Payge Turner cried while rehearsing for her performance on the latest round of “The Voice.” Then the Seattle resident channeled that emotion into another win.
Turner advanced to the Nov. 30 live performance round of the popular competition singing show Monday night, winning her knockout round performance against Team Gwen Stefani teammate Ryan Berg with Radiohead’s soaring “Creep.”
“I just put everything out on the stage today so it’s good to see it paid off,” Turner said after Stefani’s decision to advance her.
The victory came after Turner seemed to struggle during rehearsals with Stefani and special guest Usher in attendance. After performing the song competently, the two Grammy Award-winning coaches pushed her to dig deeper emotionally on a song that alternately whispers and wails.
She shed a few tears during their advice session, then left the show’s coaches stunned after her performance, the last of sessions taped in July and August.
“I feel like we witnessed her having an out-of-body experience,” said Blake Shelton, a consistent cheerleader for Turner.
John Legend was also entranced: “I was just utterly stunned by your delivery of this song. This was like a revelation.”
Stefani was again presented with a difficult decision, but chose Turner because she felt she took the most from her coaching.
“Payge is one of the most unique people on the show and it’s very fresh sounding because you just don’t see a lot of people blending styles the way she does.”
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“The Voice” airs at 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesdays on NBC.
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