HomeTVThe Voice UK episode 1 recap

The Voice UK episode 1 recap

And so begins the first episode of the third series of The Voice UK. This year none other than pop royalty Kylie Minogue has joined the coaches and tonight sits in one those famous red chairs alongside the other new addition Kaiser Chiefs front man Ricky Wilson. Returning to coaching duties are  the ever entertaining will.i.am and Sir Tom Jones, or as Kyle says ‘snake hips himself’. It will be interesting to see the new dynamic between the coaches in action tonight, we hope Ricky plans to fulfil Danny O’Donoghue’s stand on the chair/flirt with the crowd duties.

Replacing Holly and Reggie as hosts are Big Brother presenter Emma Willis and JLS’s Marvin Humes. Tonight they are on consulting/congratulating duty for the start of the blind audition rounds. We kick off series three with a group song from the coaches, starting with Kaiser Chiefs anthem ‘I Predict a Riot’ and switching into Kylie’s ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head.‘ After the new coaches get comfortable in their chairs we meet Lee from Coventry. Lee surprises the coaches with an interesting take on Kylies Can’t Get You Out of My Head. ‘ The coaches look interested but wait until the second half of the performance to turn – at the end of his performance Lee is delighted to get a clean sweep. Kylie says his voice is ‘otherworldly’ which we think is good because Lee opts to choose team Kylie, a wise choice.

Up next is Christina from Bristol, for whom singing runs in the family. Christina has lovely hair and a mum that cries. Katy Perry look-a-like Christina surprises us by singing the Whitney Houston karaoke classic ‘I have nothing.’ The coaches make her wait until the final note before they hit their buttons – Kylie, ‘tricky Ricky’ and Tom all want Christina on their team.  Ricky talks a good talk and despite Kylie playing the girl card he wins Christina as his first act and sprightly Ricky celebrates with a cartwheel.

Marvin now introduces us to glamorous mum Danielle, her very cute daughter is a Peter Andre fan, but we won’t hold that against her.  Danielle gets off to a shaky start on her rendition of L.O.V.E and the nerves definitely affect her vocals. Danielle fails to impress the coaches but her hilarious daughter definitely does.

Moving on to 17 year old harp playing Anna, who is going to picture her butterflies flying out of her stomach to conquer nerves apparently. Anna’s haunting performance of ‘Get Lucky’ is lovely and Ricky is first to show his appreciation. The others all look entranced though and it’s no surprise when on the final note Will joins Ricky. Will says he turned because he ‘wouldn’t mind losing trying to win you’ Ricky says she can ‘bring beauty to anything’. It almost comes down to an arm wrestle but Anna opts to choose team i.am. Anna is our fave so far.

Our first welsh contestant is up! Incredibly Tara is a Nessa look-a-like by trade. Tara is country gal and her choice ‘You make my dreams come true’ gets the coaches dancing in their seats. We thought Tara had Team Tom written all over her but fails to get the silver bear turning. Tara is just delighted to get a chance to talk to Tom.

16 year old, piano playing, footballing Ryan now. Ryan performs ‘Don’t Go’ which was sampled in a Wretch 32 song. Ryan has a nice voice but fails to set the coaches alight. When the song is finished Will says that he didn’t realise Ryan was playing the piano and now feels like he made a mistake. Sir Tom says it felt a bit safe.

Another 16 year old next, Yorkshire gal Beth is already used to playing the pubs and clubs. She takes to the stage with her guitar and gets Will’s interest straight away with her version of ‘Sexy and I know it.’ Ricky is first to turn and the crowd are really behind Beth. On the last note Kylie opts to fight Ricky for Beth. Beth says that Tom sounds like god, much to the coaches’ amusement. Beth then wows the coaches with some amusing toilet flush chatter and then opts to join team Ricky, we think Kylie might be slightly relieved.

Moving on to 54 year old Sally Barker, who has been singing for 30 years and performed with the likes of Bob Dylan.  Sally has obviously had a tough time since and we really hope she impresses the coaches. Sally sings ‘Don’t lets me be misunderstood’ and Tom’s hand hovers over his button and with some encouragement from Miss Minogue he makes Sally the first member of his team. Kylie eloquently says that she knew that ‘beautiful dove of a voice had to fly Tom’s way’ which is rather a lovely way of saying no thanks.

Last tonight is Leo next, who has had a lot of success with The Streets. Suited and booted Leo says that he left the band because he is ready to be Batman rather than Robin. Leo sings ‘Holding back the years’ and his voice sounds great to us. The coaches agree that it’s good and Kylie in particular seems to be loving it. Kylie is first to turn and Tom goes too. Kylie gets very over excited and squeals when she sees Leo and has to go away and compose herself. Tom offers the chance to do duets with him but Kylie is determined to win her man and flirts A LOT saying that ‘they could have a good time together’ and does some namedropping for good measure. It works, Leo joins team Minogue and that’s all for tonight.

Louise McKenna
Louise McKenna
I’m Louise and I’ve joined the EF team to report on The Voice UK and provide you with a handy recap of each episode. When not in front of the TV, I can be found enjoying the latest contemporary theatre and comedy London has to offer.

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