The Voice Recap: Mike Jerel Has Coaches Fighting For Him

The heat was on for coaches Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, John Legend and Blake Shelton as the fourth night of Blind Auditions kicked off in the 18th season of The Voice. At the start of the show, Blake was leading the team count with six members on Team Blake, while the remaining coaches had five each. So, with only one more night of Blinds left and only ten slots per team this year, the gloves were off and it seemed a matter of time before host Carson Daly had to intervene as referee.

Ding-ding! Let the fourth round begin!

ANAYA CHEYENNE (16) – Atlanta, Georgia

• Auditioned with “I’ll Never Love Again” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper

Chairs turned: 1 – Kelly, 2 – Blake

JOHN: “At the beginning, you sounded like you might be a little young, a little shaky and a little nervous, but by the end…it was really exciting.”

KELLY: “God’s honest truth, I didn’t have your range at 16. I had to work for that. All those notes and then you kept going…I want to prep you for making a record. I want to prep you for tour.”

BLAKE: “It wasn’t just that you went from here to here, it was all the stops you made along the way…Sometimes the greatest combinations of artist and coach are the ones that people don’t expect. I’d be very proud to be your coach.”

• TEAM KELLY

MANDI THOMAS (33) – Memphis, Tennessee

Opera singer

• Auditioned with “Time to Say Goodbye” by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman

Chairs turned: 1 – Kelly

NICK: “I had goose bumps the whole time. I don’t know a whole lot about opera, but I’m a fan of yours now.”

JOHN: “If anybody is going to coach you, Kelly should coach you.”

KELLY: “That’s the great thing about being a classically trained singer, you can sing anything…I’ll let you sing whatever you want, but I do think we should visit this often.”

• TEAM KELLY

ARI TIBI (27) – Calabasas, California

• Auditioned with “The Joke” by Brandi Carlile

NO CHAIRS

BLAKE: “This is disappointing for all of us. You were so close. That’s when we should push and know that we can get in there and work with you.”

JOHN: “I would advise you, come back because I think you’re right there.”

JACOB MILLER (29) – Eden, Wisconsin

Inspired by music from the 20s, ragtime and folks music.

• Auditioned with “The Times They Are A-Changing” by Simon and Garfunkel

Chairs turned: 1 – Kelly, 2 – Blake, 3 – Nick

KELLY: “I would love to see how we translate what you’re doing and still stay in that vein…I’d love to take current people like the Brandi Carliles and the Kacey Musgraves, people who have songwriter stuff and put your spin on it.”

BLAKE: “You have a very specific thing that you do that you need to be protective of on this show. You can’t be an experiment and you can’t be pushed into things that don’t represent who you are.”

NICK: “Regardless of the outcome of your experience on the show, I would be excited to spend some time with you in the studio, write some music, find what you want to say, who you want to be as an artist. We’re prepping for our next stage as far as music goes, my brothers and I, and your voice mixed in with the three of ours could be really interesting.”

• TEAM NICK

JOHN MULLINS (32) – Nashville, Tennessee

Wife suffered brain injury, but is doing well.

• Auditioned with “Don’t Give Up On Me” by Andy Grammar

Chairs turned: 1 – Blake

KELLY: “I’ve been in Nashville for quite a bit, they probably don’t know what to do with you. That voice is big! You are very gifted.”

NICK: “If there’s an opportunity to steal you later, I’m going to snatch you right up.”

• TEAM BLAKE

JACOB DANIEL MURPHY (27) – Oak Grove, California

• Auditioned with “Till You Come Back To Me” by Aretha Franklin

Chairs turned: 1 – Blake

NICK: “I’m shocked. I did not expect that to be you. It was phenomenal and I think I messed up.”

BLAKE: “I’m having the best day right now because I went back there and mixed myself a drink and I came out here…and I just heard this singer and I thought, ‘There’s no chance I’m going to get this person, I’m not even going to bother.’ And when I saw not a single chair turned, I thought, ‘I’m robbing a bank right now.’”

• TEAM BLAKE

ZAN FISKUM (22) – Seattle, Washington

Lives in an RV on her parent’s property.

• Auditioned with “Light On” by Maggie Rogers

Chairs turned: 1 – Nick, 2 – John, 3 – Kelly

BLAKE: “That was incredible and you probably deserved a four-chair turn and I’m the jackass that didn’t give it to you, but it doesn’t matter, you’re on The Voice anyway.”

JOHN: “I’ve been waiting to be inspired today, I haven’t turned for, literally, anyone…You have this beautiful tone, you have the power in your voice, but you also have that subtlety, ethereal quality that feels angelic.”

KELLY: “Your tone comes with reverb. It’s a really cool quality you can’t teach people, it’s just God-given. I turned around because I think you sound magical.”

• TEAM LEGEND

CHAN FUZE (23) – Chicago, Illinois

• Auditioned with “Groove Me” by King Floyd

NO CHAIRS

KELLY: “This setting wasn’t the perfect environment for your talent, but I do think you should keep singing.”

RODERICK CHAMBERS (38) – Miami, Florida

• Auditioned with “Back At One” by Brian McKnight

Chairs turned: 1 – Nick

NICK: “I was transported back to that moment that I first heard that song.”

• TEAM NICK

JULES (15) – Peoria, Arizona

• Auditioned with “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” by Cage The Elephant

Chairs turned: 1 – Blake, 2 – Kelly

KELLY: “I am shocked that you are 15, I definitely would have said you were 21, 22 listening to you…you have a lot of control. You have, like, Celine Dion lungs going on…I’m very glad you’re here, no matter what team you end up on. I do have a cute jacket, though.”

BLAKE: “To completely dismantle that song and put it back together the way you did is so impressive. And I don’t care that you’re 15, I care about how freakin’ talented you are.”

• TEAM KELLY

JARED HARPER (22) – San Francisco, California

Deaf in his right ear

• Auditioned with “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones

NO CHAIRS

JOHN: “You have ridiculously cool tone. The only thing that made me hesitate was there were some pitch issues.”

BLAKE: “This sucks, man, I’m sorry. That gravely, natural rock voice you have is so cool. I still feel like there’s another notch of energy you could turn up.”

MICHAEL WILLIAMS (18) – Mason, Ohio

• Auditioned with “You Say” by Lauren Daigle

Chairs turned: 1 – Nick

KELLY: “You’re so cute! You look like a young Tom Cruise.”

NICK: “He (Blake) has been saying from the beginning, which I gotta be honest, I didn’t fully understand at first until this moment. It’s our job to coach these artists. It’s our job to take the potential and make them the best they can be…I can’t wait to coach you.”

• TEAM NICK

MIKE JEREL (31) – Ashburn, Georgia

• Auditioned with “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” by Tom Jones

4 CHAIR TURN: 1 – John, 2 – Nick, 3 – Kelly, 4 – Blake

KELLY: “You just lit the room on fire…You’re very, very talented. I loved all those runs, it was effortless.”

JOHN: “Everything you did was done with such a level of confidence, note for note, you had a plan, you knew where you wanted to go…I would absolutely love to coach you.”

BLAKE: “You were singing notes in a place in your voice that is incredible. Everything that happened to me when I turned around was a shock and I think that’s what you’re going to do every time you get on stage is blow people away.”

NICK: “If I were in your shoes, I would pick John. But wouldn’t it be nice to win the competition with the coach no one expected?”

• TEAM LEGEND

Remember, with just one more night of Blind Auditions, each team has just two slots yet except for Team Legend, which has three, so expect all of the coaches to be even pickier than they were during the fourth night of auditions.