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‘The Voice’ Season 8 Premiere: Meet The Standout Talents Of The Night

By Toni Matthews
Published on: 14:01 PST, Feb 23, 2015

The Voice has returned to NBC after what feels like an especially lengthy absence.

Voice judges Adam Levine, Pharrell Williams, Christina Aguilera, and Blake Shelton showed the future hopefuls how it was done with a spirited performance of the Lenny Kravitz hit, “Are You Gonna Go My Way.” They seemed to have a lot of fun performing, especially Aguilera, who rejoined The Voice after a two-season absence.

Sarah Potenza opened the show with a rousing performance of “Stay with Me.”

The quality of her voice is definitely on par with a young Grace Slick. Some say Janis Joplin, but her voice is very Grace Slick for anyone who’s ever heard “Somebody to Love” at least once.

Voice mentors Pharrell and Adam were both very insistent on getting Sarah. Adam even went for the prolonged hug.

In the end, the singer from Nashville with the Grace Slick voice went with Blake, whose guidance led him to produce the Season 7 winner.

Speaking of country music hopefuls, singer Cody Wikline was another brilliant standout on this Voice premiere. Although Blake seemed the obvious choice, the other three coaches were desperate for the chance to choose the smooth-voiced country singer. In the end, Voice coach Blake came out on top.

Another Voice contestant to watch is young Lowell Oakley, whose vocal styling is a throwback to Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.
Both Adam and Pharrell were keen to get Lowell on their team, but he ultimately chose Williams.

The one Voice hopeful who didn’t get any chairs to turn that some may have been a little disappointed about was Ivonne Acero. Acero auditioned for The Voice, and it was technically only the second audition she’d ever done in her life.

She had no real training and was obviously nervous. But there is a lot of potential there. Even Blake felt that maybe he’d made a mistake by not pushing his button.

All of the judges implored Ivonne to come back to The Voice in a season or two and try again. But first, they strongly recommended that she learn a bit more about who she is as an artist.

When it came to snatching up hot talent, Voice judge Levine seemed to be struggling. Even Pharrell wanted to know where the “Adam Juice” was.

Adam was hoping to make it happen with the very last contestant of the night, 15-year-old Sawyer Fredericks. Sawyer sang a version of “I’m a Man of Constant Sorrow” and earned a four-chair turn. He opted to pass on Levine and get on Team Pharrell.

Unfortunately for Adam Levine, he was the only coach on the premiere episode of The Voice to finish the show without a single talent.

But it was Blake who came out with the winning team after his slow start last season. Things could go similarly for Adam by the end of this season of The Voice.

The Voice did something interesting where they introduced someone without showing his story or face. The idea was to ask if the viewing audience would choose the singer, whose name was Mason.

None of the judges turned. Would you have turned for Mason? Share your answer below! If you did catch the premiere episode of The Voice, which performers were your favorite of the night?

[Image Credit: The Voice]

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