We have reached the semi-finals of this latest season of The Voice and tonight the remaining five contestants take on two songs each, hoping to secure a spot in next week's final showdown. Team Adam is holding strong with two artists, while Blake, Usher and Shakira each only have one contestant left in the competition. Can those hopefuls outshine Team Adam tonight? Let's find out.
Artist: Kristen Merlin
Team: Shakira
Song: "Gunpowder & Lead" by Miranda Lambert
Kristen promises us the "Crazy Kristen" that the folks from back home know and love, and with this song choice, she better deliver. She's definitely more loose tonight than she has been all season and vocally, Kristen completely does the song justice. She's not quite Miranda's level of crazy...and I mean that lovingly. I seriously want to have a beer with Miranda someday. Or five. Either way. But in terms of Kristen's performance, she looks like she's having a great time and her energy is exponentially higher than any other week. Good for her.
Coaches Say: Adam mentions how far Kristen has come in the competition but then diverts the attention to his bromance with Blake. Groan. Blake thinks the song worked for Kristen and Usher says the performance was great. Shakira is wearing a tiara tonight. Just throwing that out there. She's so freaking proud of Kristen and thinks her contestant rocked the stage tonight.
--------------------------------------Artist: Josh Kaufman
Team: Usher
Song: "All of Me" by John Legend
This is such a beautiful song...the kind of song you can just get lost in. While Mr. Legend does his thing on the piano in the original version, Josh chooses an orchestra and drums for this performance and I really like it. He never moves from his mic stand and I believe every word he's singing. Josh has a single light shining behind him subtly as the song ends and I think the whole performance was fantastic from start to finish.
Coaches Say: Shakira says Josh has such a gift for reaching people with his songs and thinks he delivered another solid performance tonight. Adam makes comment number 6784387593 about how stupid he is for giving Josh up and then gives Usher credit for helping Josh flourish. Blake calls the performance powerful and says Josh deserves to be in the finale. Usher thinks Josh lets a story unfold during his performances and he's happy that America gets to watch them.
--------------------------------------Artist: Kat Perkins
Team: Adam
Song: "Chandelier" by Sia
Adam and Kat feel really good about her being saved by America via the Stupid Twitter Save two weeks in a row...but in reality America could have just voted for her to begin with and then she wouldn't have needed the Stupid Twitter Save. I think they are misusing the word "momentum" here. Regardless, Kat is taking on a big song tonight, and she is accompanied by many, many chandeliers on stage. This performance is worlds better than last week's screamfest, though the camera work is unfortunate. If you want to watch something visually stunning, check out Sia's music video for this song.
Coaches Say: Blake thinks Kat does everything right (is that so?) and says tonight's performance was a really great idea. Shakira mentions that the song is a challenge but she thinks it was smart that Kat did not try to sound like Sia. Ha! Wait. Was that a dig? No fighting, no fighting! Whyyyy don't they let Shakira talk more? Adam gives us a very lengthy speech about how amazing Kat is and why Kat needs to be in the finale next week...and then we move on. Artist: Jake Worthington
Team: Blake
Song: "Good Ol' Boys" by Waylon Jennings
So, I'm not familiar with this song but Jake sure seems to like it. He does a good job getting the crowd going, but the viewing audience at home sees too much of Jake's fluttering eyes as he really starts to get into the song. Again, he's adorable...but I don't think he is finale material.
Coaches Say: Usher loves Jake and thinks he is a great representation of country music. Adam says Jake is as real and genuine as it gets, and he is really happy to see "the right people" in the Top 5. Whoa. Does he really think the right people are competing this week? We are not on the same page, buddy. Blake is proud of Jake and says we need Jake on the radio playing country music right now.
--------------------------------------Artist: Christina Grimmie
Team: Adam
Song: "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap
Of course this song makes me thing of Jason Derulo, and as the performance begins I'm really wishing Christina says her own name throughout the song like Jason Derulo does sometimes. No luck on that front, but we do get to hear Christina sing with a vocoder. She has zero music behind her for 75% of the song...she is backed only by a choir until the very end when a piano comes in. Really, at that point, this is already the performance of the night with or without the piano. Brilliant.
Coaches Say: Usher thinks Christina is a great vocalist but says he wasn't connected until she started to sing without the vocoder. Sharika enjoyed the performance though she was unsure at first about the vocoder. Adam, of course, says this was a risk that paid off (let's not celebrate too early), and then he goes on to talk about previous winners and finalists who do the same thing every week...and how he likes to push his team to do something different and not do karaoke...and how his team is giving something refreshing to the show. Wow. Kind of a dick thing to say in my opinion. I must have totally missed the part where his previous contestants have launched monstrous careers based on their refreshing performances.
--------------------------------------Artist: Josh Kaufman
Team: Usher
Song: "Love Runs Out" by OneRepublic
Apparently this is a brand new song so I don't feel bad about not knowing it at all. Josh brings the audience into the performance by getting a mostly in sync clapping extravaganza going, and I have to say that I really like this song. Since I have not heard OneRepublic's version, I definitely feel like Josh could release this tune as a single right now and be successful. Nicely done.
Coaches Say: Adam says Josh is amazing and Blake thinks Josh is a natural born killer singer. See what he did there? Usher says Josh left it all out on the stage tonight and believes Josh should move forward in the competition. Me too.
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Artist: Kat Perkins
Team: Adam
Song: "Let It Go" by
Whoa. Whoa. What? Did Carson just say "We'll be right back, when Kat Perkins will take on 'Let It Go?'" I couldn't have heard that right. Oh, but I did. My eyes are all over my screen when the song starts...I'm looking for Princess Elsa to show up and freeze the hell out this performance...but it never happens. Can we just go back to "Chandelier?" Or any Heart song she has covered this season? Thank you.
Coaches Say: Blake says (again) that Kat always makes the right decisions and he can't wait til she makes a record. Usher says "Let It Go" is a complicated song to sing and calls Kat an incredible vocalist. Sigh. Where is Xtina? Where is the woman who would have just taken the stage and commenced to singing the song herself? I miss her.
--------------------------------------Artist: Kristen Merlin
Team: Shakira
Song: "Foolish Games" by Jewel
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| Please let her fill in for Princess Elsa. |
Crazy Kristen reverts back to "I Wear My Emotions On My Sleeve" Kristen and completely shines in this performance. To hell with all of Adam's talk about Kat being the best vocalist. Not only in Kristen's voice gorgeous here...it's heartbreaking. What's different and refreshing doesn't matter right now. This is my favorite Kristen performance of the season.
Coaches Say: Blake says Kristen dumped her heart and soul into the performance and thinks this is the most connected she has been to a lyric. Usher doesn't really say anything about Kristen, but he does compliment Shakira on her coaching. Do we still mark that in the "plus" column? Kristen gave Shakira the chills tonight and she reveres Kristen's ability to tell stories.
--------------------------------------Artist: Christina Grimmie
Team: Adam
Song: "Some Nights" by fun
I'll admit that I blast this song in the car frequently and sing as loud as I can...offending the ears of the poor souls near me at every red light. Christina's version is not my favorite though. We lose her a lot with the back up singers, the drummers...and because she's a little out of breath during the verses. Christina finishes strong (who doesn't love balloons?), but her first performance was definitely her strongest tonight.
Coaches Say: Blake thinks the song was a huge departure from everything else Christina has done. He says "I liked the hell out of that" while clutching balloons and he gives me quite a smile. Usher tells Christina she just had an amazing moment because the performance indicated what her concerts will be like. Shakira says Christina is so creative and independent as an artist and thinks she has blossomed on the show. Adam says Christina is sticking to her guns on each performance, taking the audience with her on her journey. I'm assuming this goes back to this "my artists are doing refreshing, different things" comment from earlier.
--------------------------------------Artist: Jake Worthington
Team: BlakeSong: "Heaven" by Bryan Adams
Aw shucks. This is not a song I thought Blake would pick for Jake, but it sure does work for him. Jake closes the show tonight with a very subtle, but completely endearing version of this Bryan Adams tune. This guy has definitely come a long way and I hope he joins the ranks of Blake's other former contestants who sometimes tour with him.
Coaches Say: We are running out of time...but Shakira calls the performance refreshing. Adam mentions that Jake visited "pop town" tonight and says something silly about Usher not liking country music. Usher interrupts him and tells Jake he gave an incredible performance. Blake loves Jake and calls him "the real deal.?
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And there you have it. Tomorrow night three of these contestants will make it through to the finale, and the other two can look forward to some sort of group performance when the finale results show airs. Based on tonight's performances I feel that Josh and Christina are shoe-ins, but as for that third spot...I think it's up in the air. I'd love to see Kristen get it because 1) She is a better vocalist than Jake and 2) I'm tired of Adam's nonsense regarding Kat. Can Kristen prevail? Will the Adam/Kat fans finally vote her through (for real) this week? Did Jake's final performance give him a new burst of momentum? All will be revealed during the elimination hour tomorrow. Til then!
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