‘The Voice’ Season 2: Novelty Reigns Supreme In Blind Auditions, Part 3

Rae Votta | February 14, 2012 3:00 am

Coming off a dose of tragedy in Whitney Houston’s passing, and then triumph in Adele’s sweep at the Grammys, we were in the mood to celebrate true vocal talent this week and part 3 of The Voice‘s blind auditions delivered.

As the first audition begins, the camera only reveals below-the-shoulder and silhouetted shots, leaving the performer’s gender in question. (In the bio, we find out this artist received label pressure to change their look.) Then comes the voice, singing a more country-inflected version of Lady Gaga’s “You and I.” When Cee Lo Green turns first, we find out the contestant is Sarah Golden, and just before she finishes Blake Sheldon turns as well. The two start bickering over her, with Blake saying he’s confident with Sarah as she is, and Cee Lo talking about diversity. Sarah opts for Cee Lo, and tells Carson it’s because the “Forget You” singer is inappropriate like her.

Sarah Golden – “You and I”

Pip (no last name given) has been singing since before he could talk, and sports a lovely bow-tie. He admits to a musical theater background, which can be the kiss of death on these reality competitions, but his rendition of The Animal’s “House of the Rising Sun” is more soulful than stagey. Adam Levine makes a fast selection, followed swiftly by the rest of the judges. Blake tries to lure him to a team without any boys, and Christina plays off her motherly instincts, but Pip picks Adam because he was the first to turn.

We learn that the next singer, Erin Willett, has a sick father, but she’s not letting the sadness of her father’s Stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis get her down. Her take on The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” has power and presence, and surprisingly it’s Blake who turns for her first, at Christina’s encouragement. Surprisingly no one else swivels, and so this unlikely pair are now mentor and mentee.

Katrina Parker, who rocks an Adele kind of vibe, was sidelined from singing for two years due to a mold-related sickness, but the (resultant?) rasp in her voice on Joan Osborne’s “One of Us” entices Adam to snap her up for his team. “I win,” Adam declares, as the audience laughs and cheers.

Geoff McBride wears his sunglasses at night not because he’s too cool, but because he has an old kickboxing injury. He takes us to church with “Higher Ground” as made famous by Stevie Wonder, which inspires the extremely picky Christina to turn her chair, and he selects her as his coach even after Cee Lo makes a compelling sales pitch.

Geoff McBride – “Higher Ground”

Model Erin Martin has showcased with various major labels that have told her she “needs development,” which the tall-haired beauty takes to mean “needs a coach.” She sings “Hey There Delilah” by Plain White T’s with a unique almost Björkian tone that prompts Blake and Cee Lo to turn almost immediately. Cee Lo embraces the weird and comes right out and says that “quite naturally you belong to me,” and Blake says he realizes his “down home family crap” is not going to work. And it doesn’t, as Erin selects Team Cee Lo.

Erin Martin – “Hey There Delilah”

James Massone‘s story about the shoot-out that killed the members of his former rap group may be a downer, but his grown-up-Justin-Bieber sound on “Find Your Love” is uplifting, and gets 3/4ths of the judges to turn their chairs. Naturally, this causes Massone to break down in tears. Christina is in awe that James is both white and out of high school, and James gives Adam sass for not turning with the other judges. James selects his first choice, Cee Lo, and Blake is endlessly frustrated as Cee Lo continues to snag recruits from his clutches.

James Massone – “Find Your Love”

Lucky Strike bowling employee Winter Rae has the rock star look down pat, with neck tattoos and a shock of blue hair, but she admits to Carson that Mariah Carey’s “Hero” is her favorite song of all time. Perez Hilton shows up to support her audition, a soulful yet rock edged take on Madonna’s “Take a Bow” that doesn’t win over any of the judges. At least she still have Perez on her side.

Chris Cauley shares adorable footage of performing with his grandmother, then sings Bruno Mars’ “Grenade” with an unexpected bluesy twang that gets the attention of Cee Lo and Adam. Chris tries to decide his fate with an arm wrestling match, but in the end selects Adam as his coach.

Chris Cauley – “Grenade”

We close the night with Jordis Unga, who has bounced around from punk to pop in her career, but pulls out Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” as her audition song, swaying all the judges save Adam. Blake calls her the person he’s been waiting for, and that her voice makes him want to push himself to be a better singer. While Christina tries to throw shade on Blake’s level of support, Jordis selects him anyway.

That’s all for this week! Do you think the judges made any missteps? Have we met the winner of this season of The Voice yet? Sound off in the comments, or on Twitter and Facebook.