Okay, I admit it. I cheated on The Voice tonight. Idina Menzel was rocking the country music world on CMA Country Christmas on ABC. Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Nettles, Hunter Hayes and Steven Tyler (yes, he's been around almost as long as Christmas itself) performed as well...and I just couldn't turn away and watch The Voice live. When I hit the Tivo button and switched gears, however, here's what happened...
Artist: Ryan Sill
Team: Gwen
Song: "Open Arms" by Journey
Perpetual bottom 3 dweller, Ryan Sill, is looking to avoid competing for the Stupid Twitter Save this week. He takes on a very challenging tune that has made it's way around the reality TV singing shows for years. With these types of "repeats" I always worry for the contestant...because they still hoping to make their version memorable. Ryan's voice is so pure and pretty and he really tries to soar in this performance. The band overpowers him a bit during the choruses but he does sound great....and he's totally nailed the wounded puppy look.
Coaches Say: Adam is shocked that Ryan falls into the bottom 3 each week and says he killed it tonight. Blake agrees, telling Ryan this was his best performance. Pharrell says every time he thinks Ryan has peaked, Ryan comes out the next week and does even better. Gwen points out how hard the song is to sing and says Ryan has an amazing gift and deserves to be here.
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Artist: Craig Wayne Boyd
Team: Blake
Song: "Take It Easy" by The Eagles
Craig is Blake's last man standing and he's doing everything he can to keep representing his coach next week. He's the front man of the band tonight and he owns it. Craig looks like he could hop on next summer's country music tour circuit and be right at home. Great hair performance.
Coaches Say: Pharrell says this is Craig's show and people love him. Gwen felt like she was at the country music awards and Adam thinks the song choice was great. Blake says what Craig did was perfect.
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Artist: DaNica Shirey
Team: Pharrell
Song: "These Dreams" by Heart
This song ties with "Alone" as my favorite Heart song. "Alone" is fiery and powerful...and "These Dreams" is the perfect blend of subtle and passion. Because DaNica is the only female left in the competition (for now anyway), and because she's someone I've really become excited to see each week, I'm hoping she slays this song. Oh...she does. DaNica adds an element of drama to the song and the all female orchestra that surrounds her was a brilliant idea. Love. This. I'll be downloading it, but right now I'm going to rewind and watch the performance all over again.
Coaches Say: Gwen thinks DaNica can do anything with her voice and says the song choice was timed perfectly. Adam calls the performance incredible and Blake says DaNica has been one of his favorites from the beginning. He says her voice has strength and accuracy. Pharrell is busting at the seams to talk. Her coach thanks DaNica for being on his team and says the performance could not have gone any better.
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Artist: Damien
Team: Adam
Song: "Someone Like You" by Adele
I can get behind this. Unlike many people who cover this song, Damien isn't going to try to sound like Adele. I'll be honest and say I do not love the breathy-ness of the performance or the falsetto moments. What I do love is the way Damien feels the lyrics. He totally sells me on "Sometimes it lasts in love and sometimes it hurts instead." I definitely think his performances in the past couple of weeks were far better though.
Coaches Say: Everyone stands which baffles me. It was good...but it wasn't that good. Blake thinks this is the best season of The Voice and compliments Damien's passion and soul. Pharrell says Damien effortlessly paints the air with his notes. I love that he just said that. Adam pats himself on the back a little but says he let Damien choose the song this week. He tells Damien it was his best performance so far. Hmmmm.
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Artist: Chris Jamison
Team: Adam
Song: "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye
Adam tells Chris during rehearsals that he needs to focus on the more serious stuff now, because there's more to being a musician than being hot. So....taking on "Sexual Healing" is the next logical step? Chris sings the song well, but I honestly don't think he's oozing sexy in this performance. Maybe he's concentrating too much on the notes. Either way, Chris' fans will probably just be satisfied with the number of times he says "sexual."
Coaches Say: Pharrell says this was Chris' best performance so far. There's a lot of that going around tonight. Gwen thinks he did a great job and Adam pats himself on the back....again. He gives Chris a couple of compliments too.
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Artist: Luke Wade
Team: Pharrell
Song: "Holding Back the Years" by Simply Red
Luke hopes to take a song that young people don't know and older people love and make it "a Luke Wade song." I'm not sure how this is a recipe for success....especially when he yells "sing it with me!" to the audience as if they might know the words. The performance overall is a snoozer, and I will be amazed if someone tells Luke this was his best performance to date.
Luke hopes to take a song that young people don't know and older people love and make it "a Luke Wade song." I'm not sure how this is a recipe for success....especially when he yells "sing it with me!" to the audience as if they might know the words. The performance overall is a snoozer, and I will be amazed if someone tells Luke this was his best performance to date.
Coaches Say: Adam wants Luke to stop thinking when he sings and Blake says the song wasn't something you can sink your teeth into. Pharrell agrees that Luke should let go...but says Luke is still better than most when he doesn't let go. Can we just say the performance wasn't good? Where is Simon Cowell when I need him?!?!
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Artist: Taylor John Williams
Team: Gwen
Song: "Royals" by Lorde
Taylor wants to strip away the pop element of the song so he can make it more angry. I don't really see the anger in his performance, and the song doesn't give Taylor a whole lot to do vocally. The most exciting part of the song is when Taylor does his strange strut to greet the audience. They seem to loooove him.
Coaches Say: Blake respects Taylor because he is a pure artist. Pharrell calls Taylor a "soulful hippy" and Gwen just feels lucky that Taylor chose her. She compliments Taylor's vision for himself.
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Artist: Matt McAndrew
Team: Adam
Song: "The Blower's Daughter" by Damien Rice
Matt closes the show out tonight with a surprisingly emotional performance. The normally energetic and somewhat crazy stage performer goes the mic stand/acoustic guitar/fog route for this song. The only things we can focus on are Matt's vocals and heartache, and boy does he give us 100% of both here. This was a very smart move and I have no doubt that it will pay off. DaNica still wins the night for me, but Matt's vulnerable performance is a very, very close second.
Coaches Say: Blake has never heard the song before but he's glad that Matt's version is his introduction. Adam talks about how brutal love can be and says Matt embodied the lyrics of the song and gave a genuine performance.
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And with that, the Top 8 have once again put their fate in America's hands. Tomorrow we lose three more artists and potentially two entire teams. Will Adam's contestants hold strong for another week? Will DaNica keep this competition from becoming an all male battle? I sure hope so. She was my absolute favorite tonight. Anything can happen in the elimination hour though, and we'll see who makes it to the semi-finals tomorrow. Til then!
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