Tonight the remaining contestants on The Voice are taking the stage again, trying desperately to earn a coveted spot in the Top 10. Team Gwen is looking to stay strong tonight with two artists remaining, while all other teams remain in tact. Which contestants will stand out among the others? Let's get to the performances.
Artist: Stephanie Rice
Team: Alicia
Song: "Behind Blue Eyes" by The Who
Stephanie wants to let loose this week after her attempt at the most haunting version of "White Flag" ever last week. The first half of the song is slow and eerie so at first I'm thinking it's opposite day on The Voice, but mid way through the performance, Stephanie completely lets loose. I love it. I love that she went from controlled, soft notes to a badass growl and then back to the haunting style at the very end. Great start to the show.
Coaches Say: Gwen loves that we are watching Stephanie grow right in front of our eyes and she loved seeing Stephanie's confidence tonight. Adam agrees, saying it was great to see Stephanie have fun. Alicia tells Stephanie she is "blossoming like this powerful feminine phenomenon" and she loved the energy Stephanie had with the audience.
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Artist: Aliyah Moulden
Team: Blake
Song: "Take It Back" by Reba
Oh my. Aliyah is really switching it up this week and I am a HUGE fan of this performance. It's bluesy, it's sassy, and it's a great pairing between a song and singer. Now...am I always going to be partial to the Reba version of every Reba song? Sure. But this kid sang the hell out of "Take It Back" tonight.
Coaches Say: Alicia loved the performance and the raspyness in Aliyah's voice. Gwen compliments Blake (eye roll) but then tells Aliyah she is adorable and very talented. Blake, thank goodness, does not respond to Gwen's compliment, and says America is falling in love with Aliyah and investing in her as an artist.
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Artist: TSoul
Team: Blake
Song: "Lay Me Down" by Sam Smith
TSoul is taking a big step this week, transitioning from his previous performances into performing a current hit. TSoul puts his heart and...well...soul into this tune though as it hits close to home for him. He is missing his family right now and the rehearsals are very emotional. His performance is too. TSoul plays the piano beautifully to start and shows just the right amount of restraint on those crazy vocals of his. By the time he strolls toward the audience and literally lays down on the stage toward the end of the song, I'm just sitting on my couch clapping.
Coaches Say: Alicia tells TSoul his gymnastics game while singing is mind-bending. She would love to hear him do a whole song behind the piano. Blake says TSoul is a beast and thinks the performance was incredible.
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Artist: Lilli Passero
Team: Adam
Song: "Town Without Pity" by Gene Pitney
Yes! The great performances keep coming and I'm so happy about this. Adam hit the nail on the head during rehearsals when he said he was looking for song that could be an Amy Winehouse cover. Lilli's performance has a jazzy, sexy, dramatic vibe and she sounds fantastic. That last "caaaaaan dooooooo" just about made my night.
Coaches Say: Alicia was "so, so, so feeling that." She loves when Lilli completely loses herself in her world. Adam felt like Lilli transported everyone to a different time and says Lilli made the song hers.
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Artist: Hunter Plake
Team: Gwen
Song: "All I Want" by Kodaline
I'm embarrassed to say I've never heard this song. Sometimes that works against these contestants but in this case, I'm in love with Hunter's version regardless of what the original sounds like. He starts the performance at a mic stand surrounded by illuminated pyramids. Yes you read that right...I'm not really sure how else to describe it. Hunter has this heartbroken, pleading quality to his voice and he's selling me on the lyrics to this song...at least the ones I can understand. He doesn't always enunciate. This is another great performance and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the second half of the show is as good as the first.
Coaches Say: Adam tells Hunter the best thing about his voice is there is no mistaking his voice. "You know when you're hearing Hunter and that's what makes you so special." Gwen calls Hunter the real deal, saying he is full of music and there has been no one like him on the show.
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Artist: Vanessa Ferguson
Team: Alicia
Song: "Diamonds" by Rihanna
Well, all good things must come to an end. This song should have been a home run for Vanessa - she even said the song represents the artist she wants to be. Unfortunately what are probably awesome vocals are drowned out by the band and the backup singers through 90% of the performance. I say as a huge Vanessa fan that this was not one of her overall stronger performances. Those last few notes that I could hear clearly, however, were killer...or killah as Keith Urban would say. I miss him.
Coaches Say: Adam loves Vanessa's vibe and her badass style. Blake is still trying to get Vanessa to choose him as a coach and Alicia thinks the power of Vanessa's voice is unmatched.
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Artist: Lauren Duski
Team: Blake
Song: "Somewhere In My Broken Heart" by Billy Dean
Annnd we're back. I really look forward to seeing Lauren each week and she gives another beautiful performance tonight. She keeps it simple here with an acoustic guitar and strings section accompanying her, greatly contributing to the sad but kind of hopeful vibe in the song. Lauren's voice is controlled and lovely and she is definitely a storyteller. Love her and love this performance.
Coaches Say: Adam starts his critique with "You're going to be in the finale" and I'm so happy, I don't really hear the rest of it. Blake tells Lauren she is special and different and classic and says she is important to country music. Agreed!
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Artist: Mark Isaiah
Team: Adam
Song: "How To Love" by Lil Wayne
"How To Love" by Lil Wayne? Did I just have to type that in the "song" line? Oh dear. Marky Mark could not have earned himself many new fans with this performance. The good news? No dancing. The bad news? He can't manage his breathing and his vocals are all over the place. He sure does look sharp in that suit though. Compliment sandwich anyone?
Coaches Say: Gwen says she loves Marky Mark's song choices because she feels these are the types of records he would make. Key word there is "would." Adam says the rehearsals were tough, but Marky Mark came out and blew him away tonight. The rehearsals must have been a total mess then.
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Artist: Jesse Larson
Team: Adam
Song: "Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man
As an immediate side note, I had no idea who Rag'n'Bone Man was until my recent vacation to Scotland. His song "Skin" followed us on the radio throughout our entire two weeks across the country....in the car, in stores, in restaurants. The song was everywhere. Give it a listen and tell me the chorus isn't stuck in your head for the next 24 hours. Anyway, back to Jesse. This song choice was perfect for him and he's just awesome in this performance from start to finish. Adam. Dude. Please transfer all of your Marky Mark efforts to Jesse. STAT.
Coaches Say: Alicia loves the arrangement of the song and says Jesse took the song to a whole new place. Adam says Jesse is not a pop star...he just comes out on stage and sings his face off. Adam then calls Jesse the best singer in the competition.
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Artist: Brennley Brown
Team: Gwen
Song: "The River" by Joni Mitchell
This season's youngest contestant chose this song because she used to love performing it in a local coffee house on the weekends. The fact that this kid connects with a Joni Mitchell classic alone is refreshing, but what she does with the tune is just about perfect. I'm actually unable to look away from her throughout the entire performance and only typed my notes as we moved on to coaches comments. What a wonderful night this has been overall.
Coaches Say: Alicia joins Gwen in a standing ovation. Adam likes that as a country musician, Brennley thinks outside the box with her song choices. He looks directly at Blake when he says this and I think that's ridiculous. Is he being a jerk because Lauren sings country tunes every week and she's killllling them? Humph. Gwen is so excited for Brennley and says she looked and sounded beautiful.
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Artist: Chris Blue
Team: Alicia
Song: "When A Man Loves A Woman" by Percy Sledge
Let me first say that I am very, very tired of hearing this song covered on singing competition shows. It doesn't grate on my nerves the way "Against All Odds" and "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" do, but man...this one is overdone. However, if Chris Blue was going to close the show tonight, this was a hell of a way to do it. Alicia had told him he needed to uncover some layers of himself this week and boy did he. Chris took us on a journey, applied restraint when needed (kidding), and brought the whole damn house down. It was a little much for me, but I can't argue for a second that this dude isn't crazy talented.
Coaches Say: Alicia is the only one that stands which surprises me. She tells Chris that Heaven sent him to her and blessed all of us with his voice. She's very thankful that America has the chance to see how powerful he is.
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Tomorrow night the Top 10 will be revealed as we move toward the inevitable semi-finals slaughter in the coming weeks. The performances were SO good tonight though! Will Marky Mark find himself in the bottom again? If so, who will join him? Vanessa (no way)? Stephanie? As much as I loved her rendition of "Behind Blue Eyes," kicking off a show of fantastic performances might make her forgettable in the end. We'll find out if she'll make it through unscathed for another week during the elimination hour. Til then!
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