Welcome to the Top 12 performance show! Our four illustrious coaches each have three contestants remaining in the competition, and their fates are now solely in the hands of America via iTunes downloads, votes, and the Stupid Twitter Save. Carson is excited, I'm excited, so let's see how the Season 7 finalists stack up!
Team: Pharrell
Song: "Take Me To the River" by Al Green
Sugar kicks off the night with an R&B classic and man she can sing. She's confident and completely comfortable with the song, the crowd, and the stage. With 11 performances still to come, I hope she does not fall into the "I barely remember what she did" category 2 hours from now...but at this moment I think she did a great job starting the show.
Coaches Say: Gwen is having a hard time figuring out what kind of album Sugar would make because she is so old fashioned. She calls the performance incredible, but she still seems a bit confused...and now I'm confused. Adam thinks the song choice forced Sugar to slow things down in the beginning, which was great because she sometimes has only "one gear." Blake says there is an edginess to Sugar's voice that keeps him on the edge of his seat. See what he did there? Edge and edginess? Love that guy. Pharrell is proud of Sugar and thanks her for following through and showing everyone who she is.
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Artist: Ryan Sill
Team: Gwen
Song: "Ordinary World" by Duran Duran
This song definitely takes me back to my middle school days when I would belt "and I won't cryyyy for yesterdaaaaaaay" while watching MTV. You know, music television...that played music videos...of artist's music. Yes, 1993 was a crazy time when MTV was actually MTV. Anyway, Ryan sounds amazing. He doesn't do anything new or different with the tune but he definitely gives us a solid performance. What ever happened to Duran Duran?
Coaches Say: Adam is really happy to see Ryan reach his potential as a singer. He calls Ryan's voice "perfectly beautiful." Pharrell liked the performance as well and tells Ryan to pick a lane where no one can do what he can do...and stay there. I guess everyone's thinking "rock" should be Ryan's genre. Gwen couldn't sleep last night because she was so excited to hear him sing this song and calls it "perfect."
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Artist: Jessie Pitts
Team: Blake
Song: "Don't You Worry Child" by Swedish House Mafia
Soooo, I don't know this song and can't really tell you how different or brilliant the arrangement is when compared to the original. Jessie has a really interesting voice though - very breathy but in a cool way. She struggles in her lower register and doesn't seem super confident. The performance is pleasant enough....but kind of forgettable.
Coaches Say: Gwen loved hearing the song broken down and she's a huge Jessie fan. Adam encourages Jessie to keep exploring the big part of her voice because she seems hesitant to go for the big notes. Blake says he can't talk about Jessie without smiling and thinks she is an inventor. He also says Jessie reminds him of Miranda. Wow!
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Artist: Damien (just Damien)
Team: Adam
Song: "He A'int Heavy, He's My Brother" by The Hollies
Damien has 6 brothers and sisters so he's already on board with the song's title and message. He holds absolutely nothing back in this performance and he siiiiiiiings this song. It's a soulful, powerful, honest rendition and Damien gets a standing ovation from Adam and Pharrell before the song even ends.
Coaches Say: Blake congratulates Damien on his performance and Pharrell says "the church" would be proud. Adam pats himself of the back for the song choice but says Damien blew the audience away with his performance.
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Artist: DaNica Shirey
Team: Pharrell
Song: "Creep" by Radiohead
When the song starts I'm not very excited because "Creep" is just so popular among the various reality TV singers. It's one of those "pick something else because we've already heard it 100 times" competition tunes. However...I LOVE this. DaNica makes the song her own and all of the changes to the arrangement are wonderful. Well done.
Coaches Say: Gwen calls DaNica a freak of nature because of her voice and says she loves watching her sing. Adam thinks anything DaNica sings could be amazing and this song was a great choice. Pharrell tells DaNica that he was moved by her performance.
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Artist: Taylor John Williams
Team: Gwen
Song: "If" by Bread
This is such a great song. Taylor and Gwen both know the song is risky because it moves him a bit out of his comfort zone, but I think Taylor is able to show some aspects of his voice that we have not heard yet. The performance is simple (but lovely) and I really enjoy seeing Gwen's reactions to her team. If she would just pop up once a week with that big smile and tell me I'm amazing, my life would be perfect.
Coaches Say: Adam feels that the purity of Taylor's came through on that performance, and Pharrell thinks Taylor's vocal brought the tenderness out of the song. Gwen says Taylor connected to the song right away and thinks the performance was amazing. She also plugs Bread. If you don't know them, listen to this tune. It's one of my faves.
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Artist: Reagan James
Team: Blake
Song: "It A'int Over Til It's Over" by Lenny Kravitz
It's so easy to forget that Reagan is only 16. Her voice is very mature and she already works the stage like she's been performing at this level for years. She's all kinds of sassy tonight and I really like the performance. Sometimes it's hard to hear her during the verses but overall she does a great job with the song.
Coaches Say: Pharrell says Reagan has her own vibe and made the song her own. Adam liked how different the arrangement was but feels like she was "breathy" at times. Blake is excited because he gets to download this song and listen to it over and over again. He says the way Reagan navigates a melody blows his mind.
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Artist: Luke Wade
Team: Pharrell
Song: "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran
Pharrell tells Luke that he needs to not over think songs and just "feel through it." It's good advice...Luke starts and stops the song a couple of times in the beginning before he finds the right point to jump back in. Once he gets to the chorus though, he regains his confidence and finishes strong. I guess we should be proud of him for bouncing back?
Coaches Say: Luke admits that he came in two beats early and Carson compliments him for getting back on track. Thanks Carson, but your opinion means very little. Adam says Luke recovered like a professional. Gwen notes that the same thing has happened to her a number of times and thinks it makes artists more human. Pharrell says Luke rose to the occasion and America is probably hashtagging him right now.
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Artist: Matt McAndrew
Team: Adam
Song: "Take Me To Church" by Hozier
Okay, so I don't know this song either but based on the title, I feel like Damien might be more suited for this one? Maybe not? Matt's performance does not necessarily make me fall in love with "Take Me To Church," but I seriously do love Matt McAndrew. There's just something about him that makes me want to see him make it all the way to the end of this show. He has great energy in this performance and is overall just very fun to watch. There's "no doubt" (had to make that reference sooner or later) that he gave his all tonight.
Coaches Say: Pharrell can't wait to hear the album Matt makes after The Voice is over, and Gwen says the song was perfect for Matt. Adam thinks this was one of the coolest things he's ever heard Matt do.
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Artist: Craig Wayne Boyd
Team: Blake
Song: "You Look So Good In Love" by George Strait
This guy's voice is just about flawless. Taking on George Strait is not an easy feat, but Craig makes it look easy. He connects with the lyrics and stays true to this country classic. He's, um, not bad to look at either. Just sayin.
Coaches Say: Gwen says the song was perfect for her former contestant because Craig looks so good...but he's no longer on her team. She thinks he's a natural and Adam says this was a really telling moment for him. Blake is soooo excited, saying every time Craig gets on stage he takes it to the next level.
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Artist: Chris Jamison
Team: Adam
Song: "Jealous" by Nick Jonas
Speaking of guys who aren't bad to look at...Chris tackles a song by another hottie (something I never thought I'd say about one of The Jonas Brothers). I'm going to overlook the fact that the lyrics "it's my right to be hellish" make me cringe and just say that Chris nailed this song.
Coaches Say: Pharrell says this is 100% Chris' best performance. Gwen thinks the song showed all of the strengths of his voice. Adam tells Chris he's cute but also a very talented singer.
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Artist: Anita Antionette
Team: Gwen
Song: "Redemption Song" by Bob Marley
Yes, yes, and YES. Anita in completely and totally invested in the song and she tells this story beautifully. This performance is so powerful, and for me it's the best of the night. I actually had to go back and watch it a couple more times.
Coaches Say: Adam talks about Jamaica and Blake says Anita's voice is soothing and relaxing. Gwen says Bob Marley was a prophet with a message and feels thankful she was a part of Anita delivering that message.
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Tomorrow night we will say goodbye to two contestants and The Voice will have its Top 10. I worry for Luke based on the rough start to his performance, but maybe his ability to recover well will get him a ton of votes. I'm also thinking that Jessie and Taylor might have had the more "snoozy" performances tonight which might put them in danger as well. I could also be way off base and those three will be announced "safe" first. We'll see who survives the week during the results show. Til then!
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