‘The Voice’ Premiere, Part 2: Blind Auditions (The Fools Who Dream)

La La Land caught some flak this Oscar season for its lack of gritty realism, which is probably why it ultimately lost Best Picture to the starker and harder-hitting Moonlight. But there is some truth to Damien Chazelle’s fanciful cinematic ode to the fools who dream of showbiz success. Los Angeles is in fact teeming with many such real-life dreamers. And once in a while, as evidenced by coach Alicia Keys’s behavior on The Voice Tuesday night, sometimes people in L.A. do spontaneously burst into song.

Take the case of Lilli Passero — a “classic Los Angeles story,” according to Voice host Carson Daly. Raised on movie musicals, this 26-year-old actress-singer journeyed three years ago to La La Land, where she now waits tables while awaiting her big break. (She has even served lovebirds Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton on one of their date nights.) When Lilli tried out for The Voice this Tuesday, crooning a sweet Old Hollywood rendition of Carla Thomas’s old-school standard “A Love of My Own” that wouldn’t have seemed out of place in a Chazelle production, Alicia stepped right into the spotlight and created a moment of New Hollywood magic.

Honestly, this wasn’t just one of the greatest hard-sell coach pitches in Voice history — Alicia’s seemingly impromptu “Oh Lilli” serenade was actually better than Lilli’s audition! Lilli of course chose to join Team Alicia, and The Voice Season 12 may lead to her happy Hollywood ending. But if Lilli and Alicia ever duet together, Alicia (who has already dueted with another Team Alicia contestant, on Monday’s premiere) just may upstage Lilli and end up the real star of the show.

Sadly, Tuesday’s hourlong Blind Auditions episode offered few other standout moments. But hey, not everyone can shine all the time in the City of Stars. These were the other successful auditioners of the night…

Autumn Turner

I’ve said time and time again, over 11-and-counting seasons of Voice recapping, that song choice is ev-er-y-thing. And I’ll say it again, because I really wasn’t feeling Autumn’s song pick, “Last Dance” by Donna Summer. Autumn had a solid voice (save for a few wobbly moments; Donna is tough to take on) and a great look, and she could have taken the 1978 disco classic to a new, cool place. But she sang the song straight, and the old-fashioned, unoriginal result was very cruise ship/American Idol Season 2/hotel lounge/insert cliché critique here. Autumn and Summer were not a good mix!

Autumn eventually earned a four-chair turn, but I didn’t quite understand Adam Levine’s enthusiasm (he called her “not from Earth” and told her she “could easily win this show”) or Alicia’s claim that Autumn is “good at everything.” (Autumn is an ice-skating coach by day, which I suppose is impressive.) Autumn eventually went with Alicia, which was probably her best bet. But song choice will be crucial with this girl going forward. If Alicia lets her do another karaoke version of a dated disco hit, that’ll probably be Autumn’s last dance on The Voice.

MEMBER OF: Team Alicia

Jesse Larson

This 34-year-old Minneapolis everyman already has a Voice connection: In 2015, his band got a call from fellow Minneapolitan Prince, who was working with Season 4 finalist Judith Hill at the time, and Jesse ended up playing with Judith for a few months. There’s little doubt that Prince’s death hit Jesse hard, but even more tragically, Jesse’s father, the man who gave him his first guitar and inspired him musically, also recently died.

OK, with that backstory, I was expecting Jesse to pour plenty of pain and passion into his performance of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy.” But this was loungey and shticky. Jesse’s lite-funk/bar-band arrangement just wasn’t doing it for me. Apparently, it wasn’t doing it for three of the four coaches, because only Adam turned around, thus winning Jesse by default. But Adam was thrilled, prematurely bragging that he could “secretly snag the winner of this entire competition” and raving, “First of all, your playing is ridiculous, but the way you sing and the way you play, it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard in my life. I hear CeeLo Green in there; I hear the proficiency of Eddie Van Halen sometimes.” Hmmm. Adam seemed to think he had the next Laith Al-Saadi on his hands. But like Alicia, Gwen, and Blake, I wasn’t too convinced.

MEMBER OF: Team Adam

Aliyah Moulden

This girl is only 15, but she is already well on her way to having as long a résumé as Javier Colon or Alisan Porter, having performed on Jesse McCartney’s tour and at the BET Experience. However, despite that professional experience — and life experience, as the daughter of a single mom (Aliyah’s dad died of cancer when she was a baby) — she didn’t quite have the grit or gravitas to pull off the Big Mama Thornton version of “Hound Dog.” Kylie Rothfield did this skronky tune much more convincingly last season. The vocal chops were there, yes, but Aliyah’s vibe was pageant-y, a bit too Mickey Mouse Club. Again, this was a case of a good singer doing the wrong song.

However, the coaches heard potential. Alicia actually appreciated Aliyah’s song choice, saying, “This ‘Hound Dog’ song is kind of, like, grimy, and then, here you are, like pure. I love what you brought to it.” Gwen was a little more constructive, wisely saying, “One thing that you need to discover is, what is the message you want to give? I would love to work with you.” But Blake, who praised the “energy and power” in Aliyah’s vocals, won Aliyah over by name-dropping his successful young past contestants, like Danielle Bradbery. “You always get the young girls,” his girlfriend Gwen quipped ruefully (and a little awkwardly). “I just want a little girl to pick me! Don’t you think a little girl should pick me?”

MEMBER OF: Team Blake

Savannah Leighton

This 16-year-old, from the tiny town of Spring Garden, Ala. (population: 300), didn’t have Aliyah’s experience, but she had an equally powerful set of pipes. Katy Perry’s polysyllabic “Unconditionally” isn’t the easiest song to sing, but she handled it well and didn’t let the big ballad overwhelm her. This was not a mind-blowing audition, but Savannah showed promise for someone so young and green.

Eventually it all came down to Gwen and Blake, while Adam and Alicia passed the popcorn and watched the showdown from the sidelines. (“I am willing to get myself in bad trouble here, because I believe in you so much,” said Blake. “Looks like Blake may be sleeping on the couch tonight,” an amused Adam muttered.)

Gwen “Just a Girl” Stefani played the female card, citing her past as a teen singer as well as her current-day mothering skills. Blake played the geography card, as he often does, mentioning that he is from the South. But finally, a little girl did pick Gwen. And hopefully Blake’s not sleeping on the sofa tonight.

MEMBER OF: Team Gwen

Come back Thursday for a special one-hour Voice episode, when more Hollywood dreams will be realized — or crushed. See you then!

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