THE VOICE 2 SPOTLIGHT: The Blind Auditions #3

THE VOICE 2 SPOTLIGHT: The Blind Auditions #3

While American Idol has been spiraling downwards, The Voice has been ascending as a newer and fresher alternative but truth be told, the past couple weeks I haven't been feeling like the talent has been superior at all to that of the contestants on Idol. Where The Voice has excelled has been with its singers being allowed greater artistic freedom, starting with the live audition rounds.

1) Sarah Golden - 27 - Houston, TX
"You and I" (Lady GaGa)
Cee Lo, Blake
Team Cee Lo

Okay, so I believe they did this last season with Emily Valentine as well but I really couldn't for the life of me understand why they blurred her out. I just found it to be rather sexist more than anything else. She's a very butch looking woman and I think the producers thought that either she would remind people of "Pat" from Saturday Night Live or that she would be too butch for America, which would really be odd considering the show is based on just the voice and the audience has certainly reflected that. You know, after Beverly McClellan and Vicci Martinez were on last year. I'm not quite sure what was all that off putting about her physically. She certainly didn't have the most powerful voice in the world but it had some character and tone and I guess the producers were really more interested in building a story line and perhaps it is because they were only so-so on her actual talent and doing this shifted the focus to a compelling story about an artist struggling to being taken seriously as an artist. Whatever it was, it was rather quite unnecessary.

2) Elley Duhe - 19 - Vancleave, MS
"Mercy" (Duffy)

I found her performance to be very rattled and nerve-riddled. Her pitch and tone were very compromised in my opinion and I just felt like her control was lacking as well at certain points. Some vocal lessons could help straighten her out a bit but it just felt like she wasn't quite on cue and it would have been nice to have heard the judges give her more constructive feedback.

3) Pip - 19 - Marietta, GA
"House of The Rising Sun" (Eric Burden & The Animals)
Adam, Blake, Christina, Cee Lo
Team Adam

Another forced (and force-fed) contrived story of overcoming some level of adversity but Pip was still very interesting. I felt Adam Levine really nailed it with his comments about Pip probably being a musical chameleon. Whether it is Pip's natural sense of fashion or not, his attire is exactly up the show's alley and he definitely showed up to play the game as all four judges fawned over him once it was time for their feedback and pitch. I'm not quite sure Pip will be a favorite so to speak but I do think he has that underdog favorite (please excuse the oxymoron) quality to him and he could appeal to a lot of different people, especially young females. My guess is that he'll either be early fodder or he'll be a popular dark horse. I did correctly predict his choice in Adam as a mentor. He said it was because he was the first one but I think he really just liked the fact that Adam said he could be versatile and that is probably what sealed the deal for him.

4) Erin Willett - 22 - Gaithersburg, MD
"I Want You Back" (Jackson 5)
Blake
Team Blake

Erin's father is dying from Stage Four pancreatic cancer but she has chosen to embrace the time they still have together more than dwell on her father's condition. Dad was enthusiastically cheering on his daughter in the screening room with Carson Daly. I found her voice to be strong although not overwhelmingly distinctive. Her father turned noticeably emotional despite showing remarkable restraint.

5) Katrina Parker - 34 - Hollywood, CA
"One of Us" (Joan Osbourne)
Adam
Team Adam

While I'm not sure mold in your house qualifies as a true sob story, it's quite possible it did at least help center her ambition somewhat. I think the real story is that she has unbelievable tone, pitch, and control. She hit the trifecta of vocal range and I couldn't believe that only Adam turned his chair. Her voice definitely did not match her appearance and I'm really surprised that Cee Lo or Christina didn't seem as inclined to want to hit their buttons. Adam was technically right in that she missed some parts but he was also quite right about it being more nerves oriented. Carson was also absolutely right about Adam being the pickiest of the four judges.

6) David Grace - 28 - Santa Fe, TX
"Sweet Home Alabama" (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

The football player-turned coach-turned singer has only been singing for three years. He is definitely singing the right kind of music for his voice; the southern rock was right up Blake and Adam's alley but they showed great reluctance to turn their chairs. I think his voice wasn't overpoweringly distinctive enough for any of the judges' liking but I think he had a great rock band voice.

7) Geoff McBride - 51 - Santa Rosa Beach, CA
"Higher Ground" (Stevie Wonder)
Christina, Cee Lo
Team Christina

The former kickboxer (hence the shades) channel both his father and the legendary Stevie Wonder during his audition. I wasn't absolutely blown away by this performance but I did certainly appreciated the elements in his voice. He had great authoritative soul but I didn't think he really could have gone wrong with his two options. I was genuinely torn about who he should or would choose but I think he liked the fact that Christina turned her chair first and that lack of hesitation probably appealed to him.

8) Erin Martin - 27/28 - Chicago, IL
"Hey There Delilah" (Plain White T)
Blake, Cee Lo
Team Cee Lo

They said she was 28 and then proceeded to list her age as 27. The self-described Egyptian Warrior Princess certainly didn't lack any confidence. She also possessed a rather intriguing tone reminiscent of Gin Wigmore or perhaps even Duffy for that matter. Erin said that she was completely unaware of both Blake and Cee Lo turning their chairs because of the crowd's energy. She ultimately went with the judge who perved her more. So is her girlfriend her girlfriend or her friend? Cee Lo might not want the answer to that question.

9) James Massone - 23 - Boston, MA
"Find Your Love" (Drake)
Christina, Blake, Cee Lo
Team Cee Lo

The 23 year-old mechanic from a family owned and operated auto shop actually had a rap background. There was actually an argument that turned into a deadly shooting, leaving four dead, at his house. His brother was supposed to be there but wasn't. It's interesting because even though I'm from Lawrenceville, New Jersey and I am there right now, I spent seventeen years in New England and only moved back two years ago. I remember this story. It was all over the New England media for awhile and even his name sounded vaguely familiar. He was clearly emotional after three of the four judges turned their chairs (and Massone confidently ribbed Adam for not turning his around). I must admit I wasn't overly impressed with him but he did show rather great pitch and tone and I think that is what ultimately appealed to the judges. I accurately predicted his choosing of Cee Lo solely based on the fact that he pumped his fist when Cee Lo turned around. I do think he could appeal to female viewers.

10) Winter Rae - 26 - Los Angeles, CA
"Take A Bow" (Rihanna)

The 26 year-old waitress with the blue hair was surprised by Carson Daly while waiting on a table. Her table was visibly enjoying sharing the experience. Again, I was reminded of Emily Valentine. She is also apparently a personal friend of infamous blogger Perez Hilton. In fact, Perez Hilton was actually there to support her. She missed a few spots and ultimately missed a chance to latch onto any of the teams. She was soulful but perhaps it was just too understated, which Christina correctly pointed out.

11) Chris Cauley - 27 - Atlanta, GA
"Grenade" (Bruno Mars)
Cee Lo, Adam
Team Adam

While I found his story about playing with his grandmother heartwarming and I found him to be extremely likable and charismatic, I do wonder if his voice is strong enough to go deep into the competition. I personally liked him and he came off as being extremely relatable but I thought his voice was good albeit not necessarily great. Still, I was ever so slightly surprised that Adam edged out Cee Lo. I would have thought it'd be the other way around, based on his super-slowed down version of "Grenade" but Adam was hardly a horrible choice either. He probably had the two best options for him vying for him. With the right guidance he could perhaps go a little bit further into the competition than would have otherwise but I don't see him being a serious threat or at least at this point in time.

12) Nathan Parrett - "The Joker" (The Steve Miller Band) (Adam Levine)

13) Brian Fuente - "Paris (Oh La La)" (Blake Shelton)

14) Moses Stone - "Let's Get It Started" (Black Eyed Peas) (Christina Aguilera)

15) Jordis Unga - 29 - Los Angeles, CA
"Maybe I'm Amazed" (Wings)
Blake, Christina, Cee Lo
Team Blake

I instantly thought she could be this year's Vicci Martinez. I would like to hear more of her, truthfully. I think I saw and heard her high ceiling more than anything in this performance. She has a similar range and I was actually quite surprised that Adam didn't turn his chair around as well. I thought Blake had the best line of all when he mentioned how Dia Frampton was out touring with him at the time of the taping. Christina's response about not having her time divided was decent but Blake's pitch was ultimately too strong. He was the first to turn his chair around and the fact that he's still collaborating with Dia Frampton and touring with her signaled stability and post-show fortitude and commitment and for all my criticisms of these shows for  not doing enough for their own products once they're not on them anymore, this on top of Blake being the first to hit his button was more than enough to gain him another valuable piece for his team.

Truth be told, I wasn't exactly overwhelmed comparatively speaking to other rounds of the show but I definitely see some potential standouts for sure. I didn't think anyone was horrible or even sub-par per se for that matter but I do believe that with some proper guidance some of them can materialize into stronger singers and artists. Still, I really hate saying, or even just sounding like I wasn't impressed because I do think they are all very talented singers; I just didn't feel as though there were was anyone truly blowing me away tonight. Is Jordis Unga in the coveted pimp spot better than Angel Taylor? I'm not quite sure I'd necessary go that far just yet but the season is still way too young say anything on that account or anything else for that matter.