‘The Voice’ recap: Season 7 starts with new coaches, new possibilities

Is it me, or does it feel like Pharrell Williams and Gwen Stefani have been coaches on “The Voice” forever?

The two music industry mega-talents made their debuts as the singing-competition show kicked off its seventh season Monday night, joining veteran coaches Blake Shelton and Adam Levine. And although Williams and Stefani were new at the game, they played it as if they’d been at it all their lives. Each seemed right at home in his or her big red spinning chair.

I guess it must not have been just me, because partway through, after finally landing a coveted singer, having been beaten for others, Levine said, “Gwen and Pharrell are getting a little comfortable. I adore those two, but I need to make them understand that this is my house.”

Oh, Adam. Competitive, competitive, Adam. What would “The Voice” be without you?

Shelton, for his part, came armed with material to use on the new coaches. “Don’t speak,” he told the No Doubt frontwoman as they vied for a vocalist, hushing her with her own song title. Shelton expressed dismay that Williams had not worn his trademark oversized hat, rather than a smaller one, since he’d come ready to crack wise about it, and teased the two new coaches for their cozy relationship after Williams referred to Stefani as his “boo.”

Will we see coach alliances crop up in Season 7? Williams and Stefani have collaborated before and may have each other’s backs here. Shelton and Levine are still in the throes of their bromance, rocky though it may be.

Judging from the season opener, the new coaches, who confidently landed some solid talent straight out of the gate, seem set to give Shelton and Levine a solid run for the win. And, really, “comfortable” is just the word for how it feels to be back watching this show for yet another season.

Here’s who made it onto the show on Monday night:

-- Luke Wade, a 31-year-old soul singer from Dublin, Texas, whose mother used to dress him in sequins to perform at her dance studio and who lost the vision in one eye in a paintball accident, spun all four chairs with his impassioned rendition of “That’s How Strong My Love Is.”

Levine clambered up on his chair and said he wanted to get even higher, to “swing from the rafters” and shout from the mountaintops that Wade was set to win and do so on his team. Stefani talked about her experience and how “pumped up” she was to compete. Shelton cited his previous “Voice” wins -- Jermaine Paul, Cassadee Pope and Danielle Bradbery. But Williams rattled off some even bigger names -- “Justin,” “Robin” -- saying he knew “a thing or two about blue-eyed soul” and just what to do with Wade’s voice.

“That’s all I want to do is be your amplifier,” Williams said. Wade chose him, eliciting a “So happy!” from the man who made those words especially famous.

-- Clara Hong, 22, of Atlanta told us how difficult her move to the United States from South Korea at age 8 was and how music had been her “escape,” and then turned three chairs -- Levine’s, Stefani’s and Williams’ -- with “Chuck E.’s in Love,” using the Rickie Lee Jones song to showcase her airy-smooth sound. Williams called her tone “like silk,” to which Hong replied, “You’re silk!”

Stefani used words like “character,” “personality,” and “alluring,” and then took the microphone and showed Hong how to draw an audience in. Both Levine and Williams wrote poems about how they should be her pick. And though you, like me and apparently even Hong herself, may have expected her to go for Williams -- of whom she had already said she was a big fan -- she ultimately chose Levine, following her “gut,” she later said.

-- Military kid Bryana Salaz, only 16, who officially hails from San Antonio but has lived all over the country, sang “Problem,” turning Levine, Shelton and Stefani with her spirited rendition of the Ariana Grande song.

Levine did his usual hard-sell/Blake-poke thing, telling Salaz that she was “already so much better at singing than Blake is” and that it would be a “major loss” if she didn’t end up on Team Adam. Stefani called Salaz a “sparkly princess girl” and said she could best relate to her “because I’m a girl.” When Levine objected to Stefani playing the “girl card,” Shelton got Levine back by saying the high-voiced Maroon 5 singer could play it, too.

Ultimately, Salaz picked Stefani, calling her an inspiration. For extra inspiration, Stefani had brought sparkly “Team Gwen” T-shirts to distribute to her vocalists, which was a nice touch.

-- After a heartbreaking interlude in which a 52-year-old former country singer who worked in the dirt-contracting business failed to hit pay dirt, turning zero chairs, a 35-year-old singer named Damien, originally from Louisiana but now living in Los Angeles, took the stage.

Damien works for the Transportation Security Administration at Los Angeles International Airport, and had been involved in the 2013 incident in which a gunman opened fire at a security checkpoint. His partner was shot in the leg; another agent, Gerardo Hernandez, was killed. Damien sang at Hernandez’s funeral and became more resolved to pursue his musical dreams because “tomorrow is never promised to you.”

He turned all four chairs with “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday,” and then dissolved into tears, explaining that the validation felt so good after having been told no “so many times.” Stefani gave Damien a hug and said his runs were “so tasteful.” Williams called his voice “amazing.” Levine said that, as they had said “yes” to Damien, Levine would like to get a “yes” in return. Shelton said his voice stood out, not only on the show, but also in the music industry. Eventually, Levine got his “yes;” Damien felt the Maroon 5 singer had come across as “the most genuine in his words.”

-- Allison Bray, an 18-year-old country singer who’d failed to make it last season, came back to “prove to the coaches that I have what it takes.” Shelton and Stefani turned quickly for her “Merry Go Round,” and Levine followed soon after. But once Bray announced she was from Louisville, Ky., she seemed like Shelton’s contestant to lose. Stefani and Levine made their pitches about trying something new. Shelton said he was “completely” blown away, called Bray’s voice a “breath of fresh air,” and declared that it was “the most excited I’ve been sitting in this chair in a long time.” Shelton it was. “Blake is the one I feel I came back for and I got him, so I feel awesome,” Bray said later.

-- After the next singer got gently turned away, Taylor John Williams, a 23-year-old pop-folk singer who works at the Sniff Dog Hotel in Portland, Ore., tried his luck, noting that if he could capture the attention of people hanging out with their pooches when he performed in a dog cafe, he could probably make the coaches take notice.

His acoustic take on “Heartless” did turn the heads -- and the chairs -- of Levine and Stefani. Levine called young Williams “the real deal” and said “every single note” he’d hit was “perfect.” Stefani complimented Williams on his creativity and individuality and said she expected him to inspire her, adding that he’d made her “actually hot.” The contestant called it a “tough” choice, but ultimately went with Stefani, saying she’d seemed to understand him.

-- Cute 18-year-old Elyjuh Rene, an R&B, soul and pop singer from Long Beach, who started out singing in church and wore matching shirts with his single mom/manager, put his own spin on Beyonce’s “XO.” He spun Levine and Williams and then wept. “The first word that came to my mind when I heard your singing was ‘anointed,’” Williams told Rene, adding that, although he didn’t know his story, he’d heard him “expressing it in everything” he sang. Levine said some things about “joy” and “passion” and bliss, but Williams seemed to be talking more about fight and fire. Williams nabbed the singer for his team.

-- Another contestant was turned away, setting the stage for the evening’s final contestant, James David Carter, 34, of Atlanta, who had turned to music after an injury robbed him of his football-playing dreams. Carter had opened up for various country stars at his local honky tonk, but said he was ready for his “big break.”

His “Nobody Knows” indicated he may well get it, prompting all four coaches to turn their chars -- quickly -- and to give him a standing ovation when he finished.

“There wasn’t a nervous second in your performance,” Williams observed, complimenting Carter’s pitch and finesse. “You are the total package.”

Stefani told Carter he’d stand out on her team, making her a solid strategic pick, and Levine touted his own ability to win. But Shelton’s sell couldn’t be beat.

“Songs are the lifeblood of an artist on this show. I can guarantee you none of these three have ever heard of [country singer and author] Kevin Sharp,” he said. “I don’t want to see you end up on a team [where] there’s not a working knowledge of what’s either current in country music, what is classic in country music … you’ve got to do the right thing.”

Carter did what he felt was the right thing for him: “I have to go with my gut,” he said. “I have to go with Mr. Blake Shelton.”

“Whoo! I got a good one!” Shelton said.

He did, and so did the other coaches.

Looks like it’s going to be a good season.