Monday night on The Voice, the coaches filled the final spots on their team as the Blind Auditions came to a close and the Battle Rounds began.
Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Christina Aguilera each had one open spot remaining; Pharrell Williams had two to fill before their teams were complete.
With the Battle Rounds beginning after the teams were completed, the coaches also brought in their mentors: Pharrell worked with Sean “Diddy Combs,” Blake went with Gwen Stefani, Adam chose Tori Kelly and Christina called on Patti La Belle.
But before they got down to business, the coaches performed the Stevie Wonder ditty “I Wish.”
The first artist of the night was Jared Harder, 22, a pastor’s kid from Joplin, Mo., who began singing in front of his father’s congregation. For his Blind Audition, he sang “Merry Go Round” by Kacey Musgraves. Blake was the only one who pushed his button, so Jared automatically joined Team Blake as his final artist.
Next was Moushumi, 22, from Edison, N.J., who attended medical school in India, where she studied cardiology. But she missed music. With her parents’ support, she auditioned for The Voice singing “Wicked Game” by Chris Isaak. Christina told Moushumi she had waited to push her button for something special. Pharrell said it was something new and different. Adam said her voice is unique. Moushumi elected to go with Team Pharrell.
The judges rejected Jake Hendershot, Jesse Bardwell and Selina Carrera in their search to find their final team members.
Katie Basden, 23 from Durham, N.C. sang the Allman Brothers Band‘s “Midnight Rider.” She got a three-chair turn. Pharrell said he liked her voice from the instant she began singing. Adam told her he knows Southern rock and he will fight for her. Christina said that Katie’s voice is powerful and just needs the right songs. Since Katie couldn’t pick Blake since his team is full, she joined Team Adam.
Next up was Jonathan Hutcherson, 16, from Wilmore, Ky., who is hearing impaired, performing One Direction‘s “You & I.” Jonathan lucked out when Pharell pushed his button, and Jonathan became the last member of his team.
Christina was the only coach with a spot left. She rejected Collin Taylor, Brianna Mazzola and Chase Walker before finding the woman who could get the job done: Ayanna Jahneé, 20, from Nashville, Tenn., who sang “Skyfall.” Christina said she had been holding out for something spectacular and Ayanna was her dream come true.
Let The Season 10 Battles Begin!
First up, from Team Adam it was 23-year-old Katie Basden from Durham, NC, who got the last spot on the team after a three-chair turn vs. 25-year-old Ryan Quinn from Westmoreland, N.Y., who Adam considers a frontrunner on his team. Adam chose Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” for their duel.
Blake pointed out that the difference in their voices is when Ryan goes up, his voice gets thinner, while Katie keeps the body of her voice no matter what the range. He picked Katie as the winner. Christina thought Ryan was going to kill it, but admitted Katie was also great. Pharrell told Ryan, it is awesome when you hear the intention in someone’s voice, and told Katie that her voice seems to be limitless. Adam picked Ryan as the winner of the battle because he felt that “Ryan’s potential is limitless.”
That left Katie available for a steal and both Blake and Christina pressed their buttons. Christina reminded Katie it was the second time she had pushed her button for her. Blake told Katie he thought she won that battle, and he reminder her that his team was full when she auditioned, so he couldn’t press his button. Katie joined Team Blake, which is where she always wanted to be.
Team Blake was up next with 21-year-old Brittney Lawrence from Jacksonville, Fla., going up against 23-year-old Paxton Ingram from Miami, Fla. Blake chose Shawn Mendes‘ “I Know What You Did Last Summer” for the duet.
Christina told the artists that they displayed a lot of energy. Their voices are different but it worked. Her choice would be Paxton. Pharrell said Brittney wasn’t playing around, but her performance could have used some dynamic, where Paxton was so articulate doing runs in different places and that was impressive. Adam told Brittney she has a pretty voice, but Paxton has a different sound. Blake told Brittney her voice was so powerful and Paxton that he is like a vocal ninja. Blake chose to keep Paxton on his team.
The next Battle pairing was from Team Christina. She pitted 23-year-old Bryan Bautista from Brooklyn, NY, who originally tried out for Season 9 but didn’t get a chair turn, against 19-year-old Malik Heard from Dallas, Tex. Christina selected “It’s a Man’s, Man’s Man’s, Man’s World by James Brown because she was looking for someone who has the chops to make it in the soul world.
Pharrell told them that their performance had the crowd standing up. Adam said he was going to be one of their coach. He said Christina will go with Bryan, but he puts Malik on an even keel. Plus, he has no one on his team like Malik. Blake said both performances were absolutely incredible. Christina told them that they have different voices and different styles but they match up in different ways. Bryan has a great falsetto and Malik is a skilled singer. Christina said she was the loser in this Battle, because she has to pick one. She chose to go with Bryan because he was calm, cool and collected.
Malik got a three chair steal. Pharrell said what he would like to do is empower Malik. Blake told Malik he has the potential to win The Voice, pointing out he has won four times with four different kinds of artists. Even so, Malik chose to join Team Pharrell.
The Voice Battle Rounds continue Tuesday night at 8 p.m. on NBC.
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