Hank Williams on The Voice… gotta love it.
And man, this guy can SING.
Season 23 of The Voice kicked off a few days ago and one contestant is already a fan favorite after turning all 4 chairs with his blind audition.
34 year old Neil Salsich is a St. Louis native who’s been playing in a local band called The Mighty Pines for years, and when it was his turn to impress the judges, he pulled out an absolute country music classic, Hank William’s “Honky Tonk Blues”.
Released in 1952 on his Moanin’ The Blues album, it was an instant hit for Hank and was later covered by Charley Pride.
Right from the jump, everyone could hear something special in Neil’s voice. Smooth, soulful, and with a bit of light yodeling mixed in, the excitement on all four judges faces was easy to see.
Of course, Blake Shelton, in his final season with the show, was the first to hit the red button, but Kelly Clarkson quickly followed. Chance The Rapper and Nial Horton also eventually tried to make their claim, but Blake decided to hit them all with the Uno-Reverse, using his one block to stop Kelly from recruiting him.
After the performance, Blake said
“I mean, that’s a Hank Williams Sr. song, but I hear you kind of doing a yodel thing, and it’s incredible… I would be honored for you to be on the last Team Blake.”
Neil accepted and I’m already excited to hear what else he’ll come out with during the season.
Hopefully, it’s a lot more of this.
