The first week of season 5 reunited the original four coaches, and had them fighting over some incredible new talent in the first two nights of blind auditions.
The old gang is back together for season 5: Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Cee Lo Green, and Christina Aguilera, and they are not messing around. Cee Lo and Christina are ready for their first victory as coaches, and they’ve teamed up with season 1’s winning coach Adam to stop Blake from winning his fourth season in a row.
Christina is back with a renewed vigor to get the best contestants and have her first Team Christina victory. She also has a new sleeker look, a little more toned down from her wacky and cleavage-y looks from previous seasons. But don’t worry, she still has her extravagant hand fan.
Cee Lo is just as weird and creepy as ever, although he seems to have come to the conclusion that the less effort he puts into wooing the contestants, the more successful he will be. The most enthusiasm he has shown in week one is over one (female) contestant’s boots. And Cee Lo’s sporting a new look himself, in the form of a giant head tattoo – at first glance, it looks like you can see his brain.
Adam and Blake are their same old selves, aside from Adam’s new beard, and increased desperation to beat Blake in what has become his own game. Blake, as always, likes to remind all the promising contestants that he is a three-time champion.
Early favorites
Aside from promising contestants Matthew Schuler and Kat Robichaud, whose auditions we’ve already previewed, (and who went to Team Christina and Team Cee Lo, respectively), there were many other talented folks that we can look forward to seeing more of as The Voice progresses to the next rounds.
Shelbie Z.
Hairstylist and pageant coach Shelbie Z. has been teased for being overweight, and was looking forward to the opportunity to be judged by her voice alone, and not misjudged by her appearance. Her sassy strong performance of Gretchen Wilson’s “Here For the Party” made all four coaches turn their chairs, but as soon as they saw she was sporting cowboy boots, Adam, Christina, and Cee Lo knew their bid was hopeless. Shelbie was Team Blake all the way.
Josh Logan
Josh Logan had to make music a lower priority after he became a father while still in high school, but he continued to pursue the passion while he raised his son. His performance of Alex Clare’s “Too Close” had runs for days, and Adam pointed out that Josh sounded a lot like Alex Clare himself. Blake, Christina, and Adam turned for him, and though Blake admitted to a man-crush on Josh, his run-heavy style seems more in Christina’s wheelhouse. Perhaps Adam and Blake’s bromantic interlude proved a distraction, because in the end Josh picked Christina.
James Wolpert
James Wolpert is a a card-carrying nerd, even having done time as an Apple genius. The Voice is his chance to prove to his parents that leaving school to pursue music wasn’t a mistake, and hopefully the four-chair turn from the coaches for his performance of Jack White’s “Love Interruption” got that point across. Though all the coaches were surprised to learn that voice came out of that man, they all saw great potential and fought hard for him to join their team. In the end, it was a win for Team Adam.
Barry Black
Barry Black is from American Samoa by way of Las Vegas, and brought a little something different to the table by starting off his performance with a pretty good flugelhorn impression. Adam was so mystified by it he had to turn around, but Blake waited long enough to hear Barry’s soothing, warm-honey voice, before turning his chair. The performance of Bobby Caldwell’s “What You Won’t Do For Love’ had Adam and Blake trading insults in an attempt to win over the promising contestant, but in the end, Barry chose Team Adam.
Austin Jenckes
Austin Jenckes performs in memory of his dad, who took his own life when Austin was 16. His dad taught him to play guitar, and Austin accompanied his performance of “Simple Man” with his dad’s old guitar, so needless to say, his dad was forefront in his mind throughout his performance. His soulful rasp won over both Cee Lo and Blake, but in the end, Austin chose his fellow guitar man Blake.
Tessanne Chin
Tessanne Chin is a native of Kingston, Jamaica, and beyond charming the coaches with her accent, she blew them away with her amazing vocal talent. Her passionate performance of Pink’s “Try” earned her a chair turn from all four coaches. She has a unique and soulful voice, and is exactly what the judges were looking for for for their season 5 teams. In the end, after much argument from all the judges, it was another win for Team Adam.
The Voice blind auditions will continue next Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. on NBC.