It's not every day that a previous contestant on The Voice gets to come back on another season, but country singer Al Boogie earned a second chance at fame on Monday night's episode (Oct. 9).
Videos by Wide Open Country
In a segment prior to his performance, Boogie explained that he auditioned for The Voice on Season 23, but none of the coaches turned for him. Footage from last season showed Shelton giving him a critique after his performance of Travis Tritt's "T-R-O-U-B-L-E." Shelton said Boogie seemed to "back off" from some of the bigger notes of the song.
The singer explained he was "crushed" after the audition, and when he returned home, he began gaining weight. After hitting what he called "rock bottom," Boogie lost 50 lbs and returned to The Voice stage.
When Boogie took to the stage for a second time, he launched into a cover of Joe Diffie's "Pickup Man." For a few minutes, it was looking like Boogie would return home empty handed yet again. At the tail-end of his performance, however, Reba McEntire pressed her button to get the singer on her team. McEntire was impressed with Boogie's interpretation of old-school country, which she calls "Country with a capital C."
Although the other coaches did not turn, they all gave their review of Boogie's performance. Niall Horan — who remembered Boogie from last season — suggested the singer add more "grit" to his performance. John Legend then expressed interest in hearing more range from Boogie.
In the end, Boogie and McEntire seemed like a "match made in Heaven" (per Horan), and McEntire quickly ushered her new team member over for a helping of "Reba's tots" after the performance.
"I love Al's voice because I love '90s country music the best," McEntire said after the audition. "He represented us well. He's got a great voice."
Watch below, and catch The Voice on Monday and Tuesday nights on NBC:
