Riley Green Offered to Bake a Cake for ‘The Voice’ Contestant Brandy Neelly

Team Riley has a new member—this time, a 31-year-old from Nashville with a unique spin on classic ‘90s country.

On Monday, October 5, Brandy Neelly, who has lived in Music City for eight years, took The Voice stage with an upbeat rendition of Jo Dee Messina’s 1998 hit, “Lesson in Leavin’.” As her Blind Audition performance took off, Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson, Riley Green, and Queen Latifah bopped to the beat before Riley turned his chair. Not long after, Queen Latifah followed suit.

After her audition, Brandy took the chance to shout out her side hustle as a baker and even revealed that she once made a birthday cake for Riley, unbeknownst to him. A picture of the cake quickly jogged the “Worst Way” singer’s memory, and he couldn’t help but praise the sugary confection, nor her singing.

“I obviously love the song; it was a great performance; it was fun,” Riley told Brandy. “You had a lot of soul in your voice, and it’s got a traditional feel to it that I loved about it. You did it in a way that didn’t sound like anybody else. And that’s exciting to me because you’ve got a sound that’s unique. I think today, with all the avenues of music coming out, the best you can be is different, and you’ve certainly got your own sound. So congratulations.”

While Brandy’s interest in Team Riley seemed obvious, Queen Latifah couldn’t resist throwing her hat in the ring. “Brandy, there is nothing like a woman who can come out here and rock a song like that, sing that, have buckles on her pants… and she makes the cake, okay,” Queen Latifah exclaimed. “And you just sound beautiful. Your energy was on point, your pocket was rocking. I said, ‘Listen, she is keeping this. She’s making me turn around,’ and I think you’re going to make the world love you. So welcome to this show.”

To help Brandy weigh her options, Adam Levine, who did not turn his chair for her, chimed in. “Before you decide, I want you to know, this man has such a lock on the country artists, right? Totally makes sense. But I’d rather you stand out on Queen’s team than be sent into this country gauntlet on Riley’s team. I want you to have your own lane,” he explained. “So I’m just saying, before you definitely choose Riley, maybe just think about strategy.”

Before Kelly could fully ask Brandy who she was going to pick for her coach, Riley butted in and offered to make her a cake if she chose him. And lo and behold, that’s exactly what she did. While any singer would be lucky to land on Adam’s, Kelly’s, Riley’s, or Queen Latifah’s team, fans were thrilled to see Brandy join Team Riley. “Beautiful and powerful voice 🔥naturally belongs to Team Riley 🤠 and nothing can break the cake bonding 😍🎂,” one fan commented on Instagram. “How did she still have air in her lungs?” someone else marveled. “That was one of the best ones I’ve seen so far this season. Just such well-rounded vocals,” another fan wrote. “Idk who she is, but I just know she’s gonna be a star,” someone else predicted.

The Voice Season 30 blind auditions air Mondays at 8/7c on NBC.

Rebecca Norris is a full-time freelance writer living in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Over the past 10+ years, she’s heavily covered a range of lifestyle topics, including travel, home, beauty, style, wellness, and celebrity news. She is a graduate of George Mason University, where she earned a B.A. in Media: Production, Consumption, and Critique, along with a minor in Electronic Journalism. When she's not writing, she can be found strolling with her Jack-Chi, Cash, sipping iced matcha lattes, indulging in delicious cuisine, perusing farmer’s markets and antique sales, collecting colored glass, getting lost within the pages of a book, and exploring new bucket-list cities.

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