This must've been a bizarre moment for rising country star RaeLynn. Last night, Enid Ortiz and Valerie Ponzio sang her new song "Love Triangle" on The Voice. The pair battled it out for a chance to keep going as a member of Team Blake.
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Of course, RaeLynn first got her shot as a member of Team Blake on Season 2 back in 2012. After bouncing around on a few different labels and some disappointing radio results, RaeLynn found success with her song "Love Triangle." The track is featured on her debut album WildHorse, which dropped just last week.
As for Enid Ortiz and Valerie Ponzio, the pair had the unenviable task of taking that song and making it their own. Ortiz came from Tampa, Fla, and Ponzio from El Paso, Texas. Both singers did their best to stand out on the relatively subdued tune.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhwoIcku_TE
At the end of the day, Shelton picked Ortiz over Ponzio. So now Ortiz moves on to the "knockout" round, while Ponzio hopefully uses her recent airplay to advance her career.
Perhaps one of the larger issues with the battle rounds, and definitely this performance, is the tendency to "over-sing." Singers reach for huge notes and put serious grit and emphasis behind a song, even if the tune doesn't call for it. "Love Triangle" is a tender, downtempo tune from the point of a child. But in this performance, two grown women belted it out at the top of their lungs. But hey, that's TV for ya.
And all of the contestants can take solace knowing you don't have to win to get a leg up. Even RaeLynn didn't make it past the quarterfinals. Yet there is her song, front and center on the show that kicked her out.
READ MORE: Watch RaeLynn Perform Gusty "WildHorse" Backstage at the Grand Ole Opry
But Blake Shelton believed in the young singer enough to do everything he could to help her out. When Big Machine dropped her, she joined Shelton's label. And now she's got a successful debut album and a song climbing the charts.
