This evening the remaining contestants from Team Blake and Team Xtina have the night off, are we are treated to twelve performances - six from Team Adam and six from Team Cee-Lo. Let's get to it!
Team Adam: Katrina Parker
Song: “Tonight, Tonight” by The Smashing Pumpkins
Katrina tries to work the Adele vibe without singing an Adele song (America thanks you, Katrina). This is an interesting song for her voice, and I’m digging it. The staging makes this performance more Broadway than rock-ish, but since half of the critiques on all singing competition shows are “make it your own,” I’m good with this.
Coaches Say: Xtina’s looks get (dare I say it?) classier and classier each week….for Xtina anyway. She was hoping Katrina would rock out but remains captivated by her voice. Cee-Lo doesn’t think the song needed a “show tune” spin, and Adam immediately disagrees. He compliments her strength and energy.
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Team Cee-Lo: Cheesa (Just Cheesa – watch out, RaeLynn).
Song: "Don’t Leave Me This Way" by Thelma Houston
I’m soooooo distracted by Cheesa’s eye make-up, and she’s wearing something almost like a track suit….she must have really taken this whole “Cee-Lo is my role model” thing to the extreme. She sounds fine, but I don’t see any kind of wow factor here.
Coaches Say: Blake thinks it was like watching “Solid Gold.” Adam likes the performance but would also like her to be more distinct and stand out more. Cee-Lo thinks the performance was wonderful and electrifying.
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Team Adam: Tony Lucca
Song: "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel
So, I was in love with Tony when he was on The Mickey Mouse Club. I may have watched every episode. I may have been an “at home” Club member. I may still have my membership card. Anyway, Tony is really into this song, almost violently touching the crowd’s hands. He stops for a moment near the end of the song, and I’m not sure why. I also don’t care. I love him.
Coaches Say: Xtina remembers his name now, and she finds him to be one-dimensional. She wants him to grow….she says all of these things without making eye contact with Tony. But it gets worse: "Obviously, you have me and your old Mouseketeer buddies behind you, and Justin in particular, but I hope this is about the voice, rather than a celebrity sway." She’s “just being honest.” Oh, Xtina. What you did was low. Adam does not seem pleased with her critique and says Tony did him proud.
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Team Adam: Kim Yarbough
Song: “Rolling In the Deep” by Adele
I don’t think anyone should sing Adele songs on this show anymore. Or if we HAVE to sing Adele on this show, let the girl who sounds like Adele sing Adele. Kim has a great voice, she really does, but this is not the song for her. I worry that she will fall to the same fate Naia did last week after her attempt at “Turning Tables.”
Coaches Say: Blake thinks she was sharp, but it was good. Cee-Lo thinks she should have picked a different song so no one would compare her to Adele. Weird. Adam notes that there were some problems, but he does not want her to lose confidence. What a great guy (in all seriousness). He closes by saying that he hopes she advances and the right song will be really effective for her.
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Team Cee-Lo: James Massone
Song: “Don’t Know Why” by Norah Jones
I’m not sure why Cee-Lo chose this song, and for me, he is all over the place. I can’t really hear him…not in a “Norah Jones has such a soft voice” sort of way…more of a “he’s barely singing and keeps losing the end of words” sort of way. Not enjoyable for me.
Coaches Say: Blake almost threw his panties on the stage. Oh how I wish he had. Xtina notes the pitch problems, but likes the subtle approach. I must be crazy then. Cee-Lo knows the ladies like him, and I guess that’s all that matters.
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Team Cee-Lo: Juliet Sims
Song: “Roxanne” by The Police
I am a little unsure of the opening, but within 30 seconds, she goes into classic rock mode, and I LOVE it. This girl knows what she’s doing (so do the lighting folks – lots of red lights in the background), and I really hope she sails through to next week.
Coaches Say: Adam is pissed she is not on his team and calls her performance the best he has seen so far. Xtina says she is dope. Well, actually she says dooooooooope. Cee-Lo is beaming
in a creepy kind of way, saying “wow, baby, just wow.” He also says she is “well-endowed
with too much talent to not have great taste.” Exponentially disturbing.
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Team Adam: Mathai (trending: no last names needed)
Song: “Ordinary People” by John Legend
She’s another one with a unique voice, but I don’t think she’s very connected to the song. She sings about a troubled relationship with a giant grin on her face, and it’s distracting. It was an “eh” performance for me.
Coaches Say: Xtina likes her voice a lot and thinks she makes the right ad-lib choices. Blake admires her confidence and how she is able to have a good time (paging Paula Abdul). Adam calls her magical and couldn’t be happier with her performance.
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Team Cee-Lo: Tony Vincent
Song: “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” by Tears For Fears
Oh my. Tony begins at a very large podium, and I know this is meant as a dramatic staging effect, but all this really reminds me of Eminem’s “White America” music video. I don’t think Tony is going for Eminem here. I keep waiting for the podium part to be over…and whew! The red masked back-up dancers spin the podium around so Tony can make it down a set of stairs. Unfortunately this is my favorite part of the performance.
Coaches Say: Blake was "all wrapped up in whatever that was" and couldn’t focus on the music. Xtina appreciates the production value of the performance but wanted to hear a little more from him. Cee-Lo believes there is an evil empire and Tony is an appreciator of art. And then the meaning of the podium prop is revealed: Cee-Lo would vote for Tony if Tony wanted to rule the world. Thank goodness we cleared that up.
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Team Adam: Karla Davis
Song: “Airplanes” by B.O.B
Karla is sing on the wing of an airplane in the night’s sky – see what they did there? Unfortunately, Karla struggles with the song and is out of breath most of the time. That's all I really have for her.
Coaches Say: Xtina was surprised by the song voice and thinks Karla whispered a lot of the time. Blake knows immediately that he is going to piss off Adam, saying the song choice didn’t
allow her to really sing. Adam kind of gets the criticism – apparently this is “a hard song to be in the pocket of.” Must be my general lack of music lingo knowledge, but I have no idea what that
means.
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Team Cee-Lo: Erin Martin
Song: Walk Like An Egyptian
Oh I really hope she does the look to one side of the room and then to the other side of the room thing from the music video. I’m going to have to wait though, as Erin is entering the stage via chariot drawn by a group of scantily clad men who clearly work out. She sings the song well, though there are no big notes to hit or any other way to really show off her voice. Props to the, um, male props though.
Coaches Say: Blake notices that male strippers were part of this performance, but does not think the song allowed her to sing to her potential. Adam jumps in and says “I think Blake just bought a one way ticket to Bonertown.” Wait – can they say that on NBC? Does NBC just think that’s a real place? Xtina loves theatrics, but thinks Erin could have “brought it harder.” Are we still talking about Bonertown?
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Team Adam: Pip (next week no one will have last names)
Song: “When You Were Young” by The Killers
Regardless of the song, I hope Pip always sticks with the bow tie. No one named Pip should ever wear anything else. Pip puts a lot of energy in this performance, and I think his voice
actually goes really well with this song. I like this guy.
Coaches Say: Xtina loves his vocal ability, but she thinks he tried too hard. Adam still wants him to be more dangerous and scary. Hmmm. Probably need a new wardrobe for him then.
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Team Cee-Lo: Jamar Rogers
Song: “Are You Gonna Go My Way” by Lenny Kravitz
Okay, Jamar wins tonight because his guitar players are women on stilts. He’s also quite the performer – as much as I love the guitar players, I'm not at all distracted by them. He has everyone’s attention. Well done, dude!
Coaches Say: Blake doesn’t understand what the people on stilts have to do with the song. Cee-Lo grins creepily again. Adam says Jamar’s performance proves what this show is about. Amen.
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Tomorrow three from each team advance on votes and one from each team will advance from a coaches’ save. It's hard to say who will say and who will go. As long as the chariot dancers and circus guitarists make it through though, I will be a happy camper.
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