Wheeler’s star turn on NBC’s The Voice continued as the Dover native made the show’s top nine last week and gave knockout performances this week.
Kenzie Wheeler sets one goal for himself before every episode of NBC’s The Voice: to go out there and do the best he can. It’s kept him humble throughout this season as his star has grown and his spot in the contest has stayed secure.
Last week was unique in that Wheeler got to perform on the first live show of this season. He took on Brooks & Dunn’s “Red Dirt Road” — though it was closer to the Cody Johnson version, Wheeler said — and hoped he’d done enough to make it into the top nine one way or another.
“It was a chill performance and I had a really great time,” Wheeler said. “I don’t feel like it was really any different to me. Yeah, it is live. I just try not to think about that it’s live and act like it’s just another performance, give it my best and hope for the votes. That’s all you can really do.”
That song gave the Dover native the opportunity to do more with his voice than he had in prior episodes. Viewers heard much of this at the end of the song, when Wheeler got to explore more of his vocal range than usual and show America how he’s progressed as a singer under Kelly Clarkson’s wing. Blake Shelton commented afterward that he thinks Wheeler was likely to win the show.
The next evening, America showed him some love and gave him more votes than any other Team Kelly competitor. The people’s vote secured his spot in the top nine and Wheeler said he couldn’t have been more relieved to get in this way.
“They called my name and I felt really, really overwhelmed and very thankful for America believing in me,” Wheeler said. “I didn’t think that was gonna happen. Team Kelly was really strong. Gihanna (Zoe), Corey (Ward) and Zae (Romeo) were all phenomenal. I’m humbled and super thankful America believes in me that much to put me in the top nine on Kelly’s team.”
He at least knew he had the full support of his hometown. Plant City and Dover residents have come together in each of the last two weeks for watch parties at Keel Farms and planned to keep going for as long as Wheeler and his soulful voice would be on TV.
“Family, friends, people I haven’t talked to in a while, the mayor was there,” Wheeler said. “It’s insane, man, how much the people back home are supporting me. I never thought all this would happen and here we are today. It’s really been a blessing. I want to thank everybody for supporting me and for all the love. It’s really unbelievable.”
Wheeler got to perform twice this past Monday. First, he joined Ward and Cam Anthony for a performance of Elvin Bishop’s “Fooled Around and Fell in Love,” which saw a resurgence in 2014 when it was featured in Marvel’s first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Then Wheeler closed out the show with his take on George Jones’s “He Stopped Loving Her Today” — which is his grandmother’s favorite song and one many in Plant City have hoped he would be able to sing.
When voting concluded and the winners were announced Tuesday evening, Wheeler was once again the people’s champ of Team Kelly and advanced to next week’s live season finale. Joining him in the final round of competition are Team Legend’s Victor Solomon, Team Nick’s Rachel Mac, Team Blake’s Cam Anthony and Wildcard Instant Save winner Jordan Matthew Young, also of Team Blake. The season finale will air at 8 p.m. May 25.
You can also join the watch party in Plant City as it moves to Evers Street for the finale. Starting at 6:30 p.m., downtown businesses will team up to throw one big block party on the street with a 40-foot screen to watch the show on. Establishments on the street will be open for business during the watch party.
