'The Voice': One contestant sounds like Usher but looks like Blake Shelton, another singer sets off fireworks

The Voice featured one contestant who reminded viewers exactly what the "blind auditions" are all about, and according to coach Blake Shelton, another singer set off fireworks during Tuesday night's sixth-season broadcast on NBC. 


Stevie Jo from Tyler, TX, a young white male who was dressed casually and had his long dirty-blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, performed a soulful rendition of coach Usher's song "There Goes My Baby."

Only Usher turned his chair around, which means Stevie automatically became a member of his team, but only because the other three coaches thought it was a given Stevie would select Usher as his coach. When all the coaches eventually got to turn around and speak to Stevie, they were shocked.

"That's not who was singing that!" Blake said.

"It's a white man!" coach Adam Levine exclaimed.


"I was pretty sure that you weren't a white guy, and you're a white guy! That's a beautiful pleasant surprise to just see someone who's the exact opposite of what you might've thought. It blows away all preconceived ideas of everything and that's why we're here and that's why we love music, and God bless you, welcome to the show."

"I was blown away because I actually thought you were black too," Usher admitted, "but I didn't want to react because I knew if this guy [Blake] had any indication of what I was looking at, he would have hit his button. But [he] didn't and I got myself a Texan!"

"He sounds like Usher and he looks like Blake!" Adam yelled.

"That was a lost cause for me," Blake said of why he didn't turn his chair around.

"Yeah, if someone sings your song, it communicates, 'If you turned your chair, I will go with you,'" Adam explained.


"Great song selection, man," Usher noted with a smile.

"Your falsettos are perfect, just dead on," coach Shakira added.

"You did a great job of the way you were in and out of the record... I do feel like there's a lot that we're going to be able to do together. And you ready to win this thing?" Usher asked.


Audra McLaughlin from Philadelphia, PA, also wowed the coaches were her performance of "Angel from Montgomery" by Bonnie Raitt. All four chairs turned around for the country singer.

"You are the one we've been waiting for," Shakira said.


"I was the first to turn by a long shot," Adam noted.

"Oh, who gives a crap about that?!" Blake joked.

"It's very important," Adam said. "Because I saw what you guys failed to see."

"Well that's because you were turned around and you could see!" Blake snapped.

"Yeah, but I was compelled to turn around because of what I heard," Adam explained. "And then when I saw what I was listening to I was even more overjoyed because you're beautiful."


"You are a beautiful girl, but I really want the world to recognize you for the amazing, immaculate voice you are," Usher said.

"Your voice is out of this world. It has raspyness, sweetness, it's got power. It's just missing one tiny little thing," Shakira began.

"Me!" Adam interjected.

"Me," Shakira corrected him. "I'm the missing link, you know?"

"I'm the missing link," Adam whispered to Audra.


"I feel I can help you get to the top," Shakira noted.

Adam said he had hope Audra might pick him because she wasn't wearing cowboy boots, but Blake argued there was still no hope for the Maroon 5 frontman.

"My wife [Miranda Lambert] introduced me to this song... You're damn right I'm going to play the wife card. I used to watch her perform that song night after night, and so when you started singing it, I was holding you to Miranda's standard," Blake explained.

"And when you hit the last note, you know those fireworks that go off and spell stuff? They said 'Team Blake.' They blew up and said 'Team Blake' and then trickled down behind you and you looked angelic."

"You don't need to just worry about what he's thinking, but what he's drinking," Shakira joked.

"Dare to be different," Usher said.


Audra said she went with her gut in choosing Blake.


In addition to Stevie Jo and Audra, six other acts were shown advancing from the "blind auditions" phase of the competition during last night's The Voice broadcast.

The six acts were: Dani Moz from Los Angeles, CA; Emily B. from American Falls, ID; Lexi Luca from Wellington, FL; Megan Ruger from Nashville, TN; Morgan Wallen from Knoxville, TN; and Music Box from Federal Way, WA.

Dani, Emily and Music Box all joined Shakira's team. Lexi and Megan became members of Blake's team. Usher snagged Morgan, and Adam came up empty handed for the night.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski