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.
