VOICE OVER: Week 3 Kicks Off With Lots of Soul!

Tonight's episode of The Voice was packed with ridiculously talented singers of all ages and backgrounds! With so many potential rock stars, the decision was hard for coaches Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, and Blake Shelton.

The night started with Michele Brooks Thompson, a bank teller who had been told by many friends as well as her supportive husband that she absolutely had to audition for The Voice. Hoping that her dream would not be shut down, she totally let loose as she sang "Proud Mary," and to great avail. It didn't take long for Adam and Cee Lo to push their buttons, and Christina soon followed suit. Adam told her, "I'm impressed by things I can't do. You have an ability to do something that seems supernatural to me. I'd be blessed to work with you. I think you're incredible." With praise like that, she couldn't possibly say no. Michelle said "My heart has to go with Adam." When Adam realized he had been picked, he did a victory dance in his seat. 

Diego Val age 25 had quite a story to tell about overcoming physical obstacles. He overcame a disease that was basically supposed to damage the hip bone until he couldn't walk anymore. While he was hospitalized for a long time, his grandmother gave him a guitar. When he got well, he decided to give back and sing to kids in the hospital. Tonight, he sang "Animal" by Neon Trees with his own fun, slow style, putting his own spin on it by singing in his native tongue for a little while. By default, Diego was added to Cee Lo's team, though Christina also said, "He's hot!"

Lauren Brooke, age 24 struggled with dyslexia in a big way when she was younger, which caused her to be shy. But when she learned to sing, everything changed. She gained a lot of confidence. That confidence definitely showed through in her version of Carrie Underwood's "Cowboy Cassanova." However, confidence was not all she needed to move on to the next round, so the coaches did not push their buttons.

A music teacher for very young children, Suzanna Choffel thought this was her time to step up from teaching music and actually put it into practice for herself. She sang "Landslide" by Stevie Nicks, and within less than ten seconds, Adam eagerly pushed the red button, then Blake did so as well. The latter told her, "You did a rock song with a little bit of a country flair to it. I want to get you where you need to go, and I think that could the the final." Adam told her, "It's hard for something to sound refreshingly unique, and that's what I heard from you," and she chose Blake, to Adam's obvious surprise.

Though their full performances were not aired, Blake gained two more singers: 16-year-old Michaela Paige, who sang "Sober," and Ryan Jirovec after his performance of "Amazed."

The next contestant was a very cute 22-year-old audience favorite, who brought to mind the British boy band One Direction in looks. Though coming into these auditions was very intimidating because Dez Duron unsuccessfully auditioned last year, he said, "The Voice is an unbelievable opportunity, I'm never going to back down from something because it's a little scary." Amid the sound of young girls screaming with excitement, he sang "Sara Smile" by Hall and Oates. Blake pushed the button almost immediately; Christina pushed it next, then Cee Lo did the same. After his performance, Dez had to ask the girls in the audience to stop screaming so he could tell the judges how much he admired them. The coaches were practically falling over themselves with compliments for him. Cee Lo told him, "It felt so genuine! You really succeeded! We'd be a perfect fit because soul music is my thing." Trying to combat that and promote herself, Christina said, "Soul is my thing too! For your voice, the sky is the limit!" Blake gave up beating around the bush and just came right out and said what everyone was thinking, "This dude is good-looking. I'm man enough to say this to you: man-to-man, you're hot! You reminded me of... Elvis!" Adam sat back laughing at all of them, telling Dez, "I'm pretty sure all three of them want to date you." He finally made his decision, choosing to join Team Christina.

VJ, the next singer, taught music lessons at Silverlake Conservatory. "I want to take the next step from being a teacher, to becoming a full-fledged performer." Because of his love for Cee Lo, he chose to sing Cee Lo's "Forget You" in his own jazz style, hoping to be picked by the artist himself. No one ended up pushing the button, but Cee Lo joined VJ on stage after the performance and sang it with him. The way this guy was looking when he left, I'm pretty sure he forgot that he hadn't been picked by any of the coaches.

Alexis Marceaux, who had been writing ever since she was thirteen, dropped out of college to perform with bands from her hometown in New Orleans. However, when Hurricane Katrina came around, her family's house was unsalvageably hit. "Music was the true therapy to help me get through everything. My performance today is all for my city." Cee Lo turned around first when Alexis sang "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac. He called her voice, "Wonderfully impeccable. Fluid but solid." And with that, Alexis was yet another addition to Team Cee Lo.

Three more contestants' performances were not aired completely, but nevertheless, rocker Sam James made Team Adam, fiery pop singer Laura Vivas Team Christina, and Lelia Broussard Team Blake.

Another young contestant, 17-year-old Brandon Mahone said his voice was influenced by artists like The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, and Gladys Knight. His family moved from Chicago to Indianapolis because of violence at his school; so he said, "This opportunity can help me help my mom and the rest of the family." Not surprisingly, he sang a Temptations classic, "I Wish it Would Rain." Adam, who always seems to know who he wants immediately, turned around first, followed by Cee Lo, then Christina. The Maroon 5 star callEd Brandon a soul singer, saying, "It didn't sound like you were imitating any of [the classic soul, motown singers], it sounded like you were one of them." With that kind of commitment, how could he not choose Team Adam?

To Jeffrey James, getting chosen for someone's team on The Voice would totally change his world, as he told Carson Daly. He did his own version of Elvis Presley's, "A Little Less Conversation." Though Adam rocked out in his seat, no one pushed the red button, to his surprise. Adam seemed a little surprised too: "Dude, I know you're shocked because no one turned around, because you were awesome." But the coaches reminded him that not everyone who is good can be picked.

After him, another wave of people did not get to fulfill their dreams that night. Some of them, however, were encouraged to return after some practice.

No stranger to the big stage, Georgia native Jordan Pruitt recorded her first album at age ten. At age 14, she got a call from Disney, which led to her touring with The Cheetah Girls, Vanessa Hudgens, and she even had two hits on Billboard. Though some may say she's already got everything, Jordan wanted more. She said her dream was to make it big not as a teen pop star, but a mainstream star. Jordan sang Katy Perry's "The One That Got Away," and Christina, Jordan's idol, pushed her red button very quickly. She said, "I have been waiting for you, Jordan. I'm so happy that you're on my team."

The last contestant of the night was a sassy and fun singer named Terisa Griffin. When she was younger, Terisa drove out to Chicago to seek her fortune as a singer and barely scraped a living. But she finally landed a substantial gig which earned her enough money to really establish herself. Tonight, she brought soul to the stage with "Someone Like You," by Adele. During her song, Blake kept looking over at Christina saying things like, "She's yours! Do you not see how perfect she would be for you?" so Christina was the first to push the button, then the country star himself did so as well. Christina flat out told her, "You soared on those notes, and I would have been an idiot to not push my button." Next, Blake said, "I thought you were great! At first, I was thinking you're perfect for Christina, then just thought I should get you myself!" After asking them multiple questions about what they would do for her as a mentor, Terisa chose Blake, to the surprise of everyone in the room, including Blake.

So as of September 24, Team Adam is in the lead with fourteen, followed by Team Cee Lo and Team Christina with thirteen, and Team Blake has twelve. Visit www.nbc.com/the-voice/artists/ to view the full list of mentees.

You can download your favorites from tonight's performances at www.iTunes.com/thevoice. Keep up with The Voice through the week on Twitter:@NBCTheVoice.