Welcome to the first 2016 season of The Voice! I'm still having trouble coming to terms with the end of American Idol, but this new adventure on The Voice is sure providing a great distraction. After many preliminary rounds, the Top 12 have been chosen and will take the stage tonight to represent their respective teams. Will any one coach dominate from the get go? Let's find out.
Artist: Mary Sarah
Team: Blake
Song: "So Small" by Carrie Underwood
Up to bat first tonight is Team Blake's sole female contestant. Mary Sarah is also the last female country singer left standing in the competition, and she's all about putting her own spin on this popular Carrie Underwood tune. Oh and by "spin" I mean this is pretty much a karaoke version. The girl definitely has some pipes though and the song clearly means something to her. I'd say this is a solid start to the show but I hope people still remember the performance two hours from now.
Coaches Say: Welcome back Xtina! I've missed you so. I'm sure the poor soul in wardrobe that manages your boobs missed you too. Anyway, Xtina tells Mary she looks pretty and then shatters my brain by saying she's not familiar with the song. Pharrell congratulates Mary on her performance and Blake says he got completely wrapped up in the message of the song.
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Artist: Laith Al-Saadi
Team: Adam
Song: "Born Under a Bad Sign" by Albert King
I'm going to go ahead and follow Xtina's lead here and say I'm not familiar with this song. It's not a tune that I would immediately run out and download post Laith's performance either, but this guy sure is entertaining. He's drowned out by the band at times, and I'm not always sure he's enunciating, but he's unique and I enjoy him.
Coaches Say: Blake doesn't know much about the blues but thinks Laith's performance has to be as good as it gets. Pharrell says Laith is "the real thing" and makes sure to point out how amazing his guitar solo was tonight. Adam loves what Laith represents and calls him refreshing.
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Artist: Daniel Passino
Team: Pharrell
Song: "Human Nature" by Michael Jackson
Pharrell's comeback kid is having some doubts but his coach uses some tough love to make him believe in himself. Daniel channels his inner Michael for this performance and if he had doubts, they are not showing at all tonight. His falsetto is on point and he definitely keeps the audience engaged. Daniel doesn't come close to touching MJ with his performance, but all things considered I think this went very, very well.
Coaches Say: Adam thinks Daniel turns into a different person when he gets on stage and calls the performance smooth. Xtina says the performance was awesome and she loves his look tonight. Pharrell thinks Daniel willed himself to give this performance and he's proud of his contestant.
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Artist: Emily Keener
Team: Pharrell
Song: "Lilac Wine" by Jeff Buckley
I'm just mesmerized by Emily. This is another song that I'm not familiar with, but when Emily commands "listen to me" in the lyrics mid-song, I feel like she had everyone's full attention already. Her voice is haunting and she is completely emotionally invested in everything she's doing. I feel pain for her when the song ends because she had me hook, line, and sinker.
Coaches Say: Emily gets a standing ovation from all four coaches and I'm thrilled for her. Adam has been wanting that song on the show and says she was perfect. Xtina knew Emily was capable of tapping into magic and says she did a stellar job. Pharrell tells Emily she is a beautiful vocalist and calls the performance amazing.
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Artist: Nick Hagelin
Team: Xtina
Song: "Mine Would Be You" by Blake Shelton
Niiiiiice. Normally I think it's awkward to use a fellow coaches' song in the competition but this one is an exception only because Nick dedicates this song to his wife. He misses her a ton and even writes her a poem each night they are apart. Nick plays the piano through the first chorus and then takes center stage to finish the ballad. He puts his heart and soul into the performance but I can't say he made himself stand out vocally at all. How sweet was that dedication though?
Coaches Say: Pharrell says, like, this is like, a whole new thing and I scratch my head a little. Blake thinks Nick did a great job and Xtina tells Nick he is a pleasure to work with and compliments his charisma.
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Artist: Adam Wakefield
Team: Blake
Song: "Soulshine" by the Allman Brothers Band
This song is about hope and it has a very special place in Adam's heart. "Soulshine" reminds him of singing with his brother, who has passed away, and Adam channels all of those feelings into this performance. This gospel-y rendition is something I could listen to many times over and I think it will be making an appearance on my iPod in the very near future. Adam may have just edged ahead of Emily tonight.
Coaches Say: The men stand but Xtina keeps her seat. Pharrell says "we're taking people to church on television and setting them free!" and Adam (Levine) thinks Adam (Wakefield) is far beyond the real deal. Blake says his contestant is going to be around for a long time. While I would like that to be true....I feel like we hear this from Blake about 80% of the contestants each season.
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Artist: Brian Bautista
Team: Xtina
Song: "Kiss From a Rose" by Seal
Does anyone know what the hell this song means? I had always assumed it was meant to be a distraction from how unfortunate Batman Forever was. Like, the movie ends and before you can say "what the hell was that?," you are instead thinking "what the hell is this song?" Anywho, Xtina is looking for Brian to lay his heart out there tonight and...I'm not sure that he does that. Brian does to a solid karaoke version of "Kiss From a Rose" but that's really all that comes out of the performance.
Coaches Say: Pharrell thinks there is a deal for Brian on the other end of this show. Xtina says every girl needs to buy this song and be lulled to sleep by Brian. She means this in a good way of course, but my guess is many viewers thought the performance was snoozy.
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Artist: Owen Danoff
Team: Adam
Song: "7 Years" by Lukas Graham
Owen ditches the bass this week and relies on his vocals to be the main event. Now, I love this song. Love it. Mainly because it sort of takes you on this journey through time....which in Owen's version is cut up because there's no chance he can fit the whole song into his allotted slot. He tries to make up for this when he gets to "Soon I'll be 60 years old" by putting on an anguish face, but overall I don't think this performance accomplished what Owen hoped it would.
Coaches Say: Pharrell thinks Owen is quite the vocalist and calls him a great storyteller. Adam tells Owen he busted out of his shell tonight and it warmed his heart.
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Artist: Allison Porter
Team: Xtina
Song: "Stone Cold" by Demi Lovato
Allison makes this whole singing thing look easy. Her delivery of this song gives me the chills and I can't even begin to think about typing until the performance ends. This is the best of the night for me so far. Amazing.
Coaches Say: Standing ovation from everyone. Adam says every year there is one person that epitomizes what the show is about and that's Allison this year. Blake asks Allison if she's bored with being so great. Xtina can't wait for the Allison album (whoa there) and tells Allison she's amazing.
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Artist: Paxton Ingram
Team: Blake
Song: "Hands To Myself" by Selena Gomez
I mean, I could but why would I want to? I'm not ashamed to say I jam out to this song in my car frequently. Windows down. Don't care. I'm going to have to stick to the original version of "Hands To Myself" though because I'm not digging Paxton's take on the song. Not at all.
Coaches Say: Pharrell says there were "a lot of interesting parts to the performance." Yup, we'll go with that. Blake says Paxton is going to be around for a while. See what I mean?
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Artist: Hannah Huston
Team: Pharrell
Song: "Something's Got a Hold on Me" by Etta James
Hannah loooooooves Etta James and Pharrell looooooves Hannah, so here we are. Have you heard Xtina sing this? I'm not even talking about Burlesque. I'm talking about any other time she's performed this song live (yes - three different links there). Aside from Etta being the queen of this song, it's also hard for me to imagine anyone covering it but Xtina. That being said, Hannah opens this performance like a badass and keeps that going the entire time. I mean...damn. She shut me up in a hurry.
Coaches Say: Adam calls what Hannah just did "alien soul," which is a term I am now in love with. Blake says Hannah's song choices are always unexpected (in a good way) and he's a huge fan. Pharrell tells Hannah she "has mountain ranges of notes" which is still not as good as alien soul in my opinion.
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Artist: Shaylah Fearing
Team: Adam
Song: "Up To the Mountain" by Patty Griffin
I am of course going to direct you to Kelly Clarkson's Idol Gives Back performance of this song. You knew that was coming. In the pre-performance video package Adam reminds us that Shaylah is a young girl taking on this big, meaningful song. Shaylah then earns major, major points with me by quoting lyrics from KC's "Stronger." Would I have loved this performance anyway though? Absolutely. The kid kills it and 100% earned the closing spot tonight.
Coaches Say: Xtina tells Shaylah she is a fearless singer, saying "I feel your heart when you sing." Pharrell agrees and loves that his spirits were lifted. Adam is so impressed by his contestant and says she blows his mind.
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Tomorrow night we will say goodbye to one contestant as the coaches' power is taken away and the remaining artists fall prey to the Stupid Twitter Save. Will Owen's last minute burst of energy carry him through to next week? Will people like Paxton's version of "Hands To Myself" even though the performance couldn't be over soon enough in this living room? Will "Kiss From a Rose" be Brian's kiss off? We'll find out tomorrow during the often very painful results show. Til then!
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