For Kenna Elpers, her The Voice audition was more than a chance to impress four coaches. The 23-year-old country singer was stepping onto the stage in front of one coach she had already met years earlier.
Elpers appeared during the third night of the Season 30 Blind Auditions on September 23, delivering Chris Stapleton’s “White Horse” and ultimately earning turns from Queen Latifah and Riley Green.
The connection between Elpers and Green, however, went back to 2023 — when she had previously opened for the country star.
Kenna Elpers makes her mark with “White Horse”
Season 30 of The Voice began its Blind Auditions with a new coaching lineup featuring Kelly Clarkson, Riley Green, Queen Latifah and Adam Levine. Green and Latifah are newcomers to the coaching panel, joining returning coaches Clarkson and Levine.
When Elpers took the stage, she chose Stapleton’s “White Horse,” the lead single from his 2023 album Higher.
The performance immediately caught Queen Latifah’s attention. She turned her chair early, while the other coaches continued listening without initially making a move.
Elpers later recalled that she was so focused on delivering the song that she did not immediately realise Latifah had turned around. She only noticed after hearing the audience react.
Then, near the end of the performance, Green finally pressed his button.
That left Elpers with a choice between two very different coaches — and one of them already had a history with her.
Elpers and Riley Green had met before
Before choosing her team, Elpers revealed that she and Green had crossed paths in 2023, when she had the opportunity to open for him at a music festival.
The previous encounter had clearly stayed with her. During her Voice audition, Elpers brought along a koozie connected to that night, recalling how Green had given it to her.
The story was not simply a fun coincidence. In her introduction to the audition, Elpers explained that she was excited about the possibility of working with Green because of their history and because he understood the experience of pursuing country music while working toward a career in a larger city.
That earlier connection made Green an especially natural choice once he turned his chair.
Kenna chooses Team Riley
With both Green and Queen Latifah competing for her, Elpers ultimately decided to join Team Riley Green.
Her decision gave the audition an extra sense of familiarity: what began as a previous encounter with a country performer in 2023 had now brought Elpers to The Voice stage alongside him as her coach.
Elpers is now part of Green’s Season 30 team, alongside other contestants including Joe Henley, Ferryn & Brinkley, Caroline Alexis and Harmony McKee.
For the 23-year-old singer, the Blind Audition was therefore not just about earning a chair turn. It reunited her with a country artist she had already shared a stage with — this time with the opportunity to compete under his guidance on one of television’s biggest singing competitions.
