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We're almost there, it's the final blind auditions show tonight and so the coaches are down to the last few spaces on their teams. They'll all be hoping to complete their teams ahead of the battle rounds but with spaces limited, every act who auditions will have to pull out all the stops to make the numbers.

Recap and videos after the JUMP...



Tom Barnwell -'American Boy' by Estelle feat. Kanye West - 4/4 - Joins Team Will
Tom is an ambulance operator by day but wishes to swap the daily grind for a career in music. He is singing this R & B classic, it's definitely very well sung by Tom, he has a good voice and does the track justice but with Will turning first, followed by the other three, I do think they are a little trigger happy. The vocals were great but I wasn't wowed, I just felt like the song was good but not a wow performance by any means and Tom's voice isn't as unique or original as some of the other performances we have seen so far. Kylie, Will and Ricky get up to dance, Tom jokes that he was concentrating on listening to the performance. It's Will who gets Tom on his team.


Gary Poole -'Valerie' by Amy Winehouse - 2/4 - Joins Team Tom
Music teacher Gary is used to assessing the pupils rather than being assessed himself so he's naturally quite nervous about this audition. His stripped-back take on this Amy Winehouse cover of a Zutons song is really interesting actually. It starts off quite restrained and stripped back, then he begins to increase the pace of the song. I like him a lot but I feel like the song isn't the best for his voice as the Amy Winehouse cover is in itself a classic and although the stripped back lazy blues feel is him putting his own spin on it, I would have rather seen him singing something that suits that style better than this song which I'm used to seeing performed in the upbeat bluesy style of the Amy arrangement. It's good but I wouldn't myself turn but fair play to Ricky and Tom who turn for him. He picks Tom as his coach.


Angie Brown - 'I'm Gonna Get You' by Bizarre Inc - No Turn
Angie is creating a first for the programme, she is a well known vocalist who has featured on successful hits during the 90's, most famously Bizarre Inc's 'I'm Gonna Get You'. This is also the song she is taking on for her blind audition so the 50-year-old will be singing a song that she herself is famous for singing. She says that she doesn't want to be known as a one hit wonder, it does seem a bit redundant saying that when she's singing her biggest hit but anyway. Angie has a fantastic voice, she most definitely hasn't lost it and I love her clear stage presence, she knows how to work a crowd, probably because of her previous experience. I'm a bit disappointed when nobody turns as I think she deserved to go through based on the vocals but as the coaches say, it's very tough to get through when spaces are tight as they are now. They're all shocked when they realize that she had a hit with the song in 1992 and will.i.am tells her that he used that song and her vocals on it as inspiration when producing 'Boom Boom Pow'. Angie is encouraged by the coaches' comments. I think song choice was key here and let her down.


Luciee Marie Closier - 'Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh) - 1/4 - Joins Team Ricky
Luciee is a 16-year-old from Essex, she says that she has been waiting for two years to audition as she wasn't eligible to audition until she turned 16. She describes her family as very close and tells us that her father says she should pick Kylie if she has a choice, mainly because he fancies her and wants to meet her. She has a nice voice but it does feel a bit forced, her quirky tone doesn't feel natural like previous quirky acts such as Jazz and Anna and I feel like her voice is a bit high for the song at times. However, the slightly more stripped back, bluesy last section of the song salvages it for me and merits Ricky turning around and recruiting Luciee for his team.


Teresa Vasilou - 'I Found Someone' by Laura Branigan - No Turn
Former West-End performer Teresa had it all in her youth, a successful run in the West End which led to her meeting Catherine Hepburn who got her in contact with people in America. Unfortunately, the success all came to an end at the age of 30 when she contracted a throat tumour that nearly killed her and ended her career. It's 31 years since she last performed in front of other people so she's nervous about this audition. I usually feel a bit mixed about ex-West End performers as they tend to be overly theatrical but I actually love Teresa's voice, she isn't the best singer ever but she has a good voice and brings a nice rasp to her cover of the Laura Branigan song. I'm sad she doesn't get through as she would have been perfect for Team Tom to pair against Sally. Alas it wasn't to be but she does get a chance to share her story which inspires the coaches and sings a bit of a song she wrote for Tom.


Bianca Nicholas - 'One' by U2 feat. Mary J Blige - No Turn
Bianca is extremely nervous about auditioning and hopes that she will be able to calm her nerves in order to give a good performance. She actually does a good job, Mary J. Blige absolutely tears the roof off with this song and although she doesn't just nail the high notes, she actually sings it pretty well. Her nerves definitely restrain her and stop her from nailing those higher notes but Bianca shows that she has the ability, she just needs a bit more confidence. Bianca doesn't make it through but the potential she shows is enough for me to believe that there's a future for her alright. She showed a lot of bravery considering that she suffers from Cystic Fibrosis, I think if she had auditioned earlier in the series, she may well have gotten through.


Aaliyah Dickens - 'Read All About It' by Professor Green feat. Emeli Sandé - No Turn
School girl Aaliyah is singing a song I would say most people are probably fed up of hearing although at least she doesn't sing the Emeli solo version. Her vocals aren't great, she's very nervous and needs a bit of training as her voice has potential but she hits a few flat notes and doesn't really know how to use her voice but her rapping is actually really good and I think it was better than the vocals. Nobody turns but the coaches, Will in particular are full of praise for Aaliyah. 


Kenny Thompson - 'New York State Of Mind' by Billy Joel - 2/4 - Joins Team Tom
Kenny is a primary school teacher but he hopes to be able to try his hand at singing as a new career. It's a nice song choice, I really like Billy Joel and he most definitely has a lot of talent although I was expecting a bit more soul behind his voice. It feels a little bit lacking in tone, he definitely has the power for the song but I just would have liked him to sing with a bit more flair, it lacked bluesiness or soul. He sang it a bit too much like a musical theatre performance. Tom and Ricky disagree as both of them turn around and it's Tom who once again hits lucky, making Kenny the final addition to his team.


Joe West - 'Mirrors' by Justin Timberlake - No Turn
Joe's father left when he was 14 and he was forced to become the man of the house as he lives with his mother and his younger sister. He works as a supervisor in his local supermarket and helps his mother care for his sister who suffers from Cerebal Palsy. His mother says that he's a really good son and hopes that he succeeds today so he can do something for himself for a change. The song choice is a bit safe, it's a great song but it has no wow factor and although he sings it well, it's not amazing and doesn't stand out particularly at this late stage of the game. He doesn't really seem to know how to use his voice as he should have used his falsetto in the build-up to the chorus and his full voice in the section that he used his falsetto in. He goes a little flat at times but he has potential, it's just a case of nerves affecting his performance.   


Jamie Lovatt - 'Everybody's Free' by Rozalla/Quindon Tarver - 2/4 - Joins Team Ricky
Jersey boy Jamie used to be in a band who were signed and released a few albums however after a few of the members had illnesses, the label dropped them. He moved over to London when he was 18 and since the band were dropped, he has been trying to make it as a soloist. He definitely has the talent to be a soloist, that's for sure. I love this arrangement of the song, from Romeo and Juliet I believe. He has a fantastic rock voice, it reminds me a little bit of The Gaslight Anthem mixed with Matt Bellamy. He absolutely blows the roof off the arena with this performance and I'm surprised Will doesn't turn as well as it's easily the performance of the night. Kylie and Ricky fight it out for Jamie but it's quite clear who he will go for, Ricky is the perfect coach for him. Team Ricky is now full.


Nomakhosi - 'Get Ready' by Ella Fitzgerald - 1/4 - Joins Team Kylie
Nomakhosi comes from South Africa originally but moved here when she was 9. She's very close to her mother and would ideally love to be as successful as Beyoncé. Wouldn't we all? In fairness, I think Nomakhosi is very talented, she does a great job with this song, I love jazz songs and she has a lot of soul, she has so many layers to her voice which she demonstrates readily in this performance. She has amazing potential, she sang this song fantastically, there are a lot of different elements to the song but it didn't turn into vocal acrobatics because her control is superb. Kylie turns for her, I have a feeling she could be one to watch. And so Kylie's team is full.


Liz Oki - 'A Different Corner' by George Michael - No Turn
Liz performs this George Michael song with a bit of emotional baggage weighing on her mind, she recently lost her mother and the song reminds Liz of her. She definitely delivers the emotion that the song requires, in fact bucketloads but her vocals don't really show much progression. I don't think the song allows her to show much of a range and unfortunately it just isn't impactful enough for Will to turn. However, he does get emotional when he is speaking to Liz after as he tells her that she reminds him of his aunty Stephanie who passed away in the last year shortly after his grandmother died. With Liz and Will connecting due to their respective losses, he's gutted that he didn't turn for her.


Cherri Prince - 'Stop' by Sam Brown - 1/4 - Joins Team Will
Cherri is putting a bluesy spin on the Sam Brown classic, she strips it back and doesn't give it the same power that the original has but it's a nice change to see the song being sung in a different style, she has a nice voice, reminiscent of Corrinne Bailey Rae. It's a lovely, stripped back cover which isn't perhaps a standout performance but I can see why Will picks her. There's something refreshing about her voice and although he was reluctant to double dip as he puts it, having Sophie May already on his team, he says he just had to have Cherri. She becomes his final act.


And that's it for the blind auditions! All of the coaches now have twelve acts, they will cut them down to six in the Battle Rounds and with the 'Steal' back, will have seven going into the Knockout Rounds. My standouts from each team are probably Anna and Sophie-May from Team Will, Nomakhosi and Rachael from Team Kylie, Sally and Georgia from Team Tom and Jazz and Jamie from Team Ricky. Check out my recap next week to see what I make of the first set of Battles!
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