Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Krista Hughes and Chris Crump rehearse for their battle round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Chris Crump turned four chairs during his blind audition for Season 9 of The Voice.

But he still felt like a bit of an underdog heading into his Team Blake battle round match.

A 31-year-old from Texas with a pop and Christian pop album under his belt, Chris was being asked to perform a country song called “When I Get Where I’m Going.”

And he was being paired against Krista Hughes, a country singer who also turned four chairs in her blind audition.

Adding to the pressure: The song was a number one hit for Brad Paisley, the Team Blake adviser he’d be rehearsing it in front of.

“Krista has such a strong country voice, you know,” Chris said during a conference call with the media. “And I was worried about that. I was like, ‘Well, she’s going to be a shoe-in for this.’ And not just that, she’s been a huge Brad Paisley fan for a long time, and I thought she was going to do (the song) just excellent justice.”

Two things helped him pull off a performance that helped make their cover the night’s most popular on iTunes.

First, he found a personal connection to the song. It was played at his grandfather’s funeral not even a month prior to the battle round rehearsals.

“So it meant something to me,” Chris says. “It was a country song, but it was more of just telling the story and in my own way, honoring him, you know.”

And he said assistance in handling a song “well out of my wheelhouse” came courtesy of fellow Voice contestant Manny Cabo.

Chris recalls how Manny showed him a clip of Sting singing “Fragile.” Then he showed him a clip of Stevie Wonder singing the same song.

“And Manny said, ‘Chris, do you see how they’re singing the same song? But because they’re two different people, do you see how they’ve made it their own?’ And he goes, ‘Just do that man. Just be yourself.’

“And I had lots of awesome conversations with Manny, and that just made me feel better about it. And that’s just how I sang it. I decided well, I’m not a country artist, but I’m going to sing it like I can, and that made it a lot easier.”

Blake wound up declaring Chris the winner, meaning he advances to the knockout round on The Voice. Krista was eliminated.

For more on Chris, head here. For more on Krista, head here.

Chris Crump performs during the battle round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Chris Crump and Krista Hughes perform on the battle round for The Voice. (NBC Photo)