FOLEY, Mo. — Foley, Missouri, native Ruby Leigh competed in "The Voice" live finale Monday night. Leigh, 16, is the youngest singer in the competition.
For her first song, she performed Elvis' "Suspicious Minds." She said it was challenging to get one of the few remaining songwriters to sign off on her performing it. Producers told her that 99% of the time he says no to it being included in movies and TV. Which is why it was only the second time in the show's history that "Suspicious Minds" has been performed, Leigh said.
Last week, competitors performed a solo suggested by the audience and a song from Taylor Swift's repertoire. Leigh sang "Country Roads" by John Denver and "Mean (Taylor's version)."
Leigh learned on Tuesday that she and four other competitors were moving on to the final showdown. The two-part finale will take place Dec. 18 and 19.
"Congratulations on getting this far," Coach Reba McEntire said to Leigh during one of their rehearsals. "You've done so well. You've hung in there. I know it's been a tough, long journey, but I'm so proud of you."
While Ruby brought the house down in Los Angeles on Dec. 18, her growing fandom gathered at Cori's Twin Gables in Marthasville. A local bar where she used to perform at just 11 years old.
"We had a couple people from Foley who showed up and I was like, 'Oh, so you know her.' They said, 'No, we don't know anyone in our town. We're just so excited,'" owner Cori Simpkins said. "Nobody is neighbors because everyone is so far away."
Cori's daughter Marli, who is friends with Ruby thanks to her regular performances growing up at Cori's Twin Gables added, "The best part is that her follower count since she has gotten on the show has times 1,000."
She needs all the support she can get to win the competition and give Coach Reba McEntire her first win.
Creating handmade signs for Leigh was just the beginning for her fans in Marthasville. Diane Lynch a fan and family friend of Leigh's at Cori's Twin Gables shared that she has texted everyone in her phone contacts and has made a spreadsheet with hundreds of people's names on it to remind them to vote for Leigh on Monday.
"I mean not everyone is from a big city," Kayla Turnbough, an employee at Cori's Twin Gables and family friend of Leigh's, said "There are a lot of people from small towns and everyone is rooting for her. She's awesome."
Growing up in a small town, Leigh's father Casey Pearson (Ruby Leigh is her stage name, her given name is Ruby Leigh Pearson) instilled a strong work ethic in Ruby and her sister Sandra (also known as "Grumpy") after working in the automotive industry.
"Nobody is going to just give this to you because you wanted to be a singer at 9 years old," Pearson said. "She has just absolutely just taken that advice and ran with it. She works incredibly hard. Harder than I would have ever dreamt that any of my friends would have ever worked."
Different artists already want to collaborate with Leigh, though she can't say who.
In the future, some of her dream musicians to work with would be "Tyler Childers would be really cool or Billy Strange," Leigh said.
"For the rock side: Green Day. If anyone out there knows Green Day please, I beg of you, get me in touch," Leigh added. "They would all be really cool to work with. Green Day would be really cool to work with because people don't expect it."
Following Ruby's performance, fans are now able to lock in their vote until 2 a.m. CST on Tuesday to help her win. Here's how, according to NBC:
- To vote, you'll need to set up an NBCUniversal Profile online or using the "The Voice" Official App.
- Once you have created an account, you can sign in and vote via nbc.com/voicevote or "The Voice" Official App during the show. All votes must be cast during the designated voting window.
- To lock in your vote, simply click on the artist's photo you wish to vote for and select "submit vote." You can change your vote anytime until the voting window closes.
The season's winning artist will receive a recording contract.
"The Voice" airs at 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday nights on NBC. Stream it the next day on Peacock.
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