Alicia Keys & Kelly Clarkson on “The Voice”; Trae Patton/NBCThe Voice kicked off its final week of blind auditions on Monday, with Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Alicia Keys and Kelly Clarkson putting the finishing touches on their teams.
Also back on Monday was “The Block,” which gives the coaches one chance each to block one of their rival coaches from getting an artist. Clarkson put hers to good use, stealing an artist from Keys.
Here are the highlights of Monday night’s episode:
Nashville resident Stephanie Skipper, 33, performed Clarkson’s “Piece by Piece,” because she shared Kelly’s story of her father not being in her life. Kelly was moved to tears by the performance, but didn’t turn around. However, Blake and Adam did. Shelton couldn’t match Levine’s pitch, praising the singer’s ability to bring attention to the story and won this round easily, adding Stephanie to his team.
Tish Haynes-Keys’ musical aspirations got sidetracked when she got pregnant at 15 years old. She took the first step in getting her career back on track with a powerful cover of Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools.” Kelly and Adam both turned their chairs around, but Levine’s advice for Tish to think beyond her vocal power and try new things convinced the singer to choose him.
Bransen Ireland, who works as an Apple Store genius in between music gigs and raising a family, drew chair turns from Blake and Adam with his take on Don Williams’ “Tulsa Time. “You’re a genius from the Genius Bar, offered Adam, “So don’t be a PC about this.” Blake admitted the competition on his team — which already boasts several talented country singers — would be tough, but might also “make you work your butt off.” That’s what Bransen wanted to hear, and he joins Team Blake.
Livia Faith, 17, convinced Blake, Kelly and Alicia to turn their chairs around with her unusual choice of “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” the 1931 classic recorded by a number of artists, most famously in 1968 by The Mamas and the Papas’ Cass Elliot. Alicia won the artist by arguing that their mutual love of soul music, oldies and classics would “absolutely take over The Voice.”
Choir director Gary Edwards also sings pop music, and chose Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” for his blind audition, touching off one of many battles of the evening between Adam and Blake. “There’s just something intrinsically about you and what you do that really, really does transcend everything,” Levine declared, adding the two of them could go “all the way.” That was good enough for Edwards, who joins Team Adam.
Soul/R&B singer Hannah Goebal earned a four chair turnaround with her rendition of “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys, who was knocked out of the running when Kelly used “The Block.” Blake’s argument that Clarkson “crushed” the artist’s vision of working with Keys failed when Kelly shot back, “That’s how bad I wanted you,” adding, “We could be so great.” Kelly’s strategy worked, as she snatched up an artist that would’ve definitely gone to Alicia.
The blind auditions continue with a one-hour The Voice episode airing Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
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