The Voice review: Shawn Sounds, Denton Arnell, Mari Jones, & more
Check out our full take on some of the most-notable auditions of the night below. For more thoughts on auditions, check out the video below and subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube — you don’t want to miss some future scoop! We also have an official playlist that is worth your time.
Beth Griffith-Manley – Lots of great, old-school soul in her voice. She’s 46 years old and she’s one of those people who you struggle to figure out how she never found stardom before now when she so clearly deserves it. That low register especially feels like the sort of thing that is going to make her stand out within this competition. Team Kelly.
Selkii – We saw her previous blind audition, but really had no idea that she would make the bold move of pairing up with Blake Sheldon. Who would’ve thought that she’d pick someone who doesn’t really have a good sense of her musical styling? The advantage of her being on this team is still the fact that Blake has something to prove with her — and given that he doesn’t have a whole lot of country artists as a whole, he may be more inclined to keep her around. Team Blake.
Denton Arnell – He’s gonna be known for proposing to his now-fiancée at the end of his audition. Yet, we don’t want to completely overlook the slick, soulful version of a Drake song during the audition itself. We don’t know if the coaches just don’t love Drake or something, but he only ended up getting a single chair turn — luckily, it was from the coach best suited for him. Team John.
Mari Jones – Love her style. We also love equally that she doesn’t sound quite like anyone else we’ve had a chance to see on the show over time. She’s got a soul and a cool sense of style. We were absolutely surprised by her chair turn pick — is Adam the right coach for her soulful sound? We’re not sure. Team Adam.
Abby Kasch – A mainstream country singer, otherwise known as the sort of artist that both Blake and Kelly would love to have! We’ll admit that the story of Kelly getting a singer like her a little bit earlier this season was kind of endearing, but here? We’d already had the narrative, and we think that Abby appreciated that Kelly enjoyed some of the same country music that she did. Team Kelly.
Mikaela Astel – She’s only 14 years old, which makes her at an age when this competition can completely chew you up and swallow you whole. The nice thing with Mikaela is that we don’t think this really happened with her tonight … but we do also think that she’s got some work to do in the event she wants to be a major player down the road this season. The biggest thing that she’s got going for her is that she’s got that sort of airy, quirky voice that’s worked for other people in the past.
Kayla Seeber – This was unique and we applaud her for the hustle — doing a jazzy, funky cover of Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time” was a risk, and we think you had to turn for the artistry alone. Yet, it didn’t feel like she even got close to a chair turning around since nobody was really reaching for that button.
Shawn Sounds – Our final contestant! He’s a singing teacher with a cool voice, and someone who already had a little bit of viral-video success in the past. We did Shawn a lot and think that he could be really successful — at least in terms of him being a lock for the live shows. He got all for chairs tonight, but who did he pick? A very happy John. Team John.
What did you think about tonight’s The Voice blind auditions overall? Share now in the comments. (Photo: NBC.)