NBC THE VOICE -- "Blind Auditions" Episode 1704 -- Pictured: Kelly Clarkson
The Blind Auditions Part 5 for The Voice season 17 air on Monday, October 7. Heading into that fifth night of auditions, coach Kelly Clarkson has 7 competitors on her team.
Clarkson has back-to-back Voice wins under her belt – she won twice and a row during the reality talent competition’s 14th and 15th seasons. It makes sense, then, that fans of the show are carefully tracking each member of her team as it develops.
Here’s what you need to know about Kelly Clarkson’s season 17 team so far:
Alex Guthrie
Alex Guthrie developed his singing talent in his high school choir and a garage band. For his audition, he performed “Love and Happiness” by Al Green.
His decision to audition for The Voice was motivated by former Voice coach Jennifer Hudson, who hear Guthrie sing while they were shooting a commercial together.
Brennan Lassiter
Brennan learned to love singing in the church where her grandfather is a pastor, and where she currently leads worship.
After it was revealed that she had joined Team Kelly, Brennan wrote on Instagram “Blessed. Truly blessed. Thank you to everyone for supporting me. Looking forward to this awesome experience. Overjoyed. Guys I have no words right now. #TEAMKELLY.”
Hello Sunday
The duo behind Hello Sunday go by the names Chelsea and Myla. At 13 and 14 years old, respectively, they are Team Kelly’s youngest competitors. Kelly was the only coach to turn around during their blind auditions duet to “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman, which meant they automatically joined her team.
According to their The Voice bio, “Chelsea and Myla both grew up singing in school showcases. They met two years ago at a performing arts camp and were paired together because they were the youngest. After hearing how well their voices blended, they decided to officially become a duo.”
Injoy Fountain
Injoy Fountain was praised for her bold choice to audition with a powerful rendition of “7 Rings” by Ariana Grande. Both Kelly and Gwen Stefani turned around, but 29-year-old Injoy ultimately chose to join Team Kelly.
Jake Hoot
30-year-old Jake Hoot auditioned with “When It Rains It Pours” while his 4-year-old daughter watched in the wings.
According to his official bio, “Jake was born in Texas, but his parents are missionaries and relocated the family to the Dominican Republic when he was nine. While living there, he began singing and playing guitar while also becoming fluent in Spanish. At 20, he moved to Tennessee where he began gigging and attended Tennessee Tech University as a walk-on football player.”
Melinda Rodriguez
Gwen and Kelly both turned their chairs around for Melina Rodriguez’s jazzy performance of “What a Wonderful World.” Much to Gwen’s dismay, Rodriguez chose to join Team Kelly.
Rodriguez is a 23-year-old Champaign, Illinois native. She fell in love with jazz in grade school, but shortly after starting at the New England Conservatory in Boston, she had to leave school to help take care of her brother who was suffering from chronic heart failure.
Shane Q
Shane Q auditioned with “Tennessee Whiskey” by Chris Stapleton, and impressed the judges from his very first note. All four judges turned around for Shane, and although his choice of a country song might have made it seem like he would pick Blake Shelton as his coach, the 28-year-old chose to join Team Kelly.
Tune in to new episodes of The Voice season 17, Monday and Tuesday nights at 8/7c on NBC.