The Voice Season 2 Premiere Recap

February 9th, 2012

The Voice kicked off their Season 2 premiere in two parts this week, with coaches Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton experiencing the first rounds of blind auditions. For those unfamiliar with the concept, this is where the coaches sit in chairs facing away from the stage, and listen to contestants perform a song. If any of the judges like what they hear, they push down on a button on their chair, which swivels around to reveal their chosen contestant. If two or more coaches press the button then the contestant must choose which coach to work with.

Watch Season 2 of The Voice every Wednesday at 8 pm ET on MuchMusic!

The part one premiere included a bunch of added talent to the different teams. Blake Shelton started off by convincing 17-year-old country singer RaeLynn to join him after she sang Miranda Lambert’s (Shelton’s wife) Hell on Heels. Shelton openly said he would be able to make her a country star.

Next up was 42-year-old soul singer Jesse Campbell, who had a few life struggles leading up to his performance. His rendition of A Song for You captured the ears and attention of all four judges, leaving him to make a big decision. Cee-Lo Green and Christina Aguilera began fighting over why he should choose them. But Campbell ended up choosing Aguilera, saying “You said you would fight for me, and I’m ready to fight,” he said.

Then there was 25-year-old Juliet Simms, a raspy-voiced rock and roll singer from Florida. Simms got the attention of Levine, Aguilera and Green with her take on Oh! Darling. After Levine and Aguilera bickered a bit over who was more deserving of getting the contestant, Simms ended up choosing the quiet Cee-Lo after he said “Baby, I am so thoroughly impressed and in awe of you. Your voice is amazing. I heard the story of myself and my life in that performance.”

Twenty-nine-year-old Chris Mann was next on stage. The guy studied opera at Vanderbilt University, and decided to belt out his true musical style, which is opera. He performed Andrea Bocelli’s Because We Believe, which got the attention of Green and Aguilera. Aguilera ended up persuading him to join her team, saying, “I know what to do with real vocalists.”

And finally we have Tony Luccam, a former Mousketeer from his days on The Mickey Mouse Club with Aguilera. He decided to sing Ray LaMontagne’s Trouble, which caused Levine, Aguilera, Shelton, and Green to hit their buttons (Levine ended up pushing Green’s button too just before the song ended). “Please, please, for the love of God, pick me,” says Levine. Lucca ends up picking the Maroon 5 singer. Aguilera didn’t seem to recognize her old cast mate when he was performing, but realized who he was backstage and caught up to say hello and congratulate him.

With that, the roster numbers so far for the season are:

Shelton: 1

Levine: 1

Aguilera: 2

Green: 1

When the second part of the season two premiere kicked off, viewers saw all four coaches on stage performing a Prince medley, which involved costume changes, and a sparkling red Cee-Lo Green. Kinda crazy.

In the auditions, the first act up was a duo from Nashville called the Line. They sang Tom Petty’s American Girl, and grabbed the attention of everyone, except Levine. Aguilera showed that she’s very interested in having them on her team, reminding them how a duo didn’t do well on Shelton’s team last season. They end up going with the pop singer.

Next up was 37-year-old Gwen Sebastian who explained that she’s given up having kids to pursue a career in music. Levine, Cee-Lo and Shelton turned around for her cover of Sugarland, and Sebastian ended up going with Shelton. At this point, Levine had failed to attract a singer to his roster this episode, but found luck with 50-year-old Kim Yarbrough. The large lady belted out Tell Me Something Good, and is persuaded by Levine’s complimentary remarks. Angie Johnson is up next, who sings out a rocked out cover of Heartbreaker, to which Cee-Lo spins around with interest, convincing her to come aboard.

Jermaine Paul was next on stage. He’s a bulk-up backup singer for Alicia Keys, and also has a young daughter. He sang a gruff version of Complicated which caught the interest of Cee-Lo and Shelton. “I’m glad I turned around, though, because I want you on my team,” says Cee-Lo. Paul counters by thanking him, but saying that he’d rather be needed, than wanted. Or better yet, kept. Blake tells Paul straight up that he has some work to do, but that he’s willing to coach him there. Boom, that’s enough for Paul.

And finally to wrap it all up, Angel Taylor took the stage to sing Adele’s Someone Like You. Levine, Shelton and Cee-Lo all turned their chairs around with interest, and Levine smooth-talked his way into snagging Taylor onto his roster.

With that, the roster numbers so far for the season are:

Shelton: 3

Levine: 3

Aguilera: 4

Green: 3

Make sure to catch The Voice every week, Wendesdays on MuchMusic at 8:00pm!

Tags: music, News, The Voice