S12.E06: The Blind Auditions, Part 6

[Vyk]

From TV Guide:

The blind auditions continue.

This one is a two-hour episode.

[Vyk]

Leaked audition:

Glad to see another El Paso native here!  I just hope she doesn't let me down the way Elia Esparza did last season by picking Adam.  That completely screwed her when she did.

Fortunately, I may not have to worry.  Conflicting sources have her on either Team Blake or Team Gwen.  Assuming either source is right, she'll be in much better shape than risking getting dumped by Adam right away.

[Dots And Stripes]

I figured since the show dropped the "will another coach beat Blake for a country artist" that last 4 chair turn would go to Blake. 

The soul guy who picked Blake was probably smart given the make up of his team. Lots of women, particularly women who sing country. He does have a lane to himself right now and Blake has shown he is willing to nurture non-country artists too.

Why are so many people picking Gwen? Apparently asking people to essentially be her life sized doll is an effective pitch.

[kathyk24]

Blake's team is stacked. I loved TSoul and Valerie. I can't see him only having one person in the final four.

[Jabu]

Sigh.  The montages finally begin.

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)
Hanna Eyre (3)
Nala Price (2)

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)
Kenny P (2)
Davina Leone (1)*
Sammie Zonana (1)

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)
R.J. Collins (2)
Hunter Plake (2)

Team Blake
Lauren Duski (3)
Brennley Brown (2)
Aliyah Moulden (3)
Ashley Levin (3)
Casi Joy (4)
Micah Tryba (2)
Josh Hoyer (2)
Enid Ortiz (1)
TSoul (2)
Andrea Thomas (1)*
Valerie Ponzio (4)

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.

[ProudMary]

To this point, I hadn't been all that impressed with any of the singers this season except for Casi Joy.  But tonight I really liked R.J. and TSoul.  
I don't think that there is any one contestant that's looking like a sure thing to win.  That should make it a more interesting season.

I did think we might get through the blinds without any montaged singers but that streak ended tonight.

Are the blind auditions all held on one day?  The coaches have been in the same clothes since Ep. 1!   

[Vyk]

Pretty amazing night, though at least two people made choices that are going to doom them, I think.  And of course . . . montages finally came up.  Sigh.  Makes sense, though.  With sixteen spots left, and the show's general pattern becoming the process of showing nine successes and two failures in a two-hour episode and five successes and one failure in a one-hour episode, only fourteen of the remaining sixteen were going to be shown.  They really need to work out a better schedule to show everybody.  But then again, assuming the last five open slots will have no more montages, only two people being montaged is a very welcome change from prior seasons.

Anyway, the performances:

Kenny P: Whoa!  I loved his voice.  Strong, powerful, and sounded like it was able to fit in many genres!  Now, rock, blues, and country are his preferences, so Blake might've been the wiser choice, but given his dearth of country, blues, and rock singers, a team on which he might stand out a fair bit more was likely the better bet, so good choice by him to pick Gwen.  Really shocked that he did, though.  Almost as shocked as Gwen herself was!

Enid Ortiz: Her voice was also good.  I'm surprised that no one turned around till the last minute.  But at the same time, she deserved at least one chair turn, so I'm glad that Blake rewarded her for her efforts.  But Gwen?  Honey?  If you want someone, stop waiting for the other coaches' approval to turn for him or her.  JUST TURN FOR HIM OR HER!

R.J. Collins: Good, decent voice.  But given his genre, it was easy to see why only Adam and Alicia went for him.  I really thought Adam was selling it, though, and was very happy when he chose Alicia.  And the plus side of having a black guy so young is that she likely has someone to pit against Quizz Swanigan when the Battles start next week (or the week after, if their Battle ends up airing then).

Austin Tyler Jones: I absolutely think that this guy should come back.  Good, strong, clear voice that deserved a chair turn.  And I think if he'd come earlier in the Blinds, he might've managed that turn.

TSoul: When Alicia didn't turn for this guy's smooth, strong soul voice, I thought that Adam had him in the bag, just like he thought.  Seriously.  How could Alicia not have turned for him?  R&B and soul are her areas of expertise!  WTF, Alicia?!  That said, picking Blake might do him some good, as he'd stand out better on his team.  In fact, he's the only soul artist right now, so that might make it easier for Blake to keep him around.

Andrea Thomas: I have edited this now to write full reviews now that my next post has the montaged artists' Blinds in them.  I think she sounded very pleasant.  But I can see why she's only been a backup singer.  She sings just like one.  She needs a bit more strength, conviction, and confidence to be her own solo artist.  Still, I think Blake will be the tops in making that happen for her.  I actually laughed at Gwen faking him out, and then not turning, after all.

Davina Leone: For a Sia song, she really had to sink her teeth into it.  The start of it was a bit rough, but about thirty seconds in, she clearly found her groove.  I can see why Gwen turned.  Hopefully, she doesn't trash her.

Hanna Eyre: I know she's not well-liked on this site, but Taylor Swift has been my goddess ever since I first heard "Blank Space" (I didn't like any of her other songs from before that one), so hearing Hanna take on a different rendition of it was gripping to the ear.  That said, she'd better hope she didn't just screw herself by picking Adam.  Gwen and even Blake could've done a lot more for her.  I think Adam will dump her the first chance he gets.  Like he does to most of his women.

Hunter Plake: This guy had a voice that I was so sure would attract Adam.  And yet . . . it didn't.  Still, I enjoyed his voice and tone and was glad that he managed to turn Gwen and Alicia's chairs, at least.  We'll see if Alicia does right by him, but I think he might've missed a trick by not picking Gwen.

Casey Jamerson: I was really sad for her, because I really do think she did a fine job.  But she, too, must've auditioned really late in the process.  Gwen should've gone with her gut and turned for her, because I think she would've been a great fit on her team.  I hope she returns in a later season.

Nala Price: Let me just say that I love that Adele song.  "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" was one of my favorites to learn and sing.  Her voice sounded amazingly strong and damn near flawless as she sang it.  This is one time I really think that Gwen put up a stronger fight.  But I think she's sadly screwed herself by picking Adam.  He's gonna dump her hard for one of his bromances.  I just know it.

Sammie Zonana: Let me start out by saying that if her parents really did accept her being a lesbian and love her unconditionally, then Stephanie Rice's awful parents could learn so much from them.  Coincidentally, they're both also engaged to great women.  That said, I liked her take on Ariana Grande's "Dangerous Woman."  I didn't think there'd be any other way to interpret it.  I enjoyed the sound of her voice and am shocked that Gwen was the only one to turn for her.  I worry now how long she'll last since she's only a one-chair.  For another coincidence, though, we have two lesbian artists this season, and both are on Gwen's team.

Valerie Ponzio: El Paso proud!  Glad to see another El Paso artist on this show!  And thankfully, she didn't possibly screw herself the way Elia Esparza did last season by stupidly picking Adam!  However, I'm a bit torn on her.  Her voice itself was nice and strong, but the tone of said voice was just . . . weird.  It didn't sound completely clear.  I guess "overdone" is the right word for it.  Ah!  Overdone and unclear!  Hopefully, Blake will help her out with that, but she might've given Gwen's team some more variety by picking her instead.

On a final note, I'm shocked by how many women we've had audition vs. how many men.  All of these female artists on the show tells me that the show is getting that the streak of male winners needs to be upset for a season or two.  Good to see that they finally get that some more women need to win.  And even better still, they're country women, and the bulk of the men thus far are not country artists, but rather soul, pop, and R&B artists!  Good form, Show!

Final Blinds tomorrow.  Adam, Gwen, and Blake each have one slot, and Alicia has two.  Let's see who fills each spot!  And in which order will they all fill.  Pretty sure either Adam or Alicia will fill up first.  Then, the other will be second.  All of these Gwen/Blake faceoffs make me think that they were the last two to fill up.

On ‎3‎/‎13‎/‎2017 at 10:19 PM, ProudMary said:

Are the blind auditions all held on one day?  The coaches have been in the same clothes since Ep. 1!   

They're done over four to five days.  The coaches have to wear the same outfits to keep up some form of continuity since the actual Blinds are aired in a different order from when they're taped.

Edited March 18, 2017 by Vyk

[Vyk]

Oh, wow!  They finally took the suggestion of many fans!  Andrea and Davina, the montaged girls, actually got their Blinds put up on YouTube!:)

Good form, Show!  Way to go!:)

Edited March 14, 2017 by Vyk

[JMarie99]

Vyk I just have to tell you how much I love your reviews. This is only my second season watching the show from start to finish and your comments give me a lot of insight. 

I liked quite a few of the singers tonight, but I have to say Hanna took me by surprise. I was predisposed against the younger teenage singers, and I'm not a huge Taylor Swift fan, but man, that girl was good! Nice strong voice with a beautiful tone and she did pick one of the better Taylor Swift songs. I actually replayed her performance because I enjoyed it so much. And that smile! I do hope Adam does right by her. 

I really don't get why they have to do those stupid montages. A few less comments about Adam's sweater and they could have fit in their entire performances.  

[Dots And Stripes]

50 minutes ago, ProudMary said:

 

Are the blind auditions all held on one day?  The coaches have been in the same clothes since Ep. 1!   

Nope. They have the coaches wear the same outfits over the course of the blinds so that it's easier to edit and show auditions out of order. They are filmed over days though. 

[Vyk]

53 minutes ago, JMarie99 said:

I really don't get why they have to do those stupid montages. A few less comments about Adam's sweater and they could have fit in their entire performances.  

Why, they have to have their no-chair-turns be shown, too.  I get that, but they don't have to show so many.  Maybe, like, one per episode instead of two or three.

In the meantime, though, I have edited my reviews to include full ones of the montaged girls since both Andrea and Davina now have their Blinds posted on the show's YouTube channel, at least.

Edited March 14, 2017 by Vyk

[PhD-Purgatory15]

You beat me to it, Vyk. I was going to comment that they finally took our advice after 11 seasons and put the poor montaged people's full blind auditions on Youtube. Good for Davina and Andrea. While I'd be surprised if either survives the Battles, I wouldn't be completely shocked (especially Davina on Team Gwen).

Kenny P was a great way to kick off the show (gotta rep a fellow Buckeye-stater too). Such a versatile sounding voice. You can pull songs from so many different genres that I think he'll sound pretty darn good on.

Enid was cool. Intriguing lower registrar that she can definitely work to her advantage. That said, I think she's probably fodder on Team Blake for the Battles.

RJ...and the Voice tiptoes up to the issue of police violence in Chicago without making any kind of statement (other than letting RJ tell a little of his brother's story). Of the R&B/Urban voices we've heard so far, I kind of like his the best. I feel like you could hear that on the radio (or what passes for the radio) these days. I share your fear Vyk, I feel like he could easily be set up as fodder for the chosen sparklepony Quizz in the Battles. Hopefully I'm wrong.

TSoul Please stop adding Soul to the first letter of your name to create your stage name Voice people. Please. Actually one of the first voices of the season where I thought, this would be a worthy winner's voice.

Hannah Yet another contestant who gets thrown by getting a buzzer early. The pre-Adam buzzer turn part was pretty darn gorgeous with just a little bit of an alternative tone). The post buzzer turn was somewhat uneven....but I think Adam's got some raw material to work with here. Will she get swamped by another Adam bromance in the Battles or KOs? TBD...

Hunter Props for even attempting a fun. song. For some reason I got a little bit of a Jeffery Austin vibe from him. I think the Battle pairing and Alicia's song choice for that pairing is going to be critical to his chances moving forward. I'm on the fence.

Nala Not going to lie, I thought she was set up as a no turn from her package. And then she started singing and I thought, hmmm. We don't have a lot of what I would call pure, modern pop singers....but I think she might have the highest ceiling of all of them so far.

Sammie She's going to be my underdog to root for her (and yes it was a pretty straightforward juxtaposition of Stephanie and her family's story as polar opposite reactions to someone's coming out). Something about her voice registered as being original and authentic (and yet not so affected that it's counterproductive). I have high hopes..

Valerie About 40% too affected for my tastes, but I get why she got the pimp spot. I'll be surprised if Blake doesn't take her through to lives (or at the very least she getting stolen and one of the other coaches will finish the job).

[Vyk]

24 minutes ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

RJ...and the Voice tiptoes up to the issue of police violence in Chicago without making any kind of statement (other than letting RJ tell a little of his brother's story). Of the R&B/Urban voices we've heard so far, I kind of like his the best. I feel like you could hear that on the radio (or what passes for the radio) these days. I share your fear Vyk, I feel like he could easily be set up as fodder for the chosen sparklepony Quizz in the Battles. Hopefully I'm wrong.

Um . . . who said I was fearing that, @PhD-Purgatory15?  Unlike most here, I like Quizz.  I'm intrigued by the one thirteen-year-old who made a team.  I want him to advance.  I just said that R.J. looks like the best match for him due to genre and age group.  So I can see Alicia pairing them up.

Edited March 14, 2017 by Vyk

[PhD-Purgatory15]

LOL, that was a misread of your original post. My bad.

I on the other hand have no need for Quizz advancing (although I'm sure he will), so I'd prefer him to do it against someone other than RJ if possible. Maybe he can knock off Anatalia, or Lauryn (besides if you make that the Battle pairing, you probably guarantee the girl gets stolen by Blake the protector)....or one of the final two members of Team Alicia we haven't met yet.

Edited March 14, 2017 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Vyk]

50 minutes ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

Nala Not going to lie, I thought she was set up as a no turn from her package. And then she started singing and I thought, hmmm. We don't have a lot of what I would call pure, modern pop singers....but I think she might have the highest ceiling of all of them so far.

On a purely shallow note, I thought of The Lion King when I heard her name.  Someone must've named her after the heroine.

[SnarkyTart]

Unbelievably, I find myself wishing for a couple of ringers just so there would be a few singers I could really look forward to hearing again.   As it stands, there have only been two that I'm remotely interested in through 6 audition episodes.  That's an all-time low for me, with only one hour of auditions left.  Wow. 

[TaraS1]

I thought the one guy who was a big Alicia fan (T Soul?) picked Blake, hoping that Blake would boot him in favor of a country artist at some point during the battles and Alicia would steal him lol.

[Cramps]

Was this the first time anyone on the show has covered Todd Rundgren and Elvis Costello? Hello it's Me is surprisingly difficult to sing. I'm curious to see more of Kenny P. 

[bluepiano]

Wow, did they intentionally save the most boring performances for this episode? YMMV, as some people seemed to really like this show, but I thought it was a snooze. Probably the best performance for me was TSoul, but even he was mediocre compared to some of the soul/r&b singers they've had in the past.

It no doubt says more about me than about the show, but I get bored with the special little snowflakes from the loving, supportive families. I want to hear some pain in my music, or at least some life experience.

Glad that no one turned for the faux rocker chick in the black leather outfit. It was like she was playing a rock singer in a high school play. Great point by Alicia, that it's hard to get people involved in your performance when you start dialed up to 10 and stay there the whole time. Listen to a skilled rocker chick singer like Anne Wilson of Heat, and you'll hear how she keeps her voice restrained until she goes big on the chorus to give it real dramatic effect.

Usually when it gets later in the blinds the coaches become more critical, but tonight it felt like they were getting kind of desperate. There were several multi-chairs for what I thought were very ordinary performances. I think some better singers in earlier shows got shafted. "Ring of Fire" is one of my all-time favorite songs, and I thought the woman who got the pimp spot butchered it, with her over-affected, quavery vocal. Yet she got four turns? I enjoyed the guy who sang "Allison" more. Not exciting, but at least he stayed true to the melody.

Edited March 15, 2017 by bluepiano

[viajero]

I thought this was one of the better nights so far this season.  I liked pretty much everyone that got through to at least some extent.  Or at least many of them were good enough that I'm interested in what they do next, something that I cannot say about most people who got through in previous episodes.  My personal favorites were Sammy, Hannah and TSoul.  I might have put Valerie up there with those three as I really liked her voice, but there was something a little affected about her performance.

Edited March 15, 2017 by viajero

[hincandenza]

I felt bad for Enid Ortiz; I personally thought she was a lot better than a last-second one-chair turn, but the judges were psyching themselves out and playing those stupid games of "Are you going to hit your button?  I will if you will...", and then they all ignored her for like a solid minute while giggling amongst themselves about Blake's "trick" before even asking her name.  And Blake did nothing wrong: as Vyk noted above, the other coaches could just hit their buttons based on the singing itself.  That used to be the idea behind the blind auditions and the show itself, y'know?

It's honestly gone on like this for too long, and while the producers are right that we tune in partly for the coaches' banter, I personally hate it when it goes on while the contestants are doing their blind auditions.  It's too easy to see which other judges have turned, or to make eye contact or even whisper amongst themselves (at one point, I swear I saw Adam intently studying Gwen's face after she'd turned, to see how she was reacting).  I really wish they'd put up dividers between the judges during the blinds, like a semicircle panel on their left side like this  

         o
         ^

 o )  o )  o )  o )

which can rotate clockwise behind their chair once the song ends and they're all turned around.  It'd be a lot more interesting as a viewer to watch them be cut off from using the other judges as guides- or even from knowing who has turned their chair when they hear the crowd cheer.

[bluepiano]

2 hours ago, hincandenza said:

I felt bad for Enid Ortiz; I personally thought she was a lot better than a last-second one-chair turn, but the judges were psyching themselves out and playing those stupid games of "Are you going to hit your button?  I will if you will...", and then they all ignored her for like a solid minute while giggling amongst themselves about Blake's "trick" before even asking her name. 

I totally agree with you. The gamesmanship between the coaches about hitting their buttons is worse this year than I ever remember. It's like they're bored just listening to the singer and have to find a way to amuse themselves. To me it's annoying and disrespectful of the person singing.

I want to see the judges pushing their button (or not pushing it) based solely on their opinion of the singer. Barricades that restrict the judges from seeing the chair turns, making it a "blind audition" in every sense, is an idea I'd love to see them try next season. (Guess you'd need silent buzzers too). But this show is really about the competition and bantering between the judges, so I don't ever see that happening.

[Vyk]

1 hour ago, bluepiano said:

I totally agree with you. The gamesmanship between the coaches about hitting their buttons is worse this year than I ever remember. It's like they're bored just listening to the singer and have to find a way to amuse themselves. To me it's annoying and disrespectful of the person singing.

This is actually why I miss Miley.  She never played those games.  If she knew she wanted someone, she turned for them.  And while I know she won't come back, I liked that about Shakira, too.  No games.  Just turning for what she liked and holding out on those she didn't.

[Noreaster]

28 minutes ago, bluepiano said:

I totally agree with you. The gamesmanship between the coaches about hitting their buttons is worse this year than I ever remember. It's like they're bored just listening to the singer and have to find a way to amuse themselves. To me it's annoying and disrespectful of the person singing.

I want to see the judges pushing their button (or not pushing it) based solely on their opinion of the singer. Barricades that restrict the judges from seeing the chair turns, making it a "blind audition" in every sense, is an idea I'd love to see them try next season. (Guess you'd need silent buzzers too). But this show is really about the competition and bantering between the judges, so I don't ever see that happening.

I remember reading the buzzers are silent.  They add in the sound later for TV.  

I think Blake and Adam are actually bored.  They still occasionally turn around without looking at the others but just for the few stronger contestants.  

I don't mind the coaches seeing each other.  Not so much the gamesmanship but it's interesting to see them bounce off each other on whether a contestant is turn-worthy.  Also when one coach thinks a contestant would be a good fit for another coach, it's fun to see them communicate that.  

I do miss the older seasons when the coaches were more new to the game.  Adam was super intense and often didn't look at the other coaches at all.  He also did the quick turnarounds a lot (which I guess is sort of gamesmanship). Blake also would listen intently but looked at the others more for genres other than country.  Cee Lo always looked at the audience's reactions because he focused more on marketability and not just the voice.  Christina seemed to care the most about technical skills and would often wait for specific things in the performances before turning around.  

[Noreaster]

12 minutes ago, Vyk said:

This is actually why I miss Miley.  She never played those games.  If she knew she wanted someone, she turned for them.  And while I know she won't come back, I liked that about Shakira, too.  No games.  Just turning for what she liked and holding out on those she didn't.

I think Miley did play those games.  Weren't there were many simultaneous button pushes between her and Blake?  Or maybe her and Alicia?  

[Vyk]

1 minute ago, Noreaster said:

I think Miley did play those games.  Weren't there were many simultaneous button pushes between her and Blake?  Or maybe her and Alicia?  

She did sometimes, but unlike the other coaches, she still did push when she wanted the artist.

[Vyk]

4 hours ago, Noreaster said:

Adam was super intense and often didn't look at the other coaches at all.  He also did the quick turnarounds a lot (which I guess is sort of gamesmanship). Blake also would listen intently but looked at the others more for genres other than country.  Cee Lo always looked at the audience's reactions because he focused more on marketability and not just the voice.  Christina seemed to care the most about technical skills and would often wait for specific things in the performances before turning around.  

What about Usher and Shakira?  I know they came later, but what about them?

[waving feather]

I like Gwen but she is the worst at looking at the other judges before turning. But I'm still thankful that she turned for Troy Ritchie from season 7. I love his voice and I still follow his band's music.

Blake will play along and amuse himself by looking at the other coaches but he will eventually turn for those people he likes even if the others didn't. But he's not really picky, so it doesn't matter in the big picture.

I think Alicia is in her head a lot this season. She is the most popular coach on the panel because almost everyone she turned for chose her. However, her decisions for turning for some people and not others don't make sense to me. I thought TSoul was a better soul singers than some of the others she turned for. She turned for that Cassidy kid too, who I thought was weak sauce.

Adam has been quite choosy this season and that's fine. He had a hard time getting people on his team because he hardly turned and when he did, the contestants didn't choose him.

People complain about Adam and Blake's banter but honestly for me, if these two aren't keeping the show light or if they don't have coaches like them who are willing to make fun of themselves, it would be incredibly boring. Especially in weak talent seasons. So I appreciate their role on the show. Adam and Blake are also good at creating a welcoming atmosphere and good chemistry with new coaches, especially Blake who seems to get along with everyone.

Contrasting with The Voice UK, where there are times when it is quite tense on screen because some of the coaches obviously don't like each other (e.g. Will.I.am and Gavin Rossdale). This is just my speculation on what I observed on my screen, not with any behind the scenes knowledge.

Edited March 16, 2017 by waving feather

[Noreaster]

7 hours ago, Vyk said:

What about Usher and Shakira?  I know they came later, but what about them?

I don't remember them as well because they were only on for two seasons and I didn't watch season 6 that closely.  But I think both were pretty serious in season 4 and didn't look at the other coaches much.  In season 6, I remember Usher playing to the camera/audience a lot.  If he didn't turn for the contestants early on (and the other coaches did), he would pretend that he was waiting for something specific in the performances and then turn around toward the end. I think that was partly strategy. Meanwhile Shakira was always pretty focused.

[backformore]

On ‎3‎/‎14‎/‎2017 at 0:28 AM, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

Valerie About 40% too affected for my tastes, but I get why she got the pimp spot. I'll be surprised if Blake doesn't take her through to lives (or at the very least she getting stolen and one of the other coaches will finish the job).

I did not like her voice at all.  She has a weird high voice that kind of grated on my nerves.  Plus, she mumble most of the lyrics.  

 

I agree that the judges should be more independent of each other.  I like the idea of some sort of screens so they can't tell what the other judges are doing until the performance is done.