Adam and Blake continue their bromance during “The Voice: Season Nine” Blind Auditions. (Photo property of NBC & United Artists Media Group)
By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com
The Voice: Season Nine continued its Blind Auditions tonight!
But, before we continue….here is where are teams stand:
Adam Levine: Keith Semple, Jordan Smith, Regina Love & James Dupre
Blake Shelton: Nadjah Nicole, Barrett Baber, Blind Joe, Zach Seabaugh & Emily Ann Roberts
Pharrell Williams: Mark Hood, Siahna Im, Ivonne Acero & Evan McKeel
Gwen Stefani: Kota Wade, Braiden Sunshine, Ellie Lawrence, Noah Jackson, Tim Atlas & Hanna Ashbrook
Did any of tonight’s artists receive a four-chair-turn? Read on to find out!
22-year-old Nashville transplant Morgan Frazier was the first artist to hit the stage. She put an intriguing trick on Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me.” Her lovely country voice caught the attention of Gwen and the reigning King of Country Music: Blake Shelton. Despite Gwen’s fiery pitch, Morgan joined Team Blake.
17-year-old Amanda Ayala was an old soul and loves old school rock such as Pat Benatar, Guns N’Roses and Joan Jett. While her parents wanted Amanda to pursue her education, Amanda’s bombastic cover of “Mississippi Queen” satisfied Adam, Pharrell and Blake! The coaches were blown away with her performance and were impressed her song choice. While Blake tried to butter her up, Adam was the lucky coach to enlist her onto his team.
24-year-old Jeffrey Austin was extremely active in music due to his family (including his late father) making the arts an important part of his life. After watching last season, Jeffrey had to make sure that he auditioned for the show. Despite not having performed in six years, he slayed Sam Smith’s “Lay Me Down.” His powerful baritone vocal range charmed Gwen and was automatically recruited to her team. He reminded me so much of Clay Aiken’s first Idol audition and like Clay…Jeffrey has a strong future in the music industry.
22-year-old Lyndsey Elm hoped that The Voice veered from a career in the family business to a career in the music industry. For her Blind Audition, Lyndsey did an acoustic take on former Team Blake adviser Meghan Trainor. What I enjoyed about her performance was that at times it was a conversation and I (along with all four coaches) was hooked on her voice. After hearing all four pitches, she became the latest member of Team Gwen.
When someone auditions with a song that made an impact on The Voice stage in earlier seasons, I honesty exponentially raise my expectations. For 45-year-old photographer Manny Cabro, he tackled a song made immortal by Season Three’s incomparable Amanda Brown: Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again.” I will be honest with you…Amanda’s version is 10,000-times better than Manny’s…but Manny has a good voice and got a four-chair-turn. I hope that his coach, Adam, does not pick any tunes sung by past artists or we are going to be having a problem.
As Adam celebrated his victory, 16-year-old Madi Davis prepared to face the coaches. I am glad that she tackled the iconic Carole King’s “It’s Too Late.” Her voice gave me instant chills and this was probably my favorite Blind Audition of the past three nights. Like Pharrell said in his commentary, her voice is so refreshing and I could see her be a force to be reckoned with as the show goes on. While Madi went with Pharrell, Gwen might be after her during the Battle Rounds.
31-year-old Chris Crump left his wedding reception to audition for The Voice! His wife wanted him to pursue his dream and leave his crappy odd jobs to have a chance to be mentored by one of the coaches. For his blind, Chris performed Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud.” He was rewarded for his perseverance with a FOUR-CHAIR-TURN and I thought he made a good decision to go with Blake.
Tyler Dickerson used The Voice to bounce back after his record label crashed. After seeing a video from his mentor, John Rich of Big & Rich, he delivered a rocking version of “Hard to Handle.” I loved Tyler’s charisma and his voice is (as Mel B would put it) OFF THE CHAIN!!! I am so glad that Blake pressed his button and he is going to rock the show.
For the first time since Season Six, a duo entered the Blind Auditions. However, this duo was about to make Voice history! Tulsa natives Jubal & Amanda sang “Seven Bridges Road,” a song written by Jubal’s father, Steve Young. Their harmonies gave me chills and I loved the energy they brought to the studio. They caught the attention of both Pharrell and Gwen and during the comments…Jubal proposed to Amanda!!!!! The newly engaged couple chose Pharrell as their coach!
Tomorrow night, the Blinds Continue!
