The Voice Season 17: The Blinds Wrap Up and the Battles Begin

End of the Blinds and Battles Part 1:

Zoe Upkins sang Angel of Mine by Monica-- I would say she is so good, she just needs to work on breath control. At the age of 16, Zoe sings with a great seal of maturity. Very predictable that she chose John as her coach. Hopefully she'll become available later. As a result, Team Legend is full.

Matthew McQueen sang Someone You Loved by Louis Capaldi-- He might be a dark horse on Blake's team. Matthew picks Team Blake and becomes the last member of his team because he says someone in his family had a dream that he was on Blake's team.

Gracee Shriver from Oklahoma and only 16 becomes the last member of Team Kelly, and also 16, Caroline Reilly was a match made in heaven for the final spot on Team Gwen.

Team Legend: Khalea Lynee vs Zoe Upkins-- The Boy is Mine by Brandy and Monica--
Strange how we saw Zoe perform at the beginning of the show and she has the first battle with Khalea Lynee and they're singing another Monica song. Usher returned to help John advise and made some great points to help Khalea and Zoe. While John didn't flex his creativity as a coach with this pairing or the song choice-- everything worked. Both ladies were great, funny part is that after what should have been an alley-oop for Zoe, John picked Khalea and Kelly and Gwen tried to steal Zoe. This season the coaches all have one steal and one save. Unfortunately, John used his save and Zoe accepted.



Next battle wasn't interesting to me--

It was Team Blake: Josie Jones vs. Kat Hammock-- Take Me Home Country Road by John Denver. Interesting song choice, but these two teens are both have old school vibes. Blake ended up choosing Kat to move forward.

Team Kelly: Melinda Rodriguez vs. Shane Q-- Too Good at Goodbyes by Sam Smith-- Wow, these two are powerhouse vocalists; I think Kelly nailed it with the song choice. They are both clearly gifted and both deserve to move forward and that's exactly what happened. Kelly chose Shane and saved Melinda.



Battles Part 2:

Uneventful episode-- there was really no one here who impressed me. 

Myracle has some potential so let's see what happens with her going forward. 

Results Advancing to the Knockouts: 

Alex Guthrie – Team Kelly
Myracle Holloway – Team LegendMax Boyle – Team LegendCali Wilson – Team BlakeKatie Kadan – Team LegendDestiny Rayne – Team Gwen (Stolen from Team Legend)

Eliminated:

Injoy Fountain – Team Kelly
Elise Azkoul – Team Gwen
Matt New – Team Legend
Elliemae – Team Blake

Battles Part 3:

I loved this first battle between Jared and Will. The two Team Legend singers battled it out on Treat You Better by Shawn Mendes. Jared definitely has the bigger voice and range. However, Will brings style; I found him a little cheesy to be honest, hopefully he can tone that down in the knockouts. 

I thought that previous battle was great until Team Blake brought us Ricky and Marina singing Valerie by Amy Winehouse. First off, I love that they totally carved this song out and made it into their own styles. They both have amazing voices, and I agree with Kelly in that they brought out the best in each other. Ricky has this undeniable tone and Gwen said it--- He's a star! Marina is impressive as well and is ready for her big break. I think both of them need to move forward. Kelly hints that she will steal whoever Blake doesn't pick. It doesn't matter though because Blake picks Ricky and saves Marina, and she chooses Team Blake again! 

Another battle from this episode that I want to showcase is between Kiara and Royce from Team Gwen. They sang Turn Your Lights Down Low by Bob Marley. Royce is a reggae singer but he was just exceptional in this. The big surprise was how bright Kiara shown in this performance; she was strong and stood toe to toe with Royce. She was his equal in this and they had great chemistry. Blake said Kiara had the higher mountain to climb but Royce just hit his groove with this performance. Gwen picked Royce, saved Kiara, but Kelly stole and Kiara went with Kelly! 

Last battle from this episode I want to showcase is another Team Gwen pairing-- James and Kyndal singing I Could Use a Love Song by Maren Morris-- This was totally tougher for James since he isn't exactly a country artist. His voice has such pretty colors in it, and Kyndal's voice is just so charismatic. Gwen picks Kyndal, saves James, but so does John, and the episode ends with him having to choose between Gwen and John. 

Results Advancing to the Knockouts:

Will Breman – Team Legend
Ricky Duran – Team Blake
Marina Chello – Team Blake Saves
Jake Hoot – Team KellyDamali – Team Kelly
Gracee Shriver – Team Kelly
Royce Lovett – Team Gwen
Kiara Brown – Team Kelly steals from Team Gwen
Joana Martinez – Team Blake
Kyndal Inskeep – Team Gwen
James Violet – Either Team Gwen or Team Legend

Eliminated

Jared Herzog – Team Legend
Steve Knill – Team KellyBrennan Lassiter – Team KellyBrooke Stephenson – Team KellyMatthew McQueen – Team Blake

Battles Part 4: 

Wow and James actually goes with John! Bad move James!

All-righty, well I watched all those battles and none of them intrigued me-- so there are the results right below.  

Results Advancing to the Knockouts:

James Violet – Stolen by Team Legend from Team Gwen
Zack Bridges – Team Blake
Marybeth Byrd – Team Legend
Rose Short – Team Gwen
Jessie Lawrence – Saved by Team Gwen

Eliminated:

Cory Jackson – Team Blake
Dane & Stephanie – Team Legend

The Voice Season 17: Night 1 of The Blinds

I wanted to recap tonight's premiere a little differently--- 

Katie Kaden sang Baby I Love You by Aretha Franklin-- I loved this! She is so different. Kelly talked about how Katie reminded her of the lead female singer from the Alabama Shakes. This is definitely someone in my opinion who should be around for a while in this competition. This was a four chair turn, Blake blocked Kelly. Sadly it did not pay off because Katie chose Team Legend.

I do have to say, I already miss Adam, the show just does not seem the same without him. I obviously love Blake, Gwen, and Kelly. I am still not used to John. 

Jake HaldenVang-- Need to say I wasn't a fan. Blake, Gwen, and John turned. Gwen said she and Kelly thought he was a woman at first from his tone. Jake chose Team Gwen.

Jay Miah-- This drag queen from Tampa performed a song from The Greatest Show. I actually enjoyed his performance. He needs some refining. No one turned but Jay should come back! 

Brennan Lassiter sang You Are My Sunshine-- This was a four chair turn and this was a performance! Again, this is someone who could make it to the live shows. Brennan is pure vocal talent at its best. She is a well deserved four chair turn. In my opinion, she should have gone with Blake, but she chose Team Kelly.

Rose Short sang Preach by John Legend-- Rose was a pleasant surprise. I'd argue she did John Legend's song better than John Legend did. This was so soulful and strong. Rose is someone I could see in the lives. Rose chose Team Gwen.

Will Breman sang Say You'll Be There by The Spice Girls-- Will has a unique sound, and there's a freedom in his voice that is really cool. To me, he reminds me of certain people--- Michael Buble, a little bit of Jason Mraz, John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw. He will need to be consistent and study hard to stay in this. I was shocked that he chose Team Legend. 

Alex Guthrie sang Love and Happiness-- This is a fave R&B jam of mine. Alex has sold beyond his years and time. What's going to be important for him is honing his skills even more, he cannot sound like anyone else. He had soul but he could have dug deeper and dirtied it up a little more. Alex chose Team Kelly, and I do think she will help him do this. 

Kat Hammock sang Vienna by Billy Joel-- I'll be honest-- I don't remember this performance, it wasn't memorable for me. I'm surprised the chairs turned. The performance lacked dynamics for me. I hope Blake can bring it out of her. Kat chose Team Blake. 

CJ Washington and Timmy Hood both don't turn any chairs unfortunately. 

Marina Chello sang Walk Me Home by Pink-- Marina, you can tell, comes with so much experience. She's a great vocalist and has so much confidence. Her run towards the end of the song was strong. Blake said he was drawn to the power in her voice. Kelly liked that she has 80% more to give, and didn't start out with her best song. Marina chose Team Blake-- I think this is going to be a great match up!

Kyndal Inskeep sang Never Been to Spain-- Kyndal was cool, don't know if I would have used a block on her like Gwen did but to each their own. Maybe Gwen liked her that much that she thought it was worth it. One thing I will say, her tone is real cool, what style she wants to pursue will be interesting because she can go in several directions. Kyndal chose Team Gwen.