Meet the Season 7 Singers

Publish date: 2024-09-19

‘The Voice’: Meet the Season 7 Singers

Team Adam
Veteran coach Adam Levine returns for his seventh season, with two championships under his belt and Stevie Nicks as his guest mentor.
Clara Hong
The South Korean transplant learned English through music, and dropped out of college to pursue it professionally (while working as a banquet server). After she sang "Chuck E's in Love," Stefani took her own mic and gave Hong a one-on-one lesson onstage presence via her "Just a Girl" hit. Then Levine greeted her in Korean and penned her a poem, and Williams followed suit by freestyling a few rhymes. Hong opted for Levine.
Damien
The Louisiana native moved to Los Angeles to chase his music dreams, and while working as a TSA agent in the meantime, he watched his co-worker die in an LAX gunman incident. His first phrase of Boyz II Men's "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" immediately intrigued Levine, Stefani and Williams, with Shelton following suit after hearing his controlled R&B stylings. Though he teared up after his last note, he triggered endless compliments the coaches and ended up picking Levine.
Joe Kirk
The Nashville teen, who grew up with a musical mother and brothers in a band, championed Ed Sheeran's "Lego House" track with his own charm. When Shelton started enticing the singer with his regional connection, to Williams' dismay, the seasoned coach pulled out a beige-colored parody of the newbie's voluminous hat, complete with a sheriff's star. "How hard is it gonna be when he's making you a heartfelt speech and you're waiting for him to make you an Arby's roast beef sandwich?" teased Shelton. Nevertheless, Kirk chose Levine.
Alessandra Castronovo
The restaurant server joined Levine's team.
Kelli Douglas
The single mother, who struggled with stage fright, gave up her job as a teacher to try music full-time. Though she was noticeably nervous, she tugged at the coaches' heartstrings with "Danny's Song" by Kenny Loggins. Shelton tried to win her over with her Texas roots, but she picked Levine over Stefani as well.
Mia Pfirrman
With musical parents, the college student went big with Katy Perry's "Unconditionally," adding her share of runs to the song and winning over all the coaches. Though Shelton noted there wasn't much finesse, Levine noted she had plenty of "spectacular" moments, Stefani offered to help her find her musical identity and Williams applauded her vocal risks. She joined Team Adam.
Chris Jamison
The Pittsburgh triplet, now a campus mailman and rock ensemble singer, became a four-chair turn on John Mayer's "Gravity." Stefani and Levine said they'd work to identify his signature sound, while Williams and Shelton complimented his uninhibited moment. He picked Levine.
Ethan Butler
The gospel choir breakout dedicated the Labrinth and Emeli Sande track "Beneath Your Beautiful" to his autistic sister and triggered an old-fashioned match between champs Levine and Shelton. Though both complimented his guitar abilities, and though Butler said before his audition that he'd side with Shelton, he went with Levine.
Jonathan Wyndham
The quirky South Carolina native conquered his speech impediment through music, and has done session work and songwriting (and hopes to continue hitting every Cracker Barrel location while on the road). He covered A Great Big World's "Say Something" and started shaking when he saw he had wooed all four judges (included a nearly teary Stefani). They all praised his conviction on the cover, but Wyndham went with Levine.
Rebekah Samarin
Levine nabbed Rebekah Samarin.
Matt McAndrew
The arts school graduate, who currently works at a grocery store and teaches music to local youth, covered Christina Perri's "A Thousand Years" with acoustic verve. "Even when your voice is soft, it's still really intense," said Shelton, while Levine praise his genrelessness and Williams complimented his falsetto — aggressively. In the end, McAndrew chose Levine.
Beth Spangler
The sweet children's hospital radiographer, whose father lost his leg in a motorcycle accident, plugged Beyonce's "Best Thing I Never Had" with precision and earned a four-chair turn. Levine praised her individuality and Shelton predicted her success, and though Williams remained standing the entire time, and Stefani tried her hardest — "Do you like clothes? I have so many clothing lines, it's crazy! I can hook you up, I can so hook you up!" — she picked Levine.
Team Blake
Blake Shelton returns for his seventh season, with three championships under his belt and Little Big Town as his guest mentors.
Allison Bray
After not making it past her pitchy blind audition in season six, the new high school graduate sharpened her skills by starting a band. Despite the three-chair turn on Kacey Musgraves' "Merry Go 'Round," Shelton felt he had it in the bag as he complimented her breath control and refreshing sound; he even told Stefani, "Don't speak," quoting her band's hit. Though Stefani touted the possibilities of trying an offbeat collaborator by showcasing her musical synergy with Williams, and Levine tried to just piss Shelton off, Bray stuck with the country coach.
James David Carter
After the sports star suffered an injury, the now-working musician has opened for Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins and Shelton himself, when he had a mullet. The unanimously pleasing auditionee, who sang "Nobody Knows," hilariously thanked Stefani for teaching him how to spell the word "bananas" (in reference to her "Hollaback Girl" track), and Stefani and Levine competed to see who could stand tallest on their big red chairs. Shelton said he's been drinking too much to try it himself, but he spotlighted his country genre expertise — enough to nab Carter.
Reagan James
The incredibly poised Texas teen put her textured sound on Ed Sheeran's "Give Me Love," triggering another Shelton-Stefani showdown. James revealed that she wants to pursue R&B, which drenched Williams in regret: "Speaking from a missed opportunity, you are such a threat to the game!" Still, she went with the hometown favorite, Shelton. Only time will tell if she doesn't turn country.
Taylor Brashears
The Nashville food-truck worker grew up playing the fiddle, and led a "retro-country" band immediately after high school. She put her sass on Loretta Lynn's "You Ain't Woman Enough (to Take My Man)" and intrigued Shelton at the very last second — a move he explained was because Lynn is one of the untouchable choices of singing competitions, like Whitney Houston. "Break the mold!" shouted Levine, asking her to not go with the country coach, while Williams praised her swagger and offered to learn in order to coach her. Still, she chose Shelton.
Bree Fondacaro
With a ton of rasp, the Orange County native and the daughter of the music teacher, championed Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" and got Shelton to turn his chair. Her new coach compared her "rawness" to Bonnie Tyler.
John Martin
The college dropout and shipping employee sang (and whistled) his way onto the show with Amos Lee's "Sweet Pea" and charmed Shelton, Williams and Stefani. "I'm thinkin' this is a good lookin' man," complimented Shelton immediately, also praising his laid-back attitude. Williams praised his technical abilities, and Stefani called his voice "delicious." Levine endorsed Shelton (for the first time on the series?), and Martin followed.
Kensington Moore
The singer joined Shelton's team.
Craig Wayne Boyd
The Nashville songwriter, now a single father, went full-on country with the Travis Tritt and Marty Stuart song, "The Whiskey Ain't Workin." Though Williams didn't know the song, he pressed his button to compliment a couple of his soulful ad libs, a comment to which Shelton praised his fellow coach, "How incredible is it that he doesn't know a song, but he still knows when you're ad-libbing?" Shelton highlighted Boyd's song choice, and said, "Let's turn The Voice into a honky-tonk!" Boyd went with Shelton.
Grand Ganzer
Shelton landed Grand Ganzer.
Tanner Linford
The teenage returning auditionee was incredibly shaky when trying out for season 6 with a Rihanna ballad, but went this time with Alison Krauss' "When You Say Nothing At All" (and a bit of a lower voice, thanks to puberty). Just when it was a lost cause, Shelton turned at the last second and kept him on the show.
Fernanda Bosch
The teenage music group founder from Miami — who also teaches kids with down syndrome how to swim — tried her raspy vocal tricks on the Macy Gray hit "I Try" (though with a bit of awkward stage presence), and triggered yet another Stefani-Shelton showdown (who knew these two had such similar tastes?). Shelton praised her "sandpaper" sound, but Stefani connected with her on a personal level. Though Levine told Shelton to give up, Bosch opted for the country coach.
Justin Johnes
The fifteen-year-old YouTube sensation tried his hand at a live performance for the first time, and nabbed the last spot of the season by putting his Justin Bieber sound on the Passenger hit "Let Her Go." Despite Levine's jabs — "Blake has pieces of steak in his colon that are older than you are!" — Shelton counted his lucky stars and gave his final contestant a shirt of his own, which read "Blake's Boo."
Team Pharrell
Pharrell Williams joins the show for his first season, with Alicia Keys as his guest mentor.
Luke Wade
The soulful son of a painter and a dancer lost his vision in one eye in a paintball accident, but the band frontman enticed all the coaches with endless runs on "That's How Strong My Love Is" that got Levine standing on his chair. Williams name-dropped Robin Thicke and Justin Timberlake, Stefani touted her band experience, and Levine and Shelton noted their previous show wins. In the end, the season's first auditionee went with Williams, who knows soul best.
Elyjuh Rene
The self-proclaimed "momma's boy" tackled Beyonce's "XO" with unique but natural phrasing. Shelton was visibly surprised when he turned to find a guy onstage, one who was tearing up after the performance. Williams described him as "anointed" and Levine called the audition "blissful," but Williams debuted the power of personal encouragement: "Have you not had to fight all your life? Did you not just sing that onstage just now? I rest my case," he said. It was effective enough, as Rene chose the "Happy" coach. Shelton congratulated Williams, "You Barbara Walters'd his ass."
Danica Shirey
The Pennsylvania mother loves singing R&B and won the Apollo's talent show when she was fifteen years old. Though she hasn't been performing since she lost her father three years ago, she mastered each trill of Jessie J's "Big White Room." Levine touted his two wins, while Stefani offered to help with her image. "He's so fit and I'm so scrawny, but I know what to do with that voice," said Williams, who compared her to a snake charmer and won her over.
Maiya Sykes
The Yale graduate (a triple major!) comes from a musical family; her father is an versatile instrumentalist and her mother sang backup for Earth, Wind & Fire and Neil Diamond. Now a wedding singer, Sykes immediately attracted all four coaches with Sam Smith's "Stay With Me." Among endless compliments from each of the coaches from their respective angles, Williams stood up and intrigued her with lines like "I'm only going to push your ambitions, not mine," while Stefani bragged about her fashion sense: "I can get you shoes, handbags — I have access to goods!" Sykes went with Williams.
Blessing Offor
The blind New Yorker memorized the entire subway system, and has played at the Kennedy Center multiple times. He sat down at the keyboard to play along to what began as a pitchy cover of Bill Withers' "Just the Two of Us," but soon turned all four of the coaches around. "I got some good news for you man — we all turned around!" revealed Levine. Stefani compared his voice to Williams' (which triggered a love fest between the two new coaches), Williams complimented his genre-mixing audition, Shelton touted his Nashville roots (where Offor went to college) and Levine praised his ability to recover from initial missteps. Offor opted for Williams.
Jordy Searcy
The surfer joined Williams' team.
Taylor Phelan
The Texas father, who gave up his indie rock band to support his family as a graphic designer, tried out with a bare yet headbanging version of The Neighbourhood's "Sweater Weather," complete with footwork that Levine compared to Elvis Presley. Williams — who had to scold Levine for interrupting him, "I don't know anything about baseball, but I know he just stole a base!" — called him melodically articulate, Shelton compared him to Ryan Tedder and Stefani mentioned her extensive band experience. Phelan ended up with Williams.
Ricky Manning
The 19-year-old musical theatre fan hails from a large musical family, and currently busks in New York City. He put his soulful chops and consistent runs on John Newman's "Love Me Again" hit, and had newbie coach Williams politely sparring with the champ Shelton. "You can't be that nice all the time! I guess I'm used to Adam," said Shelton as they both praised his commitment to the performance. Manning, in the end, went with Williams.
Katriz Trinidad
The fifteen-year-old Filipina and perennial performance competition champ went big with the untouchable Etta James classic, "At Last." "I never thought I would find something that I've look for at my own label, I've been dreaming of an artist like you my entire career," begged Williams with a drawing in hand, which was enough to call her a recruit over Stefani and Shelton.
Toia Jones
The Alabama church singer, whose late father ran a lounge, scraped the sky with the Adele track "One and Only." After endless compliments from Williams and Levine, Levine highlighted that Williams already has a lot of similar-sounding singers on his team. Nevertheless, Jones chose Williams, despite her team's stiff competition.
Brittany Butler
The jazz and R&B YouTube star was highly influenced by her grandfather and put her Amy Winehouse-esque spin on the beloved track, "The Girl From Ipanema." When Pharrell and Stefani saw themselves solely eyeing the same contestant for the first time in the season, Shelton stated, "They're gonna nice each other to death," while Levine added, "They're gonna fight each other with rainbows and happiness." Accordingly, Pharrell let Stefani have the floor first, to which Shelton commented, "See? The first handful of cotton candy has been thrown!" And as they patted each other on the back instead of shooting each other down, Levine noted, "It's like watching a candy cane sword fight over here!" After all the compliments on her vocal and visual style, Butler went with Williams.
Griffin
The South Carolina native — who started a bow tie business with his siblings to fund his jump to Nashville — hoped to escape his desk job with Michael Buble's "It's a Beautiful Day," Shelton plugged his relationship with Buble — "He probably has restraining orders against me but I can't help it" — Williams offered to expand his versatility and Stefani complimented his "rumbly" sound, Griffin chose Williams.
Team Gwen
Gwen Stefani joins the show for her first season, with husband Gavin Rossdale as her guest mentor.
Bryana Salaz
The teenage military brat, currently hailing from Texas, tried her very, very raw chops on Ariana Grande's "Problem." After a bit of bromance banter, Stefani's fiesty fact-check ("Um, I think I might have the longest career!"), Williams' endorsement of the only female coach and Shelton's championship brag ("No one's had a better track record with younger people on the show than your Uncle Blake") Salaz picked Stefani and earned the first Team Gwen T-shirt.
Taylor John Williams
The Portland performer, who works at a dog hotel during the day, impressed two coaches with an acoustic cover of Kanye West's "Heartless." Stefani applauded his creative spin, which would spur her own creativity (as she fanned herself off), and Levine highlighted his precision and the fact that he hit his button first. "Adam understands your voice, but Gwen understands your future," said a neutral Pharrell Williams. "You pressed your button first because you heard yourself!" The auditionee opted for Stefani.
Menlik Zergabachew
The son of Ethiopian immigrant entrepreneurs dropped out of high school to play with his reggae band. As he performed Sublime's "Santeria," Williams prodded Stefani to turn, and she finally did at the last second — which is when Shelton knew he lost his chance. "Damnit, Gwen! … I wish things had been different," said Shelton, after praising his technicality and his "badass" hair. Inevitably, he picked up a Team Gwen shirt.
Sugar Joans
The Los Angeles wedding singer — whose father sang backup vocals for Alice Cooper, Janet Jackson and Sergio Mendes — went big with Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools," bringing about the third Shelton-Stefani match and a ton of regret from Williams. "You vomit and it's in key! My button was just jammed!" said the producer, who sat dumbfounded by her very stage-friendly name. Shelton pitched a duet of "Me and Mrs. Jones," but Stefani touted her soul music experience and won Joans' favor.
Anita Antoinette
The Jamaican native auditioned back in season 3 with a disconnected performance, and has since been battling stage fright. Upon returning to the Voice stage, she went with another Bob Marley track — this time, with a much more palpable presence that intrigued all four coaches. Though Levine touted his most recent win with Jamaican rocker Tessanne Chin, she ended up with Stefani.
Jessie Pitts
The homeschooled Alabama teen suffered third-degree burns as a child, and currently works at a record label while in college. Her textured voice (complete with a yodel or two) immediately enticed Stefani and Shelton, resulting in another showdown between these two. Shelton recalled how Brandi Carlile's "The Story" was performed at his wedding, but Stefani showcased her fun personality, which won in the end.
Troy Ritchie
The California entertainer and reformed head-banger (with some seriously accurate Family Guy impressions) currently spends his time leading childcare, and went with Fitz and the Tantrums' "Out of My League" at his audition. With his acoustic guitar and a ton of energy, he earned a spot on Team Gwen.
Amanda Lee Peers
The openly gay singer, who left her family church, is a graphic designer by day, and a soulful rocker by night. Her performance of ZZ Ward's "Put Your Gun Down" nabbed her a spot on Stefani's team. "You guys are all really stupid because she was amazing!" she told her fellow coaches.
Gianna Salvato
The singer joined Team Gwen.
Jean Kelley
The former music business student suddenly lost her mother when she was twelve, and channeled that emotion while singing the Kelly Clarkson hit, "Already Gone." Stefani touted their similar fashion and vocal sensibilities, and Shelton bragged about his three championships. Still, she picked up her Team Gwen shirt.
Ryan Sill
Coming from a family of vocal musicians, the a cappella group breakout gave up engineering to pursue music, and put his clear tone on OneRepublic's "Secrets." Though Shelton noted that Sill's laidback attitude was an excellent plus, Sill noticed that Stefani turned first, and joined Team Gwen.
Mayra Alvarez
Hailing from the same city as season six runner-up Jake Worthington, the childhood church singer tackled Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" and intrigued the only two judges who have spots on their teams. Stefani praised her creative liberties and called her voice "light and fluffy," while Shelton invited her to be part of his family, as Worthington was. "This is not the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants! This is The Voice!" shouted Shelton when Stefani played the girl card — and won.