The Road Honors Military Members On Week Seven Of The Inaugural Season
Going into the seventh episode of CBS’s newest reality series, The Road, only half of the contestants remained in the running for the grand prize of $250,000 and a recording contract. Blake Shelton and Keith Urban are on a mission to find the next country star along with executive producer, Taylor Sheridan.
The show is designed to see how aspiring musicians handle the “gritty and unforgiving life of a touring musician.” Each week, the contestants perform in a new city and the live audience ranks them in real-time. Afterward, Shelton and Urban must decide from those who received the lowest amount of votes, who stays and who goes home.
Gretchen Wilson is along for the ride, serving as “tour manager” and mentor to contestants. If you missed last week’s episode, get caught up here!
This week, the contestants delivered an exciting show at The Hall in Little Rock, AR for a special show sponsored by Crown Royal. In connection with their “Purple Bag Project,” Crown Royal invited active duty and retired servicemembers out to enjoy the show and have a hand in the outcome of The Road.
Contestants Perform Acoustic Sets In Little Rock
For the first time, the musicians were tested with delivering an unplugged, acoustic show. Blake Shelton was not present for this episode due to his tour schedule, and “Buy Dirt” singer Jordan Davis stepped in to take his place.
Longtime songwriter Adam Sanders kicked off the show with a twangy version of “Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty. He then found a balance between energy and crowd connection with his original song “Get It If You Did It.”
Channing Wilson is no stranger to military life, as his father and grandfather both served. He covered Waylon Jennings’ “I’m A Ramblin’ Man” as a way to recognize the time that servicemembers have to spend away from home. His original, “Ol’ Dog,” was an autobiographical song written after an experience he had earlier this year, when he received a life-saving stent in his heart.
Next, Britnee Kellogg chose “Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles as her cover song for the week. Additionally, she performed her deeply-personal song “King of Legoland,” which was inspired by her eldest son. He battles autism, colorblindness, and epilepsy, but finds his escape through his favorite hobby.
Billie Jo Jones performed one of the most well-known military tunes in country music, “Travellin’ Soldier.” The song was made famous by The Chicks and recently released by Cody Johnson. She described her original song, “Can’t Take Keith Whitley Tonight,” as one of her most-favorite songs that she has ever written.
Cody Hibbard chose to “switch things up” and attempt a sing-along to Travis Tritt’s “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive.” During his performance, he mistakenly pulled out his in-ear monitor and struggled to locate it, which visibly shook his confidence on stage. After, he performed an original ballad, “Long Ride In A Short Bed.”
Finally, self-described “Army brat” Cassidy Daniels performed “Folsom Prison Blues” by Arkansas native Johnny Cash, armed with her mandolin. She closed the show with her original song, “Ain’t No Jukebox.”
Keith Urban Reveals The Results… Spoilers Ahead!
Once all the performances had concluded, Keith Urban revealed a shocking plot twist. Because each of the contestants performed so well this week, the coaches chose to not send anyone home.
Even though all six are safe this week, the change of plans will mean that two singers will reach the end of The Road next week. Tune in on Sunday at 9/8c on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ to see what happens!
