The Voice 5 Top 6 sing TWO songs tonight! One song chosen by their mentor, one chosen by themselves as a special dedication. That’s 12 big performances coming your way tonight, so hang on. We’ll be live blogging it all right here.
Oh. FIVE contestants will advance this week! Only 1 elimination.
VOTE! Click to Download The Voice Top 6 performances from iTunes
UPDATE: Checking out iTunes early Tuesday morning, and damn if Cole’s “Rich Girl” isn’t at the top of the chart! That was such a boring performance. The nostalgia factor must have kicked in really hard with that one. Also, Tessanne’s “Redemption song is doing better than I expected, which actually makes me happy. However, nobody is breaking out of the pack this week. At 1:30 am, Cole leads at #28 on the overall chart. iTunes is going to be useless to gauge who is leading the pack this week.
Only 1 finalist will leave The Voice tomorrow. It’s supposed to be the last week of the insta-twitter vote, but I wonder if the producers are planning to extend it to another week? Or maybe there will be a Top 4 in the final rather than a Top 3.
Cole Vosbury – Team Blake – “Rich Girl” by Hall and Oats – Chosen by Blake – Cole got a freebie guitar from a sponsor. He played on right handed guitars upside down initially, until his dad bought him his first leftie. Tonight, Cole will be playing electric guitar. Adam’s strategy is to find songs that showcase Cole’s range. Blake doesn’t think we’ve seen everything Cole is capable of yet. Eh. This song? It’s a pleasant 70’s throwback, but I don’t see how this showcases Cole’s voice at all. This song has NO emotional dynamics. It’s repetitive, a piece of pop fluff. Exactly the kind of song Cole SHOULD NOT be singing. Blake calls Cole a pro. Blake says there’s nothing to fix. CeeLo is a big fan of the original. He loved it. Adam says it’s a pleasure listening to him sing. – 1-855-864-2301
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Tessanne Chin – Team Adam – “Redemption Song” by Bob Marley – Chosen by Adam – Tessanne feels a profound connection to this song. She wants to get it right. Keep it simple, but powerful says Adam. Tessanne performs seated out in the audience, I was hoping the sway bot action wouldn’t start, but no luck. So distracting! It’s a powerful and moving vocal. Tessanne has insane chops. She never disappoints. But I’ll bet that America won’t connect to that performance. These reggae tunes don’t get a great reception, I don’t know why Adam keeps picking them for her. The Mohawk she’s sporting could be a bad sign. Adam is deeply moved. He’s really proud of her. Christina calls it “Lovely.” 1-855-864-2302
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Matthew Schuler – Team Christina – “Story of My Life” by One Direction – Matthew dedicates the song to his family. This performance is underwhelming. Matthew needed to bring bite to a what’s basically a bland pop song. But, he’s overwhelmed by the band and the bells and whistles around him. He has a few pitch issues as well. Christina loved his song choice. The modulation is like the heavens were parting, she says. Adam is not familiar with the song (Blake: It’s One Direction! OMG!) Adam notes that “Hallelujah” would be hard to surpass. He’s glad he’s “not chasing that.” Hm. Back handed diss? 1-855-864-2303
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Carson in the Skybox asking dumb twitter questions. How drunk did Blake get on Thanksgiving?
Will Champlin – Team Adam – “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke – Will dedicates the song to his wife and child. After big success with a classic song last week, Will is going back to the well. This is no “At Last.” The typical vocal gymnastics are at play here, but he sounds strained on the high notes. He begins the song at the piano, and switches off to the mic. He’s trying too hard. Adam admires his piano playing. Also, his courage to tackle one of the all time classics. Genuine, and real, says Adam. Will’s wife battled brain cancer. That’s the tough thing Adam was referring to. Cee Lo says Will has soul and heart. He notes the tiny flub when he switched from piano to mic. 1-855-864-2304
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James Wolpert – Team Adam – “I Fell in Love with a Girl” by the White Stripes. James dedicates the song to his dad – There’s a pedal guitar in the background. James plays acoustic guitar. It’s different, but it’s totally working for me. James’ vocal is out front and he stays put. There’s a little vocal wiggle in the middle, where he hesitates, but he picks it right back up again. Nevertheless, a simple and compelling performance. Me likey. There were reports of vocal issues, but I’m not hearing any. One of his best performances. His dad, in the audience, is handsome! Adam notes the flub. But he doesn’t think it matters. He loved the arrangement. The performance was cool and different. 1-855-864-2305
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Jacquie Lee – Team Christina – “Cry Baby” by Janis Joplin – Chosen by Christina – Jacquie explains that she’s never been in love before, and doesn’t really understand heartbreak. Hm. Christina wants her to realize her own strength. The ladies hug it out as Jacquie tears up. Big big vocals from the young singer. But she said it herself. She has no clue what the song means. Maybe in a few years she’ll have the deep well of emotion inside from which to draw upon. Janis Joplin? Pretty damn big shoes to fill. So much potential in this girl, though. Christina walks up on to stage to point out the fallen mic stage. It illustrates how she left it all out on stage. Christina projects a lot of her own history on young Jacquie. Cee Lo calls her a vessel where a spirit travels through. Adam does not want to see Jacquie when her heart is broken. (I DO!) 1-855-864-2306
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Cole Vosbury – Team Blake – “Better Man” by James Morrison – Cole dedicates the song to an ex-girlfriend. He still strives to be a “better man.” I wouldn’t call that a show stopping performance–which he may need at this point in the competition–but a solid one on a song that’s right in Cole’s wheelhouse. His raspy vocal is full of emotion. Blake says he’s showing dimension and character. And he does it time after time. Cee Lo agrees. It’s bittersweet to see him grow, considering he gave him up (Thank GAWD Cole is probably thinking) He wouldn’t mind if Cole won. Christina thought he was a little too raspy. He needs to take care of his voice, she says.
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Tessanne Chin – Team Adam – “Unconditionally” by Katy Perry – Tessanne dedicates the song to her divorced parents. They taught her unconditional love – She’s got the falling paper flowers, just like Katy at the AMAs! She pwns Katy vocally on her own song. It should embarrass her. A GREAT pop vocal from Tessanne. I hope America pays attention to this. She sounded amazing. The big notes were THRILLING Goose bumps, people. Tess can sing anything. Adam wasn’t worried about Tess singing a difficult song. Her ability is amazing. Blake says she’s a world class vocalist.
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Matthew Schuler – Team Christina – “When a Man Loves a Woman” – Chosen by Christina – She knows he’s coming back 1000%. Christina is looking for Matthew to have a truly soulful moment. Stripped down, without the band interfering, Matthew is able to fully engage with the song. Very passionate. He does a couple of things with his falsetto that are real nice. This soulful vibe is a side we haven’t seen yet. Hopefully, America remembers this performance and keeps him in the competition. Christina has great ideas if they can just hang in there. Blake says it’s a night for the classics. As good as Blake has ever heard him sing.
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Will Champlin – Team Adam – “Hey Brother” by Avicii – Chosen by Adam – Adam is picking a weird song that defies genre. But he feels Will is up to it. Will is playing banjo on the song. This could be great or horrible. It’s closer to great than horrible, but it’s still missing something for me. Another terrific vocal performance from Will, but he spent too much time working out the next note in his head. His voice cracked at one point. Adam says he figured out the blend of styles. A powerful vocalist, says Adam. He thinks it’s charming that he can see the wheels turn in his head (actually, that’s not a good thing.) Blake loves the banjo. And he calls Adam an idiot. Nice.
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Jacquie Lee – Team Christina – “The Voice Within” by Christina Aguilera – Jacquie dedicates the song to….Christina! The song is one of the main reasons she decided to become a vocalist. Out in the audience, swaying bots. This is a boring song choice. Really boring. There’s nowhere for her to go on this song. She’s pretty screamy on the high notes. But instead of it being the result of passion, it just feels like she can’t reach them. Young Jacquie has the big voice, but not the finesse of her mentor. It was special for Christina. She mentions again how she relates to Jacquie. She may be a little too attached to her charge.
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James Wolpert – Team Adam – “I’d Do Anything For Love” by Meatloaf – Chosen by Adam. Lookie James gets the pimp spot. Adam thinks the song is a great followup to last week’s Queen cover. Adam pushes James to be as dramatic as possible. Unleash it, he says. Despite Adam pushing James to take it as far out as possible, this performance is subdued. That James isn’t feeling well might explain it. And actually, the level of theatricality is just fine as it is. James delivers a solid vocal and an engaging performance. This was a good song choice for him and a nice balance to the acoustic song he did at the top of the show. Adam mentions that James is sick. He thinks he did an amazing job, nevertheless. Cee Lo thinks he embodies the rock opera, without being overbearing.
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Kelly Clarkson performs tomorrow!
