From left: Shakira, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Usher and host Carson Daly
Mark Seliger/NBC
The Voice‘s coaches finalized their teams of 12 singers Tuesday during the last night of blind auditions. (Spoilers ahead!)
Blake Shelton completed his team first when he scored classical ballerina-turned-tattooed rocker Jacqui Sandell from Oakland, N.J. The 24-year-old motivated both Blake and Usher to push their buttons with her rendition of “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac.
“Your voice is so sneaky,” Blake said as a compliment. “You have a very sexy sound.”
Sandell quickly chose to join Team Blake and proclaimed she was so excited she wanted “to pee my pants.” (Fortunately, she didn’t.)
Fellow veteran judge Adam Levine was the next to round out his team and looked triumphant when he was the only judge to turn around for country girl Amber Carrington of Rockwall, Texas, who was singing for her mom who passed away from breast cancer.
“Thank God,” Adam declared when she finished singing “Good Girl” by Carrie Underwood. “I was waiting for the horrifying reality that someone would turn their chair.”
Blake was sorry he didn’t have the chance. “I wish I could push my button for this girl,” he told her. “You nailed it.”
Later, Usher and Shakira fought over Luke Edgemon, 24, of Fayetteville, N.C., a background singer for Mary J Blige and Queen Latifah, to fill their final spot.
“I have been waiting for a voice to really move me, and you did your thing,” Usher said to plead his case.
“Your voice is phenomenal. You’re probably thinking that Usher is a man, but I’m your girl,” Shakira argued, before winning her case and completing the first-ever Team Shakira.
Usher finalized his roster with Jessica Childress, 26, of Lancaster, Calif., a former PR executive who quit her job to pursue music. Childress performed “Marry You” by Bruno Mars, and Usher waved his arms to whip up the crowd before he stood up and pressed his button with a huge grin.
“All of them would have pushed their buttons but they couldn’t,” he said as the other judges nodded in agreement. “And I could and I wanted to. And I am so happy that I have you on my team.”
Not everyone walked away victorious Tuesday night. Mark Lennon, 49, frontman for the band Venice, failed to entice the judges with his version of “Come Together” by The Beatles, even though host Carson Daly enthusiastically declared himself a fan since he was a teenager.
And Dustin Hatzenbuhler, a sweet singer from Minneapolis trying to move out of his parents house, didn’t connect while performing Michael Bublé’s “Haven’t Met You Yet.”
But the musicians who advanced now begin working with their coaches and will enter the battle rounds next week.
Who has the best team? Tell us in the comments below!
