More than 12 years after competing on The Voice, Morgan Wallen is now having his own songs covered by contestants on the show, which is a pretty epic full-circle moment if you ask me.
I know there are about a million other accomplishments that better showcase just how massive Wallen has become over the past decade, but what can I say? I’m a sucker for nostalgia. And luckily, one of last night’s aspiring artists did the Sneedville native justice with his own rendition of Wallen’s 2022 hit, “Wasted on You.”
Michigan native Evan James (who, yes, grew up on a Christmas tree farm) took the stage during last night’s final round of Blind Auditions for Season 30, establishing himself as a voice to watch with his rendition of the Dangerous: The Double Album staple. With a smooth, silky voice, James only needed to reach the final riff of the chorus before three coaches simultaneously whipped their chairs around in approval.
First, Kelly Clarkson smacked her button nearly at the same time as the country token judge, Riley Green, followed by Adam Levine, who followed suit, joining in on the battle. And for those who might’ve forgotten this pretty epic piece of The Voice history, Wallen actually ended up on Team Adam during his run on the show after Levine stole him from Usher.
As for the 22-year-old Evan, who finished his performance beautifully and confidently with his parents wholesomely tearing up on the sidelines, when it came time for his pick of the litter, all three coaches had their own compliments to spew. Clarkson compared his rendition to as if Gary Levox, the lead singer of Rascal Flatts, were to cover a Morgan song, noting that he had more R&B undertones.
Green also extended his admiration, and as for Levine, he played the pity card, noting how sad it is that the country artists never want to join his team. Breaking the curse, though, to many’s surprise, Evan hopped on the Maroon 5 singer’s bandwagon.
The leap-of-faith decision could’ve been fueled by the hope that joining Adam’s team would give him a more diverse background and help him stand out…or, as Evan later shared on TikTok, maybe it was simply because his aunt was obsessed with Maroon 5.
Nonetheless, he’s already got people talking online, with some calling it even better than Wallen’s while others are holding out to see what else he has up his sleeve:
Following the official end of the show’s foundation-building blind auditions, the season will now transition into its Battle Rounds, with Evan and his fellow contestants returning over the next few episodes to see who will be the Season 30 winner. The Voice will kick back up next Monday, October 12, at 8 pm ET on NBC and be available for streaming the next day on Peacock.