TSoul Surprises, Then Wins Big On 'The Voice'

It was slow going there for a while but, by the skin of his teeth, TSoul scored a battle win on The Voice on Monday night. Don't get me wrong: TSoul stayed true to his name and brought the damn soul. There was soul coming out of that man's ears and in plentiful quantity, too. There was enough soul to create another singer right on the Voice stage. TSoul was delivering on the emotional duties required to bring Wilson Pickett's "In The Midnight Hour" to life but he was struggling for a long time to bring some force and momentum into his voice. For a hot sec, it looked like a battle win would elude this deserving Voice contestant.

TSoul had a pretty shaky first rehearsal day. In the studio with coach Blake Shelton and guest coach Luke Bryan, TSoul seemed to take a back seat to fellow contestant and battle competitor Josh Hoyer. Hoyer appeared super comfortable to bring the power, the zest, and the panache that Pickett originally brought to this soulful, rockin' tune. TSoul was just a few paces behind. With a little more coaxing from Shelton, TSoul was able to drop out of his comfortable falsetto and bring that tenor power to his voice.

That nudge from Shelton was just what TSoul needed to edge out Hoyer during the battle. After a rousing Day Two in the rehearsal space, TSoul had his confidence renewed and he was delivering vocal punch after vocal punch both in rehearsal and during the actual battle. Hoyer had to have felt the pressure building.

As the song finished, TSoul emerged victorious. Shelton commended both Hoyer and TSoul. That said, it was a his comment that TSoul already had the right blend of "herbs and spices" that should have been an indicator that he was going to save the soulful singer.

In the end, Hoyer went home while TSoul stayed on Team Blake. Here's to hoping that the coming weeks bring nothing but luck for this amazing singer.