Spoilers ahead for Season 20 of The Voice on NBC so far.
The Voice wrapped its Season 20 Blind Auditions on March 22 after six nights of chair-turning excitement. One great thing about The Voice is the high percentage of artists who are chosen for a team. In fact, roughly four out of five artists who took the stage this season caught the ear of at least one of the music megastars to earn a spot on the show.
For the rest of the singers, they not only get a couple of minutes of exposure on primetime television, but they usually also get some really good constructive criticism from the coaches — what kind of song might suit their voice better, a note on pitch or at the very least encouragement to keep singing and growing. For some artists, that alone might be enough, but there are some artists who legitimately sound like they deserve to be on the show. Here are three from The Voice Season 20 who really should have earned a spot on one of the teams.
Yellsmiles
Let’s start with the name. Yellsmiles is a name and an artist made to stand out. Her audition of “Midnight Sky” by Miley Cyrus showed that she’s capable of grittiness. John Legend told her afterward he appreciated her edge and coolness, but he had trouble narrowing in on what her voice was. Also, any Miley Cyrus song requires bucketsful of confidence and attitude. I’m guessing it was hard for the coaches to feel the vibe of their fellow Voice mentor with their backs turned. Legend advised Yellsmiles she needed a song that allowed her to breathe, and I’m hoping she takes it to heart and we see that star power on The Voice stage again.
Almond&Olive
The Voice seemed to steer away from duos and trios this season, with none of the teams featuring one. In fact, Almond&Olive were the only duo to have an audition aired. Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton said the singers’ harmonies on their rendition of “Wildflowers” by Tom Petty suffered from the coaches not being able to see the performance. I would be interested to see a duo or trio like Almond&Olive get mentorship from Nick Jonas, given his experience harmonizing with the Jonas Brothers. Acts with multiples have always been part of The Voice. The Swon Brothers placed third in the competition in Season 3, and just last season Worth the Wait made it to the live playoffs. It’s strange to see duos and trios not represented at all this season.
Charlotte Boyer
The last artists to audition in any given season tend to get screwed as the teams fill up. Coaches can’t turn their chairs anymore once their team is full, and the ones who do have space are super picky. Seventeen-year-old Charlotte Boyer should have been chosen for a team, and I think she would have been if her audition had come earlier in the process. Two teams were full already when Boyer auditioned, and the coaches critiqued her version of Amy Winehouse’s “Love Is a Losing Game” as being too stylized. They encouraged her to explore her own personality and and find her voice. This seems like exactly the kind of thing the coaches could have helped her do on the show, as she had range and power in spades.
It’s always fun to see artists come back and succeed on a future season. In fact, Corey Ward auditioned for Season 19 and didn’t turn any chairs, and this season he had his choice between Kelly Clarkson and John Legend before choosing to join Team Kelly. It’s unfortunate when talented artists get passed over, but of course not everybody can be among the 40 artists to advance to the Battle Rounds. I will remember these artists, though, and hope they return for a future season of Blind Auditions. Tune in next week for the first night of Battle Rounds at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, and in the meantime, check out the Season 20 artists who earned Four-Chair Turns from the coaches.
