NBC’s ‘The Voice’ review: Sawyer Fredericks, Lowell Oakley, Steel Magnolia’s Meghan Linsey audition

This is “The Voice“! It’s finally back with new episodes, and hopefully new surprises. Tonight’s episode contained quite a bit of good stuff, including a few really good performers (Lowell Oakley! Joshua Davis!). With that being said, this show still has flaws. We’re tired of the show constantly using the sad, inspirational stories. Meanwhile, we also wish that the coaches would try to not overpraise as much as they do. For example, how many times has Adam Levine said that he’s heard the best performance on the show? Millions, it seems.

We’re not going to focus on the contestants who did not get a chair turn. These are the contestants that you are most likely going to be remembering for a while moving forward.

Sarah Potenza – A strong start to the season! We dig her style and her individuality, but more than anything, we dig her voice. She’s really soulful, but her lane seems to be southern rock. It’s interesting that Blake Shelton, who she picked, was acting like he’s never had anyone like her on his team before. She’s basically a female version of Craig Wayne Boyd.

Lowell Oakley – We love him. LOVE the sound. We’re a big fan of crooners, and for his age, his voice was buttery smooth and sensational. There’s almost nothing to be upset about here at all! We’re just assuming that the two-chair turn is mostly just because Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton were not into the genre tonight. He ultimately picked Pharrell, who really tried to sell him on making his own future.

Rob Taylor – Super soulful voice. Also, he hit a note that seems to be pretty darn impossible for anyone to hit. Christina fought for him like nobody’s business. If she fought this hard for every contestant, her team would be full in a split second.

Cody Wickline – Oh, how much we wanted to see him pick someone who was not Blake Shelton, who could’ve just sat there and done the chicken dance and would’ve got Cody on his team. Adam Levine was getting increasingly pouty at this point, and understandably so. He fought hard for this guy and his gorgeous country voice!

Treeva Gibson – “Young and Beautiful” is no joke as a song choice. It requires control, range, and emotion. Sure, one of those in her range was a little off, but at 16 years old, there’s room to improve. Christina will work with her to get the best out of her.

Meghan Linsey – We’ve actually heard of Meghan’s past group before, and this was a very cool, different sound for her. The funny thing here is that she knew Blake Shelton, and he was the only one who didn’t turn around! Given that she showed a passion for soul music, Pharrell was the right choice.

Joshua Davis – The losing streak for Adam continues. He’s a very good singer, but this surprised us. His sensibility was closer to Adam’s, and his experience in a band was helpful. Unfortunately, there may have been a few flaws in his pitch.

Sawyer Fredericks – Sawyer’s great. He got all four chairs to turn around, and the show is definitely hyping him up as a favorite to win the whole thing. Was he the guy to finally give Adam an artist for his team? Nope! He chose Pharrell, and this ends Adam’s worst night of auditions ever. A good night for us, though!

Who was your favorite tonight? Share below, and click here to get some other news worth singing about via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: NBC.)