Join me tonight as the top ten finalists on The Voice perform. Idol alum and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson is the special guest.

Carson announces that Christina and Blake will be performing. He reminds us who stays and who goes home is entirely up to America. We now get a recap from last week. Music executive Ron Fair and Jennifer Hudson will advise.

Click to Download The Voice Performances from iTunes

Christina premieres “Just a Fool” featuring Blake Shelton. The sound mix is a little loud. Good thing they can belt. Christina looks great tonight.

Sylvia Yacoub starts off the night. Christina brings in Ron Fair, who helped launch Christina’s career. Christina sees a lot of herself in Sylvia. Ron says she needs confidence. She’s singing Alicia Key’s “Girl on Fire.” She returns to the piano. Wise move, I think. We get some flames of pimpage. She steps out from behind the piano. Sway bots galore! Cee-lo thinks she’s becoming more confident and it was solid. Adam is blown away and thinks it is her most polished performance. Blake agrees and think she set the bar. Christina says she was on fire! Sylvia makes Christina proud.

Terry McDermott starts off for Team Blake. Blake brings in his producer Scott Hendricks. Terry will be singing “Summer of 69.” Terry impresses Scott. Blake wants Terry to work on his staging. Terry sounds fine, but this song choice is a bit tired. We get more swaybots. Christina says she enjoys it and mentions that Terry stands on his tip toes. Cee-lo is fan and ready to hear Terry’s own music. Adam is angry and wishes Terry were on his team. Blake says Terry is walking on sacred ground and thanks Terry for making him look smart.

Melanie Martinez starts off for Team Adam. He gives her “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes. Apparently, Adam doesn’t have an adviser to help this week. He encourages her to show some power. He wants her to leave it all out there on the stage. She’s holding a guitar. Now she’s strumming. I actually liked that and I’m not her biggest fan. Blake loves that she plays an instrument. He pimps the Oak Ridge Boy’s version of the song. Says he would love to work with her. Christina has been waiting for her to push herself more and thinks she still has work to do on that. Cee-lo thinks she uber cool and really likes it. Adam says she pushed hard and is proud of her. He calls it amazing.

Cody Belew starts things for Teem Cee-lo who brings in Jennifer Hudson. He’s performing Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love.” Jennifer thinks his personality is more memorable than his vocal. She offers some suggestions. Cee-lo thinks people will remember Bam Bam this week. This is fun. I want Cody to stay in the competition, but I’m afraid his antics may not appeal to everyone. That was fun. The crowd seems to love it. Adam says Cody is awesome. Says he’s cocky in the right way and sees the pure joy in Bam Bam’s performance. Blake wonders if he’s the same guy who sang “Jolene.” He wonders what Arkansas is thinking and gives him a hand. Christina loves Cody and says he worked it like a true Diva. Cee-lo loves Cody’s joy and positive energy. He thinks his originality makes it imperative for him to stay in the competition.

Christina Milian says Bam Bam is trending worldwide and asks him to teach her how to find her inner Bam Bam. Apparently, it involves hip action.

Bryan Keith
is next for Team Adam and singing Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind.” We get some talk about Hurricane Sandy. Bryan hopes America sees his soul. I’m not so far. More swaybots. I’m not sure why this guy leaves me cold, but he does. Also, lose the hat. Blake says dang… he reminds him of Michael Buble and is becoming a fan. Christina thinks the song is a perfect fit and she thinks he connects with the song. She mentions his smirk, which I hate. Cee-lo enjoys him and says Billy Joel is the best. He says he has strength in his voice. Adam thinks he did the song justice and sang it like a man. Christina coughs. Shrew song choice to pander for votes, Mr. Levine.

Amanda Brown from Team Adam will be performing “Stars” by Grace Potter. Adam believes this will catapult Amanda to the top. Adam wants her to keep the emotion but be careful with it. He’s very happy with it. She talks about her family. She wants to make her family proud. She starts out soft and builds. I’m enjoying this vocal. Very heartfelt. I hope Bryan gets forgotten between her and Bam Bam. Sorry Bryan fans. Blake says he can’t stand Adam. He doesn’t know the song but her performance is the way he wanted to be introduced to the song. Christina says she doesn’t know the song either and wonders if it’s country, intimating that Amanda might not know who she is as an artist. Cee-lo calls her his favorite mistake again and commends Adam on the song choice. He says it was wonderful. Adam says it was beautiful and now people know the song. They did their job.

Nicholas David from Team Cee-lo is up now. He’s excited to meet Jennifer Hudson. He’s singing “Lean on Me” and playing the piano. Jennifer loves him and says he sings with his soul. She does give him a pointer on a note. He gets the gospel choir treatment. They flat ironed his hair. This is good. He bounces on his bench. Cee-lo gives him a standing ovation. The crowd loves it! Adam says he knew he was feeling it when he lost control of his left leg. He says bravo. Blake thinks this is the best episode of The Voice ever! Blake feels like he’s watching a musical legend. Christina says it was soothing for her soul… like chicken soup. She applauds the song choice. Calls it a home run. Cee-lo says he heard to the voice of a generation. He says he saw an immaculate, impassioned, wonderful performance. He waxes about how it made him feel like a child in the presence of his maker. Ok, it was good. But that might be a bit much.

Trevin Hunte from Team Cee-lo is next. He loves Jennifer. He wants to show a different side and do “Scream,” an Usher song. He worries that the America forgets he’s 18. They are leery at first, but decide to trust him. This is energetic. He has dancers. We get sway bots. The crowd seems pumped. They really seem pumped. Adam truly believes he can sing anything, but not his favorite moment. Christina says it was her favorite moment from Trevin. She says he was living! Cee-lo says he trusted him and is glad it payed off. Cee-lo loves seeing him alive, free and confident.

We get a sneak peek at Jennifer in Smash.

I’m not super impressed with Cassadee or Dez so far, so I’m bummed they close out the show.

Cassadee Pope from Team Blake will be singing “Over You,” a song written by Blake and Miranda. She sings it for her grandfather. She’s nervous she will cry. She’s actually singing this with conviction, but what the hell is that outfit? Can mullet dresses just go away? Blake and Christina give her a standing ovation. Christina feels the emotion and thinks she looks like a lotus flower. She feels touched. Cee-lo commends Blake for sharing the song. Adam thinks this type of song suits her the best. She should go country! I agree that this has been her best performance, but can’t help but wonder if this is subterfuge on Adam’s part. Cassadee looks bemused by the country music suggestion. Blake says she made him feel like he’d never heard the song and calls her an artist.

Dez from Team Christina gets the pimp spot, singing “Feelin’ Good.” Christina wants him to dig deep. He remembers the Michael Buble version which led him to enjoy other artists like Billie Holiday. I was initially dubious, but this isn’t bad. Just cheesy as usual. The crowd seems to love it. Dez gets a standing ovation from Christina. Cee-loves it. Classic, he calls it. He’s impressed by his soul. Blake congratulates him and Christina for figuring out where he fits in musically. I can see that, but is it a subtle slam that he’s destined to be a Buble impersonator? Christina says her standing O was for both Dez and Sylvia and reminds America to vote for both of them. She reminds us Dez is cute. No subtlety there.

What did you think? Will you vote? Which was your favorite performance? Do you think Dez deserved the pimp spot? Who do you think is at risk to go home?? Tomorrow night we will be live blogging the results show.

 
  • poipugirl

    Loved Dez’s performance!  He really does have the whole package and can sing anything and is really good looking, and seems super nice and not cocky or superficial.

    Cassadee and Nicholas were good too!  Cody’s was really entertaining and Terry never disappoints, but didn’t care for the song this week.

  • Nadine_Bitch

    I don’t think Terry is boring. Some singers just want to sing with their voice front and center– because they can. Sometimes OTT productions are one way to distract people from the vocals. And I think Not all contestants are creative but doesn’t mean they are less talented than those who are.

    just my opinion, of course.

  • 1rollbounce2

    wow, gwen.  I thought the exact same thing about Amanda and Tamyra!  Thought I was AI biased. 

    I thought Amanda was really good last night but those faces the camera catches when she’s listening to the tongue baths by the judges make me uncomfortable.

  • http://twitter.com/cheeseE1 EH

    I actually thought that everyone was pretty good last night – by good, I mean I didn’t cringe or reach for my remote. The arrangements have been pretty disappointing this season, so Melanie’s song choice and delivery were refreshing (plus it’s always fun to watch Christina’s disdain for people who can’t sing 3 or 4 octaves).  Compared to X Factor, which just gives me a headache, this show is at least watchable. I really liked Amanda’s song so I might go download the original.
    I love Terry’s voice but I wish he were on Adam’s team – Blake’s song choices are so completely uninspired. 

  • justmefornow

    Just pointing out a review that felt the same way I did, that’s all.
    Some people find P2 boring, some don’t and find him very creative, and he doesn’t use any OTT productions. I believe personally being creative is very important in finding someone talented and interesting. If not they’re just like every other pretty good singer you can find in your local bars. Nothing special.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/4CQ3XSZH7RSYSH5AIXNHRKZBR4 Chris

    You must be delusional

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/4CQ3XSZH7RSYSH5AIXNHRKZBR4 Chris

    You must be delusional….Amanda tore that song up and tamyra didn’t move me as much as Amanda browns performance…..I dont see you doing what she is doing.

  • http://www.etsy.com/shop/AdorablyHooked Gwen

    Yeah…huge, powerful church voice.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/PVEFG2TOUIXSROKUSO2O2DOWWE Taylor

    Why is Terry a “faux rocker”? Hasn’t he been the lead singer for a rock band for years and years? What is fake about that?

  • OffLeash

    I like Terry, but my impression when he performs now is that he isn’t enjoying himself. He doesn’t look like he’s been into the songs he’s performed lately. If that’s the case, then it’s Blake doing the song picking that’s the problem, and he should let Terry be and perform what he wants. That said, Blake is banking on Cassadee in the finale, so he probably isn’t invested enough in Terry.

  • justmefornow

    I’ll take your word for it. I don’t watch the show, I only check the videos here.
    Being a rock fan, he just does nothing for me.
     
    Average, not very powerful voice, very limited range, no charisma and/or stage presence. These things, IMO, separate the good rock singers from the great ones.
     
    In the end however, it really doesn’t matter, since this show doesn’t have a very good track record. We’ll probably never hear of any of them again.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/PVEFG2TOUIXSROKUSO2O2DOWWE Taylor

    That doesn’t mean Terry is a “faux rocker” though. You just don’t like his voice. If he’s been part of rock bands for over a decade, wouldn’t he at least be authentic in his musical identity?

    He may not have one of the best rock voices, but that doesn’t mean he is a fake.

  • Jimmy Mackey

    As much as I like Cassadee, I doubt she will win.  Her emotional performances just aren’t big enough in my opinion to win over the American voters.  Her Hey Monday stint may be behind her but I doubt her best days are over either.  She has a good following now she has made it this far on The Voice.  I know my wife likes “big” voiced performers which usually win.  There are so many “big” shows like The Voice that I used to watch with my wife, but now I watch them in the morning, commercial free, with Auto Hop on my DISH DVR.  I save time watching commercial free so I can easily get ready for work but not have to pick up the remote, since Auto Hop automatically skips the commercials.  Then, when I pick up my DISH coworker, we talk about what we watched and who our picks for the winner are.

  • http://twitter.com/ronnydias Ronny Dias

    I myself wouldn’t mind having to look at someone not considered perfect, as long as the spaces between their teeth or squeezed in between a couple of extra pounds were filled with real talent!
    ;)