S12.E05: The Blind Auditions, Part 5

[Vyk]

From TV Guide:

The blind auditions continue.

This one will only be one-hour long.

[Vyk]

Leaked audition from tomorrow's episode:

Supposedly, he chooses to join

Team Gwen.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

That guy (youtube says Johnny w/ two N's Gates) was different. Almost like there was a little emo bleeding into his more classic rock vibe. He held my attention, but I don't necessarily feel like he's going to be around for the long haul for some reason.

Lauryn Judd (the 16 year old from Utah)....I almost wish she'd stayed in her more mouse voice like (a la Caroline Pennell or a less breathy Dia Frampton). When she tried to amp it up and get loud, it got really shaky. Feeling like she's probably going to be an afterthought on Team Alicia, but may end up being steal material for Blake or Gwen. The other 16 year old (Caroline Sky) IMO is the most promising teen voice we've heard so far. A lot of maturity and presence in her voice which I liked a lot. Malik's story was more inspiring than his voice. Not a lot of range, and it seemed like it took a lot of effort to stay in the pocket or close to it. I'm remembering back to Bryan Bautista (a similar artist stylistically) who seemed to be in that pocket effortlessly on most of his songs.

Valet kid was alright. I'd be willing to wager a tiny bit of money that we'll see him again in S13. Lastly, Josh Hoyer was pretty soulful (first male artist on Team Blake they've shown us). I'll be stunned if Blake doesn't advance him to the lives at this point. A little Josh Kaufmann-y maybe...

Edited March 8, 2017 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Jabu]

Team rosters/cheat sheets:

Team Adam
Johnny Hayes (2)
Mark Isaiah (2)
Jesse Larson (1)
Julien Martinez (2)
Kawan DeBose (3)
Taylor Alexander (1)
Gaby Borromeo (2)
Josh West (4)
Malik Davage (1)

Team Gwen
JChosen (4)
Stephanie Rice (2)
Savannah Leighton (2)
Brandon Royal (2)
Troy Ramey (4)
Aaliyah Rose (1)
Johnny Gates (3)
Caroline Sky (2)

Team Alicia
Anatalia Villaranda (4)
Felicia Temple (3)
Autumn Turner (4)
Lilli Passero (3)
Quizz Swanigan (2)
Jack Cassidy (2)
Missy Robertson (2)
Lauryn Judd (3)

Team Blake
Lauren Duski (3)
Brennley Brown (2)
Aliyah Moulden (3)
Ashley Levin (3)
Casi Joy (4)
Micah Tryba (2)
Josh Hoyer (2)

Names in bold indicate artists who've newly joined a team.  The number in parentheses represents the number of chair turns.  An asterisk indicates that this artist was montaged.

[Dots And Stripes]

Much better night tonight. I liked the first guy who sang Rod Stewart. I kind of get why he picked Gwen as a rocker but I still think Blake is pretty much always the better option. Interesting that he had spent time in Nashville but Blake was clear that he thought he was more of a rocker than a country guy. See, Blake doesn't always push people towards country.

Team Blake has a male artist! They made that obvious a mile away with the editing tonight. I liked him.

The guy who cried was sweet. Not the strongest vocalist but I'm so happy that he gets to enjoy his moment. Getting to sing on national television and have a star tell you that you have talent is a victory in itself. 

[Vyk]

As usual, I enjoyed tonight.  I'm almost sorry that we have to wait six whole days for more fun.  But nonetheless, I had some fun at all.

So tonight's performances:

Johnny Gates: I once again have to disagree with @PhD-Purgatory15.  I think this guy's gonna be around for quite some time.  He had a stunning, gorgeous rock voice full of character and nuance.  It was strong and solid all around.  I think any of the three coaches who turned would've fit him just fine.  But I do think that Blake might've been the better option, since rock, as Blake has said, is essentially second cousins with country.  He could've taught him some things.  But as Gwen doesn't have any rockers yet, he could stand out in a big way on her team and at least get to the Knockouts.  Only way I see her dumping him before then is if he goes against someone in the Battles who Gwen vastly prefers.  Her favoritism and subjective coaching does grip at the mind.  (See: Ryan Still and Braiden Sunshine going so much farther than either probably deserved in seasons seven and nine, respectively.)

Malik Davage: This was a good performance and a decent voice, but I worry about his longevity.  Not only is he a one-chair-turn, but like Alicia said, there was nothing really original about his voice.  I bet that's also why Gwen and Blake didn't turn for him, either.  Adam might have some easy fodder to put against Kawan DeBose or even Mark Isaiah in a Battle or, should he get that far, a Knockout.

Lauryn Judd: I liked her use of dynamics.  She started strong, then pulled back to give a feeling of sweetness and softness.  Good on her for getting the three-chair turn.  But I agree with @PhD-Purgatory15 that she'll likely get lost in the shuffle on Alicia's team and get tossed quickly.  I actually think that Gwen or even Blake might've been better options for her.

Paul Adrian: There are two highly obsessed posters on Idol Forums who, upon seeing his channel, were desperate to see him make it on.  I'm very happy to see their heartbreak that he didn't.  Not that I thought he would.  He was okay, but I think he picked the wrong song choice, and there were definitely pitch issues in his upper register (although his middle and lower registers were solid).  He may come back, but I doubt it.

Caroline Sky: Probably the best of the teen voices we've had.  Actually, that made it a mystery to me that only Blake and Gwen turned around for her.  I agreed with Gwen that she clearly already has her vocal style figured out and has nurtured it beautifully.  Of the two available, I think Gwen was the right choice.  I just hope she does right by her.

Josh Hoyer: There was a richness and a maturity to his voice that went unmatched by anyone in his age range.  I liked it a lot.  I really thought he'd go with Gwen, due to the shared stories of being a parent and a musician.  (It's why Alisan Porter went with Christina back in season ten, after all.)  But genre-wise, Blake was probably the right choice for him.  And yes, indeed, he finally has a male artist after the entire first half of his team ended up being female!  But will he be the only one?  Well . . . we'll see.

On a final note . . . wow!  Five straight episodes and no montages!  Awesome!

Damn.  Waiting six days before we get to the final two Blind episodes is gonna be tough for me.

Edited March 8, 2017 by Vyk

[Sile]

From the couple of remarks that Alicia made about Rod Stewart it seemed that she wasn't aware that Maggie May was his song.  I know that isn't necessarily her genre, but is that even possible?

[Zahdii]

I rarely watch this show, and it's obvious to me why.  I'm often mystified about how the coaches make their decisions about the singers.  For instance, I thought the girl who sang "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" was out of her league, yet she had three coaches fighting over her.

Oh well, at least the singers usually sound pretty good after they've had a chance to work with the coaches for a bit.

[SnarkyTart]

Not a bad episode, but not a great one either.   I was somewhat interested in Caroline, and thought her voice might be capable of some surprising performances.  We'll see.  The only other contestant I thought was pretty good was Josh.  Yes, his voice has maturity and character, but the downside for me was that we've heard it before and I think he showed us everything he's got.  I would expect a sameness from future performances.  The judges weren't terribly annoying tonight, or else I was in a more tolerant mood.

[waving feather]

7 hours ago, Jabu said:

Team rosters/cheat sheets:

Team Adam
Johnny Hayes (2)
Mark Isaiah (2)
Jesse Larson (1)
Julien Martinez (2)
Kawan DeBose (3)
Taylor Alexander (1)
Gaby Borromeo (2)
Josh West (4)
Malik Davage (1)

...

Team Blake
Lauren Duski (3)
Brennley Brown (2)
Aliyah Moulden (3)
Ashley Levin (3)
Casi Joy (4)
Micah Tryba (2)
Josh Hoyer (2)

Names in bold indicate artists who've newly joined a team.  The number in parentheses represents the number of chair turns.  An asterisk indicates that this artist was montaged.

Wow! Adam has 8 men, 1 women and Blake has 6 women and 1 men. They really appeal to different people. 

[Quickbeam]

The special snowflake who sang Heartbreak Hotel picked the completely wrong song. It did nothing for his vocals. Big fail there. 

Edited March 8, 2017 by Quickbeam

[Vyk]

1 hour ago, waving feather said:

Wow! Adam has 8 men, 1 women and Blake has 6 women and 1 men. They really appeal to different people. 

. . . Nothing to say about the women's teams, @waving feather?

[waving feather]

27 minutes ago, Vyk said:

. . . Nothing to say about the women's teams, @waving feather?

Oh, I just mentioned Adam and Blake's teams because there is a big gap between men/women ratio on their teams. Alicia and Gwen's teams are not as extreme (6:2 for Alicia and 4:4 for Gwen). Gwen's team has the most interesting people, IMO. If she plays it right, she could do really well. Johnny Gates is one of the stand-outs this season, along with Lauren Duski.

Edited March 8, 2017 by waving feather

[Babalooie]

15 hours ago, SnarkyTart said:

Not a bad episode, but not a great one either.

I was thinking about that earlier.  I guess you could say that the potential winner or top two are not going to be in each episode.

[Noreaster]

I just caught up with all of the auditions on Youtube.  Definitely a lot of younger contestants this season. Gwen seems to love them while Adam rarely turns.  Actually, Adam has not been turning a lot.  There has been a fair number of contestants where he's the only holdout.  At the same time, he has also accumulated a few one-chair turns.  Weird.  Alicia also seems to win over contestants pretty well.  Gwen and Blake are less competitive.  

So far for me, the more memorable performances have been the guy who sang the Shawn Mendes song, a couple of the country women who went with Blake, and the two guys who sang Marvin Gaye songs.

[Vyk]

17 minutes ago, Noreaster said:

I just caught up with all of the auditions on Youtube.  Definitely a lot of younger contestants this season. Gwen seems to love them while Adam rarely turns.  Actually, Adam has not been turning a lot.  There has been a fair number of contestants where he's the only holdout.  At the same time, he has also accumulated a few one-chair turns.  Weird.  Alicia also seems to win over contestants pretty well.  Gwen and Blake are less competitive.

I don't know where you're getting "less competitive."  Maybe when it's only the two of them duking it out for artists, but when Adam and/or Alicia are in the mix, they both have gone pretty hard for them.  JChosen and Troy Ramey were probably her hardest fights, and as four-chair-turns, they very well should've been hard fights for her, and they were fights that she won.  She went hard for Quizz Swanigan, as well, against Alicia, but lost, and despite only going against Blake, she went out hard for Brandon Royal and Savannah Leighton (and Blake went just as hard against her for both of them).  So "less competitive" is kind of lost on me, @Noreaster.

[Noreaster]

I'm just looking at the numbers.  Not at the coach pitches (which I mostly skipped over and are heavily edited anyway).

Look at how many contestants each coach has on his/her team.  Then compare it to how many contestants each coach turned around for.  

Edited March 9, 2017 by Noreaster

[Vyk]

42 minutes ago, Noreaster said:

Look at how many contestants each coach has on his/her team.

I have.  Adam has one artist more than Gwen and Alicia.  Blake is in last.  The numbers are pretty close.

[Noreaster]

Look at the ratio.  I'm not able to look up the numbers right now, but let's say Gwen has 8 contestants and turned a total of 24 times. While Alicia has 8 contestants and turned a total of 16 times. Who is more successful at getting contestants?

[frogzapper]

On 3/7/2017 at 7:41 PM, Vyk said:

Malik Davage: This was a good performance and a decent voice, but I worry about his longevity.  Not only is he a one-chair-turn, but like Alicia said, there was nothing really original about his voice. 

I agree there was nothing that really stood out about his voice/singing, but it was nice to see him so happy to have made it past the Blinds. And how adorable was his little daughter running towards him with outstretched arms? awwww! Hopefully Adam will work with him and bring out the best in him. I am *not* a fan of melisma, so I also hope Adam keeps that reigned in with him as well.

I like seeing rockers on the show, so my favorite of the night (maybe of the season so far?) was Johnny Gates. I really liked his register and his tone was really pleasing to my ears - like candy! I hope Gwen does right by him (please no silly makeovers!) and that he has longevity in the competition.

[SnarkyTart]

42 minutes ago, frogzapper said:

I agree there was nothing that really stood out about his voice/singing, but it was nice to see him so happy to have made it past the Blinds. And how adorable was his little daughter running towards him with outstretched arms? awwww! Hopefully Adam will work with him and bring out the best in him. I am *not* a fan of melisma, so I also hope Adam keeps that reigned in with him as well.

My guess is that Adam (the only chair turn) picked Malik so he'd have someone to use as cannon fodder against Kawan DeBose.  If so, Malik will be gone quickly.  Still, at least getting to audition and be picked by a coach might be helpful to him.  His daughter was absolutely adorable!

[SnarkyTart]

duplicate post

Edited March 10, 2017 by SnarkyTart
oops

[frogzapper]

22 hours ago, SnarkyTart said:

My guess is that Adam (the only chair turn) picked Malik so he'd have someone to use as cannon fodder against Kawan DeBose.  If so, Malik will be gone quickly.  Still, at least getting to audition and be picked by a coach might be helpful to him.  His daughter was absolutely adorable!

Hmm, you may be right. On the one hand, I can understand the coaches picking some contestants as "cannon fodder" to protect their favorite team members, but on the other hand it's a shame that such expendables may be taking up spots that could have been filled by contestants who have a legitimate shot. Oh well, it's all part of the game! And sometimes the cannon fodder outperforms their expectations, so we'll see!

[bluepiano]

On ‎3‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 8:39 PM, Zahdii said:

I rarely watch this show, and it's obvious to me why.  I'm often mystified about how the coaches make their decisions about the singers.  For instance, I thought the girl who sang "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" was out of her league, yet she had three coaches fighting over her.

This week's show really highlighted for me that song choice is (almost) everything. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a song with such good vibes it seems to get the judges immediately on your side. And Cindy Lauper is really more of a performer than a great singer, so there isn't some high bar you need to match.

By contrast, as soon as I heard Paul Adrian say he was going to sing "I Got a Woman" I knew he was in trouble. Ray Charles is one of the great, iconic singers of all time. I thought that Paul actually did a pretty good job of trying to make the song his own, and not try to imitate the original. But I still found myself wanting to hear those amazing Ray Charles shouts, and I bet the judges did too. I think that's what Alicia meant when she said it wasn't "stirring.' With a different song I'm sure he'd have made it.

The criticism of him being a bit wobbly at times was valid, but you definitely could've said that about the girl from Utah who got three chairs, and Caroline, who got two, and in fact many people in the blinds. Other than the occasional older contestant with serious professional experience, it's likely due to nerves.

Speaking of older contestants, does it seem that the show is slanting more heavily now towards the teenagers? Perhaps its the impact of American Idol being gone. But when The Voice started it had a focus on experienced performers who for various reasons had fallen short of "making it." That was the aspect of the show I really enjoyed. Last season it started skewing younger, and this season the trend's continuing. For the most part the teens, who have yet to develop a real personal style, bore me.

Edited March 10, 2017 by bluepiano

[Noreaster]

4 hours ago, bluepiano said:

Speaking of older contestants, does it seem that the show is slanting more heavily now towards the teenagers? Perhaps its the impact of American Idol being gone. But when The Voice started it had a focus on experienced performers who for various reasons had fallen short of "making it." That was the aspect of the show I really enjoyed. Last season it started skewing younger, and this season the trend's continuing. For the most part the teens, who have yet to develop a real personal style, bore me.

I think the shift toward younger contestants started a few seasons ago.  Maybe season 6?  We started seeing less professionals and more 15-17 year olds.  The question is how many youngsters make the live shows.  That has varied.  I don't think it was that bad last season.  This season, we're seeing 13-14 year olds because the show lowered the age limit.  I'm not a fan.  

[waving feather]

12 hours ago, Noreaster said:

This season, we're seeing 13-14 year olds because the show lowered the age limit.  I'm not a fan.  

Yeah, I am used to the 16 year-olds but big NO to anything below that. That one kid (Quizz who is 13) is a great singer, but he hasn't even broken his voice yet! I can't take it seriously.

[bluepiano]

22 hours ago, Noreaster said:

 This season, we're seeing 13-14 year olds because the show lowered the age limit.  I'm not a fan.  

Me neither. It was already hard enough to do a fair comparison between the perky teens, some of whom really grated on me (ie Braiden Sunshine) with the more mature performers. I think that often the better singers lost out to the cute youngsters, not just in fan voting, but also in the coaches' picks.

It's potentially going to be harder this season with even younger contestants. If it's really about "the voice" then it's not fair if some contestants get graded on a curve.

In a worst case scenario, this show could become another "America's Got Talent," won last season by a little girl who couldn't stay in tune, or even sing with the same accent, from one line to another.

[Vyk]

On ‎3‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 6:08 PM, bluepiano said:

Me neither. It was already hard enough to do a fair comparison between the perky teens, some of whom really grated on me (ie Braiden Sunshine) with the more mature performers. I think that often the better singers lost out to the cute youngsters, not just in fan voting, but also in the coaches' picks.

I do agree that this is something that might become an issue with some of the coaches.  A lot of them in the past have felt better mentoring younger artists rather than letting their older, more mature, more experienced artists do their own thing.  Blake has screwed over a number of his more seasoned artists in favor of his teen boys and girls.  (See: Jake Worthington and, to a lesser extent, Jessie Pitts.)  Adam's also been guilty of that, saving Caroline Burns over the much more seasoned Mike Schiavo two seasons ago.  Gwen is probably the worst offender of that.  As you mentioned (and as I also mentioned in a couple of threads), Braiden Sunshine's continued survival, as well as Ryan Sill's.  Gwen also saved a number of other teens on her team and screwed over several more experienced artists who might've actually given her a chance at winning a season.  Really, it's the only reason I was slightly hesitant about her returning this season.  With her penchant for saving teens, she might do it again to her more deserving artists in an even worse way, especially with the age limit lowered.

The only one in whom I have any faith is Alicia.  She took almost no teens except one to the Lives last season.  So hopefully, she sticks with the experienced over the new.

Edited March 16, 2017 by Vyk

[Vyk]

On ‎3‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 1:44 PM, frogzapper said:

Hmm, you may be right. On the one hand, I can understand the coaches picking some contestants as "cannon fodder" to protect their favorite team members, but on the other hand it's a shame that such expendables may be taking up spots that could have been filled by contestants who have a legitimate shot. Oh well, it's all part of the game! And sometimes the cannon fodder outperforms their expectations, so we'll see!

That's certainly true and has happened before.  Everyone -- even Alicia herself -- expected Dave Moisan, a strong four-chair-turn, to beat Michael Sanchez, a mere one-chair-turn, in their "Valerie" Battle last season.  But Michael rose to the occasion so much, Alicia felt like she had no other choice but to reward him by keeping him over Dave.  So that can happen.

Edited March 12, 2017 by Vyk

[bluepiano]

On ‎3‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 9:31 PM, Vyk said:

I do agree that this is something that might become an issue with some of the coaches.  A lot of them in the past have felt better mentoring younger artists rather than letting their older, more mature, more experienced artists do their own thing.  Blake has screwed over a number of his more seasoned artists in favor of his teen boys and girls. .

You've identified one of my pet peeves with this show. Blake isn't the only one. I've heard many coaches say, "I'm going to pick the artist I feel I can do the most for," or "I'm going to pick the artist with the most room for growth." Which is counter to what the show was originally supposed to be about, finding the best singer, right here, right now.  It's what was supposed to make The Voice different from American Idol.

But with the huge emphasis The Voice puts on the coaches (no question they're the stars), it makes sense that the coaches would often prefer the younger singer who they feel they can mold. And get credit for helping. If they go with the more mature artist, who's not really looking for guidance, then it makes the coaches seem unnecessary.

In the past, Gwen has seemed to make some of her decisions based on who she thought she could mold into a mini version of herself. Or use as the subject for a hair/fashion makeover. That's why I think that the "older" contestant would be wise to avoid her, if they have a choice. I'm not a huge Adam fan, but he will go with an experienced performer like Laith Al-Saidi, and then just stand back and let him do his thing.

Edited March 13, 2017 by bluepiano

[Vyk]

36 minutes ago, bluepiano said:

I'm not a huge Adam fan, but he will go with an experienced performer like Laith Al-Saidi, and then just stand back and let him do his thing.

Based on what happened to him, Mike Schiavo says hi.

[waving feather]

The last few winners of the Voice are all experienced artists that the judges said they just stayed out of their way and let them do what they do. Jordan, Alisan, Sundance all didn't need much guidance. So I have a feeling the judges enjoy working with those accomplished artists as well as the newbies. It's the in-betweens who slip through the cracks sometimes.

[Noreaster]

I'd put Jordan in the amateur category (he was a college student with little experience outside of church and school), but yeah, most winners were experienced professionals.  

I didn't mind the youngsters as much in the earlier seasons.  Probably because there were less of them and those who did advance to the live shows seemed more mature and had stronger musical identities.  People like RaeLynn and Melanie Martinez.  

[SnarkyTart]

13 hours ago, bluepiano said:

You've identified one of my pet peeves with this show. Blake isn't the only one. I've heard many coaches say, "I'm going to pick the artist I feel I can do the most for," or "I'm going to pick the artist with the most room for growth." Which is counter to what the show was originally supposed to be about, finding the best singer, right here, right now.  It's what was supposed to make The Voice different from American Idol.

So much this. 

[xfuse]

13 hours ago, bluepiano said:

You've identified one of my pet peeves with this show. Blake isn't the only one. I've heard many coaches say, "I'm going to pick the artist I feel I can do the most for," or "I'm going to pick the artist with the most room for growth."

I took it as his polite way of saying that the other artist was only so good and wasn't going to get that much better and had no shot of winning or having a breakout career. 

 

On 2017-03-12 at 3:01 AM, Vyk said:

Blake has screwed over a number of his more seasoned artists in favor of his teen boys and girls.  (See: Jake Worthington

Jake was boring. I remember him as the boring guy. Blake wants someone who can win and he doesn't seem to care how old or what style they sing as long as they win and he can rub it into Adam's face.