The time has come, boys and girls! Welcome to the season opener of The Voice season 2. Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton are all back to find the next big singing sensation to hit America with a brick of vocal talent. Carson Daly also returns as the host with the most. So now that we know the gang’s all here, why not get this party started?!
Feel free to keep up with me in real time with each show this season, by the way! This is a live blog, so you guys can comment on your favorite and most hated moments as we see them. Fun stuff, right? Yes!
Shall I remind everyone of the rules? Each mentor is looking to create a team. Each team will be composed of individual artists, yet will battle against one another in the hopes of making their celebrity coach proud. Only one lucky singer will be standing at the end of the season. Being the audition cycle, the coaches sit with their backs facing the contestants. Once they like what they hear, they hit the magic red button which will turn their chair around and the “I Want You” sign will light up. Alright kids, anyone have any questions? No? Good! Let’s get this party started!
It’s the Blind Auditions! Who can’t get enough of people shaking with crazy nerves in front of four huge celebrities, even though their chairs are facing the opposite direction, singing songs made popular by artists of the very same caliber?
First up is Raelynn from Houston, Texas! She sings one of Miranda Lambert’s songs, “Hell on Heels,” by Blake’s wife. Adam is first to hit his buzzer and turn around. Next is Blake. “You started off sounding one way,” he says once her somewhat mediocre performance has ended. What does that mean, Adam? There’s some banter back and forth between the rocker and the country star. Who should she choose? Is it not obvious that a country singer has the best chance at doing what they love doing with an established country artist? Yeah, she better choose Blake as her mentor. That makes one member for Team Blake Shelton.
Jesse Campbell will show us what he’s got next. A heartfelt story of once living as a homeless man with a young daughter definitely pulls on the heartstrings. He dedicates his performance to his little girl. Singing “A Song For You,” with only the recognition of what song he was singing, Cee Lo, Christina and Adam hit their red buttons all at once. Blake takes a tad bit longer to warm up to the honey-lathered voice of Mr. Campbell. Christina has no problem showing her love for him as she stretches her arms out wide in amazement. The crowd goes wild along with her.
Reply to Christina’s comment that she isn’t the same color as Cee Lo: “Christina, everybody’s the same color with the lights off!” This receives a standing ovation from both Adam and Blake.
So who does Jesse choose as his celebrity coach? “The first person that came to my mind was … was Christina.” She was the only artist who said she would “fight” for him. So now we have both Team Christina and Team Blake with one a piece!
Daniel Rosa is looking quite dapper in his yellow bow-tie as he walks up to the audition space. The poor kid is crying like crazy in the opening package. I hope he can make it through his performance!
He begins singing “Animal” by Neon Trees. He has a sort of quirky, raspy voice that sounds a tad odd with a song such as this. It’s different, but I’m oddly interested to hear more. No chairs have turned around as the song fades out. Daniel’s mother watches on backstage, crying for her son in the arms of Carson.
What could Daniel have done better to be where he needs to be?: “Pitch” is the overall consensus. Christina adds a nice tidbit, though. She says the fact that he even asked the question shows that he’ll go far in the business. So I’m confused … Did you like the guy or not?
Cee Lo and Adam are still sitting lonely without anyone on their teams.
Juliet Simms has a special place in my heart. If anyone else knows, we can share this excitement together. She’s the lead singer in the band Automatic Loveletter. Her bluesy raspiness fits oh-so-well with “Oh Darling.” Adam and Cee Lo hit their buttons at the same time. It’s so obvious that Juliet belongs with Adam, though, as his enthusiasm is matched by her rockstar persona onstage. Christina finally jumps on the bandwagon as the song is almost over.
Here’s where the show gets good! Christina shows off her pearly whites as she accuses Adam of being a “car salesman” and selling it to Juliet. As Adam begins to talk, Christina butts in then Adam starts again, and Christina cuts him off and says he’s trying to be like Justin Timberlake … wait, what? “Sexual tension!” interjects Cee Lo. In the end, Juliet picks Cee Lo as her coach. That whole thing blew my mind!
So Team Christina, Team Blake and Team Cee Lo now all have one member each. Poor Adam!
Unexpected celebrity sighting! Alicia Keys makes a super quick appearance, wishing her former back-up singer, Jermaine, luck in the competition. Talk about “no pressure.” Sheesh!
Next to face the panel is Chris Mann. Now, this audition is a little different. Singing “Because We Believe,” the coaches start off with a few confused looks. Why? Well, the guy isn’t singing in English, but he sounds seriously good! Cee Lo turns around first and that’s all fine and dandy, but when Christina turns around, Chris points to her with a look of “Oh yeah, baby!” I think it’s obvious who he’d like to work with.
Blake Shelton’s comment on Chris Mann’s choice of song: “I know I’m country, but I couldn’t understand a word you were sayin’!” Chris may be from Kansas, but he wanted to showcase himself. It is who he is and apparently he is good!
With little surprise, Team Christina adds yet another member to the ranks.
It wouldn’t be a fair game if we didn’t talk about some of the losers. Mark Trusell attempts to make a Justin Beiber song sound good. Yes, I said sound good! The curly blonde plays the guitar, which is a cool addition, but it just doesn’t cut it. Cee Lo comments that there wasn’t a connection. Yeah, no connection between his voice and the part of my brain that says, “Hey, that sounds good!” Sorry, dude.
Hey, it’s Tony Lucca from the Mickey Mouse Club! Will Christina remember her former MMC castmate? It’s pretty unlikely she’ll remember his voice right off the bat. Along with his guitar, he sings “Trouble.” Adam likes it; he turns around. Christina hits the button and giggles aloud. Blake follows. Cee Lo is hesitant, so Adam strikes the button for him. Tony is pretty reminiscent of a ’90s cool cat with his newsboy cap and vest. I like the guy; he did good.
More importantly, even after stating his name, Christina has no idea who the guy is! It’s like walking through the mall and seeing that kid from high school who was a “wannabe you” and you can’t remember their name for the life of you. It’s probably for this reason that Tony picks Team Adam.
As the chairs swivel back around, Christina hops up and walks backstage. “Oh my God, you know who that was? I was on the Mickey Mouse Club with that guy. That is so weird!” She enters the holding room with Tony, his wife, his son and Carson. Not only does she hug things out and apologize for not recognizing him, she spills the beans that Britney Spears had a huge crush on him. I’m sure that didn’t bother his wife one bit!
Okay, so let’s recap the recap. Team Christina has two members while Teams Blake, Adam and Cee Lo each have one. Who will reach twelve members first? More importantly, what do you guys think of the kickoff of The Voice season 2? There’s tons more to come! Tomorrow, make sure you tune back in for a two hour live recap. There will be more heartwarming stories, more great voices and a performance by all four celebrity coaches. You read right! The coaches will be singing a Prince song! See you guys tomorrow night!
Jilliane Johnson
Contributing Writer
(Image courtesy of NBC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
