As a member of the Top 9, the pressure was on 17-year-old Georgia native Megan Danielle to deliver an impressive performance. Things were made all the more challenging since, for the second week in a row, Megan had to deliver her performance from home.
Due to current circumstances, The Voice is unable to film its live shows at its soundstage. So the coaches and contestants switched things over to record the live shows from their own homes.
Megan made it through her first week of remote live shows after singing Demi Lovato’s “Anyone.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYPeMTF9H_A
Megan then had to prep another remote performance as she eyed a spot in the Season 18 finale. She chose a song with country roots, opting to sing “What Hurts the Most.”
The song was originally recorded by Mark Wills in 2003 and other recordings from artists such as Bellefire and Jo O’Meara followed. Then, Rascal Flatts released their recording in January 2006.
Today, Rascal Flatts’ version of the song is the one most people think of when its name comes up. Their recording was a number one hit on both the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. It was also a crossover success, and peaked at the sixth position on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Megan had a lot to live up to when she chose to cover the song on The Voice. But it didn’t take long for the coaches to appear impressed with her performance and the sound of her voice.
Megan’s unique tone has drawn lots of compliments from the Voice coaches, especially her own coach, Kelly Clarkson. She couldn’t stop showering Megan with praise after she heard her sing “What Hurts the Most.”
“I think you’re so magical,” Kelly said. “I think your tone is so distinct.” She later went on to say that “no one on the planet” sounds exactly like Megan.
Then, Kelly pointed out how easy it was to feel the pain of the song’s lyrics when hearing them through Megan’s voice. She said Megan has this natural ability to channel emotion through her voice, and its raspy sound tends to enhance those emotions.
“And every time you sing, it’s like you hear, like what a broken heart trying to fly sounds like,” Kelly said. “Like it sounds so beautifully broken.”
You can hear just how beautifully broken sounding Megan’s performance of “What Hurts the Most” was when you watch it below. No matter what her outcome on The Voice may be, we feel confident this girl is going to be a star!