The last night of The Voice 21 Blind Auditions wasn’t the best night of auditions, but it was a steady end to what’s been a decent season of performances. (Read our Recap).
Of course, there was no Chris Blue moment where the strongest audition is the last auditioner, but the night was solid to say the least.
Standouts on Episode 6 were Aaron Hines who delivered a pretty vocal, Parker McKay who I thought sounded a bit like Maren Morris with her swampy rendition of “Slow Hands,” and the true standout of the night, Shadale who displayed vocal skills on a challenging song.
In her video package, 29 year old Shadale, from Douglasville, Georgia talked about touring in other countries with a group she sang with called Gospel People. She was dating someone at the time, and got pregnant, at which point she then dedicated her time to her child as a single mom. She now performs for events like weddings and is a delivery driver. From the moment she hit the stage; from her look, to her stage presence, it was obvious that she had experience in the entertainment industry.
Shadale sang Bruno Mars’ “That’s What I Like.” The song is a bit cheesy and often isn’t the best song choice because it’s wordy. But Shadale navigated the song with poise and swagger. Within about 5 seconds, she got Kelly Clarkson to turn, and a little bit later John Legend hit his button. What I found impressive was Shadale’s breath control. She managed to put some belts and growls into the song without losing her footing. She also displayed great range. On a second listen, I found myself loving Shadale, despite not always loving this song.
Blake Shelton wished he had another spot, and stated that both he and Ariana Grande would have turned. Shadale’s audition was the “equivalent of a 4-chair turn,” he said. Ariana dubbed her a “vocal technician” and called her sustaining vibrato notes her favorite parts. John felt that she put on a show and “energized the place,” adding that she could make the finale.
There’s an abundance of soulful singers this season; some who are more contemporary R&B, others old school R&B, and a few gospel singers as well. I think it’s the most soulful singers the show has ever seen, so it’ll be interesting to see if Shadale manages to rise above the singers in her genre. John sure thinks she’ll make it far, but coach pitches don’t always correlate to going far on the show. Either way, Shadale’s audition entertained me, and I’m excited to see more.
One thing that I think is crazy is how many groups there are in this single season. There are 2 duos and 3 trios. It is the most groups in the history of the show.
