Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Christina Aguilera is back, trying once again to become the first female coach to lead a singer to victory on The Voice.

Don’t worry, Gwen Stefani will be back too. She’ll be Blake Shelton’s “advisor” during the battle rounds.

Other battle round advisers will include Sean “Diddy” Combs, Tori Kelly and Patti LaBelle.

The special knockout round adviser … ugh, let’s not even go there.

We’re about to meet some amazing new singers, so it’s a night for happy thoughts. The knockout round adviser will not elicit happy thoughts from this blog.

All the new music released by former contestants will, however.

If you’ve lost track, pre-orders are under way for Jordan Smith’s debut album. Christina Grimmie just released a fabulous EP. The Swon Brothers recently released an impressive country EP. And several Season 9 contestants have beaten Jordan to the punch by releasing music already.

See also:
2016 albums, singles and videos from former Voice contestants (so far, of course)
2015 in Review: Top 15 Voice songs
2015 in Review: Top 5 Voice albums
2015 in Review: Top 5 Voice videos

Now, here are those new artists …

Paxton Ingram, 23, Miami, Fla: As a youth, Paxton says his idol was Michael Jackson. He started off as a dancer, working, he says, with the likes of Jennifer Lopez. But he saw the love those artists got as singers and wanted to experience that as well. He’ll sing “Dancing on My Own” and says he’d love to work with Pharrell. Paxton immediately displays strong vocals and a unique tone, promptly Blake to turn around. His smooth vocals eventually get Pharrell and Adam to spin as well. Blake calls Paxton “true greatness.” Pharrell calls Paxton’s singing “crazy.” Adam calls Paxton vocally “brilliant.” Paxton joins Team Blake. To hear more: Paxton has a couple of originals posted to Soundcloud.

Caity Peters, 21, Long Beach, Calif.: She calls herself the “black sheep” of the family because she’d prefer to pursue music rather than a professional career. She’s also the worship leader as a church and pursuing a teaching degree. But she says The Voice is her chance to prove music could be a career. She’ll sing “Jealous.” A really strong opening prompts early chair turns from Pharrell and Christina. There’s a nice gravelly quality to Caity’s voice. And last-moment chair turns from Adam and Blake make her the season’s first four-chair turn recipient and brings Caity to tears. Caity says she loves soulful R&B music. Adam calls her performance “heart-wrenchingly beautiful.” Blake says he thinks she could win The Voice. Caity joins Team Pharrell. To hear more: Check out her covers on her YouTube channel.

Nick Hagelin, 28, Atlanta, Ga.: Both of his parents were performers, and he got into ballet. Eventually, he started to pursue music as well. Then his wife convinced him to focus on music. They have a son, who has had to overcome some health problems. Nick also talks about landing a record deal, but says he and the label have since parted ways. He’s singing “Lost Stars” by Maroon 5. Nick immediately shows nice range that prompts a chair turn from Christina. This guy’s voice just hit the stratosphere. Surprised no one else has turned yet. He has also released some excellent original music. Now it happened. Blake and Pharrell turned around at the last moment. Oh, and Nick’s son is so adorable. Christina compares Nick to “early Michael.” Blake says his voice would record so well. Nick joins Team Pharrell. To hear more: He has lots of music on iTunes, including a self-titled seven-track EP released in March, a single called “One” from last year, a nine-track “City Lights” album in 2014, a six-track “Take Off” EP released in 2011, and an 11-track “Nice to Be Here” album from 2009.

Maddie Poppe, 17, Clarksville, Iowa: In sixth grade, she says her sister convinced her to sing a duet with her. And that’s how she got the music bug. She now enjoys recording and posting videos of herself singing. She’ll audition with “Dog Days Are Over.” As I recall, Vicci Martinez did a great job with this song back in Season 1. Unfortunately, no one turns around for Maddie.

Mary Sarah, 20, Richmond, Texas: This young lady works at Boot Barn, but she’s been singing since age 9. She calls herself a big fan of Lorreta Lynn and Patsy Cline. She also got to sing with the Oak Ridge Boys and wound up making a country duets album. Though she recorded duets with the likes of Dolly Parton, she says it didn’t turn out to be her “golden ticket.” Mary Sarah has also recorded some very impressive solo music. She’ll audition wiht “Where the Boys Are.” Wow, impressive opening. Strong voice. Adam turns around early in the performance. He’s, of course, joined by Blake. But Pharrell turns as well. Hey, very strong ending from Mary Sarah, too. In fact, it prompts Christina to turn around as well. Another four-chair turn. Christina calls her vocals “undeniable” and said it reached the point where she would have looked stupid if she didn’t turn. Mary Sarah joins Team Blake. To hear more: She released the eight-track EP “Dress Up This Town” last year. In 2014, she released an album of duets with country superstars, including Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. She also released the nine-track “Crazy Good” in 2010.

Mike Schiavo, Los Angeles: He says he fell in love with music at a young age. A Maroon 5 CD was the first he owned. And after high school, he says he told his parents he wanted to pursue music rather than college. He says they were disappointed at first, but came around eventually. Indeed, they sound totally supportive in The Voice holding room. He’s auditioning with “Talking Body” by Tove Lo. A solid vocal earns him chair turns from Adam, Pharrell and Blake. Christina is encouraging Adam and Mike to perform a duet of “She Will Be Loved.” And so they do, and it turns out very well. Adam calls him a “natural.” And, not surprisingly, Mike decides to join Team Adam. To hear more: He released a single called “Collide” in 2014. You can hear that and more on his YouTube channel.

Queen Sessy, 24, Brooklyn, N.Y.: Her dad produced dance music and he encouraged his daughter to pursue music. She has since moved to Los Angeles in an attempt to make it in music. She’s going to sing “Show Me Love.” She opens with a huge note. No doubt she’s got a big voice, but she shouted portions of that. And no one turns for her.

Bryan Baustista, 29: He’s the usher who sang the national anthem, got big attention for the performance and auditioned for Season 9. He didn’t turn any chairs, but Adam encouraged him to return. Brian says his mother encouraged him to try again. He went home, focused on music, got some one-on-one vocal coaching for the first time. And now he’s back. He’s going to sing “The Hills.” Dang, Bryan. No way this isn’t going to turn a chair. Very impressive. Yep, Christina turns. At the last moment, so does Blake. Not certain why Adam and Pharrell didn’t. I thought that was one of the most impressive of the night. Christina says she loved Bryan’s audition. Bryan decides to join Team Christina. To hear more: You can check out several of his covers on his YouTube channel.

Abby Celso, 20, Rochester, N.Y.: She works at The Beer Market. Her dad played in a band while she was growing up and often called her up on stage to sing. She now plays in a band of her own. She says she auditioned for The Voice in part because her mom always encouraged her to. Her mother died in September of cancer. She auditioned with “Should’ve Been Us.” Abby is displaying really nice pop vocals. And she entices chair turns from Adam and Pharrell midway through the performance. Adam says he thinks she could win. Pharrell tells Abby she has “it.” Abby joins Team Pharrell. To hear more: You’ll find dozens of covers and an original or two on her YouTube channel.

John Gilman, 23, Bayville, N.J.: He lives in a log cabin with two bothers. They don’t have wi fi or cable TV, which provides plenty of time to perform music. He says the music he plays harkens back to the 1950s and 1960s. John also says he’s worked lots of odd jobs over his life. He auditions with “Don’t Be Cruel.” And a fun performance prompts a chair turn from Adam, who will become his coach. Adam liked the precision in his performance and the courage he showed by singing Elvis for his audition. To hear more: He’s performed with a New Jersey-based band called Bird Bath. The group released a 10-track album called “Line and Hook” in September 2012.

Alisan Porter, 34, Agoura Hills, Calif: As a child actress, she played “Curly Sue” at age 9. She has also performed on Broadway in what she calls “a very high stress environment” and used lots of drugs and alcohol. She’s now been sober for several years, has children and says she’s a singer in her “soul.” She’ll audition with “Blue Bayou.” This young woman released a really impressive solo album a couple of years ago. And she’s showing off some impressive vocals during this performance. She winds up with all the coaches facing in her direction. Adam calls her performance “flawless” and predicts she’ll win the show. Alisan joins Team Christina. To hear more: She released an 11-track album called “Who We Are” in 2014. She also released a self-titled album in 2009. Both are available on iTunes.