Barron’s Kroeze heading to ‘Voice’ semifinals
He’s a terrible bowler, but fortunately for Chris Kroeze, he’s an incredible singer.
And now the Barron-born-andbased country singer is heading to the semifinals on NBC’s “The Voice.”
On Monday’s episode, Kroeze first appeared hanging out with coach Blake Shelton and his fellow teammates Kirk Jay and Dave Fenley at a Los Angeles bowling alley, where Kroeze amicably brushed off his gutter balls.
He bowled over Shelton, though, during a rehearsal for Monday’s live performance of Garth Brooks’ “Callin’ Baton Rouge,” a dance-floor-filling “barn burner” (Kroeze’s words) that he frequently plays at bar gigs. (We also got a closer look at his stepdaughter Bella and son Finley, via an edited FaceTime chat with Kroeze.)
“America’s falling in love with Chris,” Shelton said. “He’s been the dark horse. And now that we’re getting close to the finale people are realizing this guy is a serious threat to everyone in the competition.”
Kroeze proved Shelton’s point with his performance, which climaxed with Kroeze on guitar doing a musical duet with the backing band’s fiddle player.
After the performance, coach and judge Kelly Clarkson, who gave Kroeze a standing ovation, summed up Kroeze’s appeal.
“I want to be friends with you,” she said. “You seem so rad. You seem really cool and relatable and sweet and super talented.”
Kroeze — who has been on Shelton’s team since wowing him during the blind auditions — is now one of eight final contestants on season 15 of “The Voice.”
He’ll next perform live on the show on Dec. 10.