Riley Green’s Duck Call Wasn’t All It Was Quacked Up To Be as He Tried To Sway an Army Vet on ‘The Voice’

In the days leading up to the Season 30 premiere of The Voice, Riley Green, a new face on the judges’ panel, sat down with American Songwriter’s Off The Record podcast to reveal his secret weapon in getting singers on his team: his cowboy hat. But now it looks like he’s graduated from headwear-only to outdoorsman supplies like duck calls and Carhartt coveralls to sway potential vocalists to join his crew.

However, in the case of BigCountry, an Army veteran and raspy-voiced baritone from Bakersfield, California, it doesn’t look like Green’s techniques worked. The California native, who is self-proclaimed as “country-bred, country-fed, and country-led,” scored a three-chair turn during his performance of “I Put A Spell On You”. Adam Levine, Queen Latifah, and Riley Green turned their chairs in that order.

Kelly Clarkson waited to hear another vocal element, like falsetto, before turning her chair. She admitted to feeling like a “moron” for not turning after hearing the rest of his song. Still, she acknowledged how talented he was before turning it over to the other three judges to plead their case. And for a brief moment, it looked like Green might win.

Riley Green’s Duck Call Wasn’t All It Was Quacked Up To Be

Riley Green told American Songwriter’s Off The Record podcast that he planned on using his cowboy hat to bond with other singers over a shared love of country music and country living. This seemed like a feasible plan for a singer like BigCountry, who rocks a black cowboy hat himself. After he blew the judges away with his rendition of the “Screamin’ Jay” Hawkins track, BigCountry talked to each judge about why he should join their team.

In the middle of Adam Levine’s passionate pitch, Green busted out a different kind of country item: a duck call. “Oh, excuse me,” Green said after quacking out a few different calls. “Adam’s nickname is actually LittleCity,” Green added with a laugh. Later in the audition, Green busted out a pair of Carhartt coveralls. He even walked them over to the singer so he could feel how “durable” they were. Green also showed some love to BigCountry’s mother and wife, who had joined him on stage. Despite Green and Levine’s valiant efforts, Queen Latifah ended up being the judge to win BigCountry’s heart.

“It’s Queen all day,” BigCountry said.

“Getting your first artist is crazy,” Queen Latifah said later. “He just ate that thing up, chewed it up, ground it down, and spit it out on that stage. I’m looking for more incredible, unique artists who can compete with any genre. This is the Queen L-A-T-I-F-A-H in Command. I need to know that you can command the crowd.” 

BigCountry certainly seems up for that challenge.

Photo by John Nacion/WireImage

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