Week two of season 7’s blind auditions brought us even more talented contestants, and introduced an interesting new dynamic between the coaches.
Coaching camaraderie
Gwen and Pharrell are settling in comfortably. Gwen is teasing the contestants and her fellow coaches, and at times begs just as desperately as the notoriously pleading Adam for her favorite contestants. She’s filling a very particular Jamaican/reggae niche that previous judges have not really specialized in, and it’s working out perfectly for some of this season’s contestants.
Pharrell has some very wise words and clever observations for his contestants, and in fact, all the contestants. Pharrell has positive feedback for every single contestant, whether he turned his chair for them or not. And the contestants are not the only ones subject to Pharrell’s friendliness. He has made several comments about how perfect Blake would be as a coach, even to contestants that he too was fighting for. This had Blake so confused, he was convinced Pharrell must be tricking him, or perhaps poisoned him.
Interesting trends
So far on this season, there are a lot of slow turns, and a lot of church kids. Several contestants, even some that end up turning all four chairs, go through almost their entire performance before anyone turns a chair. Aside from Adam, who usually hits his button very early on for someone he likes, it seems like everyone is taking their time.
Has anyone noticed how many avid church-goers we have auditioning for this season? It seems like everyone is a pastor’s kid, or learned to sing in church, wasn’t allowed to listen to secular music, etc. It looks like God is certainly on their side, because they are quite a talented bunch.
Blind audition standouts
John Martin
John Martin may work as a forklift operator, but his true passion is music. You know a performance is going to be good when it starts out in a whistle, and John’s performance of Amos Lee’s “Sweet Pea” was a cool, laid-back delight. It doesn’t hurt that he’s a cutie, which perhaps is what had Gwen using some creative descriptors when describing his performance. In the end, John chose to join Team Blake.
Kelli Douglas
Kelli Douglas has battled stage fright all her life, and for a while it lead her to take up teaching. But she left the classroom to pursue music, and found herself auditioning for The Voice. Her rendition of Kenny Loggins’ “Danny’s Song” was beautiful and unexpected, and turned Adam’s, Gwen’s, and Blake’s chairs. Pharrell couldn’t wait to see who Kelli chose, but in the end it was another win for Team Adam.
Blessing Offor
In The Voice’s first ever actual blind audition, Blessing Offor took on Bill Wither’s “Just the Two of Us.” Blessing has a lot of personality, but the coaches couldn’t tell that with their backs to him. Considering his somewhat pitchy, unremarkable performance, it seemed somewhat contrived for all four coaches to turn their chairs at the last minute, almost as if the producers wanted to capitalize on Blessing’s story. Hopefully his time on Team Pharrell will produce better performances.
Anita Antoinette
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Anita Antoinette on The Voice stage. She auditioned in season 3, and while her performance was promising, it didn’t turn any chairs. This time, however, her performance of Bob Marley’s “Turn Your Lights Down Low” turned all four chairs, two of them (Blake’s and Gwen’s) with the very first note. Her family shrieked with excitement, and Anita chose Jamaica enthusiast (she named her son Kingston, for God’s sake) Gwen as her coach.
Chris Jamison
Chris Jamison is a triplet, and if he managed to go through life not annoying his sisters with his constant singing, he must be good. A confessed John Mayer and Jason Mraz fan, Chris chose Mayer’s “Gravity” for his blind audition, and delivered a run-heavy, bluesy performance. The performance turned all four chairs, but Chris chose Mayer’s and Mraz’s pop radio contemporary, Adam Levine.
Craig Wayne Boyd
Craig Wayne Boyd is as country as country can be, and if his three names or adorable parents didn’t prove that, his awesomely fringe-y jacket certainly did. As soon as he started singing Travis Tritt’s “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin’,” Blake’s eyes lit up like a kid’s on Christmas morning. He loves a good classic country dude, and he turned around, along with Pharrell. A very excited Craig bounced with excitement, before unsurprisingly choosing Blake as his coach. Craig’s excitement was exceeded only by his mother’s, who got all flustered after a kiss from host Carson Daly (maybe she’s a TRL fan?)
Amanda Lee Peers
Rochester, NY-native Amanda Lee Peters used to sing in church with her born-again Christian family, before leaving the church and music behind after she faced some negativity about her sexuality. After reconnecting with her family and meeting her supportive girlfriend, she decided to get back into music. Her performance of ZZ Ward’s “Put the Gun Down” won her a turn from Gwen Stefani, and one of those fancy Team Gwen t-shirts.
Jonathan Wyndham
So Jonathan Wyndham has had a lot of weird quirks in his life. He was a nerd with a speech impediment that carried around Tolkien books in a satchel. Nowadays, he’s made it his life’s ambition to travel the country and eat at every single Cracker Barrel (which is, to be honest, a journey we should all consider taking.) He was super nervous for his blind audition, which made his performance of A Great Big World’s “Say Something” a little tricky, but the judges saw through his nerves and loved the emotion in his voice. He won over all four judges, but he chose Adam in the end, after confessing that he’s listened to him since he was 12.
The Voice blind auditions will continue next Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. on NBC.