Chris Haston/NBCThis. Is. The Voice.
Man, have we missed hearing those words from host Carson Daly! The NBC hit reality series returned for its third season tonight, and in the wake of its newfound feud with The X Factor, started off the two-hour premiere by having the coaches say why their show is awesome.
"We all come from different genres of music and we all have something really special to offer," Christina Aguilera says. It. Is. On.
After performing "Start Me Up" with her fellow coaches Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Cee Lo Green, the first round of blind auditions kicked off...as well as the four coaches' rivalry!
Terry McDermott, a Scottish rock star who was accompanied by his wife and son (clad in an adorable little suit!), kicked things off the season the right way with his cover of "Teenage Wasteland." The three male judges turn around and shower Terry with praise. Adam says he is "a real rock and roll singer," while Cee Lo calls him "the real thing." In the end, he chooses Blake as his coach.
Next up is De'Borah, who used to perform in her church, but wasn't allowed to after she changed her look. "It hurts, it hurts bad, but my parents never had a problem with it." While she says her sexuality is "complicated," De'Borah then says, "Boom, I'm gay. How about it?" After that declaration, she performs "Hey, Soul Sister," which makes Cee Lo and Christina turn their chairs. While Cee Lo compliments her "swag," De'Borah chooses Christina because her song "The Voice Within" inspired her.
The coaches' rivalry starts to heat up after country artist Gracia Harrison takes the stage and yodels her way into Blake, Adam and Cee Lo's good graces. After her performance of "I Wanna Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart," Adam tries hard to get Gracia on his team, telling her, "By far, you are the best country singer we have ever heard on this show...by far." Still, it's not enough and she chooses Blake as her coach, and Adam is not pleased; he playfully runs over and pushes Blake before impersonating his swoon-worthy accent. Bromance activated!
Devyn DeLoera, 20, is a former wallflower who was so shy she had to be home-schooled and says singing saved her and "made her happy again." No pressure, coaches! She decides to take a risk and sing Christina's song "Ain't No Other Man." Fortunately, it's a risk that pays off as the lady herself turns around, as well as Blake and Adam. Of course, she chooses Christina. Of course! "I love me some Devyn," Christina gushes of her new team member.
20-year-old Bryan Keith was feeling a lot of pressure going into his audition as his father, Ray de la Paz, is the lead singer of the Grammy Award-winning Latin band The Spanish Harlem Orchestra. Bryan wants to make it on his own without using his father's name to his advantage. He performs "It Will Rain," and scores the first four-chair turnaround of the season. So which coach does he choose? Adam, who finally scores his first season three team member.
Daniel Rosa auditioned last season, but was crushed when no one turned around for him. The coaches told him to work on his pitch and come back. And come back he did, this time with confidence. He takes on "Somebody That I Used to Know" impresses Cee Lo and Blake. And though he didn't turn his chair, Adam still runs on stage to give Daniel some much-deserved props. Daniel chooses Cee Lo as his coach and all of the coaches seem genuinely happy for him.
Texas boy Joe Kirkland, 24, is a back-up singer turned frontman for the band Artist vs. Poet, which was dropped by its label after the former lead singer bailed. (Bet he feels stupid now!) Joe's rendition of "Gives You Hell" gets Blake and Adam to turn their chairs. Blake uses his "vest card" (they both wear vests and can do a "matchy thing," he reasons), but Joe chooses Adam in the end.
The final performance of the night came courtesy of Trevin Hunte, 18, who has known since he first listened to the radio at 7 years-old that he wanted to be a singer. "Music has always been that thing that I can run to," he says. He sings "Listen" from the musical Dreamgirls, which gets Christina to turn mere seconds after he begins. Cee Lo and Blake soon follow, with Blake chastising Adam for not pushing hit button. In the end, Trevin chooses to be on Team Cee Lo.
Each coach ended the first day with two team members.
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