The first week of blind auditions give us some promising new contestants, and the new coaches dove right into the competition. New coaches Shakira and Usher are already fitting right in, fighting hard to get their favorite contestants on their team.

The coaches formed their own fab foursome to start off the show with a performance of The Beatles’ “Come Together,” some of them demonstrating a questionable ability to play the instrument they were holding.

Early evidence seems to show that Usher is far less flashy and argumentative than his fellow judges. Rather than argue with his competitors, he focuses in on the contestants themselves, argues his case, and in several instances, was successful. Team Usher may just sneak in under the radar and win this whole thing.

Shakira fit right in with more combative judges Adam and Blake and proved to be unafraid to argue with the two veterans in an attempt to win over the contestants she was truly passionate about. Her persistence paid off, and the newbie captured some promising new artists.

Early Favorites

Aside from promising contestants Judith Hill and Christian Porter, whose auditions we’ve already previewed, (and who went to Team Adam and Team Blake, respectively), there were many other talented folks that we can look forward to seeing more of as The Voice progresses to the next rounds.

Minnesota native Mark Andrew sang “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” and if you didn’t already know this was a Bob Dylan song before it was a Guns N’ Roses song, Mark’s bluesy and folksy rendition served as a great reminder. After much debate between Adam and Shakira, Mark chose to join Team Shakira.

In her first ever public performance, 16-year-old Danielle Bradbery charmed the judges with Taylor Swift’s “Mean,” likely a direct message to the bullies that had harassed her in school. Usher and Blake fought over Danielle’s versatility, and perhaps Usher’s questionable grasp of geography (“Nashville is a state.”) is what lost it for him, as Danielle chose Team Blake.

Kris Thomas demonstrated exactly what differentiates The Voice from all of those other talent competitions. After he belted Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love For You,” the judges were shocked, once they turned their chairs around, to find that Kris was a man. Shakira was the only one smart enough to turn her chair before Kris was done singing, and therefore he becomes a lucky member of Team Shakira.

This season’s “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” contestant is Jon Peter Lewis, one half of the duo Midas Whale (Get it?  Might as well?). Remember the Pen Salesman, from season 3 of American Idol? Well he is back and better than ever, and has formed a dynamic duo with singer and accordion player Ryan Hayes. Their rendition of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” won them a spot on Team Adam.

Singing entirely in Spanish, Cathia’s emotional performance of Luis Fonsi’s “No Me Doy por Vencido” won over all of the judges, whether they could understand what she was singing or not. Everyone turned their chairs but Adam, who promptly chastised himself for the opportunity he’d missed. The other three judges fought it out, but Cathia unsurprisingly chose fellow Latin diva Shakira as her coach.

Memphis singer-songwriter Sarah Simmons has earned the most enthusiastic feedback from the judges so far this season, with her performance of Joan Osborne’s “One of Us.”  Her soulful performance even inspired Blake to admit, “You may be in my top three singers I have ever heard audition for The Voice.” In spite of that big compliment from the two-time-winning coach, Sarah went with her gut and chose Team Adam.

The Voice returns next Monday and Tuesday for another week of blind auditions.

What do you think of Usher and Shakira as coaches? Which contestants would you have turned your chair for?