We’re only weeks away from The Voice’s 26th season — with Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé joining the coaching panel — and not far from the 27th — in which Adam Levine is making a long-awaited return. And we’re fully expecting to be blown away by the rising talent coming to compete on the NBC show.
Whether the upcoming seasons’ contestants will make first impressions better than the ones below, however, remains to be seen. Here are our picks for the best blind auditions from all seasons of The Voice. (Honorable mention: Jimmy Fallon’s prank audition, which had coaches spinning their chairs before they realized who it was covering Michael McDonald’s “I Keep Forgetting.”)
10. Sasha Allen, “Not Ready to Make Nice”
The Chicks’ comeback anthem got a roof-raising re-do with Allen’s Season 4 tryout, which started shakily but soon soared. You can be sure the coaches weren’t ready to make nice as they vied to add Allen to their teams.
9. Ryley Tate Wilson, “Dancing on My Own”
The talent Wilson had cultivated at age 15 is more than most of us can hope to achieve in our lifetimes, as he proved covering this Robyn song in Season 23. Brace yourself and hit play to watch this braces-wearing kid shine.
8. Mary Miranda, “Como la Flor”
Miranda kept the fire of Selena’s torch song burning with this Season 4 tryout, ranging from soulful lows to heartstring-pulling highs. We think the late Queen of Tejano Music would have approved.
7. Omar Jose Cardona, “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”
If Cardona was nervous taking the Season 22 audition stage, he certainly didn’t show it. With the theatrics of a rock star, he could have fit in with Journey — the band he was covering — or any other group packing fans into arenas.
6. Sarah Simmons, “One of Us”
What if God was one of us? Well, when Simmons hits her scratchy-voiced stride around the 54-second mark of this Season 4 audition, it surely sounds divine. Maybe even divine enough to outdo the Joan Osborne original.
5. Mac Royals, “Gravity”
Gravity wasn’t working against Royals, who achieved atmospheric heights with this Season 24 performance as he added falsetto trills to John Mayer’s original. He wanted to put Arkansas on the map, and he did the state proud.
4. Kaylee Shimizu, “Golden Slumbers”
Shimizu hadn’t even hit her highest notes in this Season 24 audition by the time she had three of the coaches — and the rest of us — wrapped around her finger. Pity the Voice viewer who slumbered through this Beatles cover.
3. Caleb Sasser, “Another Sad Love Song”
Another sad Toni Braxton love song gave us goosebumps during this Season 24 tryout. Sasser sang backup for Kanye West and Alicia Keys, but we have a feeling he’ll be a top-billed star soon enough.
2. Domenic Haynes, “River”
Leon Bridges has competition with this singer, who at only 18 years old gave a rousing rendition of his song “River” in Season 16. Adam Levine said Haynes might have been his favorite singer he had seen on the show by that point, and we can understand why.
1. Wé McDonald, “Feeling Good”
We were all feeling good when McDonald gave a show-stopping rendition of this Nina Simone classic in Season 11, vaulting octaves from the sultry start to the fiery finish. Cue a standing ovation from the coaches, the crowd, and us at home.
The Voice, Season 26 Premiere, Monday, September 23, 8/7c, NBC
