How "Capital-C Country" Al Boogie Won Over Reba After Striking Out Last Season
A 1990s honky-tonk heart goes far if you want to be on Team Reba!
Al Boogie managed to turn only one Coach's chair during his Season 24 Voice Blind Audition — but it was an important one: Reba McEntire's.
Naturally, the Queen of Country couldn't resist Boogie's cover of Joe Diffie’s “Pickup Man,” which cast a spell of 1990s country nostalgia over the whole crowd.
“I’m a big fan already!” enthused McEntire, who was sure to note her love for Boogie's "capital-C country” sound.
RELATED: An Official Recap of Team Reba on The Voice Season 24
Season 24 marks a shot at musical redemption for Al Boogie. The Louisiana native failed to make it past the Blind Audition stage at the start of Season 23. He made the most of his second chance, too, almost winning over Coaches Niall Horan and Gwen Stefani. However, both Coaches wisely decided against competing with McEntire on her own country-music turf.
Al Boogie sings “Pickup Man” by Joe Diffie for The Voice Season 24 Blind Auditions
“The minute you started speaking, I was like, ‘I recognize that voice!’” said Horan. “I’m so happy for you, because I was thinking, ‘I’m gonna go’ — and then she went, and I was like, ’Well, that’ll be a waste of time!’”
RELATED: People Who Auditioned for The Voice Multiple Times
Stefani almost bit on Boogie’s sound, too, but ultimately decided to defer to McEntire's unquestioned expertise.
“It’s a genre that I’ve been learning, obviously, for the last eight years since I’ve been with Blake [Shelton],” Stefani said. “…But I feel like your voice, when you speak, it has so much character. And in the song it did, as well — but I was maybe looking for a little bit more character at the right times? So then when Reba pressed, I was like ‘Oh my gosh, Gwen, you don’t even know what you’re talking about!’ — and then it was over... and here we are.”
Not that being The Voice’s de facto country music maven could ever go to Reba’s head or anything, right? (LOL.) “‘As you can tell,” she teased, “I am the representation for country music” this season.
But that said, Team Reba is shaping up to transcend (and perhaps blend) many genres. “I kinda thought, when I’d get on The Voice, I’d have my ‘country’ team,” McEntire admitted. “But what I have been drawn to is an eclectic group. I’ve got different genres; they’re unique in their own way — so may the best ‘voice’ win!”
