Welcome to the liiiiiiiiiiiive episodes of The Voice 2014! Tonight the Top 12 contestants take the stage for a
shot at superstardom…or at least a shot of being the person to win this
season’s title. How’s Javier Colon these days?
Anyway, these contenders have made it through the blind auditions, the
battle rounds and the playoff rounds, and they are ready to get things going.
Let’s see how they do!
Artist: Bria Kelly
Team: Usher
Song: “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele
Yeah, so I’m already annoyed. I don’t care if Bria wants to show her
“soulful edge.” If you are going to sing an Adele song, you better be doing
something phenomenal with it. Bria goes with a kind of, sort of rock version and the first half of the song is wayyyy too low for her. She hits some pretty cool raspy notes at the end, but this performance does not work for me at all.
Coaches Say: Shakira says taking on an Adele song is a challenge but if anyone can do it, Bria can. Adam thinks Adele tunes are a tall order and it takes a lot of courage. He also mentions that the key was too low but compliments her for trying something different. Blake loved the rock edge and Usher praised Bria's soulful delivery of a contemporary song. He tells Bria that she had fire in her voice tonight.
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Artist: Delvin Choice
Team: Adam
Song: “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers
During the rehearsal video Adam encourages Delvin to sing like he’s
dying, which is appropriate given how popular this song was when Ghost was released. As I understand it,
pottery classes experienced an enrollment boost as well. Back to Delvin. Dude has a beautiful voice. I would have loved to hear him sing the entire song because I don't necessarily love the way this version is cut up for the time limit. Delvin loses his breath in some areas, but he is putting 100% of himself into the song and really trying to connect to the audience as well....so overall, I really enjoy this.
Coaches Say: Blake says Delvin sang the crap out of the song and Usher thinks Delvin made a sad song happier. Not sure if that's a good thing? Adam believes Delvin had a "moment," saying the performance gave him goosebumps. Okay...it wasn't THAT good, Adam.
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Artist: Dani Moz
Team: Shakira
Song: “Just Give Me a Reason” by Pink and Nate Ruess
My mind immediately goes to Michelle Chamuel’s cover of this song in
the first 2013 season, as well as the unfortunate contestant duet on American Idol recently. I dunno…maybe
it’s just me, but why don’t these coaches/contestants choose something
different? There HAS to be a plethora of songs to pick from, so why not put
your own spin on a tune the voting audience probably has not heard a ton of recent covers of? Dani sounds angelic and wonderful during the first verse but then as she gets to the chorus, it's a bit all over the place for me. She's soooo talented though - I would really like to see her survive the week.
Coaches Say: Adam says Dani did a great job with a song that does not allow a lot of breathing time. Shakira compliments how "measured" Dani's performance was and Blake thinks the big notes that Dani hit changed everything.
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Artist: Audra McLaughlin
Team: Blake
Song: “Angel of the Morning” by Juice Newton
Go ahead and read that song choice again and let it sink in for a
minute. Yup. That's what we're going with tonight. Audra starts out really shaky on the verse but she has some rather pretty vocal moments during the chorus. The only real problem here is...Audra does not really enunciate. If I didn't already know the words to this song (don't judge me), I wouldn't have had a clue as to what she was singing about.
Coaches Say: Usher says Audra has a powerful voice and calls the performance wonderful. He then makes a comment about how he has to pee when he holds notes as long as Audra does. Good to know. I will definitely be on the lookout for those types of accidents in Usher's future performances. Adam loves Audra and Audra loves Adam and I'm glad we got that squared away. Adam says "I'm not gonna get too technical" so he just tells her he is a big fan and calls it a day. Dude. It's your job to get technical. Blake believes Audra has a unique sound and she is meant to make music. He then says she is one of his favorite country singers. Wait. Ever? On the show? Elaborate!
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Artist: T.J. Wilkins
Team: Usher
Song: “Waiting on the World to Change” by John Mayer
“Waiting on the World to Change” has been covered on these singing competition shows for
several years now and I've kind of grown tired of hearing it. However, T.J. has a soulful delivery of the song and I believe that he believes every word he is singing. He is a really likable guy with great energy and stage presence. In terms of start to finish vocals, this one is probably the best we've seen so far.
Coaches Say: Shakira is always rooting for T.J. because he is extraordinary, and Usher says we saw a different side of T.J. tonight. He calls T.J. a leader with a cool hair cut.
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Artist: Christina Grimmie
Team: Adam
Song: “Dark Horse” by Katy Perry
Coaches Say: Blake says Christina is 100% proof that dynamite comes in small packages. Shakira then gives a shout out to tiny people and I am reminded how much I love Shakira. Adam is surprised and impressed by what Christina is capable of...in a good way.
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Artist: Sisaundra Lewis
Team: Blake
Song: “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me” by Elton John
I feel like my spell check is going to break as I type Sisaundra’s
name each week....but you better believe I will be typing her name each week. She's not going anywhere. As she sings, I think "Elton who?" because she owns every bit of this song. Sisaundra is a powerhouse and she is definitely one to watch in this competition. Get it, girl.
Coaches Say: Usher says every time Sisaundra comes out on stage she blows everyone's socks off. Adam thinks Sisaundra's restraint was the best thing about the performance. Blake hopes that she is taking all of this in and enjoying everything that is happening to her right now.
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Artist: Kristen Merlin
Team: Shakira
Song: “Stay” by Sugarland
Oh Kristen. This poor girl gives it her all with this Sugarland
cover….but as she sings, her microphone cuts out. Has this ever happened before?
I know contestants like to blame their ear piece thingies when someone tells
them their pitch is off, but have the technical difficulties ever been THIS
bad? She handles herself incredibly well though all things considered, and she
really deserves a free pass this week.
Coaches Say: Everyone gives her a standing ovation. Adam says Kristen had to overcome an adverse situation and handled it so gracefully, it was as if nothing had happened. Blake tells Kristen that what we could hear was great and Usher thinks the song allowed an intimacy to her voice. Shakira was moved by the performance and thinks Kristen delivers her songs with sincerity. She's very proud of the way Kristen carried herself tonight.
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Artist: Kat Perkins
Team: Adam
Song: “Magic Man” by Heart
This is a great song but I’m concerned that Kat might be overreaching by tackling Heart. Those women are composed of just sheer badass
power. Kat, however, does have rock star quality and I am pleasantly
surprised by how well she does here. She has the audience (as well as the guitar player) in the palm of her hand, she sounds fantastic, and she works the stage as if there are no other performers tonight but her. Awesome.
Coaches Say: Blake comments on Kat's former life as a nanny and that gives me a giggle. Usher says Kat's voice is "dope." Is that still a thing? I feel like I am always behind on what's still in and what's out. I better consult with Heidi Klum. In the meantime, Adam thinks Kat took on an impossible song and sang it with the same charisma Heart did. I'll give him that one.
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Artist: Jake Worthington
Team: Blake
Song: “Anymore” by Travis Tritt
How adorable is this guy? No really, I just want to squeeze him. This song could have easily been a bit of a snoozer, but Jake puts all of his emotion into this performance and I can't bare to look away for a second. I don't even know the guy but I'm so proud of him.
Coaches Say: Shakira calls Jake the most endearing contestant on the show. She thinks he is showing that honesty goes a long way. Blake says Jake tells a perfect story with his performances and he is a very proud coach.
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Artist: Tess Boyer
Team: Shakira
Song: “I’ll Be There For You” by Bon Jovi…no, not the Friends them song that I will now have
stuck in my head for the rest of the night.
Coaches Say: Blake could not be happier to see Tess doing so well. He thinks she is going to go so much further in her career. Shakira says Tess has grown so much and thinks she nailed the performance. She also takes every note, digests it, then executes it. I don't think I've ever heard a singer quite described that way, but I like it.
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Artist: Josh Kaufman
Team: Usher
Song: “Stay With Me” by Sam Smith
I’m not super familiar with this song, but I can assure you that I love it now. Josh's voice is just amazing. He could perform for an additional hour and I would happily stay up to watch the show. This is the perfect way to end the night, and I think Josh is in it for the long haul this season.
Coaches Say: We're running out of time but Shakira jumps in really quick and calls Josh very clever. She says he is understated and contained but still manages to knock it out of the park. Blake calls Josh the guy to beat on Team Usher. Josh's coach says Josh uses every bit of his dedication to his family to command that performance.
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Tomorrow night we will say goodbye to two contestants and based on the performances tonight, it's hard to say who should be really worried. At this point, I can barely remember the folks from the beginning of the 2 hour extravaganza, and really, Kristen is almost the most memorable because of the mic nonsense. Josh, Sisaunda and Christina own the night for me though, and I think the teams were fairly even in terms of stronger/weaker performances. Will any coach have to say goodbye to more than one contestant tomorrow? Will Shakira's pending performance bring the house down? Is there a she-wolf in the closet? We will find out the answer to two out of these three questions during the results show. Til then!
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