It’s Night Four of The Voice Blind Auditions and it’s starting to get a little tight for the coaches as they attempt to fill out the rest of their rosters. As we enter the night, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and Pharrell Williams all have eight vocalists, while Christina Aguilera has seven. What will Night Four bring? Let’s get into the recap:
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The night begins with 35-year-old Tamar Davis from Houston, Texas. At 11, she joined a girl group that eventually became Destiny’s Child, but her parents took her out and wanted her to get an education. After college, she started singing backup for Prince and acted in a Tyler Perry movie. Perry is actually among those backstage supporting her. She chooses Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools” and her big voice shines through. She’s got sass and soul and Christina Aguilera punches in pretty quickly. In what becomes a theme for the night, Blake Shelton waits until the final second and gets in much to the dismay of Christina. After it’s revealed that she toured with Prince, Christina says it’s time for her to step out of the background and shine. Blake first calls out Adam and Pharrell for not turning around, then makes the point that he had another backup singer, Jermaine Paul, who made the transition to being front and center and won The Voice and he learned a lot from that experience. Despite his pleas, Tamar picks Christina.
21-year-old Jessica Crosbie is Atlanta-based after being born in England. She’s played and written music for years and started singing in bars in a small scene, so she sees this as a big opportunity. She’s a huge Maroon 5 fan and would like to be on Adam’s team. She picks Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida,” but plays with the arrangement a bit. It starts soft and is more subtle while allowing for places to show some range. Pharrell, Adam and Christina simultaneously push right off the band. Â Christina thinks that there’s more she can do with her voice and is only just starting to reach greatness. Adam felt it was razor sharp early then faltered a bit after the coaches turned, but he feels he can help with nervousness. Pharrell too offers to work with her on her strengths and weaknesses. She picks Pharrell.
Country singer Justin Whisnant from Bearden, Oklahoma is the next up. He started singing in grade school and started a job in the oil fields after school. Eventually the struggle to juggle music and his job was too much and he’s now dedicated to performing in his band Cold Water County. He takes on Cole Swindell’s “Aint’ Worth the Whiskey,” and says it’s not a given that he’ll do country. Adam hears it immediately and pushes in. However, Blake waits until the final line before getting in. A distraught Adam wraps his hands around his head and when Whisnant reveals he’s from Oklahoma, he furiously proclaims, “Why bother! It doesn’t matter what I say. Nothing will work. Just go.” Adam eventually does try to sell him that he cares about great talent regardless of genre, but Blake tells him that he cares about genres and feels he has what it takes to be a great country singer. Justin picks Blake.
Daniel Passino for New Boston, Michigan is next up. He recalls seeing Christina Aguilera sing as a child and his parents thinking he sounded like her. He played sports until he took up music in middle school. He studied opera at the University of Michigan. He shows soul and range in taking on the Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor song “Marvin Gaye.” Christina gets in after a couple of lines, but when he hits a falsetto at the end, Blake has no choice but to get in as well. Adam gets a kick out of seeing Christina’s face when Blake chimed in. Blake says he’s a fan and gets in a few digs at Christina, while she reminds him how early she turned around. Daniel starts talking about Christina being one of his biggest inspirations, and Blake starts to moan. But he does go on to pick Christina.
Owen Danoff is the next singer up. He’s played at numerous Greenwich Village venues, but is hoping to take the next step in his career. He has a folk background and comes from a musical family as his father was in the Starland Vocal Band. He leans toward Pharrell as a hope for a coach. Owen takes on Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” and shows off a tender voice that gets stronger as the song goes on. Simultaneously, Adam, Pharrell and Christina get in, and he’s so good that Blake eventually makes it a four-chair turn. Adam credits him for having such a strong identity as a singer. Christina loves how involved he was in his performance. Blake says he feels that rarely gets to work with folk artists, but feels he has a lot to offer. All four coaches are complimentary, but in the end, Owen picks Adam.
Maya Smith is a postal worker, but her mom is encouraging her to pursue music. She tried out karaoke one night and got some compliments and has slowly but surely ventured out more in the music world. She’s anxious to receive coaching from the likes of Pharrell or Christina. Maya performs Aretha Franklin’s “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man,” showing some vulnerability and shakiness in her voice, but there’s no denying that there’s something there and Pharrell presses in. Pulling a “Blake,” Christina waits for the last second to get in as well. Christina says she has a gorgeous voice and feels that she has some Beyonce in her voice. Pharrell says her voice really cuts through and has great control and range. Â Maya chooses Pharrell.
21-year-old Brittney Lawrence has dreamed of being on The Voice for years and auditioned seven times before making it through to the Blinds. She has been a cheerleading coach since her freshman year of high school. On top of her day job, she’s studying to be a teacher and exploring her singing passion. She picks Demi Lovato’s “Warrior” and wows the coaches. Christina presses in first, while Blake once again waits until the end to get in. Blake credits her, saying it’s harder to stay on top of the song without vibrato, while Christina compliments her vocal control. Though Christina initially appeared to have the better pitch, Blake wins this one.
At this point in the evening, it’s the “montage” segment, where we catch glimpses of Team Blake’s Teresa Guidry doing “Girl Crush,” Team Christina’s Chelsea Gann performing Martina McBride’s “Wild Angels” and Team Adam’s Lily Green taking on Fleetwood Mac’s “Songbird.”
20-year-old Matt Tedder has a blues feel and has been playing guitar as a kid. He’s long admired the blues greats and he’s been playing clubs since his mid-teens. He moved to Nashville from Texas and is hoping to take the next step by appearing on The Voice. He covers Muddy Waters’ “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man” for his performance, and he’s got the swagger along with some pretty nifty slide guitar going on. About midway in, Adam is sold and presses in. But as the remaining slots are scarce, he’s the only one. Adam credits his slide guitar playing and loves his soulful voice. He has Matt play a little guitar for the coaches that didn’t turn, and Pharrell gives him a standing ovation.
Finishing out the night, it’s returning singer Joe Maye. The 24-year-old from Baltimore missed out last time because his dancing left him struggling vocally, but there’s no such issues this time. He’s actually joined by Season 9 performers Mark Hood and Ellie Lawrence for moral support and they cheer him on. Once he hits the stage, he takes on Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You,” and he owns it, with pure power right off the bat. Christina hears it and gets in even before he gets to parts that show more range. As has happened all night, Blake gets in late as well. Blake tells Joe he sang the song like he was pissed and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Christina loves the song choice and Pharrell asks if she’ll sing it with Joe. Together, they have the moment of the night with an unbelievable duet. Â They all bow to Christina and of course Joe picks her.
It’s down to the wire now. Team Christina adds four artists to bring her total to 11, leaving only one spot left. Team Pharrell adds two to his team, bringing his total to 10 as well. Meanwhile, Team Blake adds three, leaving just one spot left for the final night of Blind Auditions. And Team Adam has the most work left to do, adding three more vocalists and leaving him with two spots remaining. But how did those performing on Night 4 of the Blind Auditions do? Check out our rankings below.
The Voice Night 4 Blind Audition Rankings
9. Matt Tedder (Team Adam)
8. Jessica Crosbie (Team Pharrell)
7. Brittney Lawrence (Team Blake)
6. Justin Whisnant (Team Blake)
5. Maya Smith (Team Pharrell)
4. Daniel Passino (Team Christina)
3. Tamar Davis (Team Christina)
2. Owen Danoff (Team Adam)
1. Joe Maye (Team Christina)
While the ladies seem to be ruling the roost this season, Night Four gave us some serious male contenders.
****Just a note for all fans of The Voice. There’s a rare Wednesday night episode that will allow the coaches to complete their teams. So come back for the final night of the Blind Auditions Wednesday night on NBC.
Required fields are marked *. Your name and email will not be published.
