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How “Missing Puzzle Piece” Tanner Frick Got a Bublé Steal by “Playing His Butt Off”
Sometimes a Battle is so evenly matched, a Steal feels pre-ordained.
Early on during rehearsals with her latest Battle singers, Tanner Frick and Tate Renner, The Voice Coach Reba McEntire revealed something about her hopes for the way the Battle would go. She hoped, quite simply, that both singers would be so good that neither would go home, because whoever lost the Battle would be stolen by another Coach.
It's a natural, understandable feeling to have, and McEntire's certainly not the first Coach on The Voice to say it out loud. But on this week's episode of the show, she not only wished for it, she practically predicted it.
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For the Battle between two of her country singers, McEntire picked the Jelly Roll song "Need a Favor," opining early on that both singers could handle it, but that Tanner in particular could nail any song she threw at him within the genre.
"I think Tanner could sing any country song," she said. "'Need a Favor,' it's a real edgy song. It's really good for Tate, because of that gravel in his voice, like a Chris Stapleton."
Sure enough, by the time they took the stage, Frick and Renner both proved they were a match for the tune, turning in a thrilling performance that left all four Coaches unable to pick a a clear winner in the Battle.
"This is a really tough one for Reba, but she is the Queen of Country, so I'm not really worried," Gwen Stefani said. "I think she's gonna know what to do."
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Coach Michael Bublé heaped praise on both singers, and like McEntire, suggested that a Steal might be looming.
"Tate, you have that gravel in your voice, but the truth is, Tanner, I feel like when you want to, you can throw on that effect too," he said. "You have that in your arsenal. I don't want to say anything negative about either of you, because I still have a Steal."
Then there was Snoop Dogg, who couldn't help but shout out the camaraderie that was evident from the opening notes of the performance.
"We always say that this is a Battle, but to me the best part of the Battle is when you can complement the other singer, and that's a characteristic that both of you brothers have, and I just want to commend y'all for that, and let y'all know that y'all pulled off a great performance," Snoop said.
Finally, it was McEntire's turn to make a decision, and she was very nearly stumped.
"You guys played your butts off, sang great, and I'm so proud of you on the harmony," she said. "There's some snaky harmony parts in there, and you got it perfectly. I was so proud of you. So proud. And I have no clue!"
Even when host Carson Daly pressed McEntire on the decision, she couldn't come up with one at first.
"Heck, I don't know," she told Daly. "If it could be a tie that'd be great, because y'all both are great."
In the end, though, McEntire chose Renner, simply because of how fond she is of the singer's raspy voice, leaving Frick hoping for a Steal. Fortunately, he got one when Bublé hit his button, prompting Renner to react immediately from backstage.
"I knew it was gonna happen," Renner said. "I wanna go out there!"
So, Renner heads to the Knockouts victorious as a member of Team Reba, but Frick keeps moving forward as the newest member of Team Michael, something Bublé called the move that really completes his team.
"Tanner Frick is a huge win for me," he said. "That's a 4-Chair Turn, and a piece of the puzzle that I didn't have. I needed that country singer, and now I feel like I'm completely in the game, and my team is assembled."
Catch new weekly episodes of The Voice on NBC Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. Miss an episode? Not to worry — stream it on Peacock the very next day!
