‘The Voice’ Recap, Final Night Of Auditions

The 4 coaches fought hard for their last two team members on Monday night's episode. There were a lot of young singers auditioning and almost all of them had a sob story, it was like they were competing for a "Life Sucks" award rather than 'The Voice.' Still, there was some great talent to choose from, even if they were all youngins.

Team Christina

We were given 15-year old Nathalie Hernandez who was the first singer up with Taylor Swift's "White Noise." Before she got to the third word in the first verse Blake hit his button and Christina quickly followed. I thought Natalie had a nice, clear voice but could work on her stage presence just a bit. Cee Lo thought she sounded as innocent as she looked, which was kind of a creepy comment. Even though she chose a Swifty song, that's not the direction she wants to go in which disappoints Blake. I'm not that familiar with Taylor's catalog of "I'm blonde, pick me, my ex is stupid, that black guy was mean to me once" songs, but this was a good choice for her and she chooses to be on Xtina's team.,

Christina's 16th team member was Celica Westbrook, a 16-year old who has been in the business for a while. She almost toured with Justin Bieber at one point but God intervened. So she decided to take a chance on 'The Voice' and auditioned with Christina Perri's "A Thousand Years." Adam sat this one out, which meant Celica had 3 coaches to choose from but it really came down to Cee Lo and Xtina. Aguilera praised her voice and said that she needed to be on radio, which I think won Celica over.

Team Adam

Caitlin Michelle from Boston suffers from a panic disorder and the remedy was more cowbell. Shunning medication, she turned to music to deal with her panic attacks. Her dad and a friend with a sweet handlebar mustache came along to support her. Her friend probably can't sing, but the mustache man, I hope we get to see him again. So she auditions with Florence & The Machine's "Cosmic Love" which wasn't bad but, I think she tried too hard to sound like Welch during some (most?) parts.

Although that is more an issue with Florence's songs, like Alicia Key songs, where you kind of have to strain to hit those notes. Blake thought it was powerful, but Adam waited to turn because he thought there were some pitch problems. Christina helped him score Caitlin though by saying that she should go with him because he's a "risk taker." So congrats on getting Caitlin for your team, and being the Randy Jackson of the coaches, dude.

Adam's last team member is Kayla Navarez, a 17-year old who has the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her dad was diagnosed with a liver disease and her mother is single handedly taking care of the family. She just wants to succeed for her family and I was already rooting for this girl. She starts off strong Estelle's "American Boy" and Adam instantly tuns but has to fight Christina and Cee Lo for her. He thought she sounded "seasoned" and Adam thought he lost her when she said she grew up listening to Christina, but I think she made a wise choice by going with Adam.

Team Blake

Nicole Johnson has obviously been working towards this for a long time. She finally settled in Nashville with her family after making over 40 trips there to start her career. Now this is what I appreciate about the show. These contestants are ready and already know the business. She pulls out the Country version of Kelly Clarkson's "Mr. Know It All" for her audition, which attracts Blake of course and Adam and Cee Lo. I'm sure she knew Adam and Cee weren't the right coaches for her or her voice, so she goes with Shelton.

The only oldie, but goodie, to audition was 46-year old Rudy Parris. He gave up his career to take care of his daughter, and now that she's out on her own with her daughter, it's time for him to get back to doing what he loves. Rudy wasn't my favorite of the night but his acoustic rendition of "Every Breath You Take" was pretty good. It was Blake vs. Cee Lo, and this guy was right up Green's alley if only for his hair but his roots are in Country music and he goes Shelton, completing his team.

Team Cee Lo

I have to agree with something our friend @TJNEONLIMELIGHT said while we were live tweeting the show, Cee Lo is lazy. Maybe it's because he's leaving this show after this season, but it just seemed like he wasn't really trying to catch the best singers who were auditioning. He did get Chevonne, a backup singer who toured with Lady Gaga. She could have easily auditioned with one of her songs, she already knows her whole catalog, but she goes with The Pretender's "Brass In Pocket." Blake, and Carson Daly from backstage, scream at Cee Lo to push his button but he waits until almost too late to turn along with Blake. Even though Shelton's contestant, Jermaine Paul who was also a backup singer, won last year, she picks Cee Lo and I hope she does well on his team.

The final contestant of the night was Country boy Cody Belew. I couldn't get over his porn-tastic name, or the fact that he said he must have been an elderly black woman in a past life. He was hoping that Cee Lo would end up being his coach and he got his wish. He goes with "Hard To Handle" as his audition song and it gets the crowd riled up pretty good but the coaches stay still. Cee Lo turns at literally the last note, and somehow it still counts. He was more than excited that not only did he get to stay in the competition, but Cee Lo was his coach. He even jumped down from the stage, happily shouting expletives along the way, to give his hero a hug. Needless to say, Cody and Cee Lo were made for each other.

The ones that weren't so lucky. Former boy band member Rod Michael, another perfect porn star name, was desperate for another chance at a career. I've never heard of the group he used to be in, B3, but I think his problem was that he still hadn't graduated from that sound. They'd probably love him on 'The X Factor' though.

Then there was French teacher Kameron Corvet who was my favorite of the night but got no turns. I agree with the coaches that his performance of Seal's "Crazy" never really went anywhere, but it was good. Also getting no turns was Jessica Cayne, again another good porn name if it isn't already taken. She was ambitious, but the coaches weren't moved. You could really tell she was trying to get them with the last couple of notes during Carrie Underwood's "Good Girl" but at least she got the crowd going.

Tuesday night's episode is a look back at the auditions, just in case you forgot what happened over these last couple of weeks. All 4 coaches have their 16 members, which means the Battle Rounds start next week and I can't wait because that means we'll be seeing the coaches in different outfits. Oh yeah, there will be great singing too!