How Far Did Ansley Burns Go on ‘America’s Got Talent’ Before She Joined ‘The Voice’?
Ansley Burns may be a young singer, but The Voice isn’t her first rodeo — er, competition. The 15-year-old South Carolina native appeared on Monday, Oct. 3’s episode of The Voice and blew away Blake Shelton, who will be her coach this season. A few years before she wowed Shelton, though, she came face-to-face with Simon Cowell on America’s Got Talent. Here’s how far Burns made it in the competition.
Ansley Burns was a semifinalist on ‘America’s Got Talent’ Season 14
Burns auditioned for America’s Got Talent when she was just 11 years old. She sang Aretha Franklin’s “Think,” but Cowell stopped the performance halfway through and told Burns that he didn’t like the backing track. Burns was slightly flustered, but she sang the rest of the tune a cappella and moved on to the Judge Cuts.
Unfortunately, the same thing happened during her Judge Cuts performance. Burns sang Carrie Underwood’s “Good Girl,” but Cowell told producers to stop the music. She sang the rest of the song a cappella. Burns was eliminated in this round — that is, until fans voted her back in as a Wildcard Act for the Quarterfinals. This time, she sang LeAnn Rimes’ “Swingin’,” which helped her advance to the Semifinals.
Burns’ last performance on America’s Got Talent was Carrie Underwood’s “Cry Pretty.” She did not advance to the finals. Will Burns have better luck on The Voice?
Ansley Burns auditioned for ‘The Voice’ Season 22
Now 15 years old, Burns has returned to NBC to try her luck on The Voice. She auditioned with “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers after feeling inspired by LeAnn Rimes’ cover of the song. Burns showed off her impressive vibrato and high notes, earning chair turns from Shelton and his wife, Gwen Stefani. However, Shelton blocked Stefani on his way, making Burns an automatic addition to his team.
After the audition, John Legend said he was impressed by Burns’ range, while newcomer coach Camila Cabello called her voice “angelic.” Stefani complimented Burns’ “pretty” tone. And though she felt disappointed that she won’t be able to coach the singer — unless an opportunity for a steal comes along later — Stefani said Shelton was a great choice.
“My husband blocked me so I can’t be your coach,” Stefani said. “But I’m so happy for you because [Blake] is one of the greatest guys in the whole world. … I think because you’re so young you have so much growth to do. Blake’s ‘gonna really help you with that. I’m excited to see how you grow right in front of our eyes.”
Blake Shelton has high hopes for the young singer on ‘The Voice’ Season 22
Shelton has seen plenty of country singers come and go from his teams on The Voice. However, something about Burns felt special to the coach. He said he could already tell where she wants to take her career, even though she’s so young.
“I’m so excited that I was able to get Ansley on my team,” Shelton said. “The thing I love about Ansley’s voice is she sounds youthful, which, obviously, she is. The fact that she’s covering such a classic song tells me a lot about where she wants to go. I had to use my Block button against my wife, but that’s how badly I wanted Ansley on my team. I blocked my own wife.”
Fans of Ansley Burns can next see her in the Battle Rounds on The Voice, which should be coming up very soon. New episodes of The Voice air on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
