‘The Voice’ recap: Talented teens, twentysomethings and twins

“As much as I hate to admit it, Adam is absolutely on fire this season,” Blake Shelton said of his fellow “Voice” coach and frequent sparring (and cuddling) partner Adam Levine as the second week of blind auditions rolled to a close on Tuesday. “I hope he burns up.”

Levine’s patented style of pleading with contestants he especially wants to join his team does seem to be paying off of late, netting him some top talent. But Shelton has little reason to complain or to wish his fellow coach ill. He himself has been on an ultra-hot streak, landing his share – perhaps more than his share -- of coveted four- and three-chair turns, and earning both the admiration and ire of the newer coaches, Pharrell Williams and Gwen Stefani.

On Tuesday’s episode, Stefani got so ticked at the country coach for swiping a singer with whom she felt a special connection, Cole Criske, that she actually threw her high-heeled shoe, and whatever else she had at hand, at him.

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“I hate you. Hate,” the No Doubt singer told Shelton, with what sounded like genuine feeling.

“That’s only temporary,” an unbothered Shelton replied.

Williams, for his part, expressed wonder at the dazzling effects of Shelton’s easy charm on the singers parading across the “Voice” stage.

“He’s a magician. He speaks with that accent and they become mesmerized,” Williams observed. “And by the way, it’s not just country.”

Indeed, it is not. This season, as in those previous, Shelton has used his magic to beguile singers from all sorts of genres. But rare is the country singer who can resist the pull of his promised help – the guidance, expertise, connections and loyalty he vows to put at their disposal -- not to mention his history of racking up wins.

“You could have been like ‘rrrhuh.’ That could have been your commentary and she would have been like, ‘Blake!’” Levine said – part dismissive, part admiring – after one talented country singer chose Shelton over the three other coaches on Tuesday.

None of this is to say that Stefani and Williams haven’t welcomed some strong contenders onto their teams as well.

Here are the singers who made it onto teams on Tuesday’s blind auditions:

Darius Scott: This artistically diverse 23-year-old Dallas-based “freelance stylist” spun Levine, Stefani and Williams with his vocally smooth, agile “You Make Me Wanna …” Levine vowed to “fight like a maniac” for Scott, and Stefani promised they’d have fun experimenting with different styles. But Scott had eyes – or at least a limb – for only one coach: Williams, whose old band name he revealed he had tattooed on his arm. “High school wouldn’t have been high school without N.E.R.D.,” Scott said. “So I pick Pharrell.” Levine later said Scott might be Williams’ “best guy.”

Korin Bukowski: This 20-year-old premed student from Miami showed she had vocal potency behind her cutely quirky tone and vibe when she sang “Cecilia and the Satellite,” capturing the attention of Stefani, who noted that she also had “a lot of dynamics and range.” Stefani, who turned out to be Bukowski’s “idol,” later said the singer had “real style to her voice” and that she believed their pairing was “meant to be.”

Krista Hughes: Shelton often uses the phrase “real deal” when he talks about a certain sort of country singer, and this 22-year-old from Coal City, W.Va., a town so small it doesn’t have a traffic light, she says, sure seems like the genuine article. Born to a 14-year-old mother, raised by her grandparents, and wowed at her entry into a world filled with airplane trips across the country, Hughes did her doting grandpa proud and turned four chairs with her perfect take on “Angel From Montgomery.” The other coaches made their pitches – Stefani begged her to think of the crossover appeal of Taylor Swift -- but even they knew Shelton had her before he opened his mouth to tell her she needed a coach with country music expertise. “I think Krista could win this thing,” Shelton said. “She’s real good, real deal. That’s awesome.”

Chance Pena: Levine may have made a solid score when he picked up this entrepreneurial vocalist, a handsome 15-year-old who is already booking his own gigs at bars and restaurants in his hometown of Tyler, Texas. This kid seems destined have major young-girl-voter appeal. “You guys screwed up so badly,” Levine said, after he turned out to be the only coach to spin his chair. Stefani agreed that she’d messed up and promised to try to steal Pena in the battles, if Levine makes a “really dumb” move and lets him go.

Viktor Kiraly: Born in New York, this 31-year-old singer moved with his parents to Hungary when he was 16. Now living in Budapest, he has found fame as a singer there, but is hoping to find broader success in the United States. Kiraly turned four chairs with his polished, professional take on “What’s Going On.” He seemed destined to choose Williams, especially after the musician/producer immediately identified his admiration for Donny Hathaway, whose song lyrics Kiraly said he has tattooed on his back. But Levine got Kiraly with his hard sell. “I’ll tell you right now you could win this entire thing … 100%,” the Maroon 5 singer told him. “Adam was so psyched about working with me,” he felt he had to choose him, Kiraly later explained.

Cole Criske: Moved to seriously pursue music after his father was killed by a drunk driver when he was 10, Criske hopes to follow in the footsteps of Xenia, a Team Blake Season 1 contestant who hails from Criske’s hometown of Temecula. “If she can do it, I can do it, too,” he said of Xenia’s modest success. His heartfelt “Dreaming With a Broken Heart” turned Stefani, Shelton and Williams. Stefani, who turned first, commended Criske on his ability to bravely “lock eyes” with her. But Shelton smartly played his strong hand, reminding Criske that he had continued to support Xenia’s career long after Season 1 ended. “It’s a friendship,” he said, adding, “Also I’ve won this show four times, and I really enjoy the balloon festival that they have in Temecula every year.” Later, after Shelton got Criske, Stefani asked him how he’d done it. “He’s 16. Kids like balloons,” he quipped.

Alex Kandel: Stefani had better luck with this 22-year-old singer, who had enjoyed success as the lead singer of the alternative-rock band Sleeper Agent before the band dissolved, and who now works as a nanny in Nashville. Stefani and Levine competed, though not urgently, for Kandel, who had started strong but grown shaky as her performance progressed. Kendel said she missed her band and revealed that she had met Levine once at a party at Coachella. He didn’t recall, but Kandel probably would have picked Stefani, of whom she said she was a “huge fan,” as her coach anyway.

Celeste Betton: Although Betton’s grasp on pitch was slippery, something about her performance of “Love You I Do” spoke to Williams. His was the only chair to turn for this 27-year-old Georgia native who’d put her career on hold as a young mom. Williams said it sounded like Betton was singing the song “because it really meant something” to her and that he felt he “couldn’t not hit” his button and reward that. “It needed to happen for her,” he later said.

Andi & Alex: These adorable, giggly identical 23-year-old twins from Green Bay, Wis., who finish each other’s sentences and are discernable from each other only by hair length and nose jewelry, have been polishing their harmonies since they were at least 5, so it probably shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that they turned all four chairs and prompted Levine to gush that they were “one of the most perfectly fitting duos” he had ever heard. Stefani said she’d love to work with them on interesting arrangements. Williams said he wanted to learn from them, as he had from his team member and last season’s winner Sawyer Fredericks. Shelton reminded them that he had been the only coach to take a duo all the way to the finale, referring to the Swon Brothers, from Season 4. But Levine didn’t give up the fight, telling them song choice was “crucial” as well as his “strong point as a coach,” and they picked him.

Teams are filling fast, with only two spots remaining on each team. Next week, the coaches will choose their final vocalists – and then it will be on to the battles.