Kenna Elpers Wins Over Riley Green on The Voice With Chris Stapleton Cover
Kenna Elpers stepped onto The Voice stage with a clear goal: she wanted Riley Green to be her coach. The 23-year-old country singer already had a connection to the country star, having opened for him at a music festival in 2023. On Wednesday’s Blind Audition, she turned that history into a memorable reunion by performing Chris Stapleton’s “White Horse.”
Elpers’ connection with Green went back several years. After she opened for him in 2023, Green gave her a signed koozie. She held onto the keepsake and brought it with her to The Voice, hoping it might eventually be part of a celebration if she succeeded in joining his team.
Her choice of audition song made her intentions clear. Elpers took on Stapleton’s “White Horse,” a demanding country performance that gave her the opportunity to show Green what she could do.
The performance earned the response she was hoping for. Green turned his chair, while Queen Latifah also spun around to compete for Elpers.
Both coaches, however, picked up on some nerves during the early part of the performance. Queen Latifah praised Elpers while acknowledging that she could hear the nerves in her voice.
“You’re amazing,” Latifah told her. “I turned my chair really quickly.”
Rather than viewing the nerves as a problem, the coaches saw them as something Elpers could overcome as the competition continued. Latifah encouraged her by telling her that she had already gotten through the nerves and was ready for what came next.
Green offered a similar assessment, assuring Elpers that the nerves were something she could work past.
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Elpers Had a History With Green Before The Voice
The competition became even more personal when Elpers explained her previous connection with Green.
Her history with the country singer helped explain why she had arrived at The Voice hoping specifically to land on his team. According to Evansville Living, Elpers and Green had actually crossed paths before the 2023 festival. They met at the 2019 Vanderburgh County Fair, where Elpers performed the national anthem and Green shared a set with Morgan Wallen.
Four years later, Elpers opened for Green at a music festival in Missouri.
That earlier experience made Green’s presence in the coaches’ chairs especially meaningful for Elpers. She had already shared a stage with him, and now she was auditioning for the opportunity to work with him as a coach.
Elpers’ own biography also notes that she moved to Nashville, Tennessee, at 18 to pursue country music and has performed alongside artists including Craig Campbell, Jameson Rodgers, Maddie and Tae, Dylan Scott and Riley Green.
Queen Latifah Makes Her Case
Queen Latifah did not give up easily.
She acknowledged that country music was clearly Green’s territory, but argued that her experience as a performer gave her plenty to offer Elpers.
“Country is Riley’s wheelhouse, but I know good singing and good performing and I’d love to have you on my team,” Latifah said.
The other coaches also joined in the playful exchange. Adam Levine jokingly referred to Green as “the better looking Blake Shelton,” prompting Green to ask whether they could put the description on his chair.
Once Elpers revealed her previous history with Green, however, the decision became much harder for Latifah to overcome. Kelly Clarkson summed up the situation with a joke of her own, telling Latifah, “Well, Queen, it was a nice ride.”
Green appeared to recognize where the decision was headed.
“I don’t really know what else we need to talk about,” he joked.
Elpers ultimately chose Riley Green, officially joining Team Riley for Season 30.
The Koozie Gets Its Moment
After losing Elpers to Green, Queen Latifah admitted that the country star had a significant advantage.
“Riley is so tough to beat with country, and of course she had a country connection,” she said.
Latifah also took a lesson from the experience, joking that contestants might need to start bringing gifts to Green’s concerts if they want an advantage in future auditions.
Green quickly played along.
“I’ve got some bad news for you,” he told the other coaches. “I’ve threw out a lot of koozies over the years.”
For Elpers, though, that particular koozie had clearly become a memorable reminder of an earlier moment in her career. She brought it to the audition as a connection to the artist she hoped would become her coach, and by the end of the performance, she had accomplished exactly that.
The audition also marked another step in Elpers’ journey as a country singer from Southern Indiana. Her performance of “White Horse” gave her a place on Team Riley Green and continued a relationship with the country star that began years before either of them knew they would meet again on The Voice.
When to Watch The Voice
Season 30 of The Voice premiered September 21, 2026, with Kelly Clarkson and Adam Levine returning as coaches alongside newcomers Riley Green and Queen Latifah. NBC launched the season with a three-night premiere event running through September 23.
Following premiere week, new episodes of The Voice air Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, with episodes available to stream the following day on Peacock.
