NBCOn his first night as a new coach on The Voice, John Legend very much made his presence felt. He nabbed three artists, including two who got all four chairs to turn, while veteran coach Blake Shelton — who blocked John during the opening performance — also nabbed three. Kelly Clarkson and Adam Levine tied with two artists.
Twenty-five-year-old Matthew Johnson was the night’s stand out, closing the show by getting all four coaches to turn their chairs while he performed Kirk Franklin‘s gospel song “I Smile.” John described Matthew’s voice as “big” and “powerful” and said that his “energy lit up the room.” Comforting words for Matthew, who chose John because of their shared affinity for the church.
Another four-chair-turner was New York City waitress Maelyn Jarmon, who moved the judges with her rendition of Sting‘s “Fields of Gold.” Maelyn, who’s slightly deaf in one ear, also chose John as her coach.
The most upbeat and unlikely performance of the night belonged to Kim Cherry, who sang and rapped during her performance of “No Scrubs” by TLC. Even more unlikely, she chose Blake as her coach after he implored her to lean into her uniqueness and pick him as her coach: “Let’s have ’em talking about it on Twitter.”
Twenty-nine-year-old Rizzi Myers from Nashville, Tennessee performed Ariana Grande‘s “Breathin’.” Kelly turned her chair, followed by Blake and then John. However, Clarkson hit the Block button to knock John out of the running. It may have proved unnecessary, as Rizzi told Kelly that they previously met backstage at one of her concerts when she was 17 years old.
Other contestants that performed at the blind auditions include:
Gyth Rigdon, 24 years old, country singer from Louisiana.
Sang: “Drift Away”
Judges: Blake, Kelly and John turned; Gyth chose Blake.
Karen Galera, 19 years old, sang in Spanish.
Sang: “Mi Corazoncito”
Judges: Kelly and John turned; Karen chose Kelly.
Trey Rose, 26 years old, single parent.
Sang: “Wake Me Up”
Judges: Adam and Blake turned; Trey chose Adam.
Lisa Ramsey, 33 years old, auditioned last season but no one turned around.
Sang: “Sex on Fire”
Judges: John turned; Lisa chose John.
Jimmy Mowery, 31 years old, lost his father tragically.
Sang: “Attention”
Judges: Adam and John; Jimmy chose Adam.
Nathan & Chesi, 28 and 27 years old, respectively; married couple.
Sang: “Waymore Blues”
Judges: No one turned.
LiLi Joy, 15 years old, loves to wear wigs.
Sang: “Cool”
Judges: Blake turned; LiLi chose Blake.
AJ Ryan, 30 years old, went to college on a music scholarship.
Sang: “Love Runs Out”
Judges: No one turned.
The Voice returns Tuesday at 8:00 ET/7:00 CT on NBC.
Copyright © 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
