Pregnant Kate Middleton and Prince William have escaped dreary, winter London for a babymoon holiday on the ultra-exclusive Carribean island of Mustique. Expecting their first child together, the Duchess, 31, and Duke, 30, are kicking back in a luxury villa with a $30,000-a-week price tag – with her folks! The babymoon is a family affair , apparently. The couple flew out a few days ago to join Kate Middleton’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton. With Kate completely recovered from the acute morning sickness that plagued the earliest days of her pregnancy, the twosome are ready to party. Well, within reason. She’s still carrying the royal heir(ess). But with Kate Middleton’s due date in July, and her health improved dramatically in the past few weeks, she’s earned a nice, fun babymoon vacation! Not to mention some much-needed family time. As long as there’s no repeat of topless photos that surfaced from their holiday in France – which we doubt, on the secluded island – all is well!
So much for Matt Farmer being crowned the American Idol Season 12 champion. Following a successful audition in Long Beach, Farmer has come out and admitted that he’s one giant liar. That whole tale he told? About being injured in an IED explosion in Iraq? And being diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury? And how the medication he was assigned would supposedly make him sterile, until he ended up fathering a daughter named Cadence who joined him in front of the judges? LIE, LIE, LIE. Matt Farmer American Idol Audition “It was ALL lies,” Farmer admitted to GuardianOfValor.com. “I in fact HAVE lied since a younger age and had a problem with it… “I am EXTREAMLY remorseful and VERY upset that I allowed myself to take from the hard work of the guys that i was deployed with among others. To think that I would go on a national TV show and get away with continuing a lie so big, and so deeply imbedded in my lfe [sic] and brain … Is rediculous [sic]. “Hindsight is always 20/20 … To EVERYONE but more importantly the men I served with, I AM DEEPLY REGRETFUL AND SORRY … I at no time was a sniper, was never deployed to Afghanistan, did a single tour in Iraq, and was never at any time hit or wounded by an IED” Farmer, as you might expect, has been booted from the competition. So that’s one fewer person early favorites such as Ja’Bria Barber and Seretha Guinn need to worry about.
So much for Matt Farmer being crowned the American Idol Season 12 champion. Following a successful audition in Long Beach, Farmer has come out and admitted that he’s one giant liar. That whole tale he told? About being injured in an IED explosion in Iraq? And being diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury? And how the medication he was assigned would supposedly make him sterile, until he ended up fathering a daughter named Cadence who joined him in front of the judges? LIE, LIE, LIE. Matt Farmer American Idol Audition “It was ALL lies,” Farmer admitted to GuardianOfValor.com. “I in fact HAVE lied since a younger age and had a problem with it… “I am EXTREAMLY remorseful and VERY upset that I allowed myself to take from the hard work of the guys that i was deployed with among others. To think that I would go on a national TV show and get away with continuing a lie so big, and so deeply imbedded in my lfe [sic] and brain … Is rediculous [sic]. “Hindsight is always 20/20 … To EVERYONE but more importantly the men I served with, I AM DEEPLY REGRETFUL AND SORRY … I at no time was a sniper, was never deployed to Afghanistan, did a single tour in Iraq, and was never at any time hit or wounded by an IED” Farmer, as you might expect, has been booted from the competition. So that’s one fewer person early favorites such as Ja’Bria Barber and Seretha Guinn need to worry about.
So much for Matt Farmer being crowned the American Idol Season 12 champion. Following a successful audition in Long Beach, Farmer has come out and admitted that he’s one giant liar. That whole tale he told? About being injured in an IED explosion in Iraq? And being diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury? And how the medication he was assigned would supposedly make him sterile, until he ended up fathering a daughter named Cadence who joined him in front of the judges? LIE, LIE, LIE. Matt Farmer American Idol Audition “It was ALL lies,” Farmer admitted to GuardianOfValor.com. “I in fact HAVE lied since a younger age and had a problem with it… “I am EXTREAMLY remorseful and VERY upset that I allowed myself to take from the hard work of the guys that i was deployed with among others. To think that I would go on a national TV show and get away with continuing a lie so big, and so deeply imbedded in my lfe [sic] and brain … Is rediculous [sic]. “Hindsight is always 20/20 … To EVERYONE but more importantly the men I served with, I AM DEEPLY REGRETFUL AND SORRY … I at no time was a sniper, was never deployed to Afghanistan, did a single tour in Iraq, and was never at any time hit or wounded by an IED” Farmer, as you might expect, has been booted from the competition. So that’s one fewer person early favorites such as Ja’Bria Barber and Seretha Guinn need to worry about.
He may have stolen the headlines, but Lazaro Arbos was not the only strong performer to take the American Idol stage in Chicago last night. Among other hopefuls who received well-deserved tickets to Hollywood: Mackenzie Wasner , whose father played piano with Vince Gill for many years. She impressed with a rendition of “Whenever You Come Around,” as you can hear below. Kiara Lanier , who has sang for President Obama and who does not lack confidence. Watch her make Celine Dion proud in the following video. Mackenzie Wasner American Idol Audition Kiara Lanier American Idol Audition Two others who made sterling impressions: Isabelle Parell , only 15, who briefly dueled with Keith Urban on a Christmas classic, “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” Brandy Neelly , who went with “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and made it sound as if it were written just for her. Solid emotion and vocal control here. Isabelle Parell American Idol Audition Brandy Neelly American Idol Audition
You may not believe it, but American Idol Season 12 isn’t solely about the feud between Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey . There were actual contestants hoping to make it big on last night’s premiere. No, really! And four separated themselves from the very early pack, starting with Tenna Torres , a major Carey fan who actually attended Camp Mariah many years ago: Tenna Torres – American Idol Audition Then there was Frankie Ford , someone who sings for change in the subway system. But maybe he’ll be singing for a lot more in a few weeks: Frankie Ford – American Idol Audition Angela Miller , meanwhile, actually has 60% less hearing than most people. But you would never know it based on this audition: Angela Miller – American Idol Audition Finally, we see big things ahead for Ashlee Feliciano . Just listen to her version below of Corinne Bailey Rae’s “Put Your Records On.” Ashlee Feliciano – American Idol Audition WHO WAS YOUR FAVORITE CONTESTANT FROM THE OPENING NIGHT OF AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 12?
Also in Wednesday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs: Breakfast At Tiffany’s heads to Broadway. The Austin Film Festival sets its closing night selection. Hollywood gives its response to J.K. Rowling ‘s Harry Potter follow-up. And the producer of controversial video Innocence of Muslims remains in custody. Jayne Mansfield’s Car To Close Austin Film Festival Billy Bob Thornton’s Jayne Mansfield’s Car will close the Texas festival October 25th. Separately, AFF also said that James Franco will be in attendance with Francophrenia , his mini-thriller comprised of footage from his appearances on General Hospital . The festival also added Hyde Park On Hudson , Whole Lotta Sole and Deadfall to its roster. David Chase’s Not Fade Away will open the event October 18th. Around the ‘net… Shailene Woodley Eyes Spider-Man Sequel The young star is in talks to play the part of famed Spidey love interest Mary Jane Watson, joining returning stars Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. The pic is currently set for May 2, 2014, HitFix reports . Breakfast At Tiffany’s Aims At Broadway in 2013 Producers said Wednesday that a new adaptation of Breakfast At Tiffany’s is aiming for a Shubert theater in New York City in February 2013. The world premiere will be directed by Sean Mathias. The stage adaption of Truman Capote’s classic 1958 novella will star Emilia Clarke of HBO’s Game of Thrones as the eccentric party girl Holly Golightly, which Audrey Helpburn played in the movie version in 1961, A.P. reports . Liam Neeson is Cashing In on Taken 2 Theres discrepancy on exactly how much, but the figure is well northward of $12 million before it’s all said and done. The sequel had a $45 million budget and opened with $49.5 million last weekend, Deadline reports . Hollywood Gives Tepid Response to J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy She wrote the book that morphed into one of the biggest franchises of all time, but so far Hollywood is not knocking down the door to get the author’s post- Harry Potter follow-up, THR reports . Innocence of Muslims Producer Denies Probation Violations L.A. judge Christina Snyder riled that Mark Basseley Youssef (aka Nakoula Basseley Nakoula) will remain in custody for breaking the terms of his probation on a 2009 bank fraud conviction by making and uploading the anti-Islam film’s 14 minute trailer onto YouTube, Deadline reports .
The first half hour of Here Comes the Boom is so good moviegoers might be fooled into expecting something better than an obvious wish fulfillment fantasy so patently implausible it’s almost insulting. Sadly, those moviegoers would be wrong. Star, producer, and co-writer Kevin James creates a witty, confident everyman in the first act, only to sacrifice him to the pic’s demands for formula and sentimentality thereafter. James plays Scott Voss, a Boston high school biology teacher sunk in a bog of laziness and apathy. He’s the kind of cartoonishly bad educator who arrives late to class every morning and ignores his students while reading the paper with his feet propped on his desk. Yet Scott’s extremely likable all the same: he’s smart, funny, and not too jaded to be inspired by Marty (Henry Winkler), the goofy but saintly music teacher. There’s even a hint of sexual charisma in his failed flirtations with the school nurse (a pleasingly age-appropriate Salma Hayek). The plot gets rolling when the principal (Greg Germann) announces that budget cuts will force the imminent shutdown of the music program. Knowing that Marty is the school’s best teacher, and the father of a surprise late-in-life baby, Scott vows to raise the $48,000 needed to keep the music program running. This promise first leads him to teaching citizenship classes at night school, then inexplicably becoming a cage fighter. Here’s a thought experiment: Is there any way Scott’s four-month journey from middle-aged lug with a few spare tires to mixed-martial artist fighting against professional pugilists half his age could work? Maybe if James was replaced with Tom Hardy or one of the Expendables in their prime. James’ arms are as thick as most men’s calves here, but he still looks more like he’s eaten a professional fighter than become one. It doesn’t help that the movie makes the mistake of having Scott recover as quickly as Wile E. Coyote, further defying its viewers’ suspension of disbelief. Scott’s hare-brained scheme to join the UFC world doesn’t just give the film a serious plausibility problem. It also lowers the character’s IQ by several dozen points even before his opponents punch him repeatedly in the head. Scott just doesn’t seem as smart afterward. The jokes get lazier too. The sharp zingers of the first act are blunted into broad gags, though the pic’s one gross-out scene — which stems from James’ consumption of a batch of bad homemade applesauce — is a hilarious surprise. Worst of all, the sheer unlikelihood of Scott’s victory sends the movie on the fast track to Clichéville, where underdogs win every fight and all fat slobs are secret mensches who deserve hot tamales like Hayek. Luckily, Here Comes the Boom has retired UFC fighter and sports personality Bas Rutten to inject some wild-card energy back into the film. A craggily handsome Dutch giant with a body built for hurting, Rutten is an UFC superstar and one of the hyperviolent league’s most winsome advocates. He’s also a delightfully affable screen presence and pretty much saves the film from drowning in its own cheesiness. Rutten plays Nico, a former fighter and current aerobics instructor who’s a student in Scott’s citizenship class. Nico doesn’t think Scott has what it takes to succeed as a MMA fighter, but he’s a supportive friend and a dedicated coach. Rutten’s character comes with an injured neck in his backstory, so the only ones duking it out in the ring are James and some anonymous muscleheads. The fight scenes are cursory and exist only to trace plot points, not to provide visceral thrills. There’s no movement, no chase, and thus no pleasure. The film’s climactic brawl, between Scott and a tattooed tornado of muscle (MMA fighter Krzysztof Soszynski), is shot UFC-style, at close range with leering, lo-res cameras. The black wire cage that locks the fighters in the ring feels claustrophobic. And yes, there is an alarming amount of blood. Here Comes the Boom is the first R-rated movie in James’ career, and thus feels like a risky project despite its reliance on well-worn tropes. The movie gives the genial actor a makeover by knocking out Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Zookeeper and replacing them with an edgy tough guy who sweats blood and knocks strangers out cold. You know, for the children. It’s that weird dichotomy between gooey values and enthusiastic violence — both the character’s and the film’s — that makes Here Comes the Boom so schizophrenic — and therefore, so interesting. It’s too bad the film’s far-fetched premise and R-rating will mean few viewers will be eager to swallowing James’ strange concoction of sugar and blood. Inkoo Kang is a Boston-based film journalist and regular contributor to BoxOffice Magazine whose work has appeared in Pop Matters and Screen Junkies . She reviews stuff she hates, likes, and hate-likes on her blog THINK-O-VISION . Follow Inkoo Kang on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead needed to prove herself. After years of hopping from genre to genre, she wanted to shed her Scott Pilgrim vs. the World dye job and bloody Final Destination 3 history and find a complex role that would be a game-changer for her career. Luckily, the stars aligned and landed her in front of Smashed director James Ponsoldt, where she not only impressed him enough that he didn’t audition anyone else for the role, but she also helped him cast her leading man, Aaron Paul . Mary Elizabeth sat down with Movieline ahead of the film’s Oct. 12 release to talk about crafting her recovering alcoholic character, Kate Hannah, preparing for the role without meeting anyone first — except for one wild night with Aaron — and sharing her modest, yet poignant, reaction to all of the well-deserved Oscar buzz. And as for all of those big blockbuster roles she’s been “passed over for” throughout the years? She spills about that, too, opening up about the truth behind failed negotiations and what she wants her career path to look like after Smashed . Smashed is a departure from your previous roles, including comedies like Scott Pilgrim and bloody gore like Final Destination 3 . Was it refreshing to play such a dynamic, dramatic character? Yeah, I mean it was such a change of pace. It was almost like changing careers because it was so different. It was great, and it was what I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I’ve needed to sort of prove myself in this capacity for a long time — I needed to show, at least to myself, that I could carry a really complex role, so I knew that I needed to do it for me. The fact that people are actually responding to it is sort of above and beyond what I even was hoping for. How did this role come to you? Did James [Ponsoldt] say, ‘Hey, I want you for this role?’ or did you audition? I had been seeking out smaller scripts. I had been really trying to find something small and intimate, so I had a meeting with Jonathan Schwartz, who is the producer of the film. I didn’t know what he was producing at the time, but I just wanted to meet him because I knew that he had some scripts in the pipeline. After he sent me this script, I just flipped out over it and called him immediately and was just like, ‘Please let me know what I can do to just get my foot in the door and be considered for it!’ So then he set up a meeting with me and James, which went really well. After that, I just sort of took it upon myself to do an audition tape; I taped probably like seven, eight scenes from the movie and sent it to James. And after he and the producers talked it over, they cast me, which was crazy! I expected them to sort of see every actress in Hollywood and go through that whole process, but they didn’t. They didn’t see anyone else. And so it was really, really, amazing. It’s hard to imagine anyone else but you in the role — you embodied Kate to a T. How did you prepare? Is there anything you did in the audition tape that made it into the film? Luckily whatever I did in the audition tape was enough to get me the part, but from my perspective, in retrospect, I feel like it’s terrible! [Laughs] I did so much more work on the character by the time I actually shot it that to me it’s like night and day. When I look at that audition tape, I feel like I’m acting , and I feel like I was able to get to a place by the time I shot the film where it wasn’t acting anymore. I was sort of scared, even after I did the audition tape and got the part, because I still didn’t feel like I had a handle on it at all. So it was scary to me almost to get the part because I was like, ‘Ooh, but I don’t know how to play this!’ So I worked really hard. I really wanted to make sure I did the part justice, and I did whatever I could. I spent a lot of time in AA meetings, I spent a lot of time with James just really carving out Kate’s backstory and becoming really, really specific about that. And just spending a lot of time on myself and my own issues emotionally. It was a lot like, just, therapy. Working through my own stuff. That ended up being the most important thing, the thing that connected me the most to the character — sort of relating my struggles to her struggles and my issues to her issues, and sort of linking those two things up. It was an amazing experience. Is there anything from Kate’s backstory that we didn’t see that you worked together with James on? We talked about her entire life. There are hints at it throughout the film — you see her relationship with her mom, you know there’s probably a lot of pain there, especially childhood pain. And so we fleshed that out quite a bit with her dad leaving and what age, what age did she start drinking and why, and what age did it become her identity to be the fun drunk girl, and how that became so much easier to be than to be herself. How it became easier to be the drunk girl than to be the girl with all of these problems. So that was the thing that we really focused in on. You said you went to some AA meetings to prepare. Was there anything else that you did? I’m sure you didn’t go on any drinking binges to get into your character… Yeah, I went on one! I went on one with James and Aaron! [Laughs] I hope you weren’t on a bike. No, not on a bike. James was our designated driver. And it was in part to get into character, but it was mostly for us to feel the dynamic with each other — what we’re like when we’re drunk. Because the couple is like that so much; it’s how they spend their lives together, is drunk. So we wanted to kind of start off with that. And also it helped because Aaron and I didn’t have any rehearsal time. We had only met each other once before. It was a good way for us to get to know each other really fast. You know, when you sort of go out and get drunk with someone, you become close pretty quickly. [Laughs] It was a nice way to sort of expedite that process. And by the time we showed up [on set], we felt close enough to be able to go to those places together. Was Aaron cast before you or after you? After me. Everyone was cast after me. It was like a total shock. It was so crazy. I had no idea that the supporting roles were going to end up being these incredible actors. I mean, that really took it to a whole new level. I knew it was an incredible script, I knew it was an incredible part I was dying to play, but I sort of thought it was a tiny movie, that it was probably going to be all unknowns, and we were kind of just going to try to get people to see it and do our best. And then when they started telling me who was going to be playing the other roles, I was like, ‘Oh, people are going to see this! This is a real movie! This is really happening!’ [Laughs] So, yeah, that was incredibly exciting. And you mentioned that you and Aaron had only met once or twice before. Did you do a chemistry read together or did you meet at all? No. I kind of knew that Aaron was everybody’s favorite. He was my favorite, he was everybody’s favorite. [Laughs] We had talked about a lot of people for that part, but he was the only one that everyone agreed on. We’d come up with other names, but it would be very polarizing. Like, one person would be like, ‘That person would be great!’ and another person would be like, ‘No! Definitely not!’ [Laughs] But Aaron was the first name that came up that everyone went, ‘Yeah! That would be great.’ I still wanted to meet him, just because I didn’t know him personally. I knew he was an incredible actor and I had such admiration for him, but I also knew that I needed to work with somebody in that role who was going to be really open and who was going to be someone I felt comfortable with, because you have to go to a lot of humiliating places doing a role like this. You don’t want it to be someone who you feel like is going to be closed off or is going to be too cool to really give anything back. From the moment I met him, he was so open and warm and genuine and lovely, and just the sweetest person. And now I feel like everybody else knows that he’s the sweetest person in the world, but I’m like, how didn’t I already know that? [Laughs] I shouldn’t have even had to have met him to find that out. But it was great, and after I met him, I sort of told everybody that he was perfect, and then he came back. Honestly, your chemistry reads like you’ve known each other for years. Although their love story is far from perfect, If you take the alcohol out, could you see their relationship continuing? For me, having learned a lot about alcoholism and AA from researching the character, I’m very much of the feeling that they can never be together, as heartbreaking as that is. Just because no matter what they have that co-dependency that they’re naturally going to want to fall back into. And it would be such a struggle for them to have a normal, healthy relationship that it would make them both really tempted to go back to alcohol. And I think as an alcoholic, you have to really keep yourself in the most healthy of environments at all times. So I think for her it would just be a mistake to put herself back into that really unstable place. But I do love the fact that the end is so hopeful for him; that he is going to figure his life out. And that one day, I do think that they could be really great friends. I think there’s a lot of love there and they will be able to be in each other’s lives, but I don’t see them ever being a couple. The craziest part for me was that you don’t really see how damaged Kate’s life is until she really hits that downward spiral. That’s the thing. It certainly isn’t a message movie by any means, but we are kind of making a point that even if you stop drinking, it doesn’t mean your life suddenly becomes easier — it actually becomes harder in a lot of ways because you have to deal with your pain. It’s better, but it’s hard. It felt like a very realistic portrayal of alcoholism, especially with Kate’s two split personalities. How did you balance the dynamic of both opposing sides of her persona? What’s great about it is that it just felt like, for the first time to me, that I was playing a really whole person. Because we all have so many different sides to our personalities, but you just never see that on screen. I think that’s why it’s so surprising that it feels so different, because we’re not used to seeing people on screen show so many different sides of themselves — we’re not usually really allowed to since characters are usually more one-dimensional. So I loved that; I loved being able to do that. I felt like I was able to bring all the different shades of my own personality to her, and there was nothing that I had to shut off. Your chemistry with the entire cast — including Nick Offerman’s offbeat character, Megan Mullally as your boss, and Octavia Spencer as your sponsor — was incredible. How did you form that dynamic? I think it was just luck, and James casting the right people. We didn’t have any rehearsal time — we didn’t even meet! Aaron was the only person I even met before we started working. Did you all even do a read through together or did you just jump into it? No, we just showed up and just did the scenes! It was just one of those lightning in a bottle things where everything just comes together and everyone was so wonderful. We were very lucky. The most surprising part was that most of the cast were comedic actors playing straight. What was that like, both in and out of character? It was just really lovely. It was such an amazing group of people who are all just lovely human beings. They’re all super funny, but not in that way that they have to constantly be telling a joke or constantly getting attention — not in that way at all. Just lovely people to be around. So it was a comfortable, relaxed environment, and it was sort of like the film. We would go from laughing together to talking about more serious things. We just felt like a family. It just felt like a place that you could really be yourself, which was the ideal environment for a film like this. Now that you’ve done such a big drama, what’s next? Rom-com? Adventure? I know you’ve seemingly been passed over for some of those big blockbuster roles, including Cobie Smulders’ role in The Avengers . But if you took that role, do you think you would be where you are now? And do you have any hopes to be that big blockbuster star? Yeah, I mean, it’s funny, because some of those roles — well, the majority of them, I was just plain passed over for them [Laughs] — but some of them I actually chose not to do as well because I don’t really just want to be the blockbuster star, and I don’t necessarily want to sign onto seven films in a role that I’m not really passionate about. That’s actually happened several times as well, where in the news it sort of seems like, ‘Oh, she lost the part,’ but in reality, it just falls apart in the negotiation process and you realize that this isn’t really something I’m passionate enough about to agree to ‘X, X, and X,’ and sign the contract on. [Laughs] So that’s happened a bunch, too. Because I do really want to do films like this. That’s the majority of stuff I want to do. But unfortunately, you don’t get paid to do films like this! [Laughs] You get enough to go to a nice dinner. That’s basically the money that you get paid. So you do have to think about your career and making a living and how you’re going to do that. Going forward, I would love to work with directors like Rian Johnson and Joss Whedon; people like that who are doing big films but do have really independent voices. That’s kind of what I want to focus on, is always working with people with at least an independent point of view, even if it’s not an independent film. Well, on that note, congratulations! For this film, you already have a lot of Oscar buzz. What, in the perfect situation, would you like to happen next whether you win an award or not? I think for most actors, because we sort of have to tell ourselves this, we always say, ‘Oh, it doesn’t mean anything to win an Oscar!’ It certainly isn’t a goal that you want to set yourself up for, because then you’re just setting yourself up for disaster. Because how many people actually win an Oscar? So I would certainly never imagine that for myself, but the thing about those kind of awards are that they are completely life-changing. You’re given a power that so few other people in the industry have. And so that’s the thing, that I would sort of just want to use … for good! [Laughs] I sound like a superhero. But to help make good movies. I would love to be in the position where my name is a name that is large enough in some capacity to make things happen in the industry. To be able to fund a small film or be able to discover a new voice and give them a platform. That’s something I would really love to to do. Smashed hits limited theaters in New York and Los Angeles on Oct. 12. Alyse Whitney is an editor at Wetpaint Entertainment. You can follow her on Twitter @AlyseWhitney .
The Voice’s Blind Auditions have come to an end at last. Four teams of 16 have now advanced. Yep, 16. The bigger rosters made the opening round drag on a bit toward the end, but the coaches still entertained throughout. All four coaches added their final two team members last night, with the Battle Rounds set to begin next week. Let’s take a look at who made it though Monday … Team Adam Levine Adam, picked up Caitlin Michele, a 20-year-old whose “Cosmic Love” wowed him enough to turn around, and Kayla Nevarez, whose “American Boy” also intrigued Xtina: Caitlin Michelle – Cosmic Love (The Voice Blind Audition) Kayla Nevarez – American Boy (The Voice Blind Audition) Team Christina Aguilera The self-proclaimed fat girl beat out Blake and Adam out for Nathalie Hernandez, then bested Blake and Cee Lo for the rights to Celica Westbrook after “A Thousand Years” … Celica Westbrook – A Thousand Years (The Voice Blind Audition) Nathalie Hernandez – White Horse (The Voice Blind Audition) Team Blake Shelton The country star picked up Nicole Johnson and Rudy Parris, both of which felt tailor made to join Team Shelton, even if others made good cases: Rudy Parris – Every Breath You Take (The Voice Blind Audition) Nicole Johnson – Mr. Know It All (The Voice Blind Audition) Team Cee Lo Green Finally, the round mound of sound filled out his squad for Chevonne, a backup singer for Lady Gaga, and Cody Belew, who was awesome on “Hard to Handle” … Chevonne – Brass in Pocket (The Voice Blind Audition) Cody Belew – Hard to Handle (The Voice Blind Audition) Who do you think was the best of the night? Whose team is tops overall? Who is your favorite judge? Any predictions for a winner in the early stages? Discuss!
