“The Voice” recap: 'The Blind Auditions, Part 5'

Trae Patton/NBC

As much as they might pick at each other, it's clear that the coaches are starting to catch a case of the gush bug at this stage of the auditions. "This group of people is really, really fun," Adam Levine says. "Everyone has so much respect for each other." You couldn't tell it, of course, from all the constant insults they lob at each other in front of the singers, but still. The mush is tasty already this season.

Tonight's crop is pretty evenly spread, although Gwen Stefani nabs two to Adam, Alicia Keys, and Blake Shelton's one team add apiece, but their audio offerings couldn't be more diverse this evening. Here's what went down on tonight's fifth blind audition round (of seven!) on The Voice.

Johnny Gates (31 – Providence, RI)

"Maggie May" by Rod Stewart

With Gwen doubling up on the pop-rock star coach game this season, it feels like we've seen an uptick in alternative vibe contestants making it through. Johnny Gates has some peppiness to live up to his testimony of being inspired by Taylor Swift, and yet he's still steely enough to pull off an old school number like this one. Alicia's impressed with his tones, which to his credit never wavered, while Gwen digs his presence and Blake loves his storied touring history with Rod Stewart and thinks he's got a Mick Jagger thing going for himself (cue the requisite "Moves Like Jagger" pun). Ultimately, he decides to align with Team Gwen because, in his words, "us garage band kids have to stick together." Rock on.

Team: Gwen

Malik Davage (23 – Washington, D.C.)

"Sure Thing" by Miguel

We've seen a lot of sob stories play out on The Voice over the years, and several people have been reduced to real tears on this stage before, but the emotional response to Malik Davage's fortune to turn Adam's chair affects everyone. Not only does Gwen offer him a motherly embrace in response to his happy crying, but Adam gives up his precious red chair to his newest squad member and invites him to kick up his heels and stay a while. Certainly, this young father of one precious little girl has a chance at a lasting tenure here on this show, but his silky sound will still need some tinkering before he can really compete with the rest of Adam's increasingly talent-stacked team. Judging by his gracious attitude, though, he's going to be ready to work when the time comes for battles.

Team: Adam

NEXT: Girls do just want to have fun…

Lauryn Judd (16 – Draper City, UT)

"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper

Whether you're a fan of her music or not, Cyndi Lauper has certainly made a lot of her childlike vocals and wholesome lyrics, and it looks like Lauryn Judd here wants to replicate that… except with a lot more vocal breadth and dynamism at her disposal. Her mellow arrangement of the '80s classic has the same upper register reach as the original, but she slips into a fuller voice that's so distinct from the first verse approach that Alicia's even convinced there's a second singer on the stage behind her for a second (hey, duets do happen here from time to time). Alicia's impressed enough to give her a chair turn alongside Gwen and Blake, and Lauryn's drawn to Alicia's promise to help her pull out the stronger tones from her array of options.

Team: Alicia

Paul Adrian (20 – Irving, TX)

"I Got a Woman" by Ray Charles

Another day, another letdown. This time, it's Paul Adrian, who's been grieving the loss of his father, a service member in the Iraq War, and wants to live up his dad's legacy by playing the kind of soul music he used to enjoy. His mature tones have Adam and Gwen surprised when they turn around after the performance to find that he's not a "75-year-old," as suspected, but they tell him all hope is not lost just yet. Gwen explains that his notes got a little wobbly mid-song, but he still did have Alicia grooving, so they think there's still time to retool his performance approach by dialing down on the dancing and honing in on his voice control.

Team: N/A

Caroline Sky (16 – San Anselmo, CA)

"Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" by Carole King

This season is all about the kiddos, isn't it? There've been so many minors taking the stage to impress these coaches that this season might appropriately be dubbed Voice Junior. Anyway, Caroline Sky here is young but certainly sounds seasoned enough to get some attention from our panel of coaches — particularly lovebirds Gwen and Blake. She's got a little of the husk that made Carole King such a standout, but mostly her power is in her control and, as Gwen puts it, "patience" in delivery. Gwen pulls out her trump card over her beau — that she too was a young woman with dreams and knows what this journey is like for someone in that position — and it sparks a comical debate about whether Blake really does want to know why girls just want to have fun or not. It's a winning proposition on Gwen's part, though, and so she adds yet another to her team tonight with some potential to spare.

Team: Gwen

Josh Hoyer (40 – Lincoln, NE)

"Oh Girl" by The Shylights

Girl power might be the unofficial theme of the night, and Josh Hoyer is participating in his own way by crooning about ladies. And that's something Blake is keen on as well, so it's a match from the word go, even though Gwen makes a solid pitch about identifying with his working parent status. Josh's voice is one of those generational transplant types that transcends his era, which isn't something we've seen too much of so far this season, so Blake tells him there's no one on his or anyone else's team quite like him right now. He wants to groom him to stand out his "lane" of music — which means we should expect to hear a lot of his inspirations, like Otis Redding, Curtis Mayfield and James Brown, on his song list this season. Hey, this could work.

Team: Blake

FINAL STANDINGS:

• Team Adam: Johnny Hayes, Mark Isaiah, Jesse Larson, Julien Martinez, Kawan DeBose, Taylor Alexander, Gaby Borromeo, Josh West, Malik Davage

• Team Gwen: Joshua "JChosen" Hunter, Stephanie Rice, Savannah Leighton, Brandon Royal, Troy Ramey, Aaliyah Rose, Johnny Gates, Caroline Sky

• Team Alicia: Anatalia Villaranda, Felicia Temple, Autumn Turner, Lilli Passero, Quizz Swanigan, Jack Cassidy, Missy Robertson, Lauryn Judd

• Team Blake: Lauren Duski, Brennley Brown, Aliyah Moulden, Ashley Blake, Casi Joy, Micah Tryba, Josh Hoyer