Jack Austin which resulted in the trio’s victory and Jack being stolen by Michael. Also, the final knockout of the night was a showdown between Team Niall’s save, Ava Nat who sang an impressive rendition of “Hopelessly Devoted to You” to beat Team Niall’s steal, Sadie Dahl who showcased big vocals on “Too Good at Goodbyes.”