The Voice - 2 ª Season

"The Voice" - Blind Auditions #1 - Feb. 5, 2012 "The Voice" returns for a second season. First up is a complete explanation of how the show works: the judges-- Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton-- listen with their backs turned, they press a button to swivel their chairs forward. If one judge picks that person is on their team. If more than one judge swivels, the auditioner gets to pick the team they'll join. (Since the show is airing after the Super Bowl they're cluing in all those millions of potential new viewers.) First up is spunky country singer RaeLynn who is singing a Miranda Lambert/Pistol Annies song which host Carson Daly says may be risky since others have done it to negative effect. (Shelton is married to Lambert.) She comes out and sings "Hell on Heels" with her guitar and is fine. Levine turns first and then Shelton. They banter a bit but since Raylyn is clearly country and said she hoped to be picked by Blake it's no surprise when she picks him. Next up is Jesse Campbell who is 42 and was dumped by his wife and became homeless with his daughter. We meet his daughter and brother who helped him get back on his feet. He cries talking about hoping to win so he can care for his daughter. He sings "A Song For You" and Cee Lo, Adam, and Christina turn around immediately, Blake is soon after. He is excellent, poised,strong, emotional, in tune. The crowd loves him. They all make their pitches. Jesse picks Christina. Next is Daniel Rosa who has supportive parents and is looking for validation elsewhere. He is emotional and very nervous never having played in front of this many people. He's got a husky voice with some character but he's tentative and hits a few bad notes. None of the judges turned around. He cries and they comfort him and wish him luck. He asks what he could've done better and they say work on his pitch control. He thanks them. Next is Juliet Simms who the show describes as a 25-year-old rocker. She sings the Beatles "Oh Darlin.'" She's got a reedy rasp that she thinks is bluesy but it's kind of thin and she's pushing it really hard. Adam and Cee Lo turn around and near the end so does Christina. Blake is unconvinced. The three judges who pushed their button do their dance: Cee Lo with the sexy come on, Christina by putting down Adam as a Justin Timberlake wannabe and likening him to a car salesman and Adam pointing out if he's a car salesman then he's the best because he won last year. She picks Cee Lo. Christina apologizes to Adam and says she loves him. We meet Chris Mann a classical vocalist who wants to win for his mom who had pancreatic cancer but was still supportive of his career. He sings a light classical/popera piece in what I think is Italian and then segues into English. He's great. Cee Lo turns, then Christina. Blake and Adam are unmoved but the crowd digs it. Blake admits he couldn't understand one word he was singing. He picks Christina. We get a montage of folks who didn't get anyone to turn their chairs around. Next is Tony Lucca who was actually a member of the "New Mickey Mouse Club" alongside Christina herself. (And Britney and Justin Timberlake.) He sings "Trouble" by Ray LaMontagne and his voice is very much in that vain. Adam turns first, then Christina, then Blake, and finally Cee Lo with Adam helping him push his button. Adam points out he pushed two buttons and that helps Tony pick him. Christina didn't remember him at first but then she has a revelation after he leaves the stage and goes and finds him and hugs him and tells him that Britney had the biggest crush on him back in the day.

Carson Daly hosts week two of the vocal competition series, featuring an exciting array of talented vocalists as they compete to be selected by one of the coaches and fight for a chance to win the title of being named "The Voice."

"The Voice" - Blind Auditions #3 - Feb. 13, 2012 We get a recap of the auditions so far. First up is Sarah Golden who we are introduced to in darkness so we can "play along." We hear her say that she had several opportunities but was told she had to change her look and she didn't want to do that. She sings "You and I" by Lady Gaga but we never see her face. She sounds good but the song doesn't offer much opportunity to show off range, she gives it a rootsy spin. Cee Lo turns first and we see her face. She's cute, tomboyish. Blake then turns his chair he calls her real and refreshing. Cee Lo says she did a great rendition. She says she considers herself a folk singer. Cee Lo says he wants to stretch out with diverse singers.Blake says so this means Cee Lo wants to use her as an experiment whereas he's already comfortable. Sarah picks Cee Lo. Next up is Elley Duhe who has been performing her whole life and her family has been very supportive, even allowing her to quit school her senior year to pursue music. She sings "Mercy' by Duffy. She's fine, not spectacular. No one turns for her even on her big last note. Cee Lo seems disappointed when he turns. Adam says the last note was killer and if he could go back in time he thinks they'd all press their buttons. Christina says she has a great attitude and they should all take a lesson from that. Blake says the only thing that kept him from turning was because the falsetto notes were pitchy. Next is Pip a 19-year-old who thinks he has a different sound. He thinks he "pushes the envelope" with his suspenders and bowtie style. He sings "House of the Rising Sun." He's very polished. Adam turns first, then Blake, then Christina and finally Cee Lo. They all compliment him and fight over him and he picks Adam because he was the first to turn. Next is Erin Willett who started singing with her dad, who is there along with mom to support her, he calls hers the greatest voice in the world. Her dad has stage four pancreatic cancer. She hopes getting on the show will give her dad something to look forward to. She sings "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5. She's very confident but again she's good but not spectacular. Blake turns first and he's the only one who does. (And her pitch does waver some as the song continues.) So, obviously she's on Team Blake but all of the other judges compliment as her well. Next up we get one of Carson's field trips to deliver an invitation to audition. He's in L.A. and he hands the invite to Katrina Parker who is an underwriting assistant and we see her in her cube farm at work. Carson delivers the invite and she hugs him. We then flip over to the audition of David Grace who grew up playing football and became a coach. He decided to buy a guitar one day and has been singing for three years. He's got a really sweet smile. He sings "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd and also plays guitar. He's got a classic southern rock voice. The judges try to bait each other into pressing their buttons. Blake seems close but never gets there. No one turns. He was good though.Blake and Adam say the way he was sliding to notes didn't work for them. Now we get Katrina Parker's audition. Her parents are supportive and proud. In 2008 she suffered mold sickness for two years and she was unable to sing, she started singing again earlier this year. She sings "One of Us" by Joan Osborne. She does it as a piano ballad, she has both a girlishness and a huskiness to her voice.She's good. Adam turns first and is the only one to do so, so she's on Team Adam. He liked her because she was different. Next is Geoff McBride who is 51 and has three kids and a wife, who have joined him at the audition. He wears sunglasses due to a torn retina he got while boxing as a young man. He sings "Higher Ground" by Stevie Wonder, always a dangerous proposition. The band sounds great. He sounds good. Christina turns first. The others goad each other on but only Cee Lo turns. He chooses Christina. Cee Lo is disappointed. Next up Erin Martin who used to be a model and is dressed, in her own words, an Egyptian warrior princess. She talked with record labels but all said she needed development so she figured she needed a coach. She sings "Hey There Delilah" by Plain White T's. She's got one of those craggy girlish voices like Dia Frampton, so, not surprisingly Blake turns around, and then Cee Lo, who calls her voice strange and bizarre. She picks Cee Lo Next is James Massone a cute kid who works in the family body shop in Boston.We watch him at work. He was tangentially associated with a shooting involving a Boston rap group. (He sang hooks for them.) His brother was supposed to be there but mercifully wasn't. He's very nervous and talk about not wanting to go back to the shop. He sings "Find Your Love," he's got that nasally but polished boy band pop-soul kind of voice. He's good but clearly nervous. Christina turns and Blake is right on her heels. Cee Lo turns next. He's overcome by emotion. Cee Lo and Christina admit that they were surprised he was white. He teases Adam about not turning his chair around. He chooses Cee Lo. Next is another field trip for Carson, this time to a bowling alley to deliver an invite to Winter Rae. She has blue hair and lots of tattoos and people assume she sings rock music but she's more of a soul diva. Perez Hilton is one of her buddies and is there for her. She sings Rihanna's "Take a Bow" and after a slightly rocky start she revs it up but not well enough to get anyone to turn their chairs around, but they all offer her encouragement. Next is Chris Cauley who learned to sing with his grandma who passed away recently. She was a bluegrass musician who gave him his first guitar. He sings "Grenade" by Bruno Mars. He does it a little slowed down and not as dramatic as the original. He's good but it's a little subdued. Cee Lo turns first and then Adam. He jokes that he wants to see Adam and Cee Lo arm wrestle for him and then chooses Adam. We then quickly see Nathan Parrett who was also chosen by Adam. Brian Fuente was chosen by Blake. Moses Stone was picked by Christina. The final contestant is Jordis Unga who previously competed on "Rock Star: INXS." She looked very different on that show. (Which is produced by the same people who produce this show.) She sings "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney. Blake turns around quickly. She sounds great, as she did on "Rock Star: INXS." She roughs it up near the end and Christina and Cee Lo turn around. Only Adam holds out. She is touched. She is conflicted on who to choose. She picks Blake because he was the first one to turn.

"The Voice" - Blind Auditions 4 - Feb. 20, 2012 Our first auditioner of the night is Ducky who has a twisty mustache and a jaunty chapeau. He also has a raspy, rockin' voice on his version of "Tighten Up." The judges seem unconvinced and he is not spectacular, none turn around. Cee Lo says they're looking for the best and Adam and Christina say they wish they'd pushed their buttons. Blake offers him a shot from his glass. Up next is Jonathas he's from Brazil and learned English as a child listening to music. He sings "U Got it Bad" by Usher. He's got a nice, Usher-like voice. It's not a song that lets him show off much range but is good overall. He's also got moves. Cee Lo turns first and Christina turns right at the end. Cee Lo says he thought it was a prank and it was actually Usher. Christina says she had to see since the ladies loved him in the crowd. She promises to mold and package him. Cee Lo wants to look at his watch and says he can do anything. He picks Christina who he used to have the hots for. Next up is Monique Benabou whose mother survived breast cancer. She sings "Mr. Know it All" by Kelly Clarkson. She sounds good. There are a couple of pitch problems and she's a bit strident in her upper register, but she's strong. Christina is the only one who turns. Monique is very excited. Next up is Naia Kete. She is one of the people that gets a Carson visit, as she does her street performing/busking which she does for a living. The crowd cheers for her as she reads her invite. She sings "The Lazy Song" by Bruno Mars. She's got that girlish, crinkly voice, not that different from Dia Frampton so Blake turns around immediately. Cee Lo turns near the end when she ramps it up and Blake is mad. Blake says he instantly fell in love with her voice. Cee Lo was soothed and warmed and wants to be around that energy. She picks Blake. Next up is Eric Macek whose parents are from Czechoslovakia who came here after the Russian invasion. He wants to buy his mom a house someday. He sings "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty in an interesting slowed down acoustic arrangement, it's got a lazy Jason Mraz/Jack Johnson vibe to it. It doesn't show much range and the high note in the chorus doesn't do him any favors. No one turns for him. Christina says it just wasn't right, too mellow. Blake says he wasn't sure of how he'd do in a battle round. Next up is Charlotte Sometimes who was diagnosed with a strange disease in which she was told her jaw would disintegrate. She had surgery, had her jaw wired shut for five months and began writing songs. She recovered and is now ready to sing. She sings "Apologize" by OneRepublic. She's good but not amazing. Adam and Blake turn almost simultaneously. Then Christina and Cee Lo. (She's one of those people that's already had some exposure.) She picks Blake. He gloats. Next up is Tony Vincent who has worked on Broadway in the cast of the Green Day musical "American Idiot," he also did "Rent" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "We Will Rock You" in Vegas. He has a pregnant wife who is also a performer. He loves Broadway but his heart is in the pop/rock world. He sings "We Are the Champions." Gutsy. The open isn't much but his got big Broadway belt on the chorus and he's overdoing it a bit on the grit and growl. Cee Lo turns first. He is alone. Cee Lo accuses the other judges' ears of being burned up. Next up is Anthony Evans who is the son of a famous preacher man in Dallas. His dad seems very supportive. He wants to be a Contemporary Christian/Gospel act, not one or the other. He sings "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye. He can sing but he's a little rough around the edges. It all seems a little high for him and he hits some sharp spots, but he also seems really nervous and he's holding it together nicely. Christina turns. She is the only one. (For some reason gospel star Kirk Franklin is hanging with his dad backstage and he joins the celebration.) Next up is Jamie Lono who gets his invite from his boss at the sandwich shop he works at in Chicago. As a child he had part of his lung removed and it bankrupted his family. They're fine now. His parents are very supportive. He sings "Folsom Prison Blues" accompanying himself on acoustic guitar and Adam turns almost immediately. He sings gently and then belts it out. Cee Lo turns also. Adam mock-promises that he'll never have to make a sandwich again. Both he and Cee Lo think he's very soulful. He picks Cee Lo. Next is Dylan Chambers whose mom works in theatre. His father was a non-entity and that was hard for him but he thinks it's made him progress more in music. He sings "Valerie" by the Zutons. He's very animated and bouncy. He sings well enough but the song doesn't allow him to show much range. Then he hits some nice falsetto notes but it's not enough. No one turns. Adam says it was so close. Cee Lo wished he'd owned the song as well he did the last few notes. They encourage him and say he will mature and develop. (He's only 19.) Next is montage of folks who also were turned down. Next up is Justin Hopkins who was in he Carson Daly house band. Um, nepotism much? He seems to really want to work with Cee Lo. He sings "Babylon" by David Gray. It's a little soundalikey, raspy and gritty, and he seems nervous and trembly. Cee Lo turns near the end. So his dream comes true! Cee Lo wants to polish and refine his talent. Carson is very happy for him. Next up is [Nicole Galyon who wants to be a country singer and a piano player and seems to think that these things are mutually exclusive and apparently people in Nashville told her this as well. She has only been singing for a few years and is still nervous about it. She sings "You Save Me" by Kenny Chesney. She has big pitch problems that do seem mostly nerves-related but Adam turns anyway. None of the others even threaten to turn. We get another montage of people who were picked but we didn't see their whole story. Ashley de la Rosa is picked by Christina, Blake snaps up country kid Jordan Rager and Karla Davis goes to Adam, and Alyx gets picked by Blake. Next up is Eric Tipton who self-describes as "a 6 foot, 300 pound white guy who sings old school soul music." His parents are supportive after rough times with his dad. He's excited to be judged on his voice alone. He sings "You Make My Dreams" by Hall and Oates. He sings well but he's not going for any of the Daryl Hall high notes.No one turns. Cee Lo says it's tough to sing such a well-known song. Adam agrees that it's hard to divorce yourself from the original version, even though he thought he was great. The final auditioner is Mathai who comes from a medical family and is nervous trying something new. Her parents really wanted her to finish college but they want her to be happy. She sings "Rumor Has It" by Adele. She starts off girlishly and Adam turns right around. She gets a little more belt-y as the song goes along and then Blake turns. Followed by Cee Lo. Each turn makes her stronger. Only Christina holds out. The boys give it the hard sell: Blake calls her a star, Adam is desperate, Cee Lo says she has the whole thing going. She picks Adam.

"The Voice" - Blind Auditions Part 5 - Feb. 27, 2012 Adam, Blake, and Christina need two more singers and Cee Lo needs three. First up is Whitney Myer who plays with her dad and her uncle in a band that does pop-soul-funk. She sings "No One" by Alicia Keys in a kind of rootsy arrangement. She's cute and good. Adam turns first, then Cee Lo, then Blake, then finally Christina. They fight over her. She picks Adam. Next up is David Dunn who has a petroleum engineering degree which he got to work at his dad's oil company. His dad seems a bit skeptical of David's chances. He sings "The Man Who Can't Be Moved." He's fine but it doesn't have a lot of dynamic range to it. And none of the judges is moved. The crowd liked him though. They tell him to keep singing. His dad gives him a big hug and says he won the audience. Next is the rock duo of Rory and Tristan Shields, the Shields Brothers who live on a farm. Their dad is very supportive of them getting on the road and making some money. They want to punch America in the face with rock and roll. They sing "Dancin' With Myself" by Billy Idol. Cee Lo turns first and is the only one who does. All the coaches says they are in the right hands. Next is Cheesa (pronounced Chessa) and she is from Hawaii. Her parents believed in her so much they moved to L.A. and weathered financial storms. She sings "If I Were a Boy" by Beyonce. It starts very low and kinda shaky. It gets better in the higher, belting chorus. It's a little shouty and flat in places though. Cee Lo turns at the very last moment at Adam's urging. Cee Lo was the coach she wanted. Next up is Preston Shannon aka the King of Beale St. a 64-year-old blues musician from Memphis. He's still open to some training.He's adorable, nattily dressed in a suit. He rocks out on "In the Midnight Hour." He's got a classic gruff blues voice and plays well. Blake considers pushing his button but doesn't and neither does anyone else. Adam is mad he didn't press his button. He gets some nice praise from the judges. They feel bad no one picked him. Next is Lex Land an Austin, TX gal who studied classical voice and has switched to jazz gigs for extra income. She teaches at girls rock camp. She is very nervous. She sings "I Can't Make You Love Me." Adam and Cee Lo turn almost simultaneously-- although Cee Lo did go first-- even though the performance is clearly showing her nerves and it gets worse. Blake eventually turns. Christina makes faces at some of the awkwardness of the performance. Cee Lo admits that there were pitch problems and he and Adam agree she got more nervous when they turned around. She picks Blake. Next up is Cameron Novack who considers himself a triple threat since he raps, sings pop and opera. He sings "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette. He's a little awkward and theatrical but the chorus is strong and flamboyant. He drops a little weird clip-clop beatboxing into the bridge. It is not enough to get anyone to turn. He drops a freestyle on them though good-naturedly. Cee Lo says he made a mistake and says he should've picked him. Adam asks if they can break the rules. The crowd chants "cheat,cheat,cheat" and Cee Lo says they can't it ruins the integrity of the show to break the rules. Cameron is angry and bummed. Carson goes on one of his field trips to give an invite to Orlando Napier who is from L.A. He had a misspent youth and did some time in jail. He plays in a band with his dad. He sings "Waiting on the World to Change" accompanying himself on piano. Adam turns almost immediately. He does a sort of bluesy, slow arrangement. The other coaches are unmoved. Adam's team is complete and he's thrilled. Next up is Lee Koch who works at a bakery and loves it. He wants to be a musician who bakes not a baker who pursues music. He sings "Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan. He's fine. Adam likes him. Christina turns at the last minute. She loved his harmonica playing. She promises not to disappoint him even though they're an odd pairing. Next up is Wade an 18-year-old from Alabama who worships soul music. He says he mostly imitated other singers. His mom and grandma are very supportive. He sings "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse in a funky, Memphis-style arrangement. He shows off a good range low to high and doesn't sound imitative at all. Cee Lo presses his button first and is the only one who does. Cee Lo's team is now complete. Next up is Adley Stump a country singer from Oklahoma. She sings "I Don't Even Know His Last Name' by Carrie Underwood. It's okay, shaky on the ends of phrases like she doesn't have the best breath control, there a few clunkers too. Blake and Christina both turn at the end. They fight hard for her and Christina "jokingly" says Blake is not a real vocalist. She picks Blake. Blake's team is now complete so now everyone left needs to court Christina's favor. We see a montage of folks she rejects, deservedly as they all have pitch problems. The final auditioner and therefore one we know Christina picks is named Sera Hill. She's been singing she was six years old. She works at a front desk of a hotel. She sings "I'm Going Down" by Mary J. Blige. All the boys urge Christina to hit her button. She does. And then she grabs a microphone and sings a chorus with her and they trade runs and Sera is overwhelmed but cute and does well. Christina's team is now complete. We get a tease for the coaches prepping their teams for the battle rounds.