Riley Green Beats Adam Levine in Another The Voice Showdown — After a Tennessee Singer Takes a Huge Country Gamble With Her First-Ever Miranda Lambert Song

Riley Green and Adam Levine’s playful rivalry on The Voice just delivered another victory for the country star.

Harmony McKee stepped onto the Blind Auditions stage with a particularly risky song choice, performing Miranda Lambert’s fiery “Gunpowder & Lead” despite having never performed a country song before.

It worked.

Both Green and Levine turned their chairs for the Tennessee singer, setting up another battle between two coaches who have quickly become friendly rivals this season.

And Levine knew immediately that Green might have a major advantage.

Adam Levine couldn’t hide his excitement

McKee’s performance caught Levine’s attention even though country isn’t the genre most closely associated with the Maroon 5 frontman.

After turning around, Levine was so excited that he began skipping around his chair.

He quickly made it clear that he wasn’t celebrating because he disliked country music.

“I love country music and I love Riley,” Levine said, before jokingly complimenting Green’s looks.

But his pitch to McKee soon became serious.

Levine praised the power in her voice and told her he believed she was one of the strongest singers they had heard.

More importantly, he didn’t want McKee to feel restricted by genre.

“I just think you can do anything,” he told her.

Green, however, had a much more personal argument waiting.

Riley Green finds a connection through their grandfathers

McKee had spoken about her grandfather’s influence on her relationship with country music.

That immediately resonated with Green.

The 37-year-old explained that his own grandfather had helped shape his musical identity through artists including Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash and George Jones.

“That was where I went musically,” Green said.

He also saw potential in McKee’s background in rock and blues.

Green pointed toward Chris Stapleton as an example of an artist capable of taking country music and giving it a powerful blues influence.

He believed McKee could find her own way to combine those sounds.

“I don’t doubt that you’re gonna do well with it too,” he told her, adding that he would love the opportunity to work with her.

McKee had a decision to make.

After considering both pitches, she chose Team Riley.

‘There’s no better feeling than beating Adam’

Green couldn’t hide how pleased he was with the result.

“I’m so happy I got Harmony,” he said after securing the singer for his team.

Green praised the way McKee transformed Lambert’s song rather than simply copying the original, while her confidence onstage left him convinced she had considerable potential.

“She really made that song her own,” he said. “The way she took over the stage, she’ll definitely be a big star.”

But there was another reason the victory felt particularly satisfying.

“This victory is pretty sweet because there’s no better feeling than beating Adam.”

That line summed up a rivalry that has quickly become one of the season’s running jokes.

Riley and Adam’s rivalry started almost immediately

Before the season began, the coaches revealed that their chemistry developed quickly.

Levine said Green, Kelly Clarkson and Queen Latifah immediately clicked when they started working together.

“We laughed a lot,” he said, explaining that the chemistry among the coaches was obvious from their first meetings.

Green and Levine also wasted little time turning that chemistry into friendly competition.

Levine recalled warning the rookie coach early on: “Riley, don’t f— with me.”

Green responded exactly as viewers might expect.

“I give him a hard time, and he gives me a hard time back,” the country singer explained.

Green even joked that if he were watching from home, he would want “somebody with a cowboy hat” giving Levine a hard time.

Levine couldn’t resist agreeing.

“It’s always nice to have somebody with a cowboy hat giving Adam a hard time,” he deadpanned.

After Harmony McKee’s Blind Audition, that cowboy hat now has another victory to celebrate.

Green didn’t simply convince a promising Tennessee singer to join his team.

He did it after she performed her first-ever country song — and he managed to beat Levine in the process.