‘The Voice’: Jonathan Wyndham Nails A Great Big World’s “Say Something,” Joins Team Adam Levine

Caila Ball-Dionne | October 1, 2014 5:55 am

The novelty of pressing the buttons is officially over! Where as in night one of The Voice’s Blind Auditions Gwen Stefani, Pharrell Williams, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton seemingly hit the red circle just for the physical thrill of the chair spin (who can blame them?), by Tuesday’s night four they were like, “Not worth the vertigo, bro.” Some strong singers were turned away, and some stronger ones were only approved by one or two coaches.

Don’t worry: in keeping with true Voice tradition, it was still mostly all compliments, and there were still a couple inexplicable four-chair turners.

Don’t bother wondering what goes through their pretty little coach minds, just start picking your favorites from among those who advanced.

Katriz Trinidad,  15 – California

Teen beauty pageant winner Katriz Trinidad has been singing since the age of eight, yet she never received word that Etta James’ “At Last” is a super cliché audition jam. Luckily, she’s so good that her powerful voice earns spins from Blake, Gwen and Pharrell, the latter of whom stands and hypnotically stares into her eyes during her performance.

“I’ve been dreaming for an artist like you for my whole career,” he adds, dropping to his knees.

“I’ve had a lot of luck with teenagers,” says Blake, which, while true, can’t help but sound super creepy. “You deserve to win this show.”

“I feel like you’re almost a perfect singer,” says Gwen. “At the end, you hit a note that was so beautiful, it was just mind-blowing.”

Begging and pleading works on Katriz, who joins team Pharrell.

Ethan Butler, 25 – Illinois

Soulful singer Ethan Butler dedicates his performance to his sister, who has cerebral palsy. Perhaps it’s the predisposition to like him based on that alone, but his jazzy performance of Labrinth’s “Beneath Your Beautiful” is very sweet. Blake and Adam immediately turn around.

“You were so lost in it,” says Adam. “I’m dying to be a part of what you do.”

“You’re more than ready for this competition,” adds Blake, who goes on about how Ethan’s uncool positioning of the guitar proves he’s a real musician.

Ethan will position his guitar wherever he wants, and moves over to Team Adam.

Tanner Linford, 17 – Missouri

It’s a real nail-biter when returner Tanner Linford takes the stage. The teenager, who was rejected after his performance of Rihanna’s “Stay” last year, sings Alison Krauss’ “When You Say Nothing At All.” It’s not until the very last moment — when even his family backstage has given up hope — that Blake turns around. The 17-year- old just about loses it.

“I thought that was a girl!” exclaims non-spinner Gwen, deflating whatever joy Tanner may have been experiencing.

“I thought you did a great job, man,” says his new coach. “You’re meant to be on Team Blake.”

Jean Kelley, 29 – Tennessee

Feisty vocalist (which is a total Voice way to describe someone) Jean Kelley is already part of a band, but wants to make it on her own. She delivers an emotional performance of Kelly Clarkson’s “Already Gone,” and attracts the attention of both Blake and Gwen.

“I was on the fence about what you were capable of until the end when you hit that note,” says Blake.

“I can hear similarities in our voices,” says Gwen, who is a big fan of Gwen. “I hit my button because at the end you had all that range, a range I don’t have.”

After a brief interview from @NotThatGeneKelly, Gwen wins her over. Free shirt for you, Jean!

Chris Jamison, 20 – Pennsylvania

Voice hopeful Chris Jamison once played the peppershaker in his high school’s performance of Beauty And The Beast. If that doesn’t make you want to root for a triumph over adversity, nothing will. The only brother in a set of triplets, Chris apparently annoys his sisters with his amazing voice. He’s not annoying at all when he performs John Mayer’s “Gravity,” and he really goes for it with a whole slew of falsettos and runs. An interesting choice for a four-chair turn.

“It was really emotional, and I loved that,” says Adam, but adds, “If you were to do 85% of the stuff that you did it would have had a greater impact.”

“I think you got lost in the moment and you let it go, and I wasn’t mad at that,” says Pharrell.

“You recognized what this particular mission was, and it was to get somebody to push their button,” says Blake of Chris’s myriad runs. “You will have the spotlight on you if you join my team.”

Chris opts for constructive criticism, and joins Team Adam.

Craig Wayne Boyd, 35 – Tennessee

If you like mega amounts of fringe, mega amounts of vibrato, and a name that sounds like it belongs to a serial killer, you’re going to love Craig Wayne Boyd! The single dad sings Travis Tritt and Marty Stuart’s “The Whisky Ain’t Workin,” earns an obvious spin from Blake and a less expected (and futile) spin from Pharrell.

“There were a couple of ad libs in there that I thought, wow, these are super soulful,” say Pharrell.

“Let’s teach America some country music, what do you say?” says Blake. “Let’s turn The Voice into a honky tonk.”

Of course he wants to turn The Voice into a honky tonk. It was a valiant effort, Pharrell, but CWB joins Team Blake.

Toia Jones, 29 – Alabama

The stingy turns really come to a head with Toia Jones, a religious vocalist who even has what she calls a “holy dance.” Adele’s “One And Only” is a song that will either be performed really well or really poorly, and Toia nails it. It’s borderline shocking when Pharrell and Adam are the only two to turn around.

“You sang from the heart, and the canvas you painted was just so clear,” says Pharrell.

“There is no one like this on my team, so there is no competition for this particular style,” says Adam.

Toia joins Team Pharrell, and Team Everyone Else really misses out big.

Amanda Lee Peers, 29 – New York

Amanda Lee Peers used to enjoy singing at church, but was turned off from singing when her born again Christian faith cut her off for coming out as gay. Her now-girlfriend encouraged her to get back into music, which is lucky for everyone, because she is fantastic. Amanda sings ZZ Ward’s “Put The Gun Down,” and other than some breath issues, it’s incredibly entertaining.

Yet, again, not everyone is impressed. In fact, only Gwen presses her button.

“You guys are all really stupid, because she was amazing,” she says. Preach.

Jonathan Wyndham, 22 – South Carolina

Closing out the night is Jonathan Wyndham, whose own father lovingly (?) describes him as “dweeby.” He’s got a big personality, for certain, and is obsessed with going to every Cracker Barrel in the US. Having big dreams is important, y’all!

Jonathan sings A Great Big World’s “Say Something.” It’s beautiful, and he leaves it all on the stage. Speaking of the stage, the only disappointing aspect of the performance is that Xtina doesn’t come out from the floorboards in a lotus to harmonize.

Even sans Xtina, Jonathan earns spins from all four coaches.

“I loved how sincere it sounded,” says Gwen. “It just kept getting stronger and stronger.”

“I think this is a very small portion of who you are, and I need to see more,” says Adam.

“You’re not just a singer, you’re an artist,” says Blake, adding, “And we both like plaid.”

Choosing genre similarities over clothing pattern, Jonathan joins team Adam.

On the untelevised front, pop-hopeful Gianna Salvato joins Team Gwen, indie folk artist Rebekah Samarin joins Team Adam and 16-year-old singer Grant Ganzer joins Team Blake. He has a proven track record with teenagers, after all.

The Blind Auditions wrap up on Monday, when button stinginess is expected to reach an all time high. Get ready for some broken dreams!

Get an eyeful of even more pop music coverage, from artist interviews to exclusive performances, on Idolator’s YouTube channel.