Mid-Michigan Teen Brayden Lape Makes It to “The Voice” Live Shows

A Jackson County teenager has advanced another important step further in his quest to win the current season of NBC's hit singing competition "The Voice".

16-year-old Brayden Lape of Grass Lake emerged victorious in a 3-way knockout battle among fellow contestants Austin Montgomery and Eva Ullman. Brayden chose to cover country singer Brett Young's #1 hit from 2018, "Mercy", and it served him well. His coach, Blake Shelton, chose Brayden as the one to advance to the show's live rounds, which are scheduled to begin next week on NBC.

"Mercy" is a heartbreak song. Blake and others seemed surprised that Brayden could sell the song so well emotionally, despite not being old enough to have likely experienced the lyrics he sang about. Neither Blake nor any of his fellow coaches (Gwen Stefani, John Legend and Camila Cabello) mentioned anything to the teen about repeatedly flashing that winning smile of his whilst singing about the pain of a broken heart.

Brayden, who is quarterback of his high school football team in Grass Lake, will be spending some more time in Los Angeles now that he's successfully navigated the Blind Audition, Battle and Knockout Rounds on "The Voice". His future success on the show is now largely in the hands of the viewing (and voting) public, unless Blake or another coach saves him from a possible elimination at some point. In addition to a solid singing voice, Brayden's got the look of a young star (a character trait which tends to benefit those appearing on the show).

"The Voice" airs Monday and Tuesday nights on NBC.