‘The Voice’ season 24 episode 1 recap: Reba McEntire claims her red chair in ‘The Blind Auditions Season Premiere’ [LIVE BLOG]
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“The Voice” is back for Season 24 and the competition gets fierce as Queen of Country Reba McEntire claims her red chair alongside last season’s champ Niall Horan and returning coaches John Legend and Gwen Stefani. Who will reign supreme as they vie to discover and coach the next singing phenomenon?
The four-time Emmy Award-winning musical competition series “The Voice” returns with the strongest vocalists from across the country invited to compete in the show’s newest season, airing September 25 on NBC (8pm PT/ET). The show’s innovative format features five stages of competition: Blind Auditions, Battle Rounds, Knockouts, Playoffs and Live Performance Shows.
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Below, read our minute-by-minute “The Voice” recap of Season 24, Episode 1 to find out what happened Monday, September 25 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 24th season. Carson Daly hosts the Emmy-winning program.
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, pop singer Gina Miles of Team Niall ended up taking home the “Voice” trophy, giving the rookie coach his first championship. Grace West of Team Blake Shelton was the runner-up, followed by D. Smooth of Team Kelly Clarkson in third, Sorelle of Team Chance the Rapper in fourth and Noivas of Team Blake in fifth. But enough about last year, it’s time to start the Season 24 blind auditions!
8:03 p.m. – Clearly in honor of Reba’s debut, the first artist to take the stage was a female country vocalist and guitar player taking on Reba’s classic hit “Fancy.” Reba was the first coach to turn her chair for Jordan Rainer, but once she did Gwen and Niall followed right behind and then John chimed in a bit later to make it an official four chair turn. Jordan told the coaches that she chose the song because of how it represents strong women she “feels that song with every bone in [her] body.” John called Jordan an “exceptional vocalist,” Gwen pitched that it’s not about her not being a country musician but about being able to help her grown in the competition, Niall said that her energy in the performance matched the energy in her vocal, and Reba promised that they’d have “a lot of fun” working together because of their shared experiences in Nashville. By no surprise, Jordan stuck to her roots and joined Team Reba.
8:13 p.m. – The next artist was 16 year old Joslynn Rose, a magician’s assistant from Minnesota. She says that their magic shows revolved around music and that the job has helped build her confidence on stage. Her performance of “Arcade” was a slow burner for the coaches who hit their buttons toward in the end in quick secession — only John held back from pressing his. He told Joslynn that he regrets he didn’t turn his chair. Gwen thought Joslynn sang “so emotional” and so she was surprised that she could connect to such a mature lyric. Reba said that having her as a coach would mean learning lessons that Reba had to “learn the hard way.” Joslynn decided to join Team Gwen, the perfect fit for a young female artist.
8:24 p.m. – As a touring member of “Hamilton,” Deejay Young says he “lives in a suitcase” and as a principal standby in the show he’s used to having to occupy many different spaces at a moment’s notice, but coming to the show is his chance to “tell [his] own story.” John and Gwen were the first two coaches to turn for his rendition of “This Woman’s Work,” with Reba following behind as Niall sat back in thought. It was clear to Reba that Deejay had experience on stage, Gwen offered to be his “really good cheerleader” and “someone to bounce off of,” and John enjoyed his ability to “combine the masculine and the feminine in a song.” With three potential coaches on the table, Deejay decided to join Team Legend.
8:35 p.m. – Next to sing for the coaches was Sophia Hoffman with “Tell Me You Love Me,” resulting in the first head-to-head of the night between Reba and Niall. Sophia first auditioned during season 23, but did not get a chair turn that time so this, her second chance, was the right time for her breakthrough. Niall couldn’t believe that Sophia is only 18 years old because he heard “grit and maturity” in her voice and Reba said she has “such strength and power” in her voice. In the end, Sophia couldn’t resist the Niall smile and so she became the first artist on his team.
8:46 p.m. – Sam Dearie from Ohio has used social media as a “really great outlet” for his music — he’s gone viral with over 7 million views on one video already. As an admirer of retro music artists and style, it was fitting that he auditioned with “Walkin’ After Midnight.” During the performance, John said that “Blake would love this,” but unfortunately for Sam Blake wasn’t there to turn and none of the other coaches turned. Gwen explained that the choices he made were “untamed” and John added that he needs “more control” in his execution.
8:50 p.m. – Sam was followed by 21 year old Jackson Snelling from Indiana with “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away.” Both Jackson and his brother are autistic and Jackson described singing to his brother as a kid to help him communicate and eventually gain comfort speaking. Gwen and Reba went head-to-head to bring Jackson to their teams with Reba emphasizing that country music is her foundation and Gwen stressed that she just loved his voice because it “cradled the lyrics.” Because of the country connection, Jackson couldn’t help joining Team Reba.
9:07 p.m. – During part of the pandemic, Alexa Wildish lived in her van and toured the country “writing songs in nature” and honing her sense of self. Fittingly, she chose “Songbird” to sing in her audition in the hopes that it would impress Reba. Not only was Reba impressed, but Niall and John were as well — the three of them hit their buttons at the same exact time. Gwen eventually jumped in to make it another four chair turn for the night. Gwen could tell that Alexa is a songwriter by the way she sang as if she knew the story, Niall pitched that he got goosebumps listening to her despite “a little pitch issues,” Reba “felt a really peaceful feeling” and thinks that’s more important than being pitch perfect, and John countered that the important part for him was how she made all of the coaches feel because of her singing. Alexa entered the night wanting to pick Reba, but was swayed by another and became the new member of Team Niall.
9:20 p.m. – The next artist was 19 year old Olivia Minogue with “Lay Me Down” who won over John, Niall and then Reba. Niall told her that her voice is “something special” because of the rasp and then ascended the stage once it became clear that Olivia is a huge fan of him. John was frustrated that it was appearing impossible for Olivia to choose anyone other than Niall, but Gwen came in to remind Olivia to not get distracted. Reba said that she has a lot of experience to help guide Olivia and John pointed out that he’s performed the song before and challenged her to make the unexpected decision. Naturally, Olivia couldn’t not choose Niall so she became his third team member.
9:31 p.m. – The next experience of being on set reminded small town Alabama native Jarred Billups that music was his path to “change lives.” His version of “Let’s Stay Together” did not do the trick to change the direction of Jarred’s life though. John explained that he took on an iconic soul song, but his run didn’t “help tell the story in the right way.” Gwen added that the runs weren’t in the right spots.
9:40 p.m. – Next up as Kristen Brown, a California girl growing up with a fisherman dad, listening to classic country music and touring at a young age with a girl group. Gwen was the first coach to turn for Kristen’s rendition of “Blown Away,” but Reba wasn’t going to let a female country vocalist just default to another team. Reba said she did the Carrie Underwood song justice and loved her enthusiasm despite pitchiness. Gwen proudly noted her own country hits with Blake and offered to “share with [her] all that [she’s] learned.” Shocking the panel, Kristen decided to go with Gwen over the country legend Reba.
9:50 p.m. – The last artist to audition in the premier was 21 year old Mara Justine from New Jersey who has been singing since she had lessons as an 8 year old. It didn’t take long for John, Gwen and Reba to hit their buttons as soon as Mara began singing “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” Niall jumped in to the fray a bit later. Niall thought it was a big risk for her to go for Elton John in her first outing, Reba loved her confidence and stage presence, John said her tone in the lower elements and the finesse in the lighter moments stood out, and Gwen added that there’s a lot of different beautiful parts to her voice. Niall pulled out all the tricks to pull Mara over to his team, but John offered to sing his song “All of Me” with her. When it came time to make a decision, Mara struggled to choose and we were left with the dreaded “to be continued tomorrow night…”
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