Blake Shelton Rounds Out The Voice Team with Rocker Caeland Garner

It may seem like the competitors are getting more talented on of NBC’s The Voice, but every episode of season 15 has featured outstanding vocalists. Night 6 of the blind auditions gave coaches Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton several great opportunities to fill out their teams.

The night kicked off with 31-year-old Caeland Garner of Coleridge, North Carolina. Humble and a bit bashful, the dobro player, who counts The Voice veteran Red Marlow among his fan base, rendered an effortless and earthy rendition of the King Harvest classic “Dancing In the Moonlight.”

Surprisingly, only two chairs turned, but Blake and Jennifer hit their buttons almost simultaneously. After the applause died down, Blake compared Caeland to great 70s vocalists like Jim Croce. “I’m mesmerized by your sound,” he said, then added, “I’m a fan. I’d be honored to be your coach.” Jennifer, however, wasn’t letting her fellow coach have the last word, though. “I’m a fan of your voice as well,” she said. “It’s about the love of a beautiful instrument.”

As sweet as the compliment was, in the end, Caeland signed up for Team Blake.

No worries, though. Jennifer scored big when 15-year-old Lela auditioned.

The Miami, Florida girl delivered a flawless performance of Camila Capello’s “Havana,” even nailing a portion of the lyric in Spanish. While Kelly was actually the first to see who was offering the remarkable vocal, Jennifer also turned for Lela. And though they were both eager to add the energetic teen to their teams, they were both also committed to Lela continuing to perform in Spanish. Kelly told her, “I’m going to push you to keep doing the bilingual thing. It’s necessary for radio.”

Lela wasn’t the only teen in the running for a coveted spot on The Voice, though.

Ambitious Abby Cates is just 17 but hones her musical craft singing as a princess at children’s birthday parties. That may not sound like much, but when the Cincinnati sweetheart performed Alessia Cara’s “Scars to Your Beautiful,” she proved the power of the crown. Demonstrating a maturity beyond her years and a gigantic range, Kelly turned almost immediately. As Abby continued, Kelly’s need to be blown away was satisfied, indeed.

Kelly wasn’t finished, though. going into the night with just nine team members in place, she had room to add more, and Seattle’s Cody Ray Raymond was a good fit. Full of blue-eyed soul, the 26-year-old Air Force veteran dazzled the coaches with crazy vocal runs while singing Albert King’s “Born Under a Bad Sign.” Jennifer’s last minute turn threw even more excitement into Cody Ray’s moment, but he ultimately chose to go with the coach who turned first—Kelly.

Don’t worry, though. Adam also gained some viable contestants for his team.

Kansas City’s Jake Wells grew up singing gospel music with his family, and for a moment, it seemed as if no one noticed the texture of his husky, but tender tone. However, at the last second of his performance of Ryan Adams’ “When the Stars Go Blue,” Adam hit his button. “I turned for one reason,” he explained. “There was a lot of talent. I thought to myself, ‘This dude is different, and I love that about him.’ And to not reward that on this show would be the antithesis of what this show is.” Jennifer applauded her fellow coach and told Jake, “You have many different layers to your voice, so I commend you Adam for turning around and catching that. We can’t allow voices like this to slip through the cracks and be missed.”

There was no chance that the final contestant of the night was going to be missed, though. Originally from Lagos, Nigeria, 26-year-old Funsho nearly exploded with energy. Singing Bruno Mars’ “Finesse,” the young talent earned nods from Adam, then Jennifer, then Kelly. “A lot of times, people do uptempo songs, their voice gets lost in the music, but he was riding every note,” Jennifer said. “That’s what made me turn my chair. You’re amazing.” Kelly was a bit more coy, attempting to entice Funsho by telling him how cute he would look in one of her signature red jackets. After hearing Adam say, “I think you’re one of the best vocalists we’ve heard in the blind auditions, no doubt,” it was obvious why Funsho chose Team Adam.

Kelsea Ballerini added to her team of competitors on The Comeback Stage, too. In fact, the final slot on Kelsea’s team went to someone already familiar with the music business. Madison Cain is the daughter of super group Journey’s Jonathan Cain. But nerves got the best of Madison, who sang the super difficult Alanis Morissette hit “You Oughta Know.” Kelly told her it may have been a bit too perfect, and she wanted her to get angry in her vocals. Hopefully, that’s something that Kelsea can help her with.

Next week gives the coaches one more chance to complete their teams, but it also starts the beginning of the battle rounds where coaches can steal from other coaches. Celebrity advisors will also be joining the battle rounds. Adam will be joined by CeeLo Green, Thomas Rhett will mentor Team Kelly, Halsey will advise Jennifer’s contestants, and Blake will get a hand from Keith Urban.