The Voice Top 10 Performances: I Make No Apologies

Tonight's episode of The Voice gives the remaining hopefuls a chance to win a spot in next week's inexplicable 8 person "semi-finals." Blake and Alicia have full teams going into this performance show and are both guaranteed a competitor in the semi-finals, but Kelly and Adam's teams face complete elimination tomorrow if they can't excel this evening. Which contestants leave it all out on the stage tonight? Let's get to the performances and find out... 

Artist: Kyla Jade

Team: Blake

Song: "This Is Me" by Keala Settle (from The Greatest Showman)

Before I get to Kyla's performance, let me direct you to two videos of Keala Settle singing this song live and making me ugly snot cry. The first one is from back when they were trying to get the studio to make The Greatest Showman, and the other is from the Oscars this year. The woman is amazing. All of that being said, Kyla has quite an emotional connection to this song and also probably caused a lot of people to ugly snot cry tonight. She's always had some insecurities, and she's fallen victim to the internet trolls that have nothing better to do than comment on her looks. In this performance Kyla loses herself in the song...she is the song...she's freeing herself of the BS and letting us know she's glorious. Kyla loses herself in a way that she's unable to sing at one point and I hope she gets 100 hugs immediately when she goes backstage. What a performance!

Coaches Say: Standing ovation from everyone! I should hope so! Alicia uses the words stunning, riveting, masterful and magnificent to describe Kyla and says Kyla comes onstage and shows everyone what's possible. Blake thinks everyone at home and in the room felt Kyla's message and he's sure she just punched her ticket to the semi-finals. Indeed!

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Artist: Kaleb Lee

Team: Kelly

Song: "Boondocks" by Little Big Town

Kaleb continues his quest to show personality this week and this is certainly the song to get the job done. After the performance Kyla just gave, it's hard for me to get too excited about what Kaleb is doing here. Taking the stage without the guitar is a smart choice and he sounds great. I also think he's gaining a little more momentum each week and connecting with the audience and (I hope) the voters more and more.  This is a solid performance....I'm just still thinking about Kyla getting hugs. 

Coaches Say: It looks like Kaleb also gets a standing ovation from everyone and I'm not completely sure why. Adam says the performance was phenomenal and he's proud of Kaleb for how much he has grown in the competition. Kelly hasn't been able to sit down since the performance ended and she tells Kaleb he is a great dude, a solid singer, and an amazing performer. 

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Artist: Jackie Verna

Team: Adam

Song: "Love Triangle" by RaeLynn

Jackie takes on a tune by a former contestant on The Voice and she calls RaeLynn a "trailblazer" during the rehearsal package. I'm going to leave that one alone. Jackie has the challenge of singing about a situation she's never been in since the song is about parents getting divorced and Jackie's parents are still together. She is hoping to be able to tell the story anyway and do the song justice. She totally does. Jackie sounds lovely on her stool surrounded by bright colors with flowers and butterflies. By the time she stands up for the last chorus, her voice is pretty much flawless. I imagine she will be getting quite the shout out from RaeLynn this evening. 

Coaches Say: Blake says Jackie's delivery was incredible and Adam thinks Jackie found her sweet spot tonight. He goes on to say a perfect vocal can get lost in the shuffle and hopes America rewards Jackie for her performance. 

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Artist: Rayshun LaMarr

Team: Adam

Song: "Mr. Jukes" by Grant Green and Charles Bradley

Okay, so I've never heard this song before. Even if I had, I'm pretty sure Rayshun would be distracting me from anything I may know about the original. I'm digging it. I try my best to do the same rhythmic sway as the backup singers are doing but I am totally unsuccessful. Rayshun continues to be Rayshun and brings crazy energy and a crazy voice. I don't know how anyone could watch this performance and not smile (or make failed attempts at dancing). 

Coaches Say: Kelly says she's never had that much fun watching anyone else. She tells Rayshun he lights up everyone in the room. Adam feels like Rayshun separated himself from the pack today in a way that was really profound. I don't know about all that, but I do think this guy needs to be in the semi-finals. 

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Artist: Spensha Baker

Team: Blake

Song: "Red" by Taylor Swift

Spensha is a little nervous about switching things up and going the country/pop route. Apparently this is completely out of her comfort zone, but Blake tells Spensha to swing for the fence. I think Spensha does an okay job with the song considering her concerns, but I agree that the pop side of country should not be her career focus. Here's hoping she gets another chance at traditional country before the competition is done. 

Coaches Say: Adam thinks some people can sing every note possible and not connect to a song and other people, like Spensha, can scale it back and connect to lyrics. See, I feel like she hard a tough time connecting to the song, but what do I know? Blake thinks this was Spensha's best performance so far and says she is going to make country music history. Excuse me while I go make a confused puppy dog face through the next commercial break. 

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Artist: Jackie Foster

Team: Alicia

Song: "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles

This is a song that is close to tipping over the "songs we've heard too many times in singing competitions" fence, but Jackie does such an amazing job here I don't really care. Jackie wants to show her softer side this evening, which is a great move, and she sets aside her rock star persona to deliver a super vulnerable, super haunting, super mesmerizing performance. If this doesn't get her to the semi-finals...and even the finale...I don't know what will. And because I can't help myself, here's a version KC did during the Stronger World Tour. 

Coaches Say: Jackie does not get a standing ovation from everyone and I have no idea why. We go right to Alicia and she thinks Jackie chose the perfect moment for this song and for America to see her in such a tender place. Alicia goes on to say she was totally riveted and taken into Jackie's world tonight.  

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Artist: Britton Buchanan

Team: Alicia

Song: "What's Love Got to Do With It" by Tina Turner

Wow! Britton takes on the 80s tonight and performs a stripped down, brilliant version of this Tina Turner classic. Britton is someone I typically enjoy hearing each week but not someone I assumed would be in this competition for the long haul. His vocals are soft and smooth during the verses and he knocks the choruses out of the park. This is my favorite Britton performance to date and I think he absolutely just had a "moment."

Coaches Say: Alicia and Adam stand and Alicia does a dance by her chair that makes me so happy. Adam believes Britton is so special and incredible and Alicia tells Britton, "you are swaggin' so hard right now" and I laugh out loud. Britton might be blushing just a little. Alicia believes he smashed that performance and hopes America joins her in recognizing his growth on the show.  

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Artist: Christiana Danielle

Team: Alicia

Song: "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers

Fresh off the bottom 2 Stupid Twitter Save last week, Christiana shows up with something to prove tonight. When this song choice was announced, I worried that we would get the whispery/whiny Christiana style that has been showing itself lately. Instead, Christiana unleashes her voice and slayyyyyyyyys this song. I like this version of Christiana and hope she finds herself a spot in the semi-finals. 

Coaches Say: Kelly and Alicia stand (where are the guys?) and Kelly says Christiana's body is like a moving orchestra and it's a beautiful thing to watch. Alicia tells us that Christiana is one of the most unique, special beings she has ever met. "You are also discovering who you are daily and weekly on this show and your instincts are spectacular. There's nobody like you."

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Artist: Pryor Baird

Team: Blake

Song: "My Town" by Montgomery Gentry

Pryor goes back to his country music roots tonight with a song that seems like it would be right up his alley. When he's not screaming at me during the choruses, I kinda/sorta enjoy what Pryor is doing. He's really screaming at me a lot though. Not my favorite performance of his and when it's over, my ears are very thankful.

Coaches Say: Adam's favorite thing about Pryor's performance was how much range he showed. Blake thinks the reason Pryor is seeing his momentum build is because of how rare his voice is. Okay, next.

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Artist: Brynn Cartelli 

Team: Kelly

Song: "Fix You" by Coldplay

Shamelessly, I'm going to suggest you check out Kelly's cover of "Fix You." And then I'm going to suggest that The Voice did a good job spacing out the showstoppers tonight. Just as Kyla gave us an emotional opening to the show, Brynn closes out the Top 10 performances with a tear-jerker. "Fix You" hits home for Brynn given her mom's recent health problems and she is "all in" on this song. Brynn's delivery doesn't completely wipe me out the way Kyla's did, and there are a few pitch issues throughout the performance, but what the kid does here is genuine, moving, and beautiful. I love it. 

Coaches Say: We're running out of time and Kelly is fighting back tears. She says it's amazing to see someone so young deliver that kind of message. She adds that Brynn was born to sing and born to be on stage. Oh how I hope Brynn sails through tomorrow. 

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Kelly also took the stage tonight to perform her newest single, "I Don't Think About You." That dress. Those NOTES. Even the chandeliers had me captivated. She just makes it look so easy... I could go on. You know I could.

Tomorrow night the bottom 2 becomes the bottom 3 as The Voice will send home two of the remaining artists. Tonight's performances were so much stronger than last week's and I think America has some tough choices on their hands this evening. Will Rayshun and Christiana avoid singing for the save this week? Will Spensha's T-Swift cover cost her a shot in the semi-finals? Will the voting audience hold all of Pryor's yelling against him tonight? Will the two Jackies continue to distinguish themselves through another round? AND will we see any team disappear completely by the time the Top 8 are revealed? We'll find out during the elimination hour. Til then!

The Voice Top 11 Elimination: It's A Little Too Late

First things first. Some of you have asked whether there will be American Idol posts and I'm sad to say I am not blogging American Idol this season. I haven't been enjoying the reboot, I think it was way too soon for a reboot, and I prefer to pretend that perfect sendoff Fox did two years ago was truly the last episode. Maybe it will grow on me and I'll change my mind if there is another season next year, but for now, on with The Voice! Tonight's elimination hour didn't send us any surprises as the bottom 2 contestants both had a rough night last night. We had some guest performers in this hour, some team performances, and some of the longest pauses in the history of TV before the Top 10 were finally revealed. Here are the highlights. 

Janelle Monae was in the house tonight performing (and I do mean performing) "Make Me Feel," which is a song I had never heard but quite enjoyed. I seriously hope the contestants were taking notes. Adam joined his team for an interesting but entertaining rendition of "The Scientist" and Alicia collaborated with her team on "Gimme Shelter." I was up and clapping for this performance - the four of them were having so much fun and they sounded great both on their own and together. And Alicia's notes? Insane!

Results! Pryor was the first contestant to be announced in the Top 10 and he was soon followed by Britton and Rayshun. Brynn was sent to safety next, giving all four coaches a temporary sigh of relief as they waited to hear the fate of the rest of their teams. Spensha's name was the next one announced and the two Jackies followed here shortly thereafter. Kyla and Kaleb were the last contestants to be called, leaving Sharane and Christiana in the bottom 2. 

Sharane chose "If I Were a Boy" for her "save me" song and boy was this rough. I know she was nervous, but I think I may have actually preferred last night's "Hero" mess to this one. You'd think Christiana would have it in the bag now regardless of song choice, but her rendition of "A Thousand Years" wasn't much better. Really I don't know how the hell social media users chose between these two ladies. In the end though, Christiana did win the Stupid Twitter Save and Sharane was the casualty of "fans pick the songs" week...two things that shouldn't even be things on this show. Sigh.  

Next week the teams will face off again with Kelly and Adam down to 2 contestants and Alicia and Blake holding strong with 3. Will Christiana bounce back from the "Umbrella" monsoon? Will Brynn be back to her old/young self again when the song choice is back in Team Kelly's control? And can we please get someone to take Rayshun's blood pressure immediately after his next performance? I'm just curious as to whether or not he'll break the machine. We'll see how our Top 10 fare during next week's performance show. Til then!

The Voice Top 11 Perform: When You Feel Like Hope Is Gone

Tonight the remaining 11 hopefuls take the stage again on The Voice as Team Kelly went down a member last week and the other teams are working to stay in tact. The theme this evening is "songs picked by the fans" which almost always seems like a bad idea to me. Taking the choice out of the coaches/contestants' hands could pretty much sabotage any one of these guys and there's nothing they can do about it. Will any of the Top 11 power through with the perfect song match? Let's get to the performances and find out. 

Artist: Pryor Baird

Team: Blake

Song:  "Night Moves" by Bob Seger

The fans have chosen a song that Pryor has sung many times before, so tonight's first performer gets lucky with the week's theme. This is actually a great song choice for Pryor and during the rehearsal package, Blake is almost kicking himself for not realizing how similar Pryor's voice is to Bob Seger's. Sometimes I wonder if it would kill Pryor to enunciate a little, but the a cappella section of this performance is so good....it makes me forget about the parts where I don't understand what he's singing. 

Coaches Say: Kelly's favorite thing about Pryor is how comfortable he is on stage and how well he connects to the audience. Blake felt the softer side of Pryor tonight and he tells Pryor his momentum builds each week. 

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Artist: Sharane Calister

Team:  Adam

Song: "Hero" by Mariah Carey

Oh dear. This song is way too big for Sharane and it's a damn shame. The kid dedicates this song to her sister and she really does her best here, but the fans didn't do Sharane any favors in choosing this tune. There are parts of the performance that sound lovely...but then there are other parts where Sharane can't quite manage her breath...and then there are parts where her voice gets lost completely...and then some of the notes...well, maybe the fans that chose this song have a hell of a campaign going tonight to get her votes.  They owe her that. 

Coaches Say: Alicia tells Sharane she is blooming before our eyes and thinks she is really finding her footing now. Adam admits to being afraid about the song but says he's very proud of Sharane for tackling the song in her way. 

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Artist: Kaleb Lee

Team: Kelly

Song:  "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" by Travis Tritt

Okay, I can get behind this song/artist pairing. Kelly is excited that Kaleb gets to do a "personality song" and she's looking for him to come alive on stage tonight. While Kaleb doesn't necessarily go nuts with this song (in a good way) the way he could have, this is definitely the most personality we've seen from him all season and I'm loving it. Shout out to the band and backup singers though - this performance was seriously a group effort. 

Coaches Say: Blake says he wanted to run up on stage and jam with Kaleb during the performance. He thinks the song was perfect for Kaleb's voice. Kelly loves that Kaleb can be sweet and sincere in a ballad but he can also rock out like he did tonight. She tells Kaleb he nailed it. 

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Artist: Jackie Foster

Team: Alicia

Song: "Love Reign O'er Me" by The Who

Woohoo! Another good pick! Because Jackie's dad is a huge classic rock fan, Jackie feels like she is going back to her roots with this song. She loves that her fans want to see her sing this kind of song and I love that her fans chose this tune for her. Jackie wails when she needs to, keeps it subtle when it matters most, and she works the stage in a way that doesn't say "holy sh*t, I'm taking on The Who tonight" like many contestants would be. Her attitude is more like "The Who? I've got this. I'm making this my own tonight." I know we're barely at the midway point of the show, but this performance is best of the night so far. 

Coaches Say: All four coaches stand and rightfully so! Adam is so happy Jackie made the song her own and tells her the performance was perfect. Alicia does some sound effects before saying, "let the horns blow, let the trumpets blare," and I just love Alicia. She calls the performance sick before making more sound effects. 

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Artist: Jackie Verna

Team:  Adam

Song: "Strawberry Wine" by Deana Carter

Did we really need to have the two Jackies performing back to back when there are 11 contestants left in the competition? Luckily for Jackie V, her song is drastically different from The Who and is also in her wheelhouse. I was not digging the Avril Lavigne vibe last week so thank goodness the fans went country for Jackie tonight. No, she doesn't bring the house down like her predecessor, and no, she doesn't propel herself to front runner status with this tune, but she does give us a lovely, solid performance and looks totally in her element doing so. 

Coaches Say: Blake says the song was perfect for Jackie's voice and thinks the fans are totally in tune with her. See what he did there? Adam believes Jackie is one of the best singers on the show and he calls her performance flawless. 

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Artist: Kyla Jade

Team: Blake

Song: "Sweet Baby Sweet Baby (Since You've Been Gone)" by Aretha Franklin

Kyla is for real giving the other contestants a run for their money...or the money they hope to make someday. I tend to wince when someone says they are covering Aretha Franklin, for the obvious reason, but I am loving what Kyla has going on here. That dress! That hair! That attitude! That voice! There aren't many people in this world that can make tackling the Queen of Soul look easy, but lordy Kyla has done it tonight. If Jennifer Hudson was in the house, she would have thrown her entire closet on stage. 

Coaches Say: The coaches start standing long before Kyla is done singing and most of them stay standing as the critiques start. Alicia tells Kyla she is phenomenal and says she is inspiring so many people right now. Kelly throws an adorable hissy fit because Kyla is on Blake's team, and our resident cowboy thinks Kyla is dominating this show. He is totally right.  

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Artist: Christiana Danielle

Team: Alicia

Song:  "Umbrella" by Rihanna

Alicia had to get permission to use this song from her buddy, Jay-Z, and maybe this would have been a better night for Christiana if he had said "no." I can see why the fans would give Christiana a Rihanna song, but of all the Rihanna songs they picked the one that made me think my radio was broken the first time I heard it. Christiana's performance starts off very shaky and she seems to know it. Not sure if it's a timing issue with the piano or if she needed to be in a key higher pretty much the whole time. She has a fairly strong finish but not strong enough to for me to get past what happened during the rest of the song. 

Coaches Say: We go right to Alicia who says Christiana is incredibly loveable. Alicia tells America to buy this version of "Umbrella" because you can play it in your car, your crib, or while you're taking a bath.

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Artist: Brynn Cartelli

Team: Kelly

Song: "You and I" by Lady Gaga

Really? We really gave the 15 year old a song about sitting in a bar, making love on a couch, and kissing a man with a whiskey taste? This is the best we could do for this kid? Color me confused...and a little angry. Brynn's voice soars when she gets to the "youuuuuu and iiiiii" parts of the song but otherwise this was not one of her best. Here's hoping she gets a pass on this one because Team Kelly aside (my bias is showing?), Brynn deserves to be in the finale. 

Coaches Say: Carson has the nerve to say this was a perfect song for Brynn before going to Kelly for comments. KC says Brynn is confident and comfortable in her skin and she calls her young contestant "captivating."  

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Artist: Rayshun LaMarr

Team:  Adam

Song: "Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding

Rayshun doesn't seem too phased about his time in the bottom 2 last week. If anything, dude has even more energy if you can believe it. Like, he took what I thought was Rayshun on overdrive and put a cement block on the accelerator. As always, I'm entertained throughout Rayshun's performance - I think he's trying to take us to a lot of places tonight, but he definitely succeeds in taking us to church. This performance is fun and full of joy, and really, Rayshun's voice is so crazy good I almost think he is from another planet at times. I hope he doesn't find himself back in the bottom 2 tomorrow. I think he has earned a spot in the Top 10.  

Coaches Say: Well of course everyone is on their feet. How could they stay in their seats with what just happened on stage? We go right to Adam who points out that Rayshun was in the bottom 2 last week, but then adds that tonight Rayshun is number 1. He then says something about this being the first time on the show where all four coaches were standing before the song was over, and there's no way that's a true thing. Zero chance.  

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Artist: Britton Buchanan

Team: Alicia

Song:  "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran

Well I will totally admit to letting out a loud "awwwww" when we learned that Britton and Livia Faith are a couple now. Young love at the blind auditions. Britton dedicates this song to Livia and she is in the audience tonight...probably smart that he skipped over the "to carry love, to carry children of our own" lyrics. Britton seems a bit nervous and loses his breath quite a bit throughout the song (one could argue Livia takes his breath away?). Maybe the song wasn't "perfect" for him (can't help myself) but the performance is heartfelt and I think the kid will be just fine making it through to next week.

Coaches Say: Alicia says there are no bells and whistles to Britton's performance and thinks he has power in his "quietness."

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Artist: Spensha Baker

Team: Blake

Song: "Better Man" by Little Big Town

Spensha closes out the night with a performance that is not a pimp slot, bring down the house performance at all. The choruses are strong and Spensha is really invested in the song, but for me there are some pitch problems and closing the show with Britton followed by this performance is just super anti-climatic. But at the risk of pulling a Paula Abdul I will say that Spensha looked gorgeous tonight. 

Coaches Say: Kelly thinks Spensha's voice is big and beautiful and says Spensha brings soul to country music. Blake tells Spensha she is important to country music and she's doing what she's meant to do. 

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Maybe I'm all alone in my feelings, but I don't think this was an overall great night on The Voice. I hope the show runners look into giving "audience assignment" week the boot, right after they do away with the Stupid Twitter Save and stop the semi-finals slaughter. I honestly couldn't predict tomorrow's elimination because the performances were so uneven. Will Rayshun stay out of the bottom 2? Will Brynn get a pass because of the song she was given? Will Sharane sail through despite her "Hero" troubles? Will Christiana's fans pull through for her after the song they stuck her with? We'll find out during the elimination hour. Til then!