As Blind Auditions wound down on The Voice, the coaches got pickier when it came to which singers would fill the remaining spots on their teams. With only a handful of selections left for Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefani, Michael Bublé and Snoop Dogg, Monday’s episode marked a crucial point in the competition where strategy and wit became vital pieces of the puzzle.
Season 26’s penultimate audition round didn’t disappoint — with a flurry of four-chair turns, a last-second decision by Snoop and another chance granted for a former Voice contestant. Meanwhile, Bublé used the final Coach Replay of the season, and McEntire quietly welcomed three more artists to her growing team.
Which singers made it to the next round on The Voice? Here are the standout musical acts of Monday’s episode.
Impressive four-chair turn
Nonbinary queer singer Cameron Wright, who uses they/them pronouns, opened the episode. They earned an instant four-chair turn with their cover of “The Way We Were” by Barbra Streisand, which was dedicated to their late grandmother who raised them. Wright’s experience singing with Stevie Wonder and touring with their gospel singer mother showed in their powerful performance, landing immediate praise from the coaches. “You came in and just sliced the air out of the room. Not one moment wasn’t perfect,” Stefani said, while Bublé declared that Wright was going to make it “to the damn finals.”
When Wright chose Team Bublé, the Canadian crooner was visibly surprised. It was Bublé’s feedback that prompted Wright to make the decision. “They were one of the greatest singers I have ever heard in my life. I mean, truly,” Bublé said. “That voice is sensational.”
An honorable mention goes to Lauren-Michael Sellers, whose performance of Hillsong United’s “Oceans (Where My Feet May Fail),” scored a four-chair turn, moving McEntire to tears and lighting a fire within Stefani, who spoke about her emotional connection to the worship song. Sellers picked Team Reba.
Dramatic last-second turn
It seemed as if Eliza Pryor would not make it past the Blind Auditions, but Snoop Dogg continued to live up to his “wild card” moniker and pressed his button at the last possible second. The rapper saw enough potential in the teen singer’s rendition of the Cranberries’ “Linger” to make her a member of Team Snoop. Pryor’s youthfulness didn’t faze him. Instead, he saw what was possible for her musically. “I see that you can go to a lot of different places with your voice.”
Bublé admitted he didn’t push his button because he was uncertain about Pryor’s range, and Stefani noted that she didn’t showcase her vocal strength until the end of the performance.
Michael Bublé uses the last Coach Replay
McEntire, Stefani and Snoop all used up their Coach Replay powers, so it was up to Bublé to decide when to use his. The lucky candidate was folk singer Mark Shiiba, who didn’t receive any initial chair turns but was described by Snoop as “a triple threat” after he impressed the panel with his harmonica and guitar-playing skills. Singing Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” it was Shiiba’s unique “character voice,” as Stefani called it, that made Bublé rethink his decision, ultimately using his one-and-only Coach Replay.
Once Bublé put all of his cards in Shiiba’s basket, he saw value in the singer’s distinct vocal stylings. “This guy might be a star. This guy might be [one of] those unique Americana singers,” he said. “I knew that I had made a mistake before the chair ever turned around. [He] got his second chance today.”
A deserving second chance
After receiving no chair turns when she first auditioned in Season 21, hopeful Camryn Brooks came back for a second go on The Voice. Performing “Light On” by Maggie Rogers, Brooks was proof that second chances do exist, earning a four-chair turn. It was a full-circle moment for Brooks, who had developed a heart condition called myocarditis after her first appearance on The Voice and trained for three years with her doctors to be able to sing a complete song.
In the coaches’ evaluation of her performance, Bublé said his favorite part was “you losing it because that’s such a human thing,” referencing her visceral excitement mid-song over the chair turns. Stefani praised Brooks’s “round,” “soothing” voice. In the end, Brooks chose Team Gwen.
Who turns our chair
It was an embarrassment of riches on Monday’s episode, but our pick goes to Kay Sibal, a Los Angeles-based Filipino American singer whose Voice audition coincided with the three-year anniversary of her father’s death. Already emotional due to the timing of everything, Sibal put her own jazzy spin on Laufey’s “From the Start,” which Bublé immediately picked up on. He pressed his button, along with Stefani and Snoop, teeing up one of the more intense coach showdowns so far.
“You made that song so yours,” Bublé said, imploring Sibal to pick him as her coach because of his knowledge of the pop-jazz world. Stefani commented on her potential and positivity, which she said was apparent in the performance, while McEntire complimented the “lightness” in her voice. Though it seemed as if Sibal and Bublé were a match made in heaven, she ended up picking Stefani as her coach. “She was so excited, she was so hopeful and grateful to be here. People like that are the kind of people I want to work with.”
Quote of the night
“You may be the mack daddy, but I’m the macaroni daddy,” Bublé quipped while battling with Snoop over contestant Mary McAvoy, who wowed both coaches with her rendition of Jessie Ware’s “Say You Love Me.” To compete with Snoop’s blinged-out Death Row necklace, Bublé whipped out homemade pasta jewelry to persuade McAvoy to join his team. His attempt was unsuccessful. “Maybe we should rethink this,” Bublé said after putting on his edible necklace.
A look ahead at the next episode
The final night of Blind Auditions is upon us, so expectations will be high as the coaches’ teams are nearly complete. For those keeping track, there are only a few open spots: Team Reba, Team Gwen and Team Snoop each have two left, while Team Bublé has three. Which lucky singers will fill out the coaches’ teams? We’ll find out in less than 24 hours.
The Voice closes out Blind Auditions on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 8 p.m. PT/ET on NBC.
