The Voice season 6 blind auditions continued this week, with some amazing standout contestants, some last-minute saves, and a history lesson from Shakira.
The second week of blind auditions did not disappoint, as we met some really unique contestants, which of course lead the coaches to battle it out for their favorites.
Usher and Shakira both seem to have busted out new strategies for winning over contestants this season. Usher is all about the sneak attack: waiting until the very last moment of the performance to turn his chair. Perhaps he thinks the contestants will be so pleased and surprised that another coach turned around, that it will trick them into joining his team?
It seems Shakira’s approach will be to charm the contestants with intellect. She has commented to several contestants that they have made very “intelligent” artistic choices with their arrangement or performance. And this week, she even busted out a little history lesson that we’re pretty sure confused the other coaches as much as it confused us. But perhaps the contestants will figure, “Wow, she must really know what she’s talking about!”
Time will tell which coach ends up with the strongest team at the end of the blind auditions.
Early Standouts
Ryan Whyte Maloney
33-year-old Las Vegas garbage man, Ryan Whyte Maloney, kicked off week two of the blind auditions with Journey’s “Lights.” His surprisingly high voice drew comparisons to Steve Perry, Journey’s lead vocalist, and earned Ryan four chair turns. While Adam tried to woo him by pointing out that he and Ryan are obviously high-voiced best friends, Ryan chose to join Team Blake. Blake, in turn, was so excited, that he pulled out some really awkward celebratory dance moves.
Brothers Walker
The Brothers Walker are identical twins Cody and Clinton. They are nerdy, and beardy, and great. They took on, fellow bearded, Zac Brown Band’s “Keep Me In Mind,” which perfectly demonstrated what the Walkers said they have been told before: that they are two parts of the same voice. Their voices blended beautifully, and their performance was so fantastically quirky and weird, you just couldn’t look away. The performance was interesting enough to earn them an interesting chair turn, as Usher tapped his button at the very last minute with his foot, and turned his chair to welcome the Brothers Walker to Team Usher.
Clarissa Serna
Rocker girl Clarissa Serna tackled the ‘90s classic “Zombie” by the Cranberries for her blind audition. Shakira was so excited by the song choice she almost bounced out of her chair, and it wasn’t long before the coaches realized that it wasn’t just a great song tickling their ears, but also a really great, unique voice. Clarissa made the song her own, which Shakira felt was a very smart move. She then proceeded to pull out an Alexander the Great/Hannibal reference that served to remind us that Shakira is actually smarter than all of us. But it must have made sense to Clarissa, who chose Team Shakira.
Emily B.
Mother and session musician Emily B. survived brain surgery, now she just had to survive her blind audition. Emily chose Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game,” but put her own twist on it. Her unique style and beautiful voice captured the coaches’ attention, and earned her turns from Shakira, Blake, and Usher. They praised her falsetto, her arrangement, and her individuality, and in the end, her passion to sing with soul lead her to choose Team Shakira.
Stevie Jo
Steven Rosenbaum, or Stevie Jo, as his friends call him, might look the part of his heavy metal parents’ offspring, but he’s really more of an R&B guy at heart. He proved this by singing Usher’s “There Goes My Baby” for his blind audition. It was obviously a big risk, singing the coach’s own song, but it paid off in a big way, as Usher was so impressed he turned his chair, and welcomed Stevie Jo to Team Usher. He was careful to hide his shock at Stevie’s appearance when he turned, because he knew if Blake suspected something was up, he’d steal Stevie right out from under him.
Audra McLaughlin
Philly native, Audra McLaughlin, has conquered some tough hurdles growing up, as her learning disability made her the target of bullies in school. But the struggles only made her a better songwriter, and a better performer. She chose Bonnie Raitt’s “Angel From Montgomery” for her blind audition, and her powerful performance, particularly the nonstop ending, inspired all four coaches to turn their chairs. All the coaches fought hard for Audra, including Blake, who once again played the “wife card,” much to the other coaches’ annoyance. But it worked, at Audra went with her gut and chose Team Blake.
The Voice blind auditions will continue next Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. on NBC.