S10.E01: The Blind Auditions Premiere

[Tara Ariano]

Blind auditions are held in the Season 10 premiere. The judges are Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera and Pharrell Williams.

[Kromm]

To drive some viewership they've uploaded some previews to the official Voice YouTube channel. Including what I think could be the single best audition they've ever had on the show.

https://youtu.be/NwAFxZmCqeU

It's funny they call it a "leaked audition" when it's official though. Hah. Make people think it's extra special that way (although it is just because of her performance).

Also this other (decent) audition is up there too, featuring Adam doing something he only rarely does on the show (sing his own older songs).

https://youtu.be/q9FhSzctoIs

[TacoBoutIt]

I remember Alisan from the Chorus Line documentary Every Little Step, didn't know her voice was that incredible.

This season will be interesting.  Considering that I'm Canadian, I'm surprised to find that I happen to know a contestant this year!  She'll be appearing next week though apparently.  I have a feeling I know which team she's on but we'll see!

[Duke Silver]

Mary Sarah is my jam (and country music is not my kind of thing).

 

Mike Schiavo is really good, but down w/ WGWG.  =)

[Kromm]

I remember Alisan from the Chorus Line documentary Every Little Step, didn't know her voice was that incredible.

I'd love it if that performance reminded everyone what music is supposed to sound like and so killed every run-heavy piece of nonsense dead in their tracks. The only time she holds out notes is where she's supposed to, and the only vocal flourish is the one she does where she goes up a scale at the very end on the last intonation of the word "Bayou".

 

This is the difference between someone who actually knows how to sing and the many people who have good voices but no real understanding of how to communicate what the song is saying. Flourishes only have meaning when they communicate a specific emotion. Otherwise they're distractions and kill the real emotion of a song.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Kromm

[Valny]

I'm so glad Alison chose Christina, especially after her family were yelling "Adam or Blake!"

Hope Adam didn't jinx it by telling her she won the show already.

 

And Adam may be right about that being the best moment of the entire show, when everyone thought the guy picked Blake, but was really  just getting ready to tell him something..

I was cracking up so much! 

 

Mary Sarah has a strong, cool voice,I want to hear more. I thought she was going to be singing some retro country though, since she talked about a couple of classic artists in her package.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Valny

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Team Adam

 

John Gilman....most likely fodder, but He's interesting and likable fodder.

 

Mike Schiavo...I mean, if you do a duet with the guy post-audition....you better close the deal or that would just be cruel. Interest mix of quality falsetto and grasp and grit in the lower parts of his voice.

 

Team Blake

 

Paxon.....interesting voice. Definitely kind of matched up with the rasp in his speaking voice. Will certainly standout if Blake's team ends up skewing heavily country/rock as it usually does.

 

Mary Sarah...Impressive tone, definitely a throwback, vintage country sound. Blake was an all time no-brainer decision for her.

 

Team Christina

 

Alisan....excellent, as expected. Similar in age and maturity to Tessanne. If I'm Christina (and Alisan), I might play up the bluesy country aspects of her voice thinking about what kind of career she could carve out post-show.

 

Brian...he's a shining example why I'd even bring more contestants back for 2nd chance auditions. He sounded great and miles more confident and sure of himself as an artist this go round. Christina might have gotten herself a 2nd contender with some swag/sex appeal and a voice to back it up.

 

Team Pharrell

 

Caity....I'm assuming she's the first of many quirky voiced female singers that will flock to Pharrell and Blake. Definitely has the ability to sing lower than expected.

 

Nick (The former ballet dancer)...Chris Jamison 2.0. 

 

Abby....Eh, I wasn't as sold on this one. Thought she had sort of a strident, unpleasant tone especially in first half of her audition. To her credit, it did get better as she finished it.

 

As usual, it was pretty easy to spot both of the no-chair turns. Especially the dance pop singer, Queen Sessi. Those type of songs almost always guarantee a fail.

 

I can only handle about 25% of the judges banter. I know that's a draw but it's just so asinine most of the time. And Adam and Blake's shtick is downright formulaic at this point. Thought I caught a glimpse of Caroline Burns in the previews for tomorrow night. She was the little 5 foot nothing singer that Pharrell turned down right at the very end of the auditions in S9. He then proceeded to get the audience to en mass ask her if she would come back and audition in S10.

Edited March 1, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Kromm]

I'm so glad Alison chose Christina, especially after her family were yelling "Adam or Blake!"

Hope Adam didn't jinx it by telling her she won the show already.

It was always in the cards for her to pick Christina (as long as Christina turned).

 

Please note you won't be as impressed with Alisan in this as you likely were with her version of Roy Orbison/Linda Ronstandt.  Because she's damn young and doesn't yet understand about reigning things back (and her pitch isn't properly trained yet either, I'd say):

 

[Steph619]

I was really impressed with Alisan. I'm glad she went to Team Christina as I think they're a great fit for each other. I'm interested to see what's in store for them this season.

 

My favorite part of the night was when Blake thought that Brian chose him as his coach when he was really saying his name to just thank him for turning his chair for him. I honestly thought he had chosen Blake as his coach too.

[Primetimer]

But who will end up Marooned? Let's count down the hopefuls!

Read the story

[Kromm]

 

Sure, she's Curly Sue, and yes, her audition is awesome. But isn't it sort of enough that Alisan was once on an episode of The Golden Girls? How much awesome is one person allowed in life?

Feh, Golden Girls. I think it's neater that she was on not one, but TWO episodes of Pee-wee's Playhouse.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Agreed with a lot of Stephanie's recap except for Brian's way too low ranking.

Also can't really blame Nick for not picking Adam after doing an Adam song as he was the only judge that didn't turn around. Going with Pharrell wasn't sneaky....it was the right choice for him given the three choices he had.

Edited March 1, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Ava]

About the only thing I know about Alisan Porter is that she's good friends with Adam Lambert...wouldn't a duet be nice?

[vb68]

Here I was feeling bad for Christina who seemed to be growing more frustrated as the night went on that she does have trouble reeling them in. This was perfectly highlighted by Alisan's family yelling "Adam" or "Blake." I was even thinking she just might call it quits sooner than later.  And then BAM!  She lands the big one at the end. Good for her.  I do hope Alisan is her golden goose. 

Edited March 1, 2016 by vb68

[Kromm]

Who the heck spelled it Alisan on the birth certificate anyway? That needs some explanation.

Actually I wonder. It COULD actually be Alison and they changed the spelling for Actor's Equity (if there was another "Alison Porter" already. Hollywood is filled with stories like that. Even her Star Search appearance at Age 5 can't tell us for sure, because when Ed McMahon introduces her he lists this whole range of television commercials she'd already done... so that Equity decision (if that's the explanation) would have already happened.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Kromm

[Sentient Meat]

I thought Alisan was good in terms of pitch and dynamics but I'm not sure I really like her tone.  One thing I think contestants should look for are beautiful songs made famous by technically inferior singers.  Choosing a song made famous by Roy Orbison and Linda Ronstadt is bound to make even a really good singer suffer somewhat in comparison.  That being said, I think most of the target audience is too young to even remember those versions so it probably doesn't matter.

 

I probably liked Mary Sarah and Mike Schiavo more... but that could change after I hear more.

[Oscirus]

 If Allisan picked anybody other then the coach that she had so much in common with then she needed to be smacked. LOL at her telling Adam to back off because her husbands watching. If Christina can't win with her, since she'll be the obvious producer's choice then Cristina will never win.

[Sharpie66]

Mary Sarah's voice really blew me away. Definitely my favorite audition in many seasons.

[kj4ever]

I wasn't feeling it so much last night.  I mean there were the couple of stand outs but a lot of them I just didn't connect.  Hoping for a better night tonight!  I didn't watch last season except a little here and there hoping it would get rid of my Voice burn out, so I hope I'm not still just over it.

[Adusk81]

So first episode and we already have our winner. Again. Hoping it's not that obvious throughout the season because that sort of thing has made the past two seasons pretty anticlimactic. Would be nice to be surprised a bit on a show like this. Especially since AI completely dropped the ball early on for its final season.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Adusk81

[DownTheShore]

I was just thankful that we didn't get a bunch of 15-year-old wunderkinder in the first show.

I had to laugh when the guy from Bayville NJ was shown living in a log cabin with his brothers without Internet access. I could imagine all the people in that area cringing at the depiction. The town is across Barnegat Bay from Seaside Heights and just south of Toms River. It's not deep in the Pine Barrens

[Duke Silver]

I'm wondering if this first episode was intentionally front-loaded w/ talent by TPTB...a way of kind of casting aspersions on Idol's final season.  Just a thought.

 

I agree w/ the re-cap:  IMO, there was more talent seen in the first episode than what AI has for their sad top 10 in the Lives.

[TheCzarOfMusic]

So HOLY SNAP Mary Sarah has the voice of the century! Alisan I think indeed has had her 15 minutes and I found this of Mary Sarah on YouTube - seems done with a home studio or some sort? I hope she'll do this one on the show...GOOD LUCK ...

[MaryPatShelby]

So first episode and we already have our winner. Again. Hoping it's not that obvious throughout the season because that sort of thing has made the past two seasons pretty anticlimactic. Would be nice to be surprised a bit on a show like this. Especially since AI completely dropped the ball early on for its final season.

Which one are you thinking will win, Mary Sarah or Alisan Porter? or someone else?

[Kromm]

So HOLY SNAP Mary Sarah has the voice of the century! Alisan I think indeed has had her 15 minutes

Can't it be true that Mary Sarah has the voice of the century and that Alisan isn't a has-been?

 

I don't think this really has to be a binary choice.

Mary Sarah: She was definitely something else.  Her voice was so beautiful and didn't rely on a single run!  Definitely deserved four chairs!  Hope Blake does her right!

I hope Blake (or whoever actually does song selection if it's not just Blake) doesn't confuse her with a typical Country Singer (especially a modern one) and finds the actual lane she needs. Connie Francis (a genre buster) was a very telling artist to audition with, assuming the Coach actually GETS where that logically leads.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Kromm

[ChristmasJones]

First time in many seasons that I actually wanted to listen to all of the songs. Usually I hear the first 20 seconds or so and then ffwd. To my ears, there were so many good ones this time. I am now really looking forward to this season.  I need my DVR for this show though. I can watch 2 hours in about 40 minutes or so - all I watch is the singing.

Edited March 2, 2016 by ChristmasJones

[Swedish Chef]

I liked Alisan fine, but I am not totally sold. Her tone is very much on the "bright" side, and I prefer warmer voices. I also had Linda Rondstadt's version of that song in my head, which is just as technically impressive, but benefits from Rondstadt's richer tone. I look forward to Alisan's future performances, though, and she may win me over.

I, too, liked Mary Sarah and would love to hear her old-fashioned voice on a modern song in future rounds.

[misstwpherecool]

Mary Sarah's voice really blew me away. Definitely my favorite audition in many seasons.

I was more than pleasantly surprised. She has a voice, she did it pretty straight forward and it was different than the typical pop song selection of most of the contestants. There were some good contestants but everything else after Mary Sarah was a disappointment to me. 

 

Christina didn't turn around earlier???

Edited March 2, 2016 by misstwpherecool

[realdancemom]

Mary Sarah was my favorite audition too and I'm not a country fan.  Alisan was great too and I'm glad she went with Christina.  I'm not sold on her winning since Mary Sarah/Blake can also take it.

[ToxicUnicorn]

Mary Sarah finally paid off all of Blake's comments about introducing that type of country music to a new generation of listeners.  That audition was perfect.  The video of All of Me above is pretty great, too.  The purity of her voice is fantastic.  Blake must be beside himself.  

 

I loved Linda Ronstadt's torch songs back in the day, but I never liked her Blue Bayou.  It was too dang slow and syrupy.  So, Alisan's version was a revelation, partly just because of the tempo she chose.  I think she has a lovely voice.  However, I think her brilliance was in the way she polished every phrase.  I don't have a musical vocabulary - I just thought that the way she sang everything was finished to perfection.  Phrases flowed and made sense.  Syllables took their time and were properly emphasized relative to one another.  To my ears, it was a completely different approach from almost anything these days, and it was like getting wrapped in warm paraffin wax (I mean that as a good thing).

 

It was exactly the opposite of the way "Un-con-Di-TIONA=lly" ruins that very word for me, or the way all the lines of "Wrecking Ball" have a discomfitting runaway train feel.  Alisan's song was something I could savor, without feeling as though I might get slapped up the side of my head with something unfortunate at any moment.  For that, I hope Alisan not only stays around all season, but is able to launch a big career..

 

I am crossing my fingers that Alisan and Christina bring out the best in each other.  That could be a real treat.

[Michel]

On ‎2‎/‎29‎/‎2016 at 11:01 PM, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

Also can't really blame Nick for not picking Adam after doing an Adam song as he was the only judge that didn't turn around. Going with Pharrell wasn't sneaky....it was the right choice for him given the three choices he had.

I know this is so many months later, but I agree that it wasn't sneaky to not go with the coach whose song you did if that coach doesn't even turn around.  Sneaky is when you do get a coach to turn around after doing his or her song, and then not picking said coach after all of that.  Prime example of this being season eight, when Tonya Boyd-Cannon did an amazing rendition of Pharrell's "Happy," and then promptly kicked him in the balls by choosing Adam as her coach.    Now, that was sneaky.  In a lot of ways, I tend to believe that karma really came back to bite her for that Adam dumped her way more interesting voice for Brian Johnson's completely boring voice at the Live Playoffs later that season.

Edited September 8, 2016 by Michel