Blake Shelton Forced To Make ‘Soul-Crushing’ Decision On ‘The Voice’ After Hailey Green Covers ‘God’s Country’

Team Blake’s Hailey Green covered one of Blake Shelton‘s biggest hits during The Voice Knockouts on Monday evening, and even though she powered through her performance, her time on the show came to an end. 

Team Blake’s Libianca and Hailey Green each had a chance to perform, however, only one contestant would advance to the next round. 

Libianca delivered an impressive rendition of Billie Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted” and Green took a risk by covering Shelton’s chart-topping hit, “God’s Country,” as he watched on from the coaches panel. 

Up first was Green, who put her own country/rock twist on the Shelton hit as she played an electric guitar and showcased the lower side of her vocal range. Her performance even had coach Ariana Grande on her feet cheering her on. 

Libianca was next and had the live audience, as well as the coaches, hanging on to her every word as her impeccable vocals soared throughout her performance. 

Grande, who also rose to her feet during Libianca’s performance, praised both contestants, but recognized that Libianca had the edge over Green. 

“Those were so incredible! Hailey, that was brave: You just sang the one and only Blake Shelton’s song right in front of him,” Grande applauded. “Libianca, I love how you switch up the melody. I loved how you saved the high note for the end. I would have to give this one to Libianca.”

John Legend‘s feedback was similar to Grade’s as he deemed Libianca the winner as well. 

“Hailey, your voice is just powerful and just filling up this room with energy. I was like, ‘How is Libianca going to follow that?’” Legend shared. “And then, it was a master class in vocals…You had me on the edge of my seat. And, for that reason, I would pick Libianca.”

Kelly Clarkson compared Green to Janis Joplin before complimenting the “cool texture and vibe” of Libianca’s vocals. 

Shelton could only pick one winner, however, as he admitted he had to make a “soul-crushing” decision. 

“My heart’s broken right now. It wouldn’t have mattered who I chose, but there was no way I was going to let Libianca go,” the country superstar declared. 

The Voice returns on Tuesday (Oct. 26) at 8/7 c on NBC.