Am I getting jaded by the deluge of talent already, or were the contestants tonight just not as good as on last night's premiere? There are no bad singers on The Voice, but I thought more than a few of the judges picks' tonight were "eh, nothing special" performances. The solo standout was the blue-haired Ellie Lawrence, a 17-year-old indie-rocker with country roots and a ska band to boot. Watching the Gwen Stefani über-fan freakout mid-song when Gwen turns her chair around is almost as delightful as hearing her awesome chords. Watch the video below.
Here's the rest of the need-to-know from Tuesday night's episode: Blake Shelton has a country mafia. Of all the judges, Blake's genre forte is the most rigid, and his picks are the most predictable. So it only makes sense that any contestants leaning toward country would go with him, but the other judges, especially Adam, are pining to nab at least one country crooner. They dubbed Blake's crew the "country mafia." And when Blake starts throwing out lines like, "There's only one Blind Joe in the friggin' world. Come home," and "I want her to come where she belongs," we can't help but agree. Cantaloupe Girl is back. Last season, Ivonne Acero — the teenage girl who works on a cantaloupe farm in Arizona — struck out with the coaches. But with Pharrell's encouragement, she returned with a fire in her belly and got two chairs to turn around within 15 seconds. She joined Team Pharrell. Gwen announced her retirement. Or more like implied it. Or something. All I know is she told young hopeful Ivonne, "you're at the beginning of the journey that I just finished." Just finished. What does it mean, Gwen?! Whatever. We're still crossing our fingers for that No Doubt comeback album. Glee happened IRL. Zach Seabaugh, a 16-year-old Georgia native, played on his high school football team for years while he dreamed about singing. The country music star in the making finally got up the courage to quit the team and pursue his real passion. Yep, he chose Blake. (Side note: Adam pointed out that Seabaugh is a dead ringer for Superman, and he's totally right — the dude looks like a teenage Clark Kent.)
Also, Pharrell is Yoda. "Sing just out of feeling, and not necessarily while thinking," he advised one failed contestant. So she might not have made it onto the show, but at least she walked away with a piece of constructive criticism she can totally use — specific and practical. So is that how you're so happy, Pharrell?
Come back next Monday night for our recap of the third round of blind auditions.