Tonight on The Voice, the Top 8 contestants battle again (though it's not a battle round per se...even though it is) as the stakes are getting very high now among the coaches. Adam, for instance, took this opportunity to make a very drastic hair color change that I'm not in love with. Blake calls him "Miley" and that gives me quite a laugh. Team Adam and Team Blake are holding strong with 3 contestants remaining. With Team Usher and Team Shakira just barely hanging on, their contestants have to win over America tonight to keep hope alive. Let's see how they do!
Artist: Sisaundra Lewis
Team: Blake
Song: "River Deep, Mountain High" by Tina Turner
Oh hell yeah. Sisaundra does not change the song up much, but then again, she really doesn't have to. She sings high on a platform above the band and she is joined by some backup dancers about half way through the performance. Oh, and in case I didn't mention...she KILLS it. Is she the same kind of crazy as Tina? No. But did she sing her ass off? Absolutely. Sisaundra is her own kind of crazy and this was a great way to start the night.
Coaches Say: Sisaundra's mother (who is in her 70s) is in the audience, watching her daughter sing tonight for the first time ever outside of church performances. It's very emotional. Usher says Sisaundra has an incredible story and thinks she completely evolved as an entertainer on stage tonight. Shakira calls Sisaundra's vocal ability astonishing, saying she's a pro. Adam thinks Sisaundra is a strong woman, singing a song by a strong woman, and he says the whole thing was pretty electric. Blake is thrilled for her and believes Sisaundra is finding herself as an artist.
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Artist: Josh Kaufman
Team: Usher
Song: "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt
This is such a fantastic song and Josh delivers it with 100% emotion. The staging is very simple and he sits on a stool for the majority of the performance just telling the story. He stands for the last part of the song and has quite a moment with the big notes. It's really a great performance - soft when it needs to be and powerful at just the right times. Well done.
Oh, and if you've never heard this version of the song...you definitely must. Sorry. I just can't help myself.
Coaches Say: Shakira says Josh is an artist with good taste. She also thinks he had great intuition with the song choice this week and the performance was quite an accomplishment. Adam is enjoying watching all of Josh's success and is very proud of him. He mentions once again how stupid he feels because Josh is no longer on his team. Blake thinks the performance was as perfect as any performance he has seen in all 7 seasons. Has there really been 7 seasons of The Voice? Maybe it's time to slow things down? Usher says Josh possesses the type of confidence a real artist has. He's happy and proud to be Josh's coach.
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Artist: Kat Perkins
Team: Adam
Song: "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell
Adam told Kat in the rehearsal package that she needs to make a bold choice this week in order to avoid finding herself in another Stupid Twitter Save situation. She goes with a song I never would have picked for her...and she, um, definitely puts her own spin on it. Kat turns this tune into a rock song, and the middle part is okay. The first part and last part, however, do not work for me at all. It's very, very screamy and borderline annoying.
Coaches Say: The crowd apparently loved it. Usher wishes his hair was long so he could head bang efficiently. Shakira says Kat knows who she is and thinks Kat must have had a lot of fun with the performance. Adam loved it, saying "bottom 3 my ass." Well, we shall see, buddy.
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Artist: Kristen Merlin
Team: Shakira
Song: "I Drive Your Truck" by Lee Brice
Kristen is looking to make people cry tonight and I have no doubt she succeeded. She tells a great story but in the battle of Team Usher's last contestant (Josh) and Team Shakira's last contestant...Josh is just more engaging. It's not that Kristen's performance isn't beautiful and moving - she does a wonderful job. I just think there are other contestants left on the show who set that emotional bar just a little higher, but I do hope she is still around next week.
Coaches Say: Blake thinks Kristen did a great job and compliments her progress from the blind auditions to now. He then says what we're all thinking: "Adam loves you so much he copied your hair style." Ha! Shakira was very moved by the performance and says Kristen absolutely gave her all.
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Artist: Delvin Choice
Team: Adam
Song: "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly
Oh no. This is one of those songs that needs to be on the "no more covers on reality TV shows" list...banned forever...never again to be sung by another Top (fill in the blank) contestant whose name we won't know in a year anyway. Remember how Space Jam turned out? Well, this was the Space Jam anthem. In terms of Delvin's performance, I'm sure he's doing everything he is supposed to do with a song like this. He has an amazing voice and I'm liking the no glasses look this week...but couldn't he have vied for a "moment" with a song that hasn't been SO overdone?
Coaches Say: Blake says the song choice was perfect and the performance was powerful. Usher tells Delvin "you've never seen a man fly til you've seen a man cry" and says the performance reminds people to push for their dreams. Or...it reminds people of that time when Michael Jordan wanted to be a baseball player. Dreams are dreams, right? Adam thinks the song completely fit where Delvin is in the competition right now (and in life really) and says Delvin deserves to make it to the end.
Artist: Audra McLaughlin
Team: Blake
Song: "Forgive" by Rebecca Lynn Howard
So, I am not at all familiar with this song and I'm almost ashamed. This is a beautiful song. It's a little low for Audra during parts of the verses but she completely excels as she gets to each chorus. She also hits some money notes throughout and really lays it all out on the table. Audra's performance last week gave me chills. This one doesn't quite get there....but I'm still a big fan.
Coaches Say: Shakira enjoys Audra's upper register and her ability to hold notes "forever." Blake thinks Audra is unstoppable and says she approaches singing in a way that makes other people feel what she feels.
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Artist: Jake Worthington
Team: Blake
Song: "Hillbilly Deluxe" by Brooks & Dunn
Jake has been fighting allergies the past few days but fortunately the illness does not affect his hillbilly-ness. He's got some attitude tonight (or maybe he's just fighting a sneeze) and this is probably the first time we've seen some real stage presence from him. I still think Jake is in way over his head, but he's so darn adorable that I still want to root for him.
Coaches Say: Shakira was air drumming to the song apparently. She compliments Jake on being aggressive tonight and performing with attitude. Adam thinks Jake is "so damn cool" and says Jake is authentic when it comes to country music. Blake congratulates him on introducing "Jake, the artist" to America. I think that's a little generous given that the performance was a straight up cover.
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Artist: Christina Grimme
Team: Adam
Song: "How to Love" by Lil Wayne
During the rehearsal package, Christina reads my mind when she asks Adam why should would cover a rapper's song for the second week in a row. This concerns me and I'll confess that I don't really like the original version of this song. Christina, however, makes me want to give it a second listen. Regardless of which song she performed last week, this is a great choice for Christina and she totally owns it.
Coaches Say: Blake thinks Christina looks and sounds like a superstar. Shakira says the performance was "something huge" and calls her voice insane. Adam tells America that Christina just created a new version of that song.
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We also had some non-contestant performances tonight, the most notable of which was coach-to-be, Gwen Stefani. Notable for two reasons 1) She looks freaking amazing and 2) She sang "Hollaback Girl" with coach-to-be, Pharrell (as well as Pharrell's hat, so it was almost a trio). Does she really not have any songs that are more recent? "Hollaback Girl" came out 10 years ago...oh well. I'm not complaining. The performance was B-A-N-A-N-A-S.
Tomorrow night we will find out if all four teams will still exist going into next week's show, which is apparently the semi-finals already. Who should be worried tonight? Will former Stupid Twitter Save winner Kat make it through? Did Jake show enough attitude to keep his fans voting? Was Kristen's emotional performance memorable enough save her this week? We'll find out during the elimination episode. Til then!
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