Trae Patton/NBC(NEW YORK) — The Voice blind auditions continued on Monday night with Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson, John Legend and Gwen Stefani continuing to build their teams.
Back for season 17 is “The Block,” which gives the coaches one chance each to block one of their rival coaches from getting an artist.
The evening ended with a cliffhanger, as Gwen, John and Blake all competed for the chance to land indie-alternative singer Cali Wilson on his/her team.
Here are some of the highlights from Monday’s show:
Smooth-voiced folk singer Mandeleyev Galileo Einstein Pythagoras Darwin Euclid Leonardo Allan-Blitz — Mandelayev, for short — got all four coaches to turn their chairs around with his cover of Bob Dylan’s “Girl from the North Country.” Kelly likened Mandeleyev’s voice to “the best glass of pinot noir ever, and Blake noted the singer’s voice “shakes the rafters.” However, John won the battle because he was the only judge familiar with one of Mandeleyev’s favorite singers, folk, soul and R&B artist Richie Havens.
Calvin Lockett is “a pastor’s kid” with a desire to sing secular music. His silky take on The Temptations’ “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)” convinced Blake, John and Gwen to turn around. Kelly admitted that the only reason she didn’t turn her chair around was because she didn’t stand a chance against the others, and Blake said the only reason he turned around was to see the face behind the voice. Legend seemed to nab Lockett, but it was Gwen’s last-minute argument that Calvin needed a coach who was “passionate” about him, regardless of the genre of music in which he performs that convinced Lockett to pick her as his coach.
Marybeth Byrd, 18, works on a food truck in Blytheville, Arkansas and dreams of “going from the small town to the big stage.” She also wants to be a professional singer. Her rendition of “Angel in Montgomery,” by John Prine got all four coaches to turn around for her, but Kelly used “The Block” to take Blake out of the running. Marybeth picked Legend as her coach after he said he had a feeling Byrd was going to be one of the season’s top contestants. However, it was Blake who made this contest noteworthy by secretly rigging one of the buttons on his chair to play Stefani’s No Doubt hit, “Don’t Speak,” every time Kelly tried to make a pitch for the artist.
Nashville resident by-way-of Salem, Iowa Cali Wilson is living out the dream her single mother had of becoming a professional singer, but gave up in order to raise her. Cali closed out night three of the Voice auditions with her take on “Dreams,” by Fleetwood Mac. Legend, Stefani and Shelton all turned their chairs for Cali, with John leading the competition for her by complimenting her “super-gorgeous tone” and the control she had over her voice. Gwen found Cali’s rendition of the song moving, adding she “got lost” in the performance. Finally, Blake, who tried to impress the 28-year-old singer with his knowledge of Salem, Iowa, seemed to have a slight edge on the others after Cali told Blake she once spotted him at the town’s only gas station.
So which lucky coach scooped up Cali for his/her team? We’ll have to wait until tomorrow when The Voice returns with a one-hour episode Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET to learn the answer.
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