S12.E07: The Blind Auditions, Part 7

[Vyk]

From TV Guide:

The blind auditions conclude.

This one's only a one-hour episode, but nonetheless the Blinds end with this episode.

[Dots And Stripes]

No recapping the team when a coach declares "My Team is FULL"? I miss that part.

I liked the teen Blake picked. He came across as a litte green but I think he could make huge strides with a little coaching. He is also different from a lot of "rocker" guys we get on the show. 

Alicia's guy was good. I've already forgotten whoever Gwen picked up tonight.

[Jabu]

Final team rosters/cheat sheets going into the Battles:

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)
Sheena Brook (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)
Kenny P (2)
Davina Leone (1)*
Sammie Zonana (1)
Jozy Bernadette (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)
R.J. Collins (2)
Hunter Plake (2)
Vanessa Ferguson (3)
Chris Blue (1)

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)
Dawson Coyle (1)

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.

[Diana Berry]

4 hours ago, Dots And Stripes said:

No recapping the team when a coach declares "My Team is FULL"? I miss that part.

I liked the teen Blake picked. He came across as a litte green but I think he could make huge strides with a little coaching. He is also different from a lot of "rocker" guys we get on the show. 

Alicia's guy was good. I've already forgotten whoever Gwen picked up tonight.

Agree.  I like that Blake's singer wasn't perfect and a bit rough around the edges.  But you know Blake would have wanted that country singer that Adam picked.  I bet there is no way Adam gives her up for a Blake steal.

[Vyk]

12 hours ago, Dots And Stripes said:

No recapping the team when a coach declares "My Team is FULL"? I miss that part.

Yeah, me, too.  I really wanted to see it.

Well, damn.  I was hoping that Adam would fill his team last.  Why the fuck has Alicia been so damn picky this season?  She had tons of great singers waiting for her if she'd just turned her damn chair!  Also, I'm a bit miffed since I was enjoying Alicia being the only coach not to have any one-chair-turns on her team.  But because of her being so picky, she has one now.  Oh, well.  As long as Adam was denied finishing up first yet again, I'm happy.  I guess I misinterpreted all of the Gwen/Blake face-offs.  Those were because they were filling their teams at the fastest rates and were the first two to fill up, not the last.

So now the final performances:

Vanessa Ferguson: Wow!  What a great low register!  I think that's what attracted Gwen, Alicia, and Blake.  I think they all even thought she was a man at first.  Still, her voice was strong, and her tone was nice and clear, and I think that that lower register will help her stand out on Alicia's team.  Assuming Alicia advances her past the Battles and Knockouts, of course.

Dawson Coyle: He had a nice voice, but I can see why only Blake turned for him.  There was something that was fine, but not really wonderful about it.  Perhaps Blake just decided he could be easy fodder for anyone he wants over on his team.  With the right opponent, he might slip past the Battles, but I'm not sure about the Knockouts.

Jozy Bernadette: Unlike you, @Dots And Stripes, I remember her very well.  She had a nice female rocker voice and definitely one that attracted Adam.  But I was surprised that she attracted Gwen, as well.  Picking Gwen was a wiser choice, I think, since Gwen has no female rockers on her team, and she might stand out a fair bit on it.

Stephen Bores: I actually thought his voice was pretty good.  But this late in the auditions, you have to be great.  I think he might've gotten a turn from Blake or even Adam earlier in the Blinds, but this late in the game, when the teams were almost full, he was probably seen as not remarkable enough to merit a chair turn.  Also, doing a Bob Marley song and not doing much to make it his own wasn't very smart, either.  Too bad, Stephen.

Sheena Brook: Hey, a third lesbian!  Well, I must say that her voice was very good and strong, and it was deserving of landing on a team.  But I'm surprised that Alicia didn't turn along with Adam since even she had said that she wanted a country singer earlier in the Blinds.  Anyway, I think Adam will discard her in favor of one of his bromances.  Or if not that, pit her against Taylor Alexander since he's his only other country singer right now, and then send him home right after.

Chris Blue: The perfect one to wrap up the Blinds.  His voice was so strong, he had some great vocal tricks that didn't distract from his performance at all, and he had an amazing range and tone.  I liked the soulful, bluesy quality to his voice and think that Alicia waited till just the right time to nab him.  I think that Blake is right in that, had all of them had room left, he'd have nailed a four-chair-turn quite easily.  On a side note, I hope his fiancée is doing a lot better now.

On a final note, I loved the Adam puppet, and I liked the way it was used in the confessional.  Alicia really had me roaring with laughter.  Every now and then, the lighthearted moments can still make me titter.

So looking at the previews for the Battles, it looks like some pairs were spoiled.  For Team Adam, it looks like it'll be Johnny Hayes vs. Julien Martinez and Gaby Borromeo vs. Mark Isaiah, at least.  For Team Gwen, I saw JChosen vs. Kenny P and Johnny Gates vs. Sammie Zonana.  For Team Alicia, I saw Chris Blue vs. R.J. Collins, Anatalia Villaranda vs. Missy Robertson, and Felicia Temple vs. Quizz Swanigan.  (I hope this satisfies you that Quizz won't be against R.J., @PhD-Purgatory15.)  And for Team Blake, I could make out Brennley Brown vs. Lauren Duski, Aliyah Moulden vs. Dawson Coyle, and Andrea Thomas vs. Micah Tryba.  I'll see if I can look into the pairs and report back later.  Or the "Before the Battles" videos on YouTube will give up all six pairs for each team.

Blinds are done!  Bring on the Battles!

Edited March 15, 2017 by Vyk

[Dots And Stripes]

32 minutes ago, Vyk said:

Well, damn.  I was hoping that Adam would fill his team last.  Why the fuck has Alicia been so damn picky this season?  She had tons of great singers waiting for her if she'd just turned her damn chair!  Also, I'm a bit miffed since I was enjoying Alicia being the only coach not to have any one-chair-turns on her team.  But because of her being so picky, she has one now.  Oh, well.  As long as Adam was denied finishing up first yet again, I'm happy.  I guess I misinterpreted all of the Gwen/Blake face-offs.  Those were because they were filling their teams at the fastest rates and were the first two to fill up, not the last.

I think we got a hint of why all those Gwen/Blake face offs were happening last night. She was very much looking to see what he was doing (I don't keep track so there could very well have also been times when she pushed first). I LOVED that move from Blake where he waited until she wasn't looking and pushed. Very sneaky, very smart since apparently Gwen would have turned if he turned.

I also don't see one chair turns as a bad thing. The coach looks like a genius if the artist flurishes because they were the only one who saw it right away.

[ProudMary]

Just my opinion of course, but I think we saw two front runners emerge tonight in Vanessa and Chris.  

I'm glad no additional singers were montaged tonight.  The show moved in the right direction there.

[Valny]

Quote

On a final note, I loved the Adam puppet, and I liked the way it was used in the confessional.  Alicia really had me roaring with laughter.  Every now and then, the lighthearted moments can still make me titter.

I loved PuppetAdam! and his matching striped shirt. 
Speaking of, I see by the clips Adam is going with the blonde hair again.
I know I need a refresher reel, but I can't remember anyone this time around where I went, yes, that person blows everyone else away and is a heavy favorite to probably win this thinglike I did a full season ago with someone like Allison. Does anyone have anyone like that?

[PhD-Purgatory15]

It did not go unnoticed that Quizz and Anatalia is the battle pairing, Vyk. I'll call it right now, that one will be a steal. Probably Blake or even Gwen coming to Anatalia's rescue.

Usually, the final one hour blind audition episode gives us a whole lot of nothing. But I think the first girl tonight, Vanessa Ferguson could actually be a contender on Team Alicia. Sheena was pretty good too although I'm not convinced Adam will keep her long enough for it to matter. She is just about the only country person not on Team Blake so I suppose a steal is at least a possibility. Chris the last guy was doing just a little too much. The other two (Dawson and Jozy) didn't really make much of an impact one way or another. I guess it's nice to have female rock represented a little bit, and Dawson has some raw talent...I just don't see a scenario where we emerges on Team Blake into the live episodes.

Per Jabu's tabulations, Half of Alicia's team was either a 3 or 4 chair turn, and she had only one single chair turn who most likely would've gotten multiple chairs to turn had he not come close to the very end of the order (whereas every other coach has 3 or in Adam's case, 4). Gwen got her two high profile 4 chair turns (JChosen and Troy) but came up with only one other contestant better than a 2 chair turn...

Edited March 15, 2017 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Vyk]

2 minutes ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

It did not go unnoticed that Quizz and Anatalia is the battle pairing, Vyk. I'll call it right now, that one will be a steal. Probably Blake or even Gwen coming to Anatalia's rescue.

No, Quizz is definitely against Felicia, as shown in the segment near the end of the show.  Anatalia has a darker skintone than Felicia and is much shorter.  I have some of the pairings in the spoiler thread, if you want to know.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Hmm...if that's right, that makes no sense (who would she be baiting to get a steal of Felicia? Adam?) I was watching at the end, to me it looked liked it was Anatalia just with the lighting for that particular battle performance shading her face a lot darker....but maybe I got it jumbled in my mind.

Interesting.

Edited March 15, 2017 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Vyk]

27 minutes ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

Hmm...if that's right, that makes no sense (who would she be baiting to get a steal of Felicia? Adam?) I was watching at the end, to me it looked liked it was Anatalia just with the lighting for that particular battle performance shading her face a lot darker....but maybe I got it jumbled in my mind.

Interesting.

It's an understandable mixup, but I saw one other trait that helped me identify Felicia.  She has brownish-black hair, while Anatalia has straight-up black hair that is incredibly dark.

However, I did see Anatalia, too, after another look, and she and a couple of other pairs I saw have been edited above to my first post in this thread.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Fair enough.

Maybe we're thinking about this the wrong way then. What if this is to set up a steal of Quizz (probably by Gwen) because of course none of the other judges would want to see a 13 year old cry as they eliminate him by not saving him with a steal. IMO, Alicia has to consider Felicia and Vanessa her two strongest female R&B singers. I find it hard to believe that she'd "clear the lane" for Vanessa by axing Felicia right off the bat in the Battles...

Edited March 15, 2017 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Vyk]

1 hour ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

Sheena was pretty good too although I'm not convinced Adam will keep her long enough for it to matter. She is just about the only country person not on Team Blake so I suppose a steal is at least a possibility.

Oh!  Just saw this.  Did you forget Taylor Alexander?  Blake had room and didn't turn for him, so Adam snatched him up as the only one who did turn.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Which makes me think, Blake didn't actually think all that much of Taylor's voice (once you got past the "weird, he's doing country Cher"). Sheena's got the better chance at a steal from Blake imo.

However, Blake loves his teenage girl steals (so I think contestants like Hannah, Savannah, Lauryn, Anatalia are all strong possibilities). He also loves to throw in a random R&B steal from time to time (remember Joe Maye?)...so someone like an RJ or even a Brandon Royal from Gwen's team might be in play. Actually it wouldn't shock me (to keep the relationship front and center) if both of his steals end up coming from Team Gwen...

Edited March 15, 2017 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Vyk]

6 minutes ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

Actually it wouldn't shock me (to keep the relationship front and center) if both of his steals end up coming from Team Gwen...

Actually, with how much they've pushed the relationship (though oddly, they didn't acknowledge it at all tonight), it wouldn't surprise me if they want the final showdown to come down to one of Gwen's artists and one of Blake's.  I just get a strange feeling TPTB want to push one of the women's artists to win since they know it can't be Adam or Blake winning all the time.  I get the feeling they want a new coach to join the winner's circle this time.

[waving feather]

Phew. Finally the blinds are over. It seemed awfully long this season, especially because of the underwhelming talent. Very few brilliant auditions. The best were still Lauren Duski and Johnny Gates. I wouldn't mind that set of final 2; very different.

I totally get why no one but Adam turned for Taylor. If you discount the spin he put on the song, his voice is weak and mediocre.

Members of Team Alicia are the least interesting for me. I only liked Lilli and Autumn from her team. Blake and Adam have a few interesting people and Gwen's team is kind of stacked (IMO). But the true test only comes after the knockouts whether the coaches are left with any contenders.

[Noreaster]

Blind auditions this week were pretty weak overall.  I guess the standouts for me were the really young girl on Adam's team and the very last R&B guy that Alicia picked up.  

When Adam talked about potentially making it to the end with a country singer, it reminded me that these blinds were taped before season 11's live shows started (probably late Oct/early Nov).  Who would have predicted Adam making it to the finals with Josh Gallagher last year?  Timing would also explain why Adam's pitches feel much less convincing, like he seemed more over-the-top than usual or something.  Perhaps he was preoccupied with a new baby.  

So it looks like a lot of country females and R&B/soul males this season.  Compared to the many country males and R&B/soul females last season.  I'm not that excited.  Plus all the youngsters.  

[ennui]

6 hours ago, Noreaster said:

Plus all the youngsters.  

This. Now that American Idol is finished, I guess The Voice can pick up the kids. 

[hincandenza]

I always feel bad on the last day of blinds, because I think of the people sitting in the waiting area with their families, told "Okay, there are now only 3 slots left... okay, only two slots left... okay, there's only one slot left and there are 3 people auditioning ahead of you".  Imagine being the next to go on stage after Chris, and then Alicia hits her button.  I've heard (no idea if it's true or if I'm just spreading a rumor) that people in line who don't get a chance to audition are automatically invited back for the next season and put in the first group, which I hope is true.  I even seem to recall there being someone in a past season who specifically mentioned not getting a chance to audition and then making it onto the show when they did come back the next season.

That said, Chris surprised me.  He was- to my ears- really, really good.  Yes, he threw every trick in the book into his performance, but that's what a 90-second audition is for!  You gotta show the judges your range, your skills, your dynamics, etc, and he had them all.  What I don't get is, how on earth was he slated so late in the audition process, when as Blake said to him "You would have been a 4-chair turn"?  It almost seems shenanigans-y, like Alicia was told "We have a really great soul guy coming up" so she got super picky until she was the last one left, heard that little run into the low register, and flipped out.  The other judges actually looked a little pissed, like "Really, someone that good is showing up now that we're all full up?!".

I know his last name is actually Blue and likely they were pretty good if Chris is any indication, but I laughed when they showed how as a kid he was in a vocal group called the Blue Brothers, because I instantly pictured it as some cheap con to confuse people into attending a show thinking it's the "Blues Brothers" ("McDowell's, we're the golden *arcs*") and this poor guy is remembering it fondly.

[Jillybean]

I'm new to The Voice (I tried to watch Season 1, but didn't get very far) and I have questions! We've watched all the blind auditions, which was pretty tedious due to the coaches' banter. Fortunately, we DVR and FF through a lot of that nonsense.  Do these all actually take place in one day, or do the coaches just wear the same outfit the entire time?  Is Adam's and Blake's feud manufactured, or real? I just assume it's fake, but it's so incredibly TIRESOME that it's hard to imagine that anyone thinks the viewers enjoy it. Also, it seemed as though Blake mostly turned for those Gwen did, and that they just wanted to have a little lovers' battle over many of the singers rather than really being interested in coaching them -- anyone else get this? It seemed like a weird sort of foreplay that was annoying to watch. 

I'm also curious to know how they decide the order of the auditions, since it seems as though the last few don't stand much of a chance, after judges have filled their teams.

[Vyk]

1 minute ago, Jillybean said:

I'm new to The Voice (I tried to watch Season 1, but didn't get very far) and I have questions! We've watched all the blind auditions, which was pretty tedious due to the coaches' banter. Fortunately, we DVR and FF through a lot of that nonsense.  Do these all actually take place in one day, or do the coaches just wear the same outfit the entire time?  Is Adam's and Blake's feud manufactured, or real? I just assume it's fake, but it's so incredibly TIRESOME that it's hard to imagine that anyone thinks the viewers enjoy it. Also, it seemed as though Blake mostly turned for those Gwen did, and that they just wanted to have a little lovers' battle over many of the singers rather than really being interested in coaching them -- anyone else get this? It seemed like a weird sort of foreplay that was annoying to watch. 

I'm also curious to know how they decide the order of the auditions, since it seems as though the last few don't stand much of a chance, after judges have filled their teams.

The auditions take place over four to five days.  The judges wear the same clothes each day of the Blinds to hide continuity issues.  The auditions are not aired in the order they're taped.  For example, even though JChosen was the first aired Blind of the season, and he did audition on the frst day of the Blinds, he was not the first one taped.  Apparently, Quizz Swanigan (the thirteen-year-old who ended up on Alicia's team) was the very first taped Blind this season.  The editors want to make it look like the coaches fill up their teams at about the same rate when, in actuality, sometimes a coach might fill up his or her team well ahead of the others.  In past seasons, everyone was, for some reason, so in love with Adam that he tended to be chosen often and thus filled his team up very quickly.  (Thankfully, current-day artists have wised up to his tricks and manipulations, and that has now changed.)  In addition to all of this, they also wear the same clothes throughout the Battles and the Knockouts to hide continuity issues.  They get to change their outfits as they move on to different rounds, but the outfit chosen for that round must remain the same for that round.

As for Adam and Blake's feud . . . well, I've personally always assumed that it's mostly manufactured, but they do have qualities about each other that have actually, genuinely pissed each other off.

I don't think all of Gwen and Blake's face-offs were for what you guessed.  Sometimes, one would completely back off from turning for an artist and just let the other have him or her, so that can't be it.

As for the order of the Blinds, I think it's selected at random.  Those who don't even get to audition are invited back to audition the next season, and many of those artists actually make it onto teams.

[Jillybean]

Vyk, thanks for your responses! I figured the auditions were aired out of order, but that got confusing with all the "my team is full!" stuff. I'll see how it goes and whether I can hang in for the whole season.

[Noreaster]

6 hours ago, Vyk said:

I don't think all of Gwen and Blake's face-offs were for what you guessed.  Sometimes, one would completely back off from turning for an artist and just let the other have him or her, so that can't be it.

As for the order of the Blinds, I think it's selected at random.  Those who don't even get to audition are invited back to audition the next season, and many of those artists actually make it onto teams.

I've noticed in recent seasons that Blake has done more last-second turns when it looks like the contestant is only going to be one-chair.  I think it may be producer-influenced (multiple coaches turning makes for more entertaining TV).  One of The Voice UK coaches has discussed this in the media (Tom Jones when he was fired).  

As for the order in the blinds, it's probably not random.  The producers likely slot the stronger contestants relatively early (the first couple of days or so) in order to increase that contestant's chances as well as increase the odds that these contestants will turn multiple chairs (again, entertaining TV).  We've seen over many seasons that those contestants who fill the last slots are generally weaker.  Also I don't think it's correct that those who didn't get a chance to audition are automatically invited back.  There have been a few but I used to read a lot of contestant interviews and think it would have come up more if this were the case.  

Edited March 17, 2017 by Noreaster