THE VOICE: S03 BLIND AUDITIONS E03

As we kick off Episode 3 of The Voice with the coaches teams as follows: Adam – 2; Blake – 4; Cee Lo – 3; and Christina- 4.

First up:

Samuel Mouton – 19 years old from Fort Collins, Co. His family owns restaurants and they seem to have a good sense of humor. For his audition he sings Redemption Song, and this dude’s voice is killer with a rasp I love. Adam turns around immediately, followed by Cee Lo and Christina Aguilera. I wonder if they thought he was black because of the accent while he was singing. Christina said she would love to get to know him better to see what his “turn ons are” (more flirting by Christina), Cee Lo said he could tell he loves Bob Marley by the inflections in his voice while he sang, Adam said he impacted all of the coaches by doing something special by doing very little. Samuel’s choice? TEAM ADAM!

Chris Trousdale – Age 26 from Grand Rapids, MI who is a former boy band member of Dream Street.  His story is so familiar to many artists, whose music has influenced fans in many places and yet is working that 9 – 5. For his audition song he sings Glad You Came by The Wanted.  He moonwalked! He was commanding the stage, and his voice was a little shaky but no one turned around for him. Of course Christina was remorseful she didn’t pick him and then she got Blake to get up and show a little dance moves, to which he moonwalks! In the end they told Chris that it seems he is more of a dancer than a singer.

Nelly’s Echo – 32 year old from Baltimore, MA by way of Nigeria. His family fled due to the unrest, though they left their father behind because he was incarcerated for something he didn’t do.  His father had since been exonerated and came out with a brother in support.  For his audition he sings Ain’t No Sunshine accompanied with guitar.  Christina turned around first, fanning herself with her black lace fan. Lol. Adam soon followed suit. Christina said she had so much fun right off the bat and pointed out she was the first to press her button. Adam said the payoff was after the “I know, I know…”  Its down to the decision and Nelly’s Echo chooses to be on TEAM CHRISTINA!

2Steel Girls (Allison and Crystal Steel) – the mother-daughter duo out of Wellston, OH. This is a first for this singing competition. I really want them to be good. The whole family (brother and father included) perform together. The mother had to quit her job to come out and audition for The Voice. For their audition they perform Carrie Underwood’s Before He Cheats. Their performance was really entertaining. I love voices that blend well. Cee Lo and Blake turn around at the same time. It was a job well done. Adam called them a “freight train of angry, jilted women.” Cee Lo said equally they sounded really good but together really impressive. Blake said he wanted to be the guy to protect the mother daughter relationship in a savage angry world of entertainment. Who do they choose? TEAM BLAKE! I would’ve been really surprised if they picked Cee Lo. Of course, duo’s last season didn’t last long so we will see how long 2Steel lasts!

Lisa Scinta – singing Teenage Dream by Katy Perry ( I hate these fast auditions where they show 15 seconds) going to TEAM CHRISTINA!

MarissaAnn – singing Part Of Me (another 15 second blip) to TEAM CHRISTINA!

Loren Allred – singing When Love Takes Over by Kelly Roland to TEAM ADAM!

Domo- 26 from the Bronx, NY. She is a professional hip hop dancer. She has a list of accomplishments they run through, which made me laugh, but also it let me know that she has been working very hard and is ready for her chance to be in the limelight. For her audition she sings Don’t Cha, which I think Cee Lo wrote for his wife, and she released but then the Pussy Cat Dolls took it and took the charts by storm. Of course, Cee Lo was the first to turn around. She strut around the stage like she owned it and Cee Lo loved every minute of it.  She is a firecracker. She has great energy and a really positive attitude.  Cee Lo said he feels she is a better singer than the song even allows. Another win for TEAM CEE LO!  All of the coaches offer their “sympathies” it seems since with her he will definitely have his “hands full.” I think she is a great addition to the team, but we will see!

Nicole Nelson – a 35 year old self proclaimed hippie from Vermont.  For her audition she sings Hallelujah.  Adam was the first to turn, followed by Christina, Blake and Cee Lo. It was a great performance, but I would like to hear more from her.  Christina began with the pleas, Adam made it a point to say he turned around for her first, then Cee Lo gave praise to her voice.  Nicole began how she takes really good care of her voice, how she lives an organic lifestyle. Blake suddenly interrupts that he too lives an organic lifestyle, and Adam said the bull that comes out of Blake’s mouth is organic. All jokes aside, when it comes down to which team Nicole chooses, she ends up on  TEAM ADAM!

I think my favorites of the night were 2Steel Girls, Samuel Mouton and Domo. Will they be able to keep up the momentum into the Battle Rounds, or will the other artists rise to the top? We have a ways to go.

Next week The Voice airs on Monday  and Tuesday, bringing us more Blind Auditions. Until next time!!

THE VOICE: SEASON 2 EPISODE 17 AMERICAS SAVES

The results are in. America voted based on last night’s performance and 2 more people are headed home. Last night my favorites were Jamar and Katrina. So I am optimistic about tonights results, as America always votes like I do… Okay not so much. But who goes home?

First,  Florence + The Machine performed No Light No Light. I have never really listened to her music. The only song I know she has performed was a version of Drake’s Take Care and while that was cool to hear live, it wasn’t my favorite interpretation. Her style isnt really my thing. It was cool to see Team Cee Lo in the background performing though. Jamar’s clothes were dope. He looked like a ninja. And ninja’s kick ass.

Team Adam was the first up to reveal America’s top vote, but not before Carson asked Adam about the reaction he received after eliminating “fan favorite” Pip Andrew. Adam said he received hate mail and several people tried to kill him, but he also shared that it was hard for a coach to let go of someone on the spot like that. Who was America’s save? Tony Lucca. No surprise there.

Team Cee Lo was next up and Carson addressed Cee Lo’s elimination of James Massone. Cee Lo said he had a bittersweet day but told his team that they all deserved to make it that far and he is sure America has good taste. The camera showed each face on Team Cee Lo and they all looked really worried. Who was America’s save? Jamar Rogers! His mom looked like she caught the holy ghost!

Mathai (Team Adam) – singing Cowboy Casanova by Carrie Underwood. She sounded much better than last night! I guess she knew she had to bring it. It was a really great vocal performance. You could tell in her eyes she was emotional. Blake said it was hard not to love her because she is so cute and she embraced the hillbilly side. Xtina said she was happy she got to show the aggression in the song. Cee Lo said he loved the aggression that conveyed she wanted to stay.

Katrina Parker (Team Adam) – singing Perfect by Pink. She sounded great on this song! I couldn’t stop thinking about the amazing Battle Round between Niki and Vicci from Season 1. But she sang it like she meant it. Afterwards, Blake said he knows that Tony got the vote from America but Katrina is the best singer on the team. Xtina said she 100 percent agrees with Blake and she said out of everyone on Adam’s team she is most excited to hear original music from her. Cee Lo said he thought it was a great song choice and he commended her for a great performance.

Who stays? Blake said Katrina. Xtina picked Katrina. Cee Lo picked Mathai. Adam first said Mathai had a spark and energy everyone loves about her; with Katrina he felt she was an unpolished diamond, but throughout the competition he felt both surprised him. He said it boils down to who he has seen more from so far and he really didn’t think Katrina was going to make it as far as she did. With Mathai, he has kept waiting for her to explode and he knows she will do it, show or no show, but his decision is Katrina. (YES!)

Cheesa (Team Cee Lo) – singing Already Gone by Kelly Clarkson. I really liked how soft she started out and then when the chorus kicked in she started belting it out. There were a few moments were she wasn’t totally in key, but there was one final note that was killer! Blake said he enjoyed her a lot, especially that note, but she was a little pitchy and the rest of the coaches agreed.

Juliet Simms (Team Cee Lo) – singing Torn by Natalie Imbruglia. When she started, she had this weird gravel tone, but as soon as she got to the chorus you could feel the pain in the song and the growl fit perfectly. Blake said he was the only one that didn’t hit the button because he wasn’t a believer and week after week she comes out and he loves her. He also called her an acquired taste that he has now. Xtina said she was a fan or her voice, but the softer voice she has used isn’t her favorite place for her voice to be, but she wants to hear another song similar to when she performed Roxanne.

A sad decision for Cee Lo. Who gets the save and who goes home? Blake said he picked Juliet. Xtina picked Juliet. Skipping Adam, Cee Lo had to make a decision. He asked to see both of them smile, but the effort seemed to almost break Juliet and Cheesa. Cee Lo said he loved Cheesa so much and she had a voice that sounds classically trained, so it would be ironic for her not to go on because the show is called THE VOICE. With Juliet her voice is like art imitating life, and life isn’t perfect. He feels America is invested in her so he can’t go against that, so in the end he picks Juliet.

This episode was a little sad to me, but I am happy that my some of my favorite folks are still in the show.

Who are my Fantasy Final 4?

For Team Blake – Jermaine Paul/Erin Willett … ugh this is a hard decision

Team Xtina – Lindsey Pavao

Team Cee Lo – Jamar Rogers

Team Adam – Katrina Parker

But who knows? My picks may change by their performances next week. But I don’t think so.

How do you feel about this week’s eliminations?

Until next week,

Tje Austin