The Voice Recap Season 19 Blind Auditions 4 Live Blog (VIDEO)

The Voice 19 Top 40 Contestant Spoilers – Teams & Song Choices
The Voice 19 Top 16 SPOILERS: Battle, Knockout Results, Song Choices

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The Voice Recap Season 19 Blind Auditions 4

We pick up where we left off last night. Who did singer Desz, a four chair turn, choose as her coach? Desz chooses Kelly!

Olivia Reyes – Falling by Harry Styles – 19 – Teaneck NJ. – She’s half Dominican and half Puerto Rican. She didn’t pursue music as a kid. A friend encouraged her. The friend, whose uncle is season 2 winner Jermaine Paul, signed her up for a Voice casting audition. Jermaine (So what IS Jermaine up to these days?) advised Olivia to be herself, and “absorb as much as you can.” Oh look! There he is on a FaceTime call. John hits his button pretty quick. Olivia has a big range and sings with emotion. Her voice quavers a little on the high note, and it totally works. It’s hard to believe Olivia has no experience performing. Gwen hits her button next. John calls her tone “crystal clear” and “piercing.” (Piercing is John’s buzzword this season.) Gwen thinks she can help her learn to connect (Gwen’s thing is offerening hopefuls “package” services). John toured with Jermaine Paul at one point, he mentions. Blake is selling Gwen hard. But unsurprisingly, Olivia chooses John. John and Gwen turn, Olivia picks John

Tony Mason – What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye – 56 – Tulsa OK – “I’m the only grandfather here,” says Tony, who looks like a 40 year old rather than a dude pushing 60. Wow. He was born in 1964, ya’ll. He’s been doing music over 4 decades. In 1987 he had a hit record with his brothers, but the record label dropped them. His music career ended then, and he devoted himself to family. Unsurprisingly, he’s old fashioned. Will he get a turn? Kelly points up. That means she’s waiting for a big note. Aw. No turns. Honestly, even if he landed on a team, he wouldn’t have lasted long. John compared Tony to Donny Hathaway, but waited for him to go bigger. Gwen felt there were too many runs – No Turns

Sam Stacy – Fire and Rain by James Taylor – 27 – Lincoln NB – The singer starts in shadows, beginning Fire and Rain with a wholly original intro. The song isn’t recognizable until he begins the verse. It’s interesting. He doesn’t have a great voice, however. Not the kind of thing that works on The Voice. When he hits a semi-big note he suddenly gets three turns–Kelly, Gwen and Blake. After his performance, his video package airs: He got a degree in economics and worked at a bank. But he was still gigging. Finally, he was earning more at music. He moved to Los Angeles and did open mic nights. Kelly loves his warmth, but wants to push his range further. Blake brags that he’s good friends with James Taylor. He’s not looking for razzle dazzle. He’s looking for authenticity. Gwen calls his voice “beautiful.” John thinks he has the ability to make people feel better. But he didn’t turn because his performance felt unsteady at first. In the end, Sam picks Blake because he liked “what he had to say about staying true to the song.” – Kelly, Gwen and Blake turn. Sam picks Blake.

Larriah Jackson – I’ll Be There by Michael Jackson/Mariah Carey – 15 – Sacramento CA – Unlike Tony, Larriah looks WAY older than 15! She’s been performing since age 3. Her biological father left when she was two. Her mom and grandmother raised her. After a gig, two of her sisters showed up. And then 7 more. In other words, her dad got a bunch of women pregnant. Didn’t raise any of them unfortunately. Man, she SOUNDS mature too. She’s pretty fully baked for 15. Gwen hits her button. “I just won a daughter!” says Gwen. She calls Larriah’s voice “dreamy.” Gwen explains that she loves working with young singers. Right now, the two youngest singers in the competition are on Team Gwen. – Only Gwen Turns

Payton Lamar  – Never Alone by Kirk Franklin & Tori Kelly – 23 – Nashville TN – She wrote her first song in first grade. She and her husband lived in France for 7 months with her husband. Her performance is montaged. She’s got a big voice, but . It’s a little squeaky. Blake turns at the last minute. John felt her lower range was problematic. Probably the part of the song edited out.  – Only Blake turns

Van Andrew – Behind Blue Eyes by the Who – 29 Cooper TX – Van is the second oldest of 10 children. He’s currently living in Nashville and is a singer/songwriter. Between a hurricane and Covid, he’s been spending all his time at home writing music. His voice is a little thin and reedy. He probably needs to be judged singing his own music. He hits some big rock notes on the bridge, but he’s no Roger Daltrey. Suddenly, Gwen and Blake hit their buttons at the end. I was sure Van would be a No turn (2nd to last Blind Auditions usually are). That last note wasn’t great. Kelly notes his pitchiness. That was VERY pitchy. Oh dear God. Blake didn’t recognize the song.  Van picks Gwen, Good choice. “How did that pitch not work?”asks Blake. How do musicians not know The Who? Gwen and Blake turn, Van picks Andrew

Tanner Gomes – Cowboys and Angels by Dustin Lynch –  28 – Yuma AZ – We previewed this performance earlier today. Tanner grew up on a little ranch in Yuma. At 7, he was in a car accident with mom. She broke her leg and got addicted to opiods. “She became a completely different person.” He’s in tears talking about it. Music was his escape. His mom is clean now. Good for her. His voice is is a little thin, with a fast vibrato. Kelly turns first, followed by John and Gwen. But no Blake. Tanner is probably disappointed. Blake says he’s got a lot of country artists on his team already. He moves to pitch John and Gwen over Kelly. Gwen sells herself as the next best thing to Blake. Kelly notes that she turned first. She did! She’s the best pick, actually. And Tanner picks Kelly –  Kelly, John and Gwen turns, Tanner picks Kelly.