Idol Chatter & Voice Views

So, did it seem like The Voice was blazing through the blind auditions at a blistering pace last night?

Well, expect that pace to continue. We’ve met 30 singers so far, and the show’s tightened timeframe will have us meeting 18 more between tonight and next Monday.

For some reason, the show has decided to condense the blind auditions from three weeks to two weeks, plus one-half of an episode.

You see, next Monday’s show will feature half blind auditions and half battle rounds.

I’m not sure why the show is making the change. I’m not sure it’s the best way to generate excitement about a new season of singers.

But that’s the way it’s going to work.

Meanwhile, if you’re wondering about how last night’s music was received … well, not nearly as well as the music from a week earlier.

On opening night, three artists cracked the Top 200 on iTunes, led by Sawyer Fredericks, who made it all the way into the Top 30.

Only one song from last night was sitting in the Top 200 as of 7 p.m. — Travis Ewing’s “Say My Name.”

And now, it’s time to meet more aspiring Season 8 champs …

Ashley Morgan, 26: She’s been working as a background vocalist. That’s all the introduction we get to Ashley. She’ll perform “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” Hey, Ashley’s doing pretty well. Certainly worthy of a chair turn. And she just nailed a heck of a glory note. Nice, upbeat way to start the night. And Ashley seems to be getting stronger as the song goes on. She ends with Pharrell and Blake facing in her direction. Blake predicts she won’t be singing background vocals after the show. Nevertheless, Ashley Morgan joins Team Pharrell.

Koryn Hawthorne, 16, Abbeville, La.: She works part-time at a pizza shop and says she’s always singing, whether at work or elsewhere. As a young girl, she joined a group called Louisiana Kids that goes around singing for charities. Koryn says her favorite was singing at nursing homes and seeing the smiles on the faces of the elderly residents. Her mom was a single parent working two jobs, so Koryn says she owes a lot to her mom. She’s singing “My Kind of Love.” And this young lady has a really powerful voice. Christina turns around; that took far longer than it should have. Pharrell joins her near the end of the performance. That, folks, was an excellent audition. Pharrell compliments her on having a super mature sound for her age. Christina calls her a powerhouse vocalist. Koryn joins Team Christina.

Lexi Davila, 17, Lorain, Ohio: Lexi says she always dreamed she’d be able to do this and hopes she can overcome her shyness when she appears before the coaches. Lexi says she tends to come alive when she’s on stage. Her dad says his father was a singer in a nightclub. Musical talent “skipped me,” he jokes, “but went to her.” Lexi says her favorite part of school is choir. She also won a singing competition singing a song in Spanish that she performed for her granddad shortly before he died. She’s going to sing “Dreaming of You.” Lexi’s nerves show in the performance, but she has a nice tone and prompts chair turns from Blake Shelton and Adam Levine. Both Adam and Blake says she has tons of potential. And Lexi goes with Team Adam.

Now, time for a montage …

Josh Batstone sang “Amnesia” and chose Adam over Blake
Katelyn Read sang “Beathe” and landed a spot on Team Christina
Ameera Delandro sang “I’d Rather Go Blind” and wound up on Team Christina
Bay Brooks sang “All of the Stars” and landed on Team Blake

Quincy Mumford, 23, Asbury Park, N.J.: He’s a newlywed who says he always had the desire to be a musician. He’s leader of a band called Quincy Mumford and the Reason Why. He says they play funk, soul and reggae music, R&B and singer-songwriter all rolled into one thing. He wound up meeting his wife, who is from Sweden, at one of his shows. In order to make ends meets, he works at his parents’ cafe though he’s “never been a very good cook” and teaches music lessons. Quincy says he’s been doing music for seven years and will sing “Dancing Machine.” No one turns around for Quincy, which is a bit surprising. He was pretty impressive.

Brenna Yaeger, 19, Spokane, Wash.: She comes from a family of five children and says she grew up in a log cabin. The family had a bull called Bumblegum, who was like a dog, Brenna says. Her parents split when she was young and they had to leave the log cabin. She says music helped her cope with the experience. She now works at a general store, but says she wants to be a performer. She’s going to sing Miranda Lambert’s “The House That Built Me.” Hey, this young lady has a sweet voice. This is one of my favorite performances so far tonight. And at the very last minute, Blake turns around, too. Brenna gets more than one hug from Adam, but Blake, of course, plays the country card. And Brenna follows her initial instincts and joins Team Blake.

Jeremy Gaynor, 30, West Point, N.Y.: He’s a staff sergeant and the male lead vocalist for the West Point Band. Being in the military runs in the family. He says he tried to pursue music for a while before following a relative’s advice and joining the Army with the intention of practicing music. “I love being in the West Point band,” he says, but adds that his wife is pregnant, making him want to push harder toward making a career of music. Before joining the Army, he sang in church; that’s where he met his wife. He’s singing “Superstar.” OK, this guy can sing. Christina turns around in a heartbeat. Midway through the song, she’s joined by Adam and Pharrell. Then Blake turns to complete the four-chair turn. Blake says America will love Jeremy if he makes it to the live shows. Jeremy says he prefers to sing R&B and pop, but is required to sing all types of music as a member of the West Point Band. Jeremy joins Team Christina, who just landed her second four-chair turn singer.

Jack Gregori, 37, Washington, D.C. This guy says his family pushed him very strongly not to try music right out of high school. So he went to the University of Maryland and studied business, then went to law school at Boston University. He formed a company and did real estate title work. At one point, he had a 40-person company. Then the economy crashed and he said he lost all his money. “What I realized was that all that money wasn’t really the key to being happy.” It’s at that point that he started playing more music. He has a six room house and rents out rooms to pay the mortgage. He’s in a band called Human Country Jukebox. “There’s nothing better than playing music,” he says. His audition song will be “Ring of Fire.” Jack has a nice deep voice. And a really nice tone. Adam turns around early in the performance. For some strange reason, he’s the only coach to do so. Jack lands on Team Adam.

Briar Jonnee, 20, Shuqualak, Ms.: She’s from a town of about 1,000 that doesn’t even have a grocery store. She started singing in church at age 6; her mom was choir director. When she was young, she wanted to be a singer. “But coming from a small town, I didn’t think that was a dream I could reach.” She says her school didn’t even have a music program. In 10th grade, she applied to the Mississippi School of the Arts and made it. She now attends college and is a journalism major because she wants a backup plan. She’s going to sing “Take a Bow.” Briar is turning in a very emotional performance. And it prompts chair turns from Pharrell and Blake. Briar also delivers a nice ending to that performance. Blake likes the fullness in her tone. Pharrell likes the control in her voice, but says she needs to get over her nerves. Briar joins Team Pharrell.

Jess Gallo, 20, New Carlisle, Ohio: She works as a dishwater at a restaurant where her dad is the head chef. Naturally, she doesn’t want to be a dishwasher her whole life. She says she was introverted as a child, so her mother put her in musical theater in middle school to force her out of her shell. She got positive feedback because of her unique sound. She later came out as a gay woman and says she has the full support of her parents. She’s singing “Stolen Dance.” She does have a unique tone, full of rasp. No one turns for Jess.

Brian Johnson, 24, Cleveland, Ohio: He didn’t try to pursue music until middle school when he joined the choir. Because he was heavy, he says he was bullied a lot and didn’t have much confidence as a result. But when he went to college, he decided it represented a fresh start and formed a band called The Rescued. “We played every coffee shop that was willing to take us.” Coming out of college, his dream was to pursue music, but his dad was diagnosed with MS. He wound up moving back home and put music on hold to be there for his dad. He now works in the insurance world. Brian will sing “Reason to Believe.” He’s barely started when Adam turns his chair. Soon after, Blake follows. Brian is displaying lots of range and power. Adam liked the emotional and engaging way he delivered the song. Blake praises the emotion in his performance. He joins Team Blake.

Corey Kent White, 20, Bixby, Oakla.: When he was 8, he started playing guitar. He started playing shows when he was 11. He eventually became the lead vocalist for a group called Oklahoma Stomp. He sang with the group for about five years, but was left not knowing what to do when the group members went their separate ways. Well, he wound up at Oklahoma State University, put together another band and plays college gigs. He’s also performed on stage with Willie Nelson. He’s singing “Chicken Fried.” This guy is good, but no one is turning around. At the very last moment, Blake and Pharrell turn their chairs. And a battle breaks out as Blake and Pharrell — with lots of help from Adam — compete for Corey. Blake calls him the “real deal.” In the end, he joins Team Blake.