The Voice Recap: Hopeful Shane Q Gets Four Chair Turn With ‘Tennessee Whiskey’
Tammy Ragusa
It was an exciting first night on season 17 of NBC’s The Voice, that found coaches Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani already using their one “block” of the season—Blake blocked Kelly Clarkson and Gwen blocked boyfriend Blake.
As the second night of Blind Auditions kicked off, the team count
was as follows:
Team Blake: 2 Team Gwen: 3 Team John: 2 Team Kelly: 2
And as Kelly and John Legend were regaling in the fact that they still had their “block” option, the first contestant took the stage.
SHANE Q (28), Sacramento, California – “Tennessee Whiskey” by Chris Stapleton (most recently)
A special needs shuttle driver
FOUR CHAIR TURN: Gwen, Kelly, Blake, and John in the last second
GWEN: “I turned my chair before everybody else. Every time I thought your voice was one thing, you changed it until the very end until my eyes were back in my hair.”
KELLY: “I think the most beautiful part about you is you didn’t categorize yourself. I love going in and out of genres and that’s what I love about my career…you’re gonna be in the finale.”
Picked: TEAM KELLY
MAX BOYLE (23), Toledo, Ohio – “Wayfaring Stranger” / American folk song
Youngest of six kids
CHAIRS: John (blocked Kelly), Kelly
KELLY: “You are good. Come on with that
rock-and-roll falsetto. You should have been on my team.”
Picked: TEAM LEGEND
HELLO SUNDAY (Myla Finks – 13, Chelsea Grover – 14), Atlanta, Georgia – “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman
Met at a summer camp for young entertainers
CHAIRS: Kelly
KELLY: “I grew up singing in choirs, having to learn how to blend properly because I’m loud. I don’t know if you noticed. I’m just really good at helping you stay in sync. I think y’all have so much potential to be something magical.”
BLAKE: “I’ve literally watched Kelly sing and jump to different harmony parts. She’s so good at playing around with that stuff. It’s important that you have her in your corner because this is going to test your limits, but it’s going to be a lot of fun, also.”
Picked: TEAM KELLY
SIDE NOTE: According to host Carson Daly, Hello Sunday are the
youngest competitors in the history of the show.
EMILY BASS (16), Magnolia, Texas – “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift
Started singing at age 5, developed complex
regional pain syndrome in fourth grade
NO CHAIRS
GWEN: “I was so close. I love your tone.”
JOHN: “I think what we all were hearing was a
lot of potential that needed a little bit more polish.”
KELLY: “I promise, if you come back next season,
you’ll get chairs to turn.”
BLAKE: “I think sometimes, as coaches, we make a
mistake because we talk through these things and I hear us all saying ‘it was right
there.’ That’s when it dawns on me, yeah, that’s what we’re supposed to do on
this show, we’re supposed to coach you and then win the show. I hope you do
come back and give us another chance.”
ROYCE LOVETT (30), Tallahassee, Florida – “911” by Wyclef Jean and Mary J. Blige
Married with two little ones, wants to show them to never give up on their dreams
CHAIRS: Gwen, Blake
GWEN: “I turned first. I didn’t know if it was a girl or a guy. Obviously, I love you. This is not his lane, this is my lane. Your voice is so animated, you could feel the undertone of the reggae, but then you’re bringing it to this modern place, this rock place. I love that. Let’s mix it up.”
KELLY: “I love her and I love your voice. There’s one major reason that I didn’t turn because I saw her turn. And then I saw her dancing and I was like, ‘I’ve lost.’”
BLAKE: “Royce, I have a lake playlist that consists of Bob Marley and Jimmy Buffett who I know is seriously reggae. Alright, screw it. Just pick a coach.”
KELLY: “Do not pick Blake.”
Picked: TEAM GWEN
ELISE AZKOUL (28), Atlanta, Georgia – “Million Reasons” by Lady Gaga
Related to the late Paul Jabara who wrote “Last
Dance” and “It’s Raining Men.”
CHAIRS: Gwen
GWEN: “I love your tone, it’s so soft. Then you
kept showing more sides to your voice and I was like, ‘she has a strong side,
too.’ You just have to get the confidence.”
Picked: TEAM GWEN
CORY JACKSON (24), Johnson, Arkansas – “Galveston” by Glen Campbell
Getting married right after blind auditions
CHAIRS: Blake, Kelly, Gwen in last seconds
BLAKE: “I love your voice. You sang the crap out
of it and it was theatrical. A lot of Glen’s records were big-sounding for
country radio. Great job!”
GWEN: “If you wanted to take a risk, I could
help you with being really unique because that song, for me, is like a
crossover song. Do you want to be country?” Cory: “I do, I do want to be
country.” Gwen: “Oh…I’m kinda country now.”
KELLY: “I also studied classical and dabbled in
country. That’s my least favorite song of his, but I loved your voice so much,
I was like, I don’t care.”
Picked: TEAM BLAKE
SIDE NOTE: Kelly has been so into the competitor’s performances
that she hasn’t realized she has been blocked twice until after the song ends.
The Voicereturns on September 30 with more Blind Auditions and another opportunity for the coaches to add to their teams.