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Season 12 of "The Voice" has just finalized the first week of the blind auditions.
Editorials 0

Recapping Week 1: Season 12 of “The Voice”

By Sam Bodnar · On March 6, 2017


Season 12 of the hit Emmy winning show, The Voice, came back on Monday and showcased diverse artists from all over the United States. With four hours of blind auditions, there were plenty of bright spots with singers demonstrating a lot of potential.

Monday Feb. 27

The kickoff episode with new coach Gwen Stefani brought out the soft side of Blake Shelton and energized judges Adam Levine and Alicia Keys on opening night. Eight artists got the judges’ attention, however, only two are worth raving about.

Artist Audition Song Rating (1-10 scale)
Stephanie Rice

Coach: Gwen Stefani

  • Age 28
  • From Texas
  • Two chair turns

“Piece by Piece”

Genre: Pop

Instruments: Piano

Original Artist: Kelly Clarkson

(6.5) Rice delivered an emotional performance backed by heavy subtext and the empowering playing of a piano.

  • Her falsetto is gorgeous and the tone of it (as well as her belt) is very powerful
  • Range was not extensive and her transitioning into the high part of her belt was out of touch from her diaphragm

JChosen

Coach: Gwen Stefani

  • Age 30
  • From Georgia
  • Four chair turns

“Sexual Healing”

Genre: R&B/Soul

Instruments: keyboard, Synthesizer, drums, snares, and bass drum

Original Artist: Marvin Gaye

(8) JChosen (Josh Hunter) exhibited so much power and range in his blind audition

  • Extremely accurate falsetto
  • Good control over his lower register
  • Pieced music together to add a bit of funk in the verses and soul in the chorus
  • Only detractor is that his vowels aren’t always round, which causes some of the notes to be slightly sharp

Tuesday Feb. 28

This episode featured five artists that won the hearts of judges. Once again, however, only two caught my attention

Artist Audition Song Rating (1-10 scale)

Savannah Leighton

Coach: Gwen Stefani

  • 16 year-old HS Sophomore
  • From Alabama
  • Two chair turns

“Unconditionally”

Genre: Pop

Instruments: keyboard, synthesizer, drums, and guitar

Original Artist: Katy Perry

(5.5) Leighton displayed an array of beautiful qualities in her performance on Tuesday night.

  • Tons of power in her upper register
  • Vibrato was inconsistent
  • Connection to a subtext was unnoticeable
  • Range was stronger and larger than most from this night’s episode, but collectively it is not as extensive as past winners have possessed

Lilli Passero

Coach: Alicia Keys

  • 26 years-old
  • From New York
  • Three chair turns

“A Love of my Own”

Genre: Pop

Instruments: piano, guitar, bells, drums, and synthesizer

Original Artist: Eric Benet

(7.5) Passero established the melody in a livelier manner than Benet’s composition and brought forth feelings of inspiration and jazz/soul vibes in her voice.

  • Added a fluid stop and start with drums and piano between verse and chorus
  • Round vowels and a clean vibrato
  • Gorgeous falsetto
  • Strong range, but had a minimal use of her lower register

Thursday, March 2

Five more artists were showcased and realized their dreams by making it onto a coach’s team on the third episode of the blind auditions. While only one artist caught my full attention, there are two artists that deserve honorable mentions: Quizz Swanigan and Julien Martinez.

Swanigan is the youngest competitor ever, and this 13-year-old sang a solid rendition of “Who’s Lovin You” by The Jackson 5. Despite being inexperienced in his stage presence and vocal controls, this kid displayed a lot of promise.

Martinez also sang the first rock song of Season 12 with “Pride and Joy” by Stevie Ray Vaughn. While his diction was very messy, his scream at the end, along with his power, makes him a unique addition to the show.

Casi Joy, a country artist from Kansas, sparked four chair turns for her performance of “Blue” by LeAnn Rimes. Her pipes are well tuned and the yodeling that she exerted was “the craziest thing [Adam Levine had] ever heard.” The acoustic guitar and Nashville country twine help Joy deliver an uplifting message, which earns her a 6.5. Coach Blake Shelton was more than happy to accept this voice onto his team.

Adam LevineAlicia KeysBlake SheltonCountryGrammyGwen StefanimusicNashvilleneeds editingPopR&Bseason 12SoulThe Voice
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Sam Bodnar

Sam Bodnar is a sophomore at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. He is a Journalism Major and will be working with the Indiana Daily Student in the fall of 2018. He is one of the youngest staff writers for MEB and the former Editor-in-chief for his high school publication, "The Sage." He looks forward to many more unique experiences with MEB and the journalism world.

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