Another season of The Voice is officially underway. The Season 29 Blind Auditions began during the Monday, February 23, episode. John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, and Adam Levine (all former champions) all returned in hopes of adding another win to their résumés as coaches.
With the addition of the Triple Turn competition, which gives the coach who gets the most three-chair turns an advantage in the Battle Rounds, the coaches were more intense than ever in their pitches to get the best singers on their teams.
Scroll down for a recap of the night’s performances and to find out who each contestant chose as their coach.
Lucas West
Lucas West gave the first performance of the night, singing “Benny and the Jets” by Elton John. Levine turned around first, followed by Legend.
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“It’s so crazy because when I heard you sing, and then I turned around, like, 20 minutes before John, I was blown away by how different you are,” Levine noted. “Seeing you be a musician there, playing keys, doing it soulful, doing it simply, I don’t see that on the show.”
Legend and Levine went back and forth trying to one-up each other. “Seeing how soulful you are, it made me want you on Team Legend even more,” Legend concluded. “I’d love to coach you.”
While Lucas’ mom pushed for Legend, Levine wanted to make sure to get another word in. “When we first got signed, it was a struggle in the beginning because no one knew where to put us. That ended up being the best thing that could ever happen. Not fitting in at the beginning really puts you at an advantage to be something different than everybody else. I am very, very passionate about being part of that. I just think you’re super special, man.”
But even after his passionate plea, Levine knew what was coming: Lucas picked Legend as his coach.
Alexia Jayy
For her Blind Audition, Alexia Jayy sang “(You Make Me Feel) Like a Natural Woman.” Clarkson turned right away, followed by Legend and Levine, making this the first Triple Turn of the season.
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Legend gushed, “You have it all. Not only do you have the raw ability, but you know how to deploy it in the right way. You are my type of singer. I love your voice. I love your style.”
Levine noted that Clarkson or Legend might make a better choice for Alexia, but pointed out, “That song you sang, Aretha Franklin, but written by Carole King. Two very different people came together to create one of the best moments in music history because they were different. As the golden goddess unicorn with the flowers in her hair that you are, maybe the way for you to go all the way here is to do it with somebody that not everybody would expect.”