After 28 seasons, you’d think The Voice would have seen and heard it all. But that’s the beautiful thing about music: There’s always more to explore. During the October 6 episode of Blind Auditions, an Artist arrived with a new and unique skillset that got him a 4-Chair Turn and major praise from the Coaches.
Dustin grew up on a blend of rhythm and blues, New Orleans-style, and country music, as well as Cajun traditional music, which he labels as “swamp” music.
The last few years, Dustin has been living in his car and says he has traveled 100,000 miles in pursuit of his music career..
“When I’m on the road, it’s hours of driving getting to a city, singing for a couple of hours, and then finding a parking lot to sleep in,” he says. “I’ve just been focusing on honing the craft, and the coaches will be able to really break through the ceiling and join the table of success. A chair turn would justify all the sacrifices I’ve made.”
Dustin Dale Gaspard is a 33-year-old Cajun singer from Cow Island, Louisiana, an area with as many people as alligators (or, as Gaspard calls them, “swamp puppies”). He plays what he calls “swamp pup music,” which he describes as “rhythm-and-blues New Orleans-filled music” that’s also country western-influenced mixed with Cajun traditional styles. Gaspard is bilingual in Cajun French and lives in his car so he can travel from gig to gig, with The Voice being the biggest gig of all.
Gaspard’s Blind Audition represents “the first time Cajun French [has been] sung on The Voice,” he said. Here’s how his Blind Audition went:
Dustin Dale Gaspard hooked the Coaches with his wordless first note on The Voice
Guitar in hand, Gaspard stepped up to the mic with confidence, but he began his song, Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home To Me,” on another instrument. “He’s playing the harmonica already?” asked Coach Michael Bublé. Harmonica, guitar, English and Cajun French all went into the Blind Audition, and netted Gaspard chair turns from all four Coaches!
Calling him “proper unique,” Coach Niall Horan said he would’ve listened to Gaspard sing “Baa Baa Black Sheep” and begged,”Please pick me, I love you.”
“I’m from southeastern Oklahoma, so not far from where you are. You’re different. You’re unusual. You’re refreshing. And you can sing and play,” added Coach Reba McEntire. Bublé praised the Artist’s authenticity, while Coach Snoop Dogg referenced his own family in the American South and then sang back to him, “If you ever change your mind and think about leaving, leaving me behind, pick me, bring it on over to me.”
Ultimately, Gaspard went with Team Niall. In a December 2022 interview with NBC Insider, Horan said, “I love finding new talent online and things, so I really wanted to get involved and find a new crop of talent that we can nurture.” That definitely described the latest member of his team!
How Blake Shelton helped Niall Horan his first season of The Voice in 2023
In a 2023 interview with NBC Insider, when both Horan and Blake Shelton were Coaches on The Voice, Horan said, “Blake, he’s like a dad to me. Y’know, he’s really helped me during the show. I’ve really enjoyed his company, and watching him has been a real honor. Me and the cowboy became good friends very quick. We realized we’re very similar people. For the good and the bad. He’s so funny — from the minute we met him.”
Shelton felt the same way, telling the producers, “I feel like Niall is going to take my seat on the show… I’m passing the baton on to my son.”
