Cody Belew (right) was named the knockout round winner over Avery Wilson (left) on The Voice – Photo: NBC
When The Voice began the knockout round this past week on NBC, country singer Cody Belew beat early favorite Avery Wilson to advance for Team Cee Lo.
Coach Cee Lo Green had a tough decision to make this week on The Voice when he pitted Cody Belew against 16-year old Avery Wilson, who Cee Lo called a young prodigy in the battle round. For the knockout round, Avery chose to sing Chris Brown’s party anthem “Yeah 3X” before Cody took the stage with the Dolly Parton classic “Jolene.”
Although Avery was a heavy favorite to go far in The Voice, “Yeah 3X” proved to be a bit too much for the young singer who had to not only sing but find the right energy to dance around the stage. As it turned out, Cody was able to slow things down and breath more depth into “Jolene” to win Cee Lo over and advance into the next round.
When Avery chose to sing a more dance driven song, one that didn’t really showcase his vocals, did Cody feel he had an open door to beat him?
“No,” Cody admitted to The Deadbolt this week after the knockout round. “Honestly, I didn’t know going into that round what Avery was going to sing because our rehearsals are all sort of closed. I was just genuinely enjoying his performance. And I was shocked, because from my vantage point, I don’t think he did that bad. All of the coaches seemed to feel like that wasn’t his moment and Blake said it left the door open for me.”
For Cody, choosing to sing “Jolene” was a make or break moment for the young Arkansas singer. By the time he hit the stage for the knockout round, Cody not only had big shoes to fill with a Dolly Parton classic but also in beating one of the show’s favorites.
But going into the knockout round, Cody was prepared to sing for his life on The Voice.
“I went into that round with guns loaded,” added Belew to The Deadbolt. “It didn’t matter who I was going to be up against, I was bringing a big dog in with “Jolene,” and I knew that. I also knew that it was a huge risk, because if I missed one note, it was going to cost me the win. I was really sticking my neck out there.”
Looking back, however, the victory was bittersweet for Cody who had to say goodbye to a fellow team mate. And since Cody felt that Avery was still on top of his game despite what the coaches thought of Wilson’s song choice, he was also realistic about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
“This competition, somebody has to win and somebody has to lose,” Cody continued. “I wish it weren’t that way because, as musicians, that’s just not how you think. It’s always on more of a collaborative level. I hate the battle round and the knockout round but it’s your only way to get through. If I had Avery with me here now, I would just say that from where I was sitting, I didn’t think you did that bad. It was a huge risk to do all of those dance moves, but he did them because he can and he’s good at it. I just wish him the best.”
What did you think of the knockout between Cody and Avery this week on The Voice?