Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Night 2 of Season 11 of The Voice delivered all sorts of goodies.

There was a formal introduction to We McDonald, the teen we saw entice all four coaches to turn their chairs in a Voice sneak peek a month ago.

There was the second proposal in Voice history, courtesy of show-closer Lauren Diaz and her boyfriend. She said “yes,” of course.

And there was more proof that Alicia Keys and Miley Cyrus might indeed pump new life into the show. Both certainly fight harder to win over artists than Pharrell Williams ever did.

In addition to Lauren and We, Tuesday’s episode introduced us to Andrew DeMuro, Brendan Fletcher, Dan Shafer, Ethan Tucker, Sophia Urista, Billy Gilman and Sa’Rayah.

Here are my picks for the Top 3 auditions from Tuesday’s show, followed by the rest in alphabetical order.

1. We McDonald: The 17-year-old started off her cover of the often-done “Feeling Good” a capella, showing lots of range in the process. Miley turned when We hit the chorus, followed quickly by Blake and Alicia. Adam turned before the performance ended, giving We a four-chair tur. Miley said she heard “a total star” when We performed. Alicia said We was “born to show people what love sounds like.” We joined Team Alicia.

2. Billy Gilman: Now 28, Billy scored a Top 10 county hit with “One Voice” when he was just 12 years old. Now he’s looking for a second chance at stardom, as a gay male artist in the pop music world. He auditions with “When We Were Young” by Adele and turns in an impressive vocal. Adam turns early in the performance; Miley midway through. Before the song ends with a really nice glory note, Alicia and Blake turn as well. Adam said Billy made “everything happen on this stage” and thinks he can win the show. Both Blake and Miley are familiar with Billy; Miley because he once opened for her dad. Billy joined Team Adam.

3. Sa’Rayah: The 28-year-old from Chicago auditioned with Aretha Franklin’s “Drown in My Own Tears. A wonderful a cappella opening prompted very quick chair turns from Miley and Alicia. For some reason, Blake and Adam didn’t turn for a take-no-prisoners performance. Miley said Sa’Rayah brought “hope and love into the room.” Alicia said Sa’Rayah blew her all the way to the back of the galaxy with her performance. Sa’Rayah chose to join Team Miley.

Andrew DeMuro: The 25-year-old is a huge Billy Joel fan and auditioned with “Vienna.” He even sounded just a tad like Billy. Near the end of the performance Adam and Blake turned their chairs. It turns out both Andrew and Adam have performed with Billy Joel. And Adam compliments Andrew on the character in his voice. Andrew decided to join Team Adam.

Brendan Fletcher: The 28-year-old New Yorker auditioned with “Jolene,” the Ray LaMontagne ballad not the Dolly Parton tune. He showed off a nice gravelly tone that earned chair turns from Adam, Miley and Alicia. Alicia pitches the New York connection. Adam said he thinks Brendan has a unique knack for connecting with an audience. Brendan joins Team Adam.

Dan Shafer: He’s 56, but certainly doesn’t sound it singing Train’s “Marry Me.” He also shows off very nice range. But the coaches stayed put until Blake turned near the end of the performance. He, too, notes how much younger Dan sounds than he actually is. No choice for Dan; he’s a member of Team Blake.

Ethan Tucker: The guy from Olympia, Wash., put a reggae twist on The Police classic “Roxanne” for his blind audition. The performance scores high marks for originality, but Adam and Blake wait until the very last moment to turn. Blake complimented Ethan on his raspy vocals. Ethan opted to join Team Blake.

Lauren Diaz: The 24-year-old vocal coach auditioned with “If I Ain’t Got You” by her idol, Alicia Keys. And she earned a quick chair turn from Alicia while demonstrating a big strong voice. Before the performance ends, Blake and Miley are also facing Lauren, who breaks down in tears and gets a hug from Alicia. To seal the deal, Alicia sings the song back to Lauren, inserting her name. Of course, Lauren picks Alicia. Oh, and then to cap it off, her boyfriend proposes backstage.

Sophia Urista: She already fronts a rock band called The VeeVees and auditioned with The Beatles “Come Together” displaying the type of vocal tone that would stand out ina crowd. Midway through the song Alicia and Miley turned their chairs. Dang, Sophia performs with just a touch of passion, doesn’t she? Alicia said Sophia reminded her of Tina Turner and Janis Joplin “combined into one body.” Miley describes her as a rock and roll DOlly Parton. sophia joins Team Miley.