Meet the Artists Advancing from Last Night's THE VOICE

Last night on NBC's THE VOICE, the following artists made it through the blind auditions:

Brothers Walker (Team Usher) - Bernie, MO

Coty and Clinton Walker played in a band together for 11 years and then opened a recording studio together. Coty runs the studio while Clinton teaches music. Even though they enjoy producing, they want to give their band another shot. Follow the Brothers on Twitter at @BrothersWalker.

Clarissa Serna (Team Shakira) - Corpus Christi, TX

Clarissa performed with a band for seven years. After little success, she decided to start working at her parents' real estate company. She volunteers at a rock camp for young girls and encourages them to never give up on their dreams. She auditioned for The Voice to follow her own advice and keep her dream alive. Follow Clarissa on Twitter at @ClarissaSerna.

DeShawn Washington (Team Shakira) - Natchitoches, LA

DeShawn is a small town guy with big city dreams. He was working on achieving his dreams in college, but he had to quit in order to support his family. He prides himself on his classic soul sound, which is hard to find in such a young voice. DeShawn wants to show that no matter the obstacle, he can achieve his dreams. Follow DeShawn on Twitter at @DeShawnMusic23.

Joshua Howard (Team Adam) - Philadelphia, PA

Joshua has played music his whole life and is very close with his family. His greatest inspiration is his father, who raised him and his siblings as a single dad. He currently plays in a band with his sister, but auditioned for The Voice to see if he can make it on his own. Follow Joshua on Twitter at @IAmJoshuaHoward.

Lindsay Pagano (Team Shakira) - Philadelphia, PA

Lindsay's music career started at a very young age. She was signed to a label at 13 and toured with Aaron Carter before being let go by the label. She now works in a doctor's office and performs as a wedding singer on the side. Follow Lindsay on Twitter at @lindsaypagano.

Melissa Jimenez (Team Usher) - Fort Lee, NJ

Melissa was introduced to music through her father's orchestra. At age 12, she had the opportunity to sing with them and then went on to pursue a solo career. She's had some success singing with Wyclef Jean, but has yet to break out on her own. The Voice is her opportunity to share her music with the world. Follow Melissa on Twitter at @melissajimenez.

Tanner James (Team Usher) - Provo, UT

At four years old, Tanner began to have seizures and his doctor found a cyst in his brain that was wrapped around his optic nerve. The cyst nearly cost Tanner his vision, or worse, his life. Fortunately, the procedure to remove it went smoothly. Tanner is thankful to be alive and is ready to show the world his voice. Follow Tanner on Twitter at @HeyTannerJames.

Patrick Thomson (Team Adam) - Festus, MO

This small-town Zach Galafanakis look-alike grew up around music. Patrick's mom was in a folk band, and he taught himself to play guitar and saxophone. Although he's currently working as the assistant manager at a retail mobile phone store, Patrick is ready to launch his career as a solo artist. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @pktmusic.

Ryan Whyte Maloney (Team Blake) - Las Vegas, NV

Ryan's mother played in a band, which sparked his interest in music. Starting in high school, he played in his own band and worked as a garbage man to pay the bills. He is currently living in Las Vegas and hopes The Voice will be his big break. Follow Ryan on Twitter at @RyanMaloney1981.

Sam Behymer (Team Adam) - Morgan Mill, TX

Sam, a Texas-native, always felt out of place growing up until she moved to California and found other artists like her. She is a Pepperdine graduate and a full-time nanny, living in Los Angeles. With her new zip code and confidence, Sam is stepping into the spotlight in the hopes of making it on The Voice. Follow Sam on Twitter at @thegreatsamboni.

Sisaundra Lewis (Team Blake) - Orlando, FL

Sisaundra was born into a family of migrant workers and grew up singing in church. She's had some success singing jingles for commercials, touring with Cirque du Soleil and working as Celine Dion's vocal director. Now Sisaundra is ready to step into the spotlight as a solo artist. Follow Sisaundra on Twitter at @sisaundra.

The Voice
Mondays (8-10 p.m. ET) and Tuesdays (8-9 p.m. ET) on NBC

"The Voice" returns with the strongest vocalists from across the country invited to compete in the blockbuster vocal competition show's sixth season. Celebrity musicians and coaches Adam Levine, Shakira, Usher and Blake Shelton return, while Carson Daly continues to serve as host.

The show's innovative format features four stages of competition: the first begins with the blind auditions, then the battle rounds, the knockouts and finally, the live performance shows.

During the blind auditions, the decisions from the musician coaches are based solely on voice and not on looks. The coaches hear the artists perform, but they don't get to see them -- thanks to rotating chairs. If a coach is impressed by the artist's voice, he/she pushes a button to select the artist for his/her team. At this point, the coach's chair will swivel so that he/she can face the artist he/she has selected. If more than one coach pushes his/her button, the power then shifts to the artists to choose which coach they want to work with. If no coach pushes his/her button, the artist is eliminated from the competition.

Once the teams are set, the battle is on. Coaches will dedicate themselves to developing their team of artists, giving them advice, and sharing the secrets of their success, along with help from their celebrity advisers. During the battle rounds, the coaches will pit two of their own team members against each other to sing the same song together in front of a studio audience.

After the vocal battle, the coach must choose which of his/her singers will advance to the next round of competition, while the losing artist is available to be stolen by another coach. Each coach has two steals available during the battle rounds.

At the end of the battles, only the strongest members of each coach's roster remain and proceed to the knockout rounds. The artists will be paired again with a member of their own teams, but this time they find out only minutes before performing with whom they are competing. The artists each select their own songs to perform individually, while their direct competitor watches and waits. They are vying for their coach's confidence and decision to take them to the live shows. Their coach will choose the winner and the artist not selected will be sent home.

In the final live performance phase of the competition, the top artists from each team will compete each week against each other during a live broadcast. The television audience will vote to save their favorite artists and the two artists with the lowest number of votes will be sent home each week. In the end, one will be named "The Voice" and will receive the grand prize of a recording contract.

"The Voice" is a presentation of Mark Burnett's One Three Inc., Talpa Media USA Inc. and Warner Horizon Television. The series is created by John de Mol, who executive-produces along with Burnett, Audrey Morrissey, Stijn Bakkers and Lee Metzger.

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Photo: Tyler Golden/NBC

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