The sophomore season of NBC’s breakout hit The Voice premiered following Sunday’s Super Bowl, with the new crop of contestants choosing which one of the four celebrity coaches — Christina Aguilera, Cee-Lo Green, Blake Shelton and Adam Levine — they’d like to be their mentor.
In a rule change, each coach must have 12 contestants to take under their wing this year, up from last season’s eight.
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Among the standout hopefuls on Sunday’s season premiere:
Jesse Campbell, a 42-year-old church/wedding singer from Chicago, impressed the A-list panel with his take on Leon Russell‘s A Song for You. The single father took on Aguilera as his mentor.
Raelynn, a 17-year-old country crooner, aced her rendition of Miranda Lambert‘s Hell on Heels — and wound up with Lambert’s hubby, Shelton, as her mentor.
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Shelton told her, “I can make you a country star.”
Tony Lucca – a 35-year-old who once performed alongside Aguilera on The Mickey Mouse Club (though she didn’t recognize him, at first) — impressed Adam with his rendition of Ray LaMontagne‘s Trouble.
“There’s so much real pain and energy in what you’re doing,” said Levine, who Lucca chose to mentor him.
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