If you thought the season two premiere was a big success, and it was at 37 million viewers, you won’t believe how stellar the second episode of The Voice is. Yesterday I said that The Voice may put a dent in American Idol’s impenetrable armor, but now I firmly think that armor may soon shatter with this season’s high quality of talent and unique voices. This episode was easily the BEST EPISODE of 2012 from a television program I have seen thus far. With interesting backgrounds (hello U.S. Air Force YouTube Singing Sensation) and winning personalities, the contestants who auditioned were more than meets their voice. I had issues with the lack of genuine personalities emerging last season, and I can finally say the casting department has delivered some legitimate contenders who are as interesting as they are vocally superior. With so many hits out of the ball park tonight, I felt like I was listening to a Michael Jackson Greatest Hits album. It was that pleasing to the ear. So that now I’ve totally unleashed my excitement, let’s highlight some of the contestants that were successful enough to garner a spot on either Team Blake, Team Christina, Team Cee Lo, or Team Adam.

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty! Before we get to the amazing talent, I thought I’d get the duds out of the way who did not get picked for a team at the blind auditions. As mentioned before, NBC does not release videos on failed auditions, so its up to all the readers to research how they sounded. Other than one contestant, who I really thought should have made it, none of them failed to grab my attention.

There were a medley of five failed auditions in a row, with seven altogether, so here are my snapshot reviews of each failed audition:

Neal Middleston. Performance Review: (**1/2) — I’ve heard “Heard it Through the Grapevine” sung so many times before, and Middleston’s version, while slightly different, wasn’t distinctive enough to give him a shot at the next round.

TJ Gibson. Performance Review: (*) — From what little I heard, I feared Jacob Lusk was about to come back and give me nightmares. Cacophonous and ear-shattering! Enough said.

Aly Jados. Performance Review: (zero stars) — He was the only audition I legitimately did not remember. That automatically certifies a failed grade in my book.

Sam James. Performance Review: (**) – A cliched tackle on a popular Gavin DeGraw classic. This DeGraw sound-alike should be shipped straight to Vegas without passing go and join an impersonation tour.

Pamela Rose. Performance Review: (**) — No one can nail Kelly Clarkson songs on these singing shows, and Pamela Rose was no exception. Pitch issues and bad melodic placements made this one a no-brain boot.

Dez Duron. Performance Review: (***) — Dez Duron was the one contestant who failed to get the judge’s to press their button that I thought deserved to make it. Yeah, Backstreet Boys are corny, but his version of “I Want it That Way” showcased a controlled vocal with no issues about promoting his boy band sound. Hey, I say more power to musicians who know who they are than those that try to hide behind an unsuitable genre. I have a hunch Duron will make it back for the second chance blind auditions. If not, he is going to go the same route as last season’s Sonia Rao, as the one contestant who gets away this year.

Hoja Lopez. Performance Review: (*1/2) – Bless her little heart, Hoja tried her best during the blind audition, but a voice with no range that remains in one key throughout the entire song is definitely not a recipe for success on The Voice.

Okay, now that I feel bad unleashing my inner Simon Cowell, let’s turn to some of the contestants who did end up making it. I have to say, besides one singer, everyone else was bloody fantastic!

First up are country duo, “The Line” made up of strictly platonic friends, Hailey Steele and Leland Grant who sing a mean and nostalgic version of Tom Petty and The Heartbreaker’s “American Girl.” Their voices blend and complement so well together, that I can justifiably say these two far exceed any duo that was introduced last season. What was surprising was their choice of Xtina as mentor, but maybe it’s a means of to challenging themselves instead of going the predictable country route with Blake. Not much to complain about from them. Country music will never be my thing, but “The Line” certainly knows how to make me second guess my musical tastes.

Performance Review: (***1/2)
Judge Selected: Team Christina
Listen to “The Line” –

Next in line is former American Idol singer, Jamar Rogers, who if you remember was best friends with Danny Gokey (oh the nightmares I’ll endure remembering his “Dream On” version) and almost made it into the semifinals. For some reason, I don’t remember Jamar being all that spectacular during Idol’s eighth season, but holy cow he was phenomenal on The Voice. It is definitely tragic he is HIV-positive, but that doesn’t stop his earnestness and positivity. Jamar, with a better image than his Idol days, sings White Stripe’s cult classic hit, “Seven Nation Army” with rouse and edge like I have yet to witness. Jamar definitely made me rethink my earlier assertions of him as just a so-so musician, but now I remain hooked and wondering if this guy can pull out all the stops to the live rounds. Let’s hope so!

Performance Review: (****)
Judge Selected: Team Cee Lo
Listen to Jamar Rogers –

Third to get past the blind auditions is the performer who I felt wasn’t as great as the judges said she was. Singing Sugarland’s “Stay,” Gwen Sebastian was definitely country with a capital TWANG, but there wasn’t anything special or distinctive about her voice. I have heard a million singers that sound similar in this genre, so what makes her a worthy choice for The Voice’s unique competition? Not sure why Dez Duron left while Gwen stayed on, but maybe there is something to her I’m not yet hearing. I love when contestants prove me wrong, and I’m hoping Gwen can do just that!

Performance Review: (**1/2)
Judge Selected: Team Blake
Listen to Gwen Sebastian –

Next up is Kim Yarbough, who could literally sing the phone book. She is a middle-aged singer who looks exactly like Chaka Khan, and sounds pretty similar to her as well. I love it when singers like Yarbough completely go a different route than the soulful, gospel expected direction. I absolutely loved her “Tell Me Something Good” by, you guessed it, Chaka Khan. There was grit, sass, and a serious command over both her vocals and the audience. Everyone was getting into it, and it will be interesting to see how Adam will be coaching her. Singers like Kim don’t make it far on American television singing-competition shows, but never discount the “Susan Boyle” factor.

Performance Review: (***1/2)
Judge Selected: Team Adam
Listen to Kim Yarbough –

Angie Johnson, you may very well be the first national hero from the armed forces to win a singing-competition show. If you thought Angie sounded great singing Adele’s “Rolling in The Deep” from Altus Air Force base, wait tell you hear her sing Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker.” The song is incredibly difficult to sing because of the fact that your voice has to be in perfect rock inflected mode throughout its entire duration. Angie never missed a moment of this, and blew the roof off of the studio. She had incredible confidence, a winning spirit, and a voice that could sell millions of records. People wondering who the next Kelly Clarskon is, look no further.

Performance Review: (****)
Judge Selected: Team Cee Lo
Listen to Angie Johnson

Lindsey Pavao takes the stage for her shot at stardom, and really impresses with her Fiona Apple vibe, singing a crazy song choice of “Say Aah” that somehow works wonders. I love any artist who is willing to showcase unique material and reinterpret a song outside of their normal genre, putting their own unique flavor into it. Pavao did just that. I think she needs to get rid of her nerves, because even while singing you could tell she was second-guessing herself and thinking about the lyrics before she sang them, but boy she is one to watch. So far, this is Christina’s best teammate.

Performance Review: (***1/2)
Judge Selected: Team Christina
Listen to Lindsey Pavao –

Jermaine Paul, Alicia Key’s former backup singer, is the next contestant ready to live the dream. While he was shaky in parts with Avril Lavgine’s “Complicated,” his voice and confidence progressed immensely once Cee Lo turned around for him. He needs to work on consistency with his vocals, but the guy definitely has the chops to make it through to the next round. Although, for someone who is Alicia Key’s backup singer, is it fair to say I was slightly underwhelmed?

Performance Review: (***)
Judge Selected: Team Blake
Listen to Jermaine Paul –

The final contestant making it past the blind auditions was Angel Taylor, who is probably the most successful contestant of the bunch. She has had her album and songs sold on iTunes, been featured on Vh1, and toured with the likes of Adele and Gavin DeGraw. However, mainstream success still seems to elude this Los Angeles based twenty-three year old. Look, I thought Angel was good, especially in her lower register, which is impeccably controlled, but there is something a bit pageant-like and robotic about her. Her Adele song choice, “Someone Like You,” was a bit on the pretentious side, and I never felt like she took original liberties with the song. Call me crazy, but Angel Taylor may be just a wee overrated. She’s probably going to kick me to the curb with her outstanding vocals from this point on, but other singers made me jump out of my seat more often tonight.

Performance Review: (***)
Judge Selected: Team Adam
Listen to Angel Taylor –

And that’s a wrap folks! Phew, a lot of incredible talent right there. I have to say, I have not had so much fun listening to such amazing vocal talent in a very long time. It really did feel like a Greatest Hits compilation as previously mentioned. NBC has really stepped up its game this season, more so than I thought, and it deserves all the success it received after the Superbowl numbers were revealed.

Now that week one has come to a close, let’s recap who is on each team thus far:

Team Christina
Jesse Campbell
Chris Mann
The Line
Lindsey Pavao

Team Blake
RaeLynn
Gwen Sebastian
Jermaine Paul

Team Cee Lo
Juliet Simms
Jamar Rogers
Angie Johnson

Team Adam
Tony Lucca
Kim Yarbrough
Angel Taylor

Who has the best team so far? Adam certainly has the best vocalists, which is the same strategy he employed last year that gave him the win, but I’m going with Cee Lo Green as the judge with the best lineup. He has a host of powerful rockers who ignite the stage and draw everyone’s attention towards them. Christina’s team is good, but doesn’t have the personalities that the rest do. As for Blake, it’s another dud team as usual. Blake needs to find his Dia Frampton, and he will be golden. Who were your favorites this week, including this episode’s show? Like me, do you think The Voice is proving to be a smarter and stronger season? Continue to follow The Awards Circuit as we cover NBC’s smash hit, The Voice. Post your thoughts and opinions below in the comments section!

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