Kenzie Wheeler brought his baritone voice on full display with a cover of George Jones on NBC’s The Voice.
Keeping classic country music alive, Wheeler performed Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” a song that has been labeled as the greatest country song of all time, according to several surveys. And the reason Wheeler chose to sing the iconic hit was because he and his Mamaw Lorene used to listen to traditional country music together as he was growing up.
The 23-year-old contestant dedicated his performance of the Jones’ hit to his Mamaw as he admitted that the song is her all-time favorite.
Ahead of his performance, Kelly Clarkson thought this was the perfect song choice and told him, “I love your tone! This is the perfect song for you.”
Following his impressive performance, he earned praise from his Voice coach Clarkson.
“Oh my gosh. I love you,” Clarkson gushed. “I think you are so gifted. Your tone is incredible you’re literally one of my favorite country singers that has ever existed!”
Even Nick Jonas was blown away by his vocal abilities.
“You’ve got one of those wonderfully classic voices,” Jonas said. “This whole set up was so enjoyable.”
Previously, Wheeler has performed massive country hits, including Brooks & Dunn’s “Red Dirt Road,” Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Fishin’ In The Dark” and Luke Combs’ “Beer Never Broke My Heart,” which earned him praise from Blake Shelton who declared Wheeler is “probably going to win the voice” after his stunning cover of Combs.
Watch Wheeler’s cover of the Jones’ classic above.
