ST. LOUIS — Heads and chairs were turning for Neil Salsich when he appeared Monday night on the season 23 premiere of NBC's "The Voice."
A St. Louis native and a member of local band The Mighty Pines, Salsich used his smooth vocals and guitar playing to turn the chairs of each of the season's coaches -- Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson, Chance the Rapper and Niall Horan --- during blind auditions. His song choice: "Honky Tonk Blues" by Hank Williams.
Shelton, who announced this would be his last season as a coach on the show, claimed 34-year-old Salsich for his team after using his only "block" of the season against Clarkson.
"I mean, that's a Hank Williams Sr. song, but I hear you kind of doing a yodel thing, and it's incredible," Shelton said about Salsich's performance. " ... I would be honored for you to be on the last Team Blake."
Watch Neil Salsich's full performance:
Salsich is more than just a country singer, as he pointed out on the show.
"Country is very special to me, but I like to say that's just one of the musical wells that I drink from," Salsich said.
In addition to country, the full-time musician said he has sang blues, folk and rock 'n roll songs at gigs in St. Louis for a decade.
On Tuesday morning, Salsich visited Show Me St. Louis to talk about what it felt like seeing his audition on TV and the support he's received from the community.
"Last night was a whirlwind," he said. " ... All of the work I've done in St. Louis over the last decade really has led right up to that blind audition. You know, 'cause all of the songs that I've sung and all of the music that I've played just came out in that two minutes."
Watch more of "The Voice" and follow along with Salsich's journey on Team Blake at 7 p.m. Mondays and 8 p.m. Tuesdays on NBC.
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