Returning coach and champion Kelly Clarkson is in the lead on Season 15 of The Voice. She has the most (three) artists competing in the Top 8 live performances (December 10). One of them is Chevel Shepherd, the 16-year-old country singer from New Mexico. Chevel is keeping in her country lane by singing the song “Blue.”
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The “heartache ballad” was written in 1958 by Bill Mack but it took almost 40 years for it to become a hit, when 13-year-old country singer LeAnn Rimes recorded it in 1996. The following year, 14-year-old Rimes won a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Mack won one for Best Country Song.
Download Chevel’s version of “Blue”
Story goes that Mack’s friend, singer/songwriter Roy Drusky, suggested he pitch “Blue” to Patsy Cline, so Mack gave a tape to Cline’s husband Charlie Dick, but Cline died in a plane crash in 1963 before she could record it. However, Mack has made it clear that he did not write the song with Cline in mind. Since Rimes’ recording, “Blue” has been included on the CMT list of the Top 100 country songs of all time. The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 pm on NBC.
