The Voice 17 Premiere Recap: Blind Auditions 1 Live Blog (VIDEO)

THE VOICE -- "Blind Auditions" Episode 1701 -- Pictured: Brennan Lassiter -- (Photo by: Justin Lubin/NBC)
THE VOICE — “Blind Auditions” Episode 1701 — Pictured: Brennan Lassiter — (Photo by: Justin Lubin/NBC)

The Voice season 17 blind auditions begin with returning coaches Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson and John Legend. In the wake of Adam Levine’s abrupt departure from the show, Blake gal-pal Gwen Stefani takes a seat on the panel.  Carson Daly returns as host. The season premieres tonight (Sept 23). We’ll be live blogging all the Blind Audition performances right here.

The Voice 17 Premiere Spoilers: Contestants Plus Song and Team Choices
The Voice Season 17 Contestant List Spoilers: Blinds, Battles, Knockouts

Katie Kadan – Baby I Love You by Aretha Franklin – NBC released this Blind Audition as a preview not only because she’s a gifted singer–The Chicago native sings with a strong, muscular, throaty alto. She’s like a force of nature! But it’s a first pick because she’s a four chair turn AND Blake blocks Kelly who seems like the perfect mentor for the singer. It’s the usual thing–Kelly doesn’t notice at first. Then she freaks out when she glances down and figures out what’s going on. Blake blames John, natch. “I’m going to take you down, Shelton,” Kelly cries, indignantly. We’ve seen this narrative before! John calls her performance raw, thrilling, and full of fire. “You’re perfect for this show,” he says. Gwen compares her to CeeLo. Kelly calls her a revamp of “actual talent.” Blake’s pitch to Katie is pretty weak, “I’ve been to Chicago!” Gwen says, “I can help you be you.” Kelly urges her to choose either Gwen or John. And in the end, Katie picks John. Smart choice. Kelly promises to block a talented country singer as revenge on Blake.

Jake HaldenVang – Wish I Knew You – Age 24 from Charlotte NC. He’s played rock music all of his life. A guitar player, he used to be in a band with his dad and they played all over the country for 3 or 4 years together. Then Jake went solo and played in a blues rock band. Right off the bat, he hits the guitar strings. He’s a skilled guitar player and a good rock singer, albeit old fashioned. He starts off in a high high falsetto, grabbing attention right at the start. Jake’s got great range, beautiful tone. Gwen, John and Blake turn. Blake thanks him for rocking. Kelly and Gwen thought he was a woman at first. Gwen heard his nerves, as a fellow rock singer, she can help him, she says. John reminds him that he’s the current winner. Blake LOVES his growly chest voice. He mentions that although he’s country, he’s won the show with a rock artist (season 13 winner Chloe Kohanski. She’s actually more a pop singer…but I digress). Kelly, who didn’t turn, advocates for Gwen. Jake picks Team Gwen He was clearly enamored with her, so no surprise. 

Jay Miah – Never Enough from The Greatest Showman – Age 30 from Tampa, Florida. Jay is a drag queen and does drag bingo on the weekend. However, here, he does not perform in drag. His natural singing voice is higher than most males. But he feels that The Voice is a venue that will accept him just as he is.  He has a pretty falsetto, but seems very nervous. He doesn’t have a strong chest voice. This song requires the ability to hit that GIANT GLORY NOTE and he misses. There are pitch problems everywhere. Nobody hits their button, unsurprisingly. Oh. When Kelly discovers this singer is male, she begins slapping her button. “You have an incredible gift,” she says. Gwen is sorry as well. Blake notes that the song’s range pulled him apart. True. The song pick was too ambitious. They urge him to come back  – NO TURNS

Hm. Will there be a comeback stage this season? No sign of it yet. 

Brennan Lassiter – You Are My Sunshine – Age 20 country artist from South Carolina sings in church and was raised by her grandparents. Her parents were young and “unfit” to take care of her, she confesses. She performs a countrified version of the song. It’s a four chair turn. Blake hit his button first. I SHOULD HAVE BLOCKED grumbles Kelly after hitting her button. Brennan sings a slow, bluesy, country tinged rendition of the traditional tune. She’s got an incredible range and a lovely tone. She’s Danielle Bradbery, with maturity and soul. Kelly BEGS Brennan to pick her while waving her team jacket around. She reminds her that she won the show a few seasons ago with Chevel Shepherd, a country artist. If Brennan chooses Gwen, she’ll get her and boyfriend Blake, Gwen promises. John doesn’t try that hard–“I can help you fulfill your potential” he says. Blake talks up his fellow coaches, but then adds, “They know as much about country music as I do a pap smear.” Hm. Brennan admits that she’s never performed outside of church. MORE BEGGING FROM KELLY. Gwen tries to sweet talk Blake into giving her up. But in the end Brennan picks Team Kelly.

Rose Short – Preach by John Legend – Age 34 from Killeen,Texas. Rose was a correction officer for 8 years, which at times, put her in dangerous situations. The job was hard. She quit! She’d rather perform. She’s close to her family. They’re all here to LOUDLY support her. She’s not afraid to cover John and is confident she’ll do his song justice.  Kelly and Gwen turn. When Rose hits the chorus, Kelly hits her button. The singer has a big voice, but it’s generic and a bit paint by numbers. Gwen calls her voice “ridiculous” yet “tasteful.” Gwen thinks she’d learn a lot from HER. Kelly says she “annihilated” the original singer, and then remembers who she was covering. oops. “You could win this show,” Kelly says, TOTALLY overselling this woman’s talent. John assures her she slayed the song, but overthinks anytime a hopeful covers his songs (generally, I think, it’s a bad idea to cover a coaches original). Blake jokes that she’s in Adam’s old chair which is “possessed.” Gwen promises to help her “find” her personality. That’s actually a good pitch. Rose needs to create a signature sound, and then hone it. In a surprise twist, Rose picks Team Gwen. “I’ve been rocking with this lady, she didn’t even know it,” says Rose.

Will Breman – Say You’ll Be There by The Spice Girls – Age 25 from Santa Barbara, CA. He’s on the autism spectrum. Busking on the street helps with his asperger’s syndrome. During a difficult childhood, music became his biggest solace. He started his career singing full time in wineries. He performs a jazz version of  the song on guitar. He reminds me A LOT of John Mayer. He scats his way through the song. The rendition has a cool jazz kind of feel, with a touch of the blues. John and Gwen turn. Gwen loves the character in his voice. John calls his arrangement “artistic” and promised they’ll have fun together.  Citing John as one of his influences, they sing “Ordinary People” together (Check out a clip HERE). Blake cuts his throat and mouths “it’s over” to Gwen. She runs up on stage to take her turn. But she’s just kidding! The two voices did blend beautifully together. Will also likes Gwen’s band, No Doubt. However, Will picks Team Legend. John compares him to Bruno Mars. Interesting. Not an artist I would namecheck in relation to Will. 

Alex Guthrie – Love and Happiness  – Age 25 from Marietta, GA plays guitar and was in a commercial with former The Voice coach Jennifer Hudson. It takes a bit, but Kelly and Gwen eventually turn. Kelly’s waiting for a glory note. She finally gets one, sorta. Alex has a solid blues voice, but it doesn’t pop. He does voice work and background singing for a living, which might explain it. He’s used to blending into the background. Gwen says she knows how to work with someone like him–she can help him organize his versatility. Alex Picks Team Kelly. Alex also opened for Kelly a few years ago (they didn’t meet) so he had to pick her. After, Kelly chats with Jennifer on the phone, who claims to remember him very well. Jennifer passes along greetings to the rest of the crew. 

Kat Hammock – Vienna by Billy Joel – Age 18 from Encinitas, Calif. She listens to old school music with her dad in the car. They sing along to the Beach Boys! She’s the youngest of 5 kids. An introvert, Katie onstage persona is outgoing, she says. Kat has very little experience performing. Her parents claim they have zero musical talent. Meanwhile, Gwen is looking for “a little Disney girl.” Hm. coughcondescendingcough. Kat accompanies herself on piano as she sings the Billy Joel classic. She’s not a technically skilled vocalist, but her voice has a ton of character. She’s the kind of indie singer Blake loves. And indeed, Blake and Gwen turn, although it takes them both a minute. This should be a battle!  Gwen loved how she “dialed into” her heart. Blake appeals to Kat’s parents, and then whines “I HAVE NOBODY ON MY TEAM THIS YEAR.   It’s his first turn of the night (editing, though!)  Oh. Kat’s the artist from the pomo he offered fishing waders to, which he calls  “stupid” but “desperate.”  The shameless begging works. Kat picks Team Blake.

Cj Washington – So Tired of Being Alone by Al Green – Age 29 from Sacramento, is a father of two. His wife has been a “huge” support system. CJ has been working on his craft for YEARS. The only thing wrong with this vocal–it’s too much of an Al Green impression. Also there are a few pitch problems. Nobody turns. Gwen liked that he engaged the audience. John didn’t feel a connection to the song. Blake thinks he should have concentrated more on his vocal. –  No Turns  

Timmy Hood – Make it Rain by Ed Sheeran – Age 19 from Michigan has only performed in front of an audience ONCE. He has a brother Josh, in the Marines. He hasn’t seen him since he was deployed to Afghanistan. But then…SURPRISE! He appears at the audition. BIG HUG. Aw. This vocal is actually better than I expected, considering his inexperience. He has a soulful voice and sings with feeling. But nobody turns. John advises him to get more experience, while Kelly suggests he come back.   – NO TURNS 

OK then. It appears to be official. NO COMEBACK STAGE this season. I can’t say that I’m disappointed. The Voice tried for two seasons, and it was pretty much a bust, dumping contestants into the finals who weren’t ready for it (neither was the audience, most of whom weren’t following online.)

Marina Chello – Walk Me Home – Age 37 lives in New York. She was originally from Uzbekistan in the former Soviet Union. She moved to the US at 11 with her parents. She instantly LOVED America. But the move was also challenging. Her parents worked a street pushcart. Music helped her learn English. Currently, she’s married and a mom–her husband and young son are offstage rooting for her. In 2007, Marina was was signed to Bad Boy Records, but it didn’t work out. Her voice is a real standout. But I’m not sure where I’d place it. It’s not modern, it’s not retro. She could probably sing country music. She has that tone. Her upper register is STRONG.  Blake and Kelly turn. Gwen says she didn’t turn, because Marina is “Kelly Lane.” Blake coughs loudly. He is drawn to her powerful voice and believes America will like it. Kelly thinks she has 80 percent more to give. Marina picks Team Blake

Kyndal Inskeep – Never Been to Spain – Age 22 moved to Nashville 9 months ago. She performs 4-6 nights a week “anywhere and everywhere” and nannies during the day. She loves kids, though. After her parents got divorced, she suffered anxiety and depression. Her stepfather didn’t love her like he did his biological kids, and it hurt. Still, he becomes emotional as he supports her backstage. This is an ancient, kind of obscure song. But Kyndal totally puts her own spin on it. However, her voice lacks heft in her upper register and she hits some pitchy spots.  Kelly, Gwen and Blake turn. But Gwen BLOCKS Blake. Uh oh. She dances all over the big red block in front of his chair. Well, this was inevitable, of course. He’ll be very happy for Gwen if Kendyl picks her “I don’t care about Kelly as much,” he snarks Gwen loves the singer’s vibrato and distinct style. Kelly loves her vibe–Kyndyl grew up on Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Nicks, CS&N. Gwen suggests to the singer that Kelly is too busy with her talk show and young kids to coach her. Ultimately, Kyndal picks Team Gwen. John observes, “Gwen presents very nicely, but is kind of an assassin at the same time!”

 

About mj santilli 34858 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!