S11.E03: The Blind Auditions Premiere, Part 3

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

The blind auditions continue. The coaches are Miley Cyrus, Alicia Keys, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton.

[Court]

I really thought Billy Gilman was going to pick Miley. I think she would make a better mentor for him than Adam.

[TheGreenKnight]

I hate when my favorite contestants are tied to Adam. I'm still rooting for Billy, but I wish he'd went with Miley.

[candall]

Picking Adam was a shocker.  Miley had the past personal connection and she knows something about country to rock transition, if that's his thing.

I hope at least he had given it a lot of thought beforehand and decided Adam would be his best bet, instead of being swayed by the guy who turned first and wouldn't sit down.

 

I always thought that One Voice song was excruciating, but it's kind of cool to see him pop up here.  High five on the out and proud--Billy Gilman's in a good place right now.

[Bronzedog]

Just watching this tonight completely changed my opinion of Alicia Keyes.  I always thought she was an aloof diva, until tonight.  I can't imagine what her super fan felt when she chose her and then starting singing.

[Primetimer]

Miley and Alicia make their presence felt, as powerful female singers drown out the former boys club.

View the full article

[PhD-Purgatory15]

The token old guy audition actually got a chair to turn this season. That hasn't happened in a while.

Has Sa'Rayah popped up on another singing competition show? I feel like that name (and spelling with the apostrophe) is ringing a bell from somewhere in the recesses of my brain that focuses on useless knowledge.

Sophia was interesting. Like a cross between Kimberly Nichole and that one completely over the top singer on Team CeeLo (DOMO) from Season 3. Something tells me the vibe will be strong between Miley and her.

Andrew should just be penciled in as the romantic lead for Hailee Steinfeld in Pitch Perfect 4.

Thought Brendan, Billy, and Ethan were all quite good.

One week in, and we haven't had the wave of country singers going to Blake (and Adam desperately trying to poach one or two).....maybe next week? Also have yet to see our first redemption artist from last season (or before)....I wonder who they'll be?

Edited September 21, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[apollonia666]

1 hour ago, Bronzedog said:

Just watching this tonight completely changed my opinion of Alicia Keyes.  I always thought she was an aloof diva, until tonight.  I can't imagine what her super fan felt when she chose her and then starting singing.

I want a hug from Alicia Keys now.  Her hugs look downright splendid.

[Padma]

I'm enjoying Miley and Alicia more than I expected. Miley being a little more subdued tonight is definitely an improvement. I like both women's enthusiasm for the show and singers--and its great to see Blake and Adam not having an obvious advantage in pitches anymore.   (With "hair and makeup" Alicia's gorgeous. But I think she looks cute and pretty without it and it's a really cool statement --kudos for pulling it off, too!)

Andrew is probably inoffensive (with no chance at all of winning). But I took a strong dislike to him and was hoping he wouldn't get chosen. Why? Because I hate people who pull that whole "Can I come up and sing with you?" thing and then are proud of it. I guess it never occurred to him that (1) there were probably ten better singers in that audience who BJ would have enjoyed singing with more (2) the audience is there (probably paid for it) to hear Billy Joel, not to see him play piano with some doofus singing; and (3) the nerve to think you're deserving of taking his (and audiences') time!  Probably a harsh assessment, but I found him very annoying. He's fodder for Adam though so--all good.

Enjoyed We and Billy. I have a feeling this will be one of the best seasons..

Edited September 21, 2016 by Padma

[Sharpie66]

We was the one I rewound to listen to again. Even taking out the contrast between her speaking and singing voices, she can really SAAANG!! I am looking forward to hearing her again.

[simplyme]

This was the first chance I've had to watch The Voice this season, and so far I am psyched by the change in coaches. It's nice to see a more level playing field between the four, and Miley and Alicia don't have to look to someone else to decide if someone is good. They also aren't intimidated at all. (I can't wait until Miley changes outfits, though, so my hands will stop twitching with the urge to start ripping those damn flowers off.) Obviously final judgments on them as coaches will have to wait to see how song selection and mentoring goes, but so far I'm enjoying the hell out of them.

Also, it's really nice to put to rest the fallacy that you can't have two female coaches/judges without a cat fight breaking out. Sure you can. It's all in the personalities you cast.

I don't remember the names of many of the singers, but overall I was happy. The really shy girl (woman? I can't remember her age or name) had potential if she can get some training and keep working. She just lacks the control and practice right now. I'm assuming some of it was nerves and some wasn't. Either way, good for her for managing to get through and be so happy. (Also, she had nice skin and amazing facial bone structure. I thought she was gorgeous.)

Billy has a beautiful voice. I was trying to decide how much his having a Grammy bothered me, then I decided that if Meghan Lindsey, formerly of Steel Magnolias, and Alison Porter, childhood movie star, can be on, why not a guy whose voice, life, and music style has changed? I don't see a significant difference there.

There was something about Brendan that gave me irrational dislike vibes in his intro package, but I quite liked the tone of his voice. I'm hoping the dislike goes away.

I laughed when Blake turned for Dan, the 56-year-old, because Blake is highly market conscious. I imagined Blake thinking, "Crap! I got an old guy! He didn't sound old!"  (Again, I liked the tone of his voice. For some reason he looked like a short, older Bo Duke to me, and his wife had echoes of Daisy Duke. I'm blaming my ongoing kitchen remodel and the associated sleep deprivation for that strange thought.)

[kathyk24]

I thought the talent tonight was much better than last night. I don't know that we've seen the ultimate winner yet though. I'm not sure I like Alicia and Miley getting all the female singers. I don't think Adam has landed a female singer yet.

[Kromm]

I really thought Billy Gilman was going to pick Miley. I think she would make a better mentor for him than Adam.

They have very similar stories in a way (child star shedding a schlocky old image and leaving Country behind), so yeah I was also shocked he didn't pick her.

[Kromm]

Hmmm. Not sure I agree with Stephanie's rankings. I thought We was the best by far, and Sophia a solid second. Sa'rayah is very good, but also very full of affectations ("Church singing" is great but it breaks down a bit when you try to apply it commercially), so I'd put her third or maybe fourth for the night. It bordered on oversinging but barely escaped that because she does indeed have a really good voice. Billy Gilman was in whichever of those two spots (third or fourth) that Sa'rayah is not, because while yes, it might be an overall mistake to try and cover Adele, I think he did enough minor re-arrangment/vocal changes (the key) that it worked really well. He also had a nice restraint--he didn't OVERSING. Lauren Diaz would be fifth then I guess. I'd really have to hear her sing a non-Alicia song, because while it wasn't totally parroting Alicia, it was close enough that I found myself wishing she'd at least TRIED to spin the song a bit. Really to me it sounds like Lauren has an idea in her head what Alicia sounds like singing it, and does a credible job replicating it to the extent she is capable of, but it doesn't resonate as HER message. Andrew was okay, but really... it takes a lot of work to make anyone OTHER than Billy Joel singing a Billy Joel song interesting. He didn't quite meet the burden. Also... some old guy sang. Yawn!!! I'd say Blake would regret it, except Blake knows 50% of a team HAS to be cannon fodder, so why should he care if he got a lemon?

[simplyme]

1 hour ago, Kromm said:

Hmmm. Not sure I agree with Stephanie's rankings. I thought We was the best by far, and Sophia a solid second. Sa'rayah is very good, but also very full of affectations ("Church singing" is great but it breaks down a bit when you try to apply it commercially), so I'd put her third or maybe fourth for the night. It bordered on oversinging but barely escaped that because she does indeed have a really good voice. Billy Gilman was in whichever of those two spots (third or fourth) that Sa'rayah is not, because while yes, it might be an overall mistake to try and cover Adele, I think he did enough minor re-arrangment/vocal changes (the key) that it worked really well. He also had a nice restraint--he didn't OVERSING. Lauren Diaz would be fifth then I guess. I'd really have to hear her sing a non-Alicia song, because while it wasn't totally parroting Alicia, it was close enough that I found myself wishing she'd at least TRIED to spin the song a bit. Andrew was okay, but really... it takes a lot of work to make anyone OTHER than Billy Joel singing a Billy Joel song interesting.  Also... some old guy sang. Yawn!!! I'd say Blake would regret it, except Blake knows 50% of a team HAS to be cannon fodder, so why should he care if he got a lemon?

Yes. All this. Sophia was one hell of a performer. Sa'rayah is someone that I can see being very polarizing, especially since SimplyDad, my stand-in for the common man, couldn't make it through her audition. 

Also, "Stone Cold" is not the song to choose for an audition, Katie. It's an emotional, over the top song that makes even singers with good control sound like angsty, screechy teens. If you only have one chance to make the cut, that's probably not the sound you want to shoot for. *sigh*

[candall]

5 hours ago, Bronzedog said:

Just watching this tonight completely changed my opinion of Alicia Keyes.  I always thought she was an aloof diva, until tonight.  I can't imagine what her super fan felt when she chose her and then starting singing.

The superfan's speaking voice comes straight from the back of her nose.  She says she's a voice coach--why can't she open that up a little?  No exercises for "round, pear-shaped tones" in her classes?

 

I'm always down for the old guy.  Represent!

[Jabu]

Team rosters/cheat sheets thus far:

Team Adam
Riley Elmore (2)
Andrew DeMuro (2)
Billy Gilman (4)
Brendan Fletcher (3)

Team Miley
Courtnie Ramirez (2)
Ali Caldwell (4)
Sa'Rayah (2)
Sophia Urista (2)

Team Alicia
Jason Warrior (2)
Dave Moisan (4)
Christian Cuevas (3)
Wé McDonald (4)
Lauren Diaz (3)

Team Blake
Sundance Head (2)
Dana Harper (3)
Gabe Broussard (2)
Ethan Tucker (2)
Dan Shafer (1)

All names in bold indicate an artist who has newly been added to a team.  The number in parentheses represents the number of chair turns.  An asterisk means that this artist was montaged.

16 minutes ago, Kromm said:

They have very similar stories in a way (child star shedding a schlocky old image and leaving Country behind), so yeah I was also shocked he didn't pick her.

Some artists are just idiots in love with Adam for whatever reason.  Even though there's nothing about him to fall in love with.  Like, at all.  But I guess we need dumb people to balance out the smarter ones.

4 hours ago, kathyk24 said:

I thought the talent tonight was much better than last night. I don't know that we've seen the ultimate winner yet though. I'm not sure I like Alicia and Miley getting all the female singers. I don't think Adam has landed a female singer yet.

In fairness, Blake got a female artist, too.  And Alicia took three male artists before she landed her first female.  It does seem odd, though, that Miley has only landed women so far.

[Michel]

5 hours ago, kathyk24 said:

I thought the talent tonight was much better than last night. I don't know that we've seen the ultimate winner yet though. I'm not sure I like Alicia and Miley getting all the female singers. I don't think Adam has landed a female singer yet.

Adam's had the perfect chance to turn for several of the women who've auditioned thus for.  No one's fault or problem but his own that he chose not to.

How interesting that Blake is the only coach with no four-chair-turn.  He usually gets at least one by now.

[JMarie99]

I liked Billy, Brendan and the old guy (Dan? I can't quite remember his name). The tone of Biily's voice is just gorgeous. I can see him being very marketable and radio-friendly. I could listen to him all day long. As far as his previous career, he was a child then and therefore more of a novelty and he is a different person now with an entirely different voice and I believe he deserves a chance at a new career. I love the tone of the old guy's voice as well. Brendan's voice sounds kind of sexy to me. I didn't care for any of the girls they made such a fuss over. Too over-the-top shouty and screamy for me. I agree that style of singing is impressive, but I just don't like listening to it. Oh and I got to see We who I understand was in the premiere episode. She was very good but if she can sing like that she needs to find a way to modulate that Minnie Mouse speaking voice!

[Padma]

9 hours ago, Kromm said:

They have very similar stories in a way (child star shedding a schlocky old image and leaving Country behind), so yeah I was also shocked he didn't pick her.

Based on nothing other than a "feeling", I thought the choice might have been related to Billy Ray--either not liking him and not wanting to "go there" again, or feeling that the Billy Ray connection hadn't done anything for him before so why not go in a different direction.

Then again, it could just be the hypnotic effect Adam exerts over some people. It'll be interesting where his coaching falls on the "Svengali spectrum" with Billy (giving him random genres of songs to show off his voice) v. how he helps him get identified with a particular genre/style with an eye to building his brand/career.

It also made me wonder if Miley's ... immature ....(past?) image might turn people off from her as a coach. Always hard to know how much of the "Adam and Blake are being left out of the choices" is just editing.  Much as I enjoy some country, its nice to see that so far it's pretty underrepresented in the performances.

Blake may be disappointed with Old Guy (Dan?) but I was glad he chose him. And his young singing voice was interesting. I'm rooting for him to bump a few of the kids, just because.

[candall]

4 minutes ago, Padma said:

Based on nothing other than a "feeling", I thought the choice might have been related to Billy Ray--either not liking him and not wanting to "go there" again, or feeling that the Billy Ray connection hadn't done anything for him before so why not go in a different direction.

Excellent point.

If that whole experience left a little bit of a sour taste in his mouth--maybe Billy Ray Cyrus wasn't the most sensitive "kid mentor" in the world--he wouldn't want to have to skirt around that with Miley.

[ennui]

I'm surprised that the team numbers are balanced. As a casual viewer, I am predicting that someone amazing will appear at the end after Miley's and Alicia's teams are filled.

[Nedsdag]

So next week, we'll see the country cornpone hopefuls fill up Blake's team, right?

As great as Billy sounded, it feels like he'll be the male Alisan this season. I have nothing against singers getting a second chance, but Billy was nominated for a Grammy. It kind of seems unfair, but that's how the show goes.

I'm on the Wé train unless her voice goes. Sa'Rayah was terrific in a Jennifer Hudson kind of way. I hope she doesn't leave the show early a la JHud on AI.

[TheGreenKnight]

5 hours ago, Padma said:

Then again, it could just be the hypnotic effect Adam exerts over some people. It'll be interesting where his coaching falls on the "Svengali spectrum" with Billy (giving him random genres of songs to show off his voice) v. how he helps him get identified with a particular genre/style with an eye to building his brand/career.

I think Adam definitely has a hypnotic effect on the contestants. They come out looking to pick another coach, but end up falling for his charisma. I just hope the same thing that happened to Damien and Amber Carrington doesn't happen to Billy. I hadn't heard his voice since he hit puberty, so I was expecting him to sound different. But his voice was still so pure and clear. "When We Were Young" was such a great song choice.

[simplyme]

6 hours ago, Padma said:

It also made me wonder if Miley's ... immature ....(past?) image might turn people off from her as a coach. 

I wondered if one reason Billy went with Adam was that he doesn't want to risk losing a certain part of any possible retained fanbase that might be offended by an association with Miley. She may have a better understanding of the transition, but different people handle it differently. He probably respects her talent and career, but feels Adam has as many relevant contacts in the business and more experience as a coach.

Only Billy knows the real reason, though. Anyways, I don't think it was as stupid a choice as others seem to.

[jjjmoss]

I can't decide how I feel about Billy being on the show. On the one hand, technically he has a double platinum album. On the other, that was when he was a tween, while now he's 28 and has been irrelevant for the second half of his life. We'll see how good he is, I suppose.

[viajero]

I thought the level of talent was much higher in this episode.  I would rate We, Sophia, Billy, Sa'Rayah, and Lauren as being at least as good, if not significantly better, than anyone we saw on Monday night, except perhaps Ali (and maybe Sundance).  It gives me some hope for the season.

I think We has the best (singing) voice of anyone we've seen so far and Sophia is the one I'm probably most looking forward to seeing again.

Of the rest, I probably liked Brandon's voice the best, though it was not that special.   I did not like Ethan's arrangement of Roxane.  Adam and Dan have decent voices, but seemed extremely generic and uninteresting on stage.  I suspect both are fodder.

[mangosplums]

I really love We's voice and would be happy if she won. I'm surprised there's not more excitement about her.

 

Quote

Also, "Stone Cold" is not the song to choose for an audition, Katie. It's an emotional, over the top song that makes even singers with good control sound like angsty, screechy teens. If you only have one chance to make the cut, that's probably not the sound you want to shoot for. *sigh*

You know they don't actually chose their songs for auditions. They are given to them.

Edited September 22, 2016 by mangosplums

[JMarie99]

Wait -- the contestants don't choose their own songs for the auditions? Really??

[MaryPatShelby]

I thought they chose from a massive list of available options.

[ennui]

17 hours ago, mangosplums said:

You know they don't actually chose their songs for auditions. They are given to them.

I thought they get to choose their audition, but everything after that is chosen for them. We won't see the audition unless The Voice can get permission from whoever holds the rights. No?

[Padma]

I think they choose their audition song as long as its one the Voice has the rights to use. After that, it's kind of a "coaches thing" as far as how much the coach dictates the song choice and how much s/he lets the singer choose (again, from the approved list, except in unusual circumstances where they are able to get special permission. Sawyer was one who did, and I remember Christina and Adam each getting it for at least one of their singers, too.)

[Michel]

Well, damn.  I hope we're not in for another predictable ending, because I just checked iTunes, and Billy's rocking it out at number twenty-eight.  The next contestant is not even close to him, and that's Wé at number 163.

I know it's early days, but his past had better not help him basically cruise to a win.

[Noreaster]

3 hours ago, Padma said:

I think they choose their audition song as long as its one the Voice has the rights to use. After that, it's kind of a "coaches thing" as far as how much the coach dictates the song choice and how much s/he lets the singer choose (again, from the approved list, except in unusual circumstances where they are able to get special permission. Sawyer was one who did, and I remember Christina and Adam each getting it for at least one of their singers, too.)

This is the story the show tells, that the contestant picks sometimes, the coaches at others.  In reality, the producers are very much involved in song selection.  I have read a lot of contestant interviews over the seasons.

For the blinds, some contestants have talked about how they submit a ranked list and the producers choose from there. Some say that the blind audition song is one of the few they prepared for the earlier producer rounds (before the taped blinds). Others just say the blind audition song is simply given to them and they didn't have a choice.  For some examples, check out this thread: 

For the other rounds, contestants have talked about how they are asked to submit lists of songs they would like to do. The producers then work from there.  Occasionally, they'll pick from the contestant list.  Most of the time, they don't. The degree of coach involvement varies a lot.  My impression, based on contestant interviews, is that Christina is always very involved in song selection while the others are mixed.   Basically, it depends on how involved the coach wants to be. This varies based on what else they have going on outside of the show and on the specific contestants and whether they feel invested in them.  

Edited September 23, 2016 by Noreaster

[Padma]

After reading about Billy (who's going to have another big advantage in getting a lot of media attention not only for his "has been" story, but for coming out as a ..former...country music singer), I wondered if maybe he'd experienced Billy Ray as homophobic when they toured.  (I still think it was perhaps the connection with her father that made him choose Adam, maybe nothing personal, but not wanting to justify why he's leaving country music. Or something else.)

Anyway, I looked up Billy Ray and was pleasantly surprised to see that he's VERY vocally against the anti-LGBT laws in Tennessee, NC and Mississippi and isn't afraid to post his feelings on Facebook. Miley, of course, everyone knows, but you never know about a parent. Hopefully, country music is changing quicker now, one can hope.

[TheGreenKnight]

The fact that he's gay is the same reason I knew he would not choose Blake. I thought he might lean toward Miley because she seems accepting, but maybe her father played a role in the decision to choose Adam.

[Noreaster]

Serious question....I know Miley Cyrus is a well-known and popular pop artist, but what does she really have to offer to the contestants?  Assuming these contestants buy into the mentoring aspect, Miley is much younger than the other coaches. She was also born into a successful musical family so she had the benefit of tons of connections.  She didn't really struggle like I imagine many of these contestants do.  She's also an unknown commodity when it comes to the show.  No way to tell what her coaching style is like, what types of contestants she may favor, and how involved she'll be.  

I admit that I haven't been watching the coach pitches for these blinds (I stopped a few seasons back because I got tired of them), but on paper, it doesn't seem to me that Miley would be a top pick for many contestants.  

[netlyon2]

My impression is that part of her appeal is being the wildcard judge who fits into more than one genre, thereby garnering the artists who don't want to make the "safe" choice or be boxed in.  I don't know much about her, but I think she's pretty commercially successful, so that's in her favor as well.  Plus, she's a Disney star; I imagine that some younger contestants may look at her the way others look at Alicia Keys.

Miley can sing, right?  As in, she's got actual chops, not just the wacky shtick?  I think we've heard the other judges sing this season, but not her (yet).

[Kromm]

1 hour ago, netlyon2 said:

Miley can sing, right?  As in, she's got actual chops, not just the wacky shtick?  I think we've heard the other judges sing this season, but not her (yet).

YouTube is your friend.  Go ahead and look (especially live performances).  I'd say she can, but people should definitely make that call individually.

Okay, wait. Here's just two.  I can't promise there's been no digital sweetening (they do that even on supposedly "live clips" when someone wraps them up in an Internet video). They're not the biggest range songs, but are probably more sensitive performances than I think most people assume she's capable of.

A Dido song (although it sounds a whole lot more old timey than that):

I doubt most pop princesses cover Jeff Buckley.

EDIT - adding a third clip, because it's one I just saw tonight for the first time. It's certainly got it's share of weirdness to it (for example her commentary on Jimmy Fallon and Donald Trump) but a.) it's a Bob Dylan song and b.) she hits some fairly big notes in it. c.) because it was actually on a TV show (vs. going out to the Internet), there's the least chance it had any audio post-processing/sweetening d.) going by her hair, this was filmed pretty much concurrently with The Voice episodes we are seeing now, so it's recent.

Edited September 23, 2016 by Kromm

[Kromm]

5 hours ago, Noreaster said:

Serious question....I know Miley Cyrus is a well-known and popular pop artist, but what does she really have to offer to the contestants?  Assuming these contestants buy into the mentoring aspect, Miley is much younger than the other coaches. She was also born into a successful musical family so she had the benefit of tons of connections.  She didn't really struggle like I imagine many of these contestants do.  She's also an unknown commodity when it comes to the show.  No way to tell what her coaching style is like, what types of contestants she may favor, and how involved she'll be.  

I admit that I haven't been watching the coach pitches for these blinds (I stopped a few seasons back because I got tired of them), but on paper, it doesn't seem to me that Miley would be a top pick for many contestants.  

If we're comparing though, I think it's safe to say though that at the very minimum she's got a far broader knowledge of music as a whole than Blake. If you discount the kind of music she puts on her own albums (recently: a specific kind of pop, and before that country), and look at the other clips of her singing online (these Happy Hippy clips and her earlier Backyard sessions, as well as the unexpected covers she does at her concert) you get a picture of someone who's actual taste in music isn't exactly what I think people assume it is. 

And yet Blake has won the show a lot. I think that mostly means what we might assume means the most to winning the show (musical chops or knowledge) isn't all that's going on. But think on this.  Unless you are a country singer (i.e. "Team Blake") which coach going on radio interviews and pushing you, having you guest star at their concerts, and such is going to help you the most?  Let's just say that Miley does a whole lot of touring, a whole lot of radio interviews, and any person who shoots for her team probably at least has hopes of that equaling opportunities. 

[Gel]

23 hours ago, Michel said:

 

Well, damn.  I hope we're not in for another predictable ending, because I just checked iTunes, and Billy's rocking it out at number twenty-eight.  

 

 

Guilty.  I admit to being old and not having the faintest idea what the difference is in singing mechanics, but there's a huge gap between him and pretty much everyone else to my untrained ear. For starters, I can hear him, as in, his voice over the background music. Why is that? For two, I can understand him. For three, he hasn't murdered the song by "making it his own", though, ymmv.  I actually far prefer this version to Adele's. 

[Noreaster]

3 hours ago, Kromm said:

If we're comparing though, I think it's safe to say though that at the very minimum she's got a far broader knowledge of music as a whole than Blake. If you discount the kind of music she puts on her own albums (recently: a specific kind of pop, and before that country), and look at the other clips of her singing online (these Happy Hippy clips and her earlier Backyard sessions, as well as the unexpected covers she does at her concert) you get a picture of someone who's actual taste in music isn't exactly what I think people assume it is. 

And yet Blake has won the show a lot. I think that mostly means what we might assume means the most to winning the show (musical chops or knowledge) isn't all that's going on. But think on this.  Unless you are a country singer (i.e. "Team Blake") which coach going on radio interviews and pushing you, having you guest star at their concerts, and such is going to help you the most?  Let's just say that Miley does a whole lot of touring, a whole lot of radio interviews, and any person who shoots for her team probably at least has hopes of that equaling opportunities. 

Yeah, I don't buy the post-show help factor.  I would hope the contestants don't either.  After 10 seasons and pretty much all the contestants getting nowhere with the exception of the welcoming country music community (so I don't think this is a Blake thing, it's really a country music thing), it would be sort of foolish to pick a coach based on potential post-show help.  We've seen the coaches in the earlier seasons bring their contestants on tour or collaborate on songs/projects, and where has that led?  Nowhere. The only person to make any headway is the indie contestant (Melanie Martinez) who tried to distance herself from the show.  

[mangosplums]

On September 22, 2016 at 9:31 AM, JMarie99 said:

Wait -- the contestants don't choose their own songs for the auditions? Really??

 

On September 22, 2016 at 4:58 PM, ennui said:

I thought they get to choose their audition, but everything after that is chosen for them. We won't see the audition unless The Voice can get permission from whoever holds the rights. No?

 

On September 22, 2016 at 3:13 PM, MaryPatShelby said:

I thought they chose from a massive list of available options.

According to this person on reddit they don't. I have heard people say other auditionees say were assigned a specific song to sing for the audition before too, so I think it's true that they don't choose them. https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/comments/2jib13/i_am_in_the_finals_of_the_voice_the_program_is/

[simplyme]

It sounds like some have been assigned, others have gotten to rank options and then been assigned, some have offered a list and gotten to do one on the list, and some got to choose for the blind auditions. So it seems to depend some on season and singer.

I don't know that I would 100% believe an anonymous reddit poster claiming to be a Voice finalist with no real proof. The previously.tv thread with input from multiple people having gone through the experience seems more reliable to me as a way to see which things keep popping up, but YMMV.

[Venee]

The song choosing thing is all over the place. I follow Alisan pretty closely. She is one who said she had to submit a list and they chose from the list. It seems once she chose Christina she mostly let Alisan do what she wanted, with a little input here and there. I don't think that's so normal, but Alisan was very experienced (2 albums) years of performing. I think Christina saw her as more of a colleague. There was one song that she said the producers do pick and it's the save song. She revealed that hers was "Wrecking Ball" lol 

[Guest]

On 9/21/2016 at 9:37 AM, candall said:

Excellent point.

If that whole experience left a little bit of a sour taste in his mouth--maybe Billy Ray Cyrus wasn't the most sensitive "kid mentor" in the world--he wouldn't want to have to skirt around that with Miley.

Was Billy Ray his mentor?  I thought Billy Gilman just opened for him on some tour, or some dates.  

I truly believe the producers tell the singers which coach to pick, or at least frequently do, and I think they also tell the coaches who to turn for.  Look how few one-chair-turns there are now, for example.  It feels engineered.  I can imagine that they told Billy to pick Adam partly because Miley didn't want to have to cut someone down the road who she kind of 'knew'.  And I feel like they're trying to ensure Blake doesn't win, so any true contenders are going to go to someone else.