On the first round of The Voice Knockouts (April 3), Ashley Levin performs the 1969 Bobbie Gentry song “Fancy”. This is Ashley’s second chance. During the Battle Round, Blake Shelton picked Casi Joy over Ashley (they sang “How Blue” together) but Ashley’s performance had the rest of the coaches – Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani and Alicia Keys — hitting their buzzers to steal Ashley. (Ashley is now on Team Alicia.)
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Fancy is a difficult song to sing. Fancy refers to a woman looking back at her poverty-driven childhood with a sick single mom. Before the mother dies, she tells Fancy to “be nice to men and they’ll be nice to you.” Fancy does as her mother suggests, reaches fame and fortune, and later forgives her late mother for the advice. Gentry said the song: It’s “my strongest statement for women’s lib, if you really listen to it. I agree wholeheartedly with that movement and all the serious issues that they stand for – equality, equal pay, day care centers, and abortion rights.” For one of the first cross-over country/pop songs on the books, Gentry was nominated for a Grammy Award for best female pop vocal performance. The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8pm on NBC.
