Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Zach Seabaugh performs during the knockout round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

But Blake Shelton certainly made sure he earned it.

First, he pitted Zach, just 16 when he auditioned, against the far more experienced Tyler Dickerson in the battle round. Zach prevailed.

Then, in the knockout round, Blake put Zach up against 31-year-old Chris Crump, who turned four chairs during the blind audition.

We didn’t get to see the match on TV, but Zach was declared the winner after singing Hunter Hayes’ “Somebody’s Heartbreak.”

“It was really intimidating when I saw Chris on the other side of the stage,” Zach, said during a Tuesday afternoon conference call with the media. “Deep down inside, I’m like, ‘Uh, another hard one to go up against.’ Of course, going against anyone on Team Blake would be a little bit intimidating.”

To add to the pressure, Zach said he wasn’t 100 percent comfortable with his knockout round song.

“It was a lot higher in my register and I really wasn’t comfortable with where the song sat in my voice,” the teen from Marietta, Ga., admitted. “But Blake really saw the potential I had and how hard I worked on the song.”

In the end, the challenge paid off. Zach said even Pharrell complimented him on the range he displayed during his performance.

And the iTunes cover turned out well enough that it hit the site’s country singles chart even though Zach’s performance wasn’t shown on The Voice.

Then, of course, there was the coaching advice the young country singer got from Blake and knockout round adviser Rihanna.

“Getting to work with Blake and Rihanna at the same time — that was really a unique experience.” he said. “I don’t think you’ll ever get those two in the same room again working on a Hunter Hayes song.”