‘The Voice’ season 23 episode 1 recap: New coaches Chance the Rapper and Niall Horan kick off blind auditions [UPDATING LIVE BLOG]

John Benutty and Denton Davidson
·8 min read
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“The Voice” returns for Season 23 tonight with all new contestants and a couple fresh coaches. The talent is exceptional and the competition fierce, as Grammy Award-winning hip-hop star Chance the Rapper and platinum-selling singer-songwriter Niall Horan claim their red chairs alongside returning coaches Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton.

The show’s innovative format features five stages of competition: Blind Auditions, Battle Rounds, Knockouts, Playoffs and Live Performance Shows. Shelton announced last year that this season would be his last. Can the nine-time champ make it an even 10 before signing off for good?

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Below, read our minute-by-minute “The Voice” recap of Season 23, Episode 1 to find out what happened Monday, March 6 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite artists on NBC’s long-running reality TV show, which coach you’re rooting for and who you think will ultimately join “The Voice” winners list for this 23rd season. Carson Daly hosts the Emmy-winning program.

SEE Everything to know about ‘The Voice’ Season 23: Mega Mentor announced

Keep refreshing/reloading this “The Voice” live blog for the most recent updates.

8:00 p.m. – “Previously on ‘The Voice’!” In last season’s finale, country singer Bryce Leatherwood of Team Blake ended up taking home the “Voice” trophy, giving his coach his ninth career victory. Bodie of Team Blake was the runner-up, followed by Morgan Myles of Team Camila Cabello in third, Omar Jose Cardona of Team John Legend in fourth and Brayden Lape of Team Blake in fifth. But enough about last year, it’s time to start the Season 23 blind auditions!

8:03 p.m. – The season kicked off with Kelly and Blake welcoming the new coaches to the show and Blake emphasizing how important it is for him to claim a 10th win this season because it’s his last.

8:05 p.m. – Blake started his final season aggressively by hitting the block button on Kelly for Neil Salsich‘s audition to “Honky Tonk Blues.” That didn’t stop Neil from getting a four-chair turn once both Chance and Niall also turned their chairs. Kelly highlighted Neil’s “old school country” vibe and his falsetto. Besides country, Neil told the coaches he dabbles in blues and rock-n-roll as well. Chance liked the runs and the tones to his voice, stressing that it would be cool for a rapper and a country artist to work together right out of the gate. Niall recognized Neil’s voice as a “seasoned veteran” and storyteller that he relates to. Despite the strong appeals from Chance and Niall, Neil chose to be the first artist on the final Team Blake.

8:14 p.m. – Next up were sisters Madi, Ana and Bella who make up the vocal trio Sorelle. Hoping to follow in the footsteps of Girl named Tom, Sorelle hit the stage for their audition to “Good Old-Fashioned Boy.” The race to claim them came down to Blake and Chance. Kelly acknowledged that it’s impressive they were able to “hang on to the dissonant harmonies,” but that’s something that held Chance back until he realized that it was intentional. Chance challenged the ladies to do a harmony to “The Wiz” on the spot as a way of showing what he could do with them and that convinced them to choose him as their coach.

8:27 p.m. – As a huge fan of his, country artist Holly Brand was hoping to get a chair turn from Blake with her rendition of “Mississippi Girl.” Kelly was the first to turn for Holly, followed by Niall and then Chance, but Blake did not. Niall compared her to Maren Morris and described how much he loves country music because of the storytelling. Chance thought she was spot-on on every note and that she has control over her range. Kelly compared her to Carrie Underwood and Faith Hill, saying that she has a voice that they don’t currently have in country music. Responding well to his passion to bring Holly to his team, Blake threw his support behind Niall, but she made her own decision and joined Team Kelly.

8:38 p.m. – Tasha Jessen‘s family of singers moved from Pakistan to Thailand escaping religious persecution before Tasha gained her green card last year and move to Colorado. Blake, Niall and Chance all went in for Tasha’s cover of “River.” Chance noted Tasha’s range and control while Niall pushed the narrative of having a fan base that will support her journey on the show and Blake stressed the honor of being on his final team. She joined Team Blake, making him happy to have an artist that no one else will sound like.

8:49 p.m. – Soca artist Star Martin from the U.S. Virgin Islands auditioned with “No Woman No Cry” because of her connection to Bob Marley through the Caribbean culture. After no one turned for her, Chance noted the shakiness in her voice, Niall was waiting for her “to take off,” and Kelly complimented her tone, but heard some pitch issues and advised her to do something with more range next time.

9:00 p.m. – Working gigs full time put pressure on Ross Clayton‘s time with his family so he came to the show for the first time in five years since giving up making a career in music. His audition of “Blue Ain’t Your Color” became the second four-chair turn of the season, starting with a turn from Blake. Chance connected with Ross on the topic of being a father and Kelly told him that she wants to help him showcase his vulnerable side. To stress his passion for Ross, Niall showed his trick of turning the chairs of the other coaches back around. Blake returned to the refrain of it being his final season and appealed to the fact that they’re both from Oklahoma. In the end, Niall’s strategy worked and Ross became the first artist to join Team Niall.

9:12 p.m. – Musical theater artist Michael B. was hoping to pivot to the pop and soul genre and wanted to catch the ear of Niall. Michael’s audition of “Save Your Tears” did exactly what he wanted to do, earning a spot on Team Niall automatically with only Niall turning his chair. Niall liked the control he had and was excited that Michael seemed open to working within multiple genres.

9:21 p.m. – Niall jumped in at the last second to go head-to-head with Kelly to bring D.Smooth over to their team after his audition of “Perfect.” Chance didn’t turn because he heard a couple “sour notes” despite seeing the control he had. Kelly liked that D.Smooth did something different with the song than the original and Niall understood the challenge that he took on with a song that doesn’t leave room for much breath. D.Smooth decided to join Team Kelly despite Blake doing his best to get him to join Niall’s team instead.

9:33 p.m. – Because of her personal connections to Blake, like being from the same hometown as him, Emily Rhyne was hoping that her version of “The First Cut Is the Deepest” would be what connects her to his final team. Unfortunately, no one turned their chair for Emily and so this was not her time. After hearing her backstory, Blake wishes he would have turned for her but he admitted that he wasn’t moved by her performance.

9:42 p.m. – British tube conductor Alex Whalen sang “Help Me Make It Through the Night” and seemed to impress the coaches quickly into his audition, but Blake and Chance waited until the end to turn their chairs. Kelly called Alex’s low voice his “superpower” and strongly suggested that he should join Chance’s team. Niall pushed for him to choose Blake, telling Alex and Blake was invested early on in the audition. Alex decided to go with Team Blake, but that didn’t stop Blake from thinking Chance is a formidable opponent.

9:53 p.m. – Noivas chose to audition with “A Change Is Gonna Come” in honor of his grandfather who grew up in the Jim Crow South and because it’s the first song he ever played on the guitar. Moments in to the audition, Noivas had earned turns from all four chairs, but this time Chance used his block button on Blake. Chance told Noivas that he made the song his own, Kelly mentioned that she’s a coach familiar with the show, and Niall complimented his “beautiful, sensitive moments.” Chance pulled out his trick of turning all the names on the floor to his own, and after admitting to planning to join Team Blake originally, Noivas picked the coach that blocked him from hat and joined Team Chance.

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