'The Voice' Recap: The Blind Auditions Begin

— -- The seventh season of "The Voice" premiered Monday night with the start of the blind auditions.

Veteran coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton were joined by two newcomers: Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams. The foursome kicked off the two-hour broadcast by collaborating on a cover of Gwen's No Doubt hit "Hella Good," which was co-written by Pharrell.

Here are the highlights of the blind auditions:

Luke Wade was the first contestant of the new season. He performed "That's How Strong My Love Is," made famous by Otis Redding. All the coaches pressed their buttons. Adam stood up on his chair with excitement, declaring to Luke, "You're going to win." Pharrell insisted he knew what to do with Luke's voice, and pleaded with Luke to let him be his "amplifier." Gwen joked that while Blake and Adam are mailing it in as veteran coaches, she's fresh and ready to go. Luke decided to join Pharrell.

Clara Hong was born in South Korea and moved to America when she was 8. All the coaches except Blake pressed their buttons as Clara sang "Chuck E's in Love" by Rickie Lee Jones. Gwen praised Clara for her stage presence, but she said she could help Clara improve even more in that area. She demonstrated on stage by singing a few lines of her No Doubt hit "Just a Girl." Adam wrote a poem for Clara, and even said hello to her in Korean. Pharrell countered with his own rhymes. Clara chose Adam.Bryana Salaz, 16, belted out a remixed version of the Ariana Grande hit "Problem." Gwen pushed that she's the only woman on the panel. Bryana joined Team Gwen, saying backstage that her new coach has been a longtime inspiration of hers.

A man identified only as Damien, a TSA agent at Los Angeles International Airport who was deeply affected by the shooting there in 2013, crooned "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday." All four coaches made a bid for Damien, who broke down in tears and received a hug by Gwen. He went with Adam.

Allison Bray, who previously auditioned last season, sang Kacey Musgraves' "Merry Go 'Round." She's now a member of Team Blake.

Taylor John Williams, sporting a Jason Mraz-type look, delivered an acoustic rendition of Kanye West's "Heartless." You'll recall that former Voice runner-up Dia Frampton offered a similar cover during season one. Williams selected Gwen as his coach.

Elyjuh René performed the Beyoncé song "XO." Gwen loved the emotion he conveyed. Adam added that Elyjuh came off as vulnerable. Pharrell called Elyjuh one of the most amazing vocalists he has seen in a long time. Elyjuh will be on Pharrell's team.

James David Carter got all four coaches to give him a standing ovation, after singing the Kevin Sharp version of Tony Rich's "Nobody Knows." Adam and Gwen even stood on the back of their chairs. Pharrell said he didn't detect one moment when Carter was nervous. Blake declared it was arguably the best country audition he has heard in the show's history. Carter then responded that he once opened for Blake, when Blake had a mullet. Adam conceded his knowledge of country music is limited, but he guaranteed victory for Carter if he joined the Maroon 5 frontman's team. Carter decided to go with Blake instead.