The Voice: Props and Theatrics and Fire - Oh My!

Happy Memorial Day! Tonight The Voice celebrates this special holiday with (hopefully) eight amazing performances from our remaining contestants. This is a big week for Shakira and Usher as each coach only has one team member left in the competition. Here's hoping their sole performers get the job done this evening. Let's find out! 

Contestant: Judith Hill

Team: Adam

Song: "#thatPOWER" by Will.i.am featuring Justin Bieber

First of all, I'm leery about a song that begins with a hash tag. Just sayin. This is quite a production though! Judith has some sort of a feathery silver cape going on…she also has back up dancers with trumpets (they’re not really playing) and all sorts of sass. Apparently Judith’s talents go beyond breaking my heart with ballads and Michael Jackson tributes. Her up tempo rendition of this electronic pop song is fantastic.

Coaches Say: Blake says Judith’s singing is always spot on and he loves that we’re seeing some personality. Usher tells Judith that her performance was a great way to start the show. Shakira thinks the choice to do a current song and experiment was smart. Adam says that watching Judith perform that song was less like watching a contestant on The Voice and more like watching an artist take the stage.

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Contestant: Holly Tucker
Team: Blake
Song: “Done” by The Band Perry

Great song. I’m a little apprehensive only because my beloved Janelle Arthur looked like she belonged with The Band Perry when she performed this song with them on American Idol a couple of weeks ago  (seriously, watch this if you haven't already). Holly is completely up for the challenge vocally. She does not, however, bring the energy I was hoping for...

Coaches Say: Usher says Holly did and incredible job and loves her blinged out cowboy boots. Shakira thinks Holly had just the right amount of sass in her performance. Adam is really impressed with Holly’s range and loves what she did tonight. Blake thinks this is the first performance where Holly “owned” the song.

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Contestant: The Swon Brothers

Team: Blake
Song: "Seven Bridges Road" by The Eagles

The stage is on fire! Literally! The Swon Brothers have a camping theme going with their performance, complete with logs, weeds and a moon hanging overhead. They begin the song a capella, and they always sound so great together. This is another solid performance from the Oklahoma natives, and it’s nice to see a duo finally be successful on this show.

Coaches Say: Usher thinks the The Swon Brothers did a great job and they put their own touch on a classic Eagles song. Shakira says the song suited their voices perfectly and the result was just great. She really enjoyed it (she enjoys all of the performances, doesn't she?).  Adam goes on for quite a while about being a big fan of The Eagles and a big fan of The Swon Brothers. Blake says the guys continue to grow on the show and tonight was another perfect example.

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Contestant: Sasha Allen

Team: Shakria

Song: “Without You” by David Guetta and Usher

Sasha is taking on another present day song tonight and she has a glowy spinning stage and backup dancers to boot! She appears to have her own choreography as well. Seems she is trying to work the sexy vibe…not buying it, but her vocals are still ridiculously good, so I don’t care about seduction on this dance song. Is it enough to get her through tomorrow’s results show? Fingers crossed.

Coaches Say:  Adam is still kind of kicking himself for letting Sasha go during the battle rounds. Blake says it was a fun performance and thinks she deserves to move on to next week. Usher is flattered that Sasha chose his song and says she did a great job. Shakira believes Sasha is the complete package.

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Contestant: Sarah Simmons

Team: Adam
Song: “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Gotye

Love this song, and at first I am really excited that Sarah chose it. Is it me though, or does Sarah seem a little out of breath with this song? Is this just her showing restraint and I don’t realize it? I don’t really see the Sarah that we’ve come to know and love until the last 15 or so seconds of the song, which is a shame because I am a huge Sarah fan.

Coaches Say: Blake thinks he hears a three different voices in her (soft voice, falsetto and raspy). Usher believes Sarah has amazing control over her power, holding back when she needs to. Shakira thinks Sarah is an interesting artist and the performance was enjoyable. Adam thinks Sarah can do anything with her voice and she showed a lot of range tonight.

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Contestant: Michelle Chamuel
Team: Usher
Song: “Grenede” by Bruno Mars

Michelle is all artsy, singing in front of a mirror to start. She slows down this song, really stripping it down, and gives it all the emotion she can.  I’m so fascinated by Michelle though. I would hate to see her leave because I honestly look forward to the squats and knee work she does each week.

Coaches Say: Shakira is a big fan of Michele and her stage presence. Adam says the performance was awesome because it was dynamic and sucked the audience right in. Blake can’t believe such a big voice comes out of such a little human being. Usher says he would catch a grenade for her. He then tells Michelle she represents true inner beauty.

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Contestant: Danielle Bradbery

Team: Blake
Song: “Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days)” by The Judds

I seriously went through a phase in high school and college where I was obsessed with The Judds. It was intense. I listened to their reunion tour CDs as if it were my job. Granted, I still love them with all my heart and this is one of their best songs for sure. Man, the Voice is all about staging and production tonight. Danielle sings the first half of the song on a porch swing and I find myself swaying and singing along. She does a great job, but this is a drastic switch from Danielle being a young, vibrant teenager last week. I hope it doesn’t hurt her. 

Coaches Say: Usher says Danielle is like a prodigy because her performance was effortless. Shakira thinks Danielle is believable with star quality. Adam says Danielle is an incredible country music artist just waiting to be born. Blake tells Danielle she is amazing and loves that she chose that song and did it justice.

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Contestant: Amber Carrington
Team: Adam
Song: “Skyfall” by Adele

So, I've said this before... that any and all Adele songs should be placed on a "do not sing" list. Some contestants on these shows do a decent job, don't get me wrong, but it's impossible to improve on Adele.  That being said, Amber probably does the best  version of an Adele song that we’ve seen, and she’s also wearing a killer dress. We can still hear a hint Amber’s country vibe in her performance, and it’s clear why she is the closer tonight. Best performance of the evening.

Coaches Say: Blake thinks Amber wins the diva powerhouse vocal of the night. Usher says the performance was incredible and Shakira says the song choice worked. Adam tells Amber that no one has ever done an Adele song justice on The Voice before tonight.

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Tomorrow The Voice journey ends for two more contestants and Team Usher and Team Shakira  could potentially be eliminated from the competition. Sasha and Michelle both probably have reasons to be nervous, but I think Sarah's shaky start and Danielle's time travel might put them in jeopardy as well. We'll see what happens during the results show. Til then!