Gwen Stefani, Pharrell Williams, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton battled it out in another round of Blind Auditions on The Voice, picking up standouts Kelli Douglas and returning artist Anita Antoinette.

Blind Auditions Part 3

John Martin, a cute son of a pastor, dropped out of college when his dad lost his job, and plays both the piano and the guitar. He kicked off his performance of “Sweet Pea” with a sweet whistle, before launching into the song. Blake was the first to turn around, and for a while it looked like he would get John on his team by default, but then Gwen turned around, soon followed by Pharrell. John told the coaches he saw himself writing “cheesy love songs,” prompting Gwen to wave her hands in the air and say, “That’s me!” In the end, Blake’s early turn won John over. John Martin: Team Blake.

Jessie Pitts, a college student who sings with a rasp and a slight country twang, sang “The Story” and got Gwen and Blake to turn around almost immediately. Blake pulled at the heartstrings, telling Jessie that “The Story” was his wedding song, and told her she was like a marshmallow-only bowl of Lucky Charms. In the end, Jessie decided to go with “Girl Power!” and received a sparkly Team Gwen t-shirt.

Ricky Manning sang “Love Me Again” and, while his first verse caught the attention of the coaches Blake and Pharrell, both men waited until hearing a bit more of Ricky’s performance before pressing their buttons and turning their chairs. Pharrell gave a passionate pitch, saying, “I heard a guy who knew that it was his moment…You’re gonna kill it.” Pharrell’s nice-guy routine continued, when he told Ricky that Blake would no doubt be a good coach to him too. Ricky joined Team Pharrell, proving nice guys don’t always finish last.

Kelli Douglas, a single mother and former middle school teacher, brought her young son to her audtion. “I like my mommy because she’s a good singer and she has a great voice. I love her more than anything,” her son, Alex, said. Adam turned first, followed later by Gwen and Blake. By the end of her performance Kelli was so overwhelmed with emotion, she almost started to cry. Adam immediately launched into the charm, commending her for delivering a superb performance through her nerves. Adam won Kelli over, earning his first artist of the night.

Blessing Offfor, a blind man from New York City, says he learned everything he knows about songwriting during the time he spent in Nashville. Before his audition, Blessing said that, though he sings soul, he’d love to land on Team Blake. Blessing performed “Just the Two of Us” sitting at a piano, and was on his final riff when all four judges turned around. The coaches fought hard for him, and Blessing surprised Pharrell when he chose to be on his team. Blake was bummed, but admitted that Pharrell and Blessing were a perfect match.

Troy Ritchie, a self-described entertainer who can do a decent Stewie Griffin auditioned with “Out of My League.” Gwen was the first and only coach to turn around for Troy, telling him she wanted more boys on her team.

Mia Pfirrman, the daughter of performers, auditioned with “Unconditionally.” She got all four coaches to turn around. Adam told her that, while her performance wasn’t perfect, there were moments that were so spectacular, he just couldn’t let her slip away. Adam lobbied hard and won Mia over. Mia: Team Adam.

In a quick montage, Alessandra Castronovo won a spot on Team Adam, Jordy Searcy went to Pharrell and Kensington Moore landed on Team Blake with a countrified version of “Love Runs Out.”

Bree Fondacaro auditioned with “It Ain’t Me Babe,” and got Blake to turn around. Gwen told Bree that she was very close to turning her chair, but in the end, chose to let Blake take her. Bree: Team Blake.

Anita Antoinette originally auditioned in Season 3, years ago, and was told by the judges that she needed to work on her emotion and come back. Since then, Anita says she has barely performed due to bad stage fright, but has finally returned to prove herself on the Voice stage. This time around, she barely got two words out before Gwen and Blake both pressed their buttons. Adam and Pharrell followed quickly, and both gave Anita the hard sell, with Adam swearing up and down he would never send her home, despite Gwen’s insistence that, should she not pick Team Gwen, Gwen would steal her at the first chance she got. Gwen and Anita bonded over their love of reggae and desire to mix genres, and Anita joined Team Gwen!

The Voice blind auditions continue Tuesday at 8 p.m. on NBC.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.