‘The Voice’ Recap: The End of the Blinds, Beginning of the Battles, and Return of Gwen

(photo: ET Online)

We’re barely three weeks into this 10th season of The Voice, and already the coaches’ teams are complete. And already, the Battle Rounds are underway. And, already, Blake Shelton has reunited with his Season 9 boo, Gwen Stefani. Monday kicked off with the final Season 10 Blind Auditions, then immediately segued into the season’s first Battles, with Gwen serving as Blake’s guest mentor and making goo-goo eyes at him through her perfectly applied Gwen Stefani for Urban Decay eye shadow. Must-see TV!

There’s a lot to recap, to let’s get to it. To quote Gwen’s brand-new divorce album, this is what the truth feels like. And the truth is, Monday’s action-packed Voice episode was way more exciting than that basic Bachelor finale on ABC.

FINAL BLIND AUDITIONS

Jared Harder

This 22-year-old troubadour from the tornado-stricken small town of Joplin, Missouri made an interesting song choice with a gender-flipped cover of Kacey Musgraves’s “Merry Go ‘Round.” But the song choice was really the only interesting thing about him – and that was probably the only thing that inspired an amused Blake to spin around. I was hardly surprised that no other coach turned. Vocally, Jared was a bit meh, a bit soft-rock (but not in a cool, Hall & Oates-ish sort of way), and I don’t think Blake made the wisest decision when he squandered his final team spot on this guy. I suspect Jared will be Battles fodder; I doubt Gwen and her eye shadow will be impressed by him. Harder is in for a hard fall.

MEMBER OF: Team Blake

Moushumi

This New Jersey-born daughter of Indian immigrants – both of whom work in medicine and encouraged her to study cardiology in India – came to The Voice during a year off from her burgeoning medical career to pursue her first love, music. At first I thought her performance of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” sounded too feathery and whispery and vibrato-laden, and I was shocked by how quickly Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera hit their respective red buttons. But when she got to the chorus, I could tell she was really feeling what she was singing, really connecting, and that’s when I understood her angelic appeal. (And that, of course, is when Pharrell Williams turned, too.)

“I have nothing like you on my team. And I really think we could do something that hasn’t been done on the show before,” said Christina. “Your voice is so unique. I’ve never heard something so glassy,” said Adam. Pharrell made some comment about never hearing an Indian girl sing like this before – which was kind of weird. But Moushumi wasn’t offended. She picked Pharrell anyway. His comment may have been odd, but when it comes to music, most of the time Pharrell totally knows what he’s talking about.

MEMBER OF: Team Pharrell

Katie Basden

This student of Nashville’s Belmont University School of Music put her country career on hold when her father became ill with heart problems – but Dad was hanging out in the Voice lounge with Carson Daly and the gang on Monday, looking healthy, happy, and very proud. Katie belted her cover of the Allman Brothers’ “Midnight Rider” with a lot of joy and gusto (albeit not with as much grit as I would have liked), dedicating the performance to her classic rock-loving father, who introduced her to the song. Blake seemed impressed, but he couldn’t turn because his team was already full. (See what I mean? His spin for Jared was premature.) Fortunately for Katie, she had three other coaches to choose from.

“That was an Allman Brothers song. That is not a pure country song. It’s more Southern rock in there. Unfortunately, you don’t have Blake, but you do have someone that knows a lot about some of the kind of music you like,” argued Adam. (Going in for the hard sell, Adam even pointed out that he wrote a song with country sensations Lady Antebellum, “Out of Goodbyes,” in 2011.) “I just got back from Nashville not too long ago. And I’m a soul singer, and there’s one thing that country does have a lot of, and that’s soul and heart. And your voice is really powerful. It needs the right vehicles and the right song choices. And I would love to be your teammate and support you in this journey of The Voice,” said Christina.

Adam ended up winning this round. But would Blake go in for the Steal the moment he had the chance? We’d soon find out – very soon, in fact. (Spoiler alert!)

MEMBER OF: Team Adam

Jonathan Hutcherson

This 16-year-old Kentucky kid seemed like a Norman Rockwell painting come to life, basically the Voice Season 10’s equivalent of American Idol Season 10’s small-town hero Scotty McCreery. But he had a surprising backstory: Born hearing-impaired, Jonathan wasn’t even expected to talk, let alone sing. I was impressed by his excellent pitch, vocal control, and easy-going charisma as he crooned One Direction’s “You & I”; I would have never guessed that he had any hearing problems, or that his only performance experience before The Voice was at his local church and country fairs. This cute kid is so going to be the season’s heartthrob. The fact that picky Pharrell used his final team spot on Jonathan said a lot.

MEMBER OF: Team Pharrell

Ayanna Jahneé

This 20-year-old diva, with a magnificently regal hairdo that made Xtina’s clip-on topknot look like a puny Portlandia man-bun, made a striking impression on the Voice stage. But I think Adele’s Oscar-winning Bond theme “Skyfall” was way too ambitious a song choice. Her sometimes offputtingly deep vocals were wobbly and pitchy, and her nerves were clearly frayed. She was struggling to power through this 90 seconds. There was an interesting voice in there somewhere (not an Adele-level voice, mind you), but it’d take a true expert coach to coax it out of her.

Well, maybe Christina will be that coach!

MEMBER OF: Team Xtina

And thus, the coaches’ four teams were complete. Let the Battles begin!

FIRST BATTLE ROUNDS

TEAM ADAM: Katie Basden vs. Ryan Quinn

Katie had barely settled in after the Blinds, but through the magic of NBC editing, here she was already with Adam and (rejected Idol contestant!?!!) Tori Kelly, preparing to face off against one of Team Adam’s standouts, hunky children’s musical therapist Ryan. It looked like all of Katie’s screentime would be quickly condensed into this one-and-done episode. Adam even admitted, right then and there, that Ryan was a “frontrunner” and would be tough to beat.

Adam chose Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” for this duo, likening Ryan’s high voice to Lindsey Buckingham’s and Katie’s to that of the throatier Stevie Nicks. (So… why didn’t Adam have them do a Fleetwood Mac song, then? I would have suggested “Tusk,” with Pharrell and Adam backing them on marching-band drums. But that’s just me.) Despite the pair’s vocal differences – and Ryan’s frontrunner status – this was an unexpectedly equal Battle. Katie made a few contorted facial expressions that seemed disingenuous and were distracting, and Ryan stole the show with one crazy power note, but I would not say that Ryan ran away with this like I had assumed he would.

“Very impressive, guys. I remember, Ryan, your performance from the Blinds, and I thought you were gonna just murder it. But Katie, while I thought his range was high, your range went even higher, so this is a really tough one. I would not want to be in Adam’s shoes,” said Christina.

Adam saved Ryan – duh – which set up Christina perfectly for the Steal. But then Blake played dirrty and hit his button as well. I’m sure you can figure out what happened next…

WINNER: Ryan Quinn

STEAL: Katie Basden moves to Team Blake

TEAM BLAKE: Brittney Lawrence vs. Paxton Ingram

As one of few non-country singers on Blake’s team, Paxton seemed to have the edge here – if only because Gwen, who clearly has Blake’s ear right now, might gravitate towards Paxton’s funky-fresh, ‘90s-influenced R&B style. The song for this Battle, “I Know What You Did Last Summer” by Shawn Mendes and Fifth Harmony’s Camila Cabello, seemed more in Paxton’s wheelhouse, too. (Side note: Gwen was quick to note that this song is about cheating. Awkward.)

In some ways, actually, “Summer” suited both singers. Brittney had the big, 5H-style voice, but Paxton had the proper pop sensibilities. Simply put: There was no doubt (heh) that Brittney possessed the mightier pipes, but Paxton was the one who truly seemed like a star.

“Brittney, you have a really pretty, pretty voice. I would say that the only area in which Paxton has you is his attack. And there’s some quality that he’s got to his voice that’s kind of different, so I don’t think this is a matter of better or worse. I think it’s a matter of preference,” said Adam.

Blake preferred… Paxton. The other coaches preferred not to steal Brittney.

WINNER: Paxton Ingram

TEAM XTINA: Bryan Bautista vs. Malik Heard

Carson Daly called this “one of the greatest battles in Voice history.” Hyperbole? Maybe not! It was pretty damn amazing. It brought a lot of drama. The only thing not dramatic about this Battle was the fact that we all knew, no matter what the initial outcome, that one of these charismatic contestants would be stolen. In fact, after this Battle, before Christina had even announced her decision, all three of the coaches were aggressively angling for the Steal.

Tearing into “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World” with gusto after getting some sage advice from one of the late James Brown’s old pals, the one-and-only Patti LaBelle, Bryan was more forceful and manly, definitely the alpha male of these two. But Malik was serving young JB/MJ realness. Both gave thrilling, finale-level performances. Man, Christina really made a mistake by putting these two in the ring together. “I am literally the loser in this battle,” she lamented, before grudgingly choosing Bryan. “That was maybe my toughest decision I’ve had to make [on The Voice] of all time.”

And then… there was a three-way! Get your minds out of the gutter, people. Sheesh. I mean a three-way Steal, of course. Malik weighed his all of his options and joined Team Pharrell. Smart kid. It might be Malik’s, Malik’s, Malik’s world, after all.

WINNER: Bryan Bautista

STEAL: Malik Heard moves to Team Pharrell

So Monday’s show-closing Battle definitely set the bar high. Will future Season 10 Battles be as exciting? Will there be any more “three-ways” or Gwen/Blake PDA? Tune in Tuesday as the Battle Rounds continue apace, and find out.

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