The Voice 10 Recap – Top 9 Performances – Live Blog and VIDEO

Tonight Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani sing “Go Ahead and Break My Heart,” the lovebirds’ new duet from Blake’s upcoming album, If I’m Honest. Also tonight: The country duo Florida Georgia Line will perform their new single, “H.O.L.Y.,” off their third studio album, Dig Your Roots.

*Vote for your favs at NBC.com, the official The Voice App and by downloading the contestant’s song on iTunes. Any singer that enters the Top 10 will have their votes multiplied by 10.

Click for Tonight’s Song Spoilers

Paxton Ingram – Team Blake – I Wanna Dance with Somebody by Whitney Houston  – Paxton is first. DEATH SPOT. He loves recreating female powerhouse vocals, and making them his own. Tonight’s performance will have an “acoustic vibe.” It looks like this was all Paxton’s idea, including the arrangement. Blake is telling him to take risks, which is not his typical coaching style. Hm. Blake saying he wants to get Paxton to the finale. At the expense of Mary or Adam? Riiggght. Actually, this isn’t terrible. Ironically, Paxton is NOT dancing this week. Really. This is alright. He’s still pitchy on the high notes, but other than that, he lends a catchy world beat dance vibe to the performance. “You put Paxton on it,” Christina said. Comparing his rehearsal to her 1st grade recital felt a little shady, though.  Pharrell felt what he did on stage bodes well for what he’s trying to accomplish in the competition. Adam calls Paxton infectious and feels he found the sweet spot in his vocal. Blake boldly claims he’s the one guy who keeps getting better and better every week. Well…I would not hand Paxton an improvement arc, but he is hanging in there. –  Download from iTunes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad11QxpUh3U

Host Carson Daly announces that Pink will mentor the Top 8 next week. It’s the semi-finals! Can you believe it?

Mary Sarah – Team Blake – My Church by Maren Morris  – Mary can see herself singing something like this–a mix of traditional and contemporary. She relates to the lyrics–she finds Jesus everywhere, not just at church. Blake takes her guitar away, believing she performs with more energy when she moves around. He makes a crack about last week’s soldiers wanting to her front and center. Blake was on to something, because this is the most energetic I’ve seen her. She’s bolder than usual tonight, working the stage and throwing a few well placed growls in her vocal. Mary is in it to win it! Heh. Not holding anything back, she digs into the performance with abandon. It’s her loosest performance yet. Pharrell felt she gained more freedom to emote without the guitar.  Adam thinks she finally found a lane. “It was perfect,” he says. Blake is so FREAKIN HAPPY. He told reporters on the red carpet that Mary would have a moment tonight. –  Download from iTunes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeL_55wx6eM

Nick Hagelin – Team Christina – Hold On We’re Going Home by Drake – Nick feels like he’s been through it all, with the steals, saves and eliminations he’s experienced. He confesses he and the wife had some problems that almost broke them up. Christina suggests that he dance a little during the performance. Hm. He’s playing guitar, though. He ditches the instrument for verse two. Here comes the dancing. What is that flowey shirt he’s wearing?  I think he raided his wife’s closet. That was a smooth performance from Nick, one of his best. The falsettos weren’t as thin as usual. I’m not sure why he bothered with the guitar at all. It made the performance a little busy. He’s still laconic, but it’s a big improvement over last week. Pharrell likes his full chest voice. He felt it got stronger when he stood up. Adam thought the dancing was cool too. It’s time to pull out all the stops, he says. Christina loved what he did with the song. The dancing brings out a whole new energy, she says. –  Download from iTunes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVpTu5Risuo

Hannah Houston – Team Pharrell – Say You Love Me by Jessie Ware  – Did Hannah and Pharrell call each other the morning of their rehearsal? They are both wearing pink. Hannah wants people to be MOVED this week. “You’ve got to do some begging on this song,” says Pharrell. He tells her to treat the audience like a courtroom “State your case.” He appreciates her honesty and humility and calls her “Spesh.”  She’s taking too long to get to the punch line. She’s meandering. DON’T HOLD BACK HANNAH. Finally she lets loose on the chorus. This feels a little disjointed. She found a groove somewhat in the last 3rd of the song, but for me, the performance didn’t hold together. Blake and Christina both think it’s her best yet. Hm. Blake says she looks like a superstar. Pharrell alerts AMERICA he will be LECTURING. SHUT UP PHARRELL. He reminds us she’s a school teacher who hardly ever performs. AND YOUR POINT IS? He begs America to vote her through (or he’ll have no team. he doesn’t actually say that, but it’s true). –  Download from iTunes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc2P0I7QgRQ

Florida Georgia Line is next, and I have no idea WHY they are appearing on a performance night when there are nine seasons worth of The Voice alum who could have performed instead. Guest stars DON’T improve ratings week to week, so why not promote your own? Bleh. This insipid tune is NO BUENO.  I mean…is this the band’s attempt to perform “meaningful” songs that are about something more than chicks and trucks? Time for a nap.

Shalyah Fearing – Team Adam – A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke  – When she was younger, Shalyah’s grandma made her listen to the song in order to learn her “culture.” Adam reminds the singer that the song is about conveying a message, not singing perfectly. She’s a little nervous about performing such a weighty song. It’s do or die for Shalyah right now. She’s having trouble connecting to viewers. Will she do it with this performance? Accompanied by a string sections, she brings all her gospel feels, by way of growls and shouting. But the piece as a whole feels like a series of well placed ad libs rather than a deeply felt performance. Blake feels like she’s gotten back to her memorable Playoff moment. As an aside, he mentions the tornadoes in OK tonight, sending “thoughts and prayers” to folks back home. Xtina suggests she work on her low notes, but admires how authoritative her high notes are. Adam says she’s too hard on herself in rehearsal. He reminds everyone: “ONLY 16 YA’LL.” Because that’s why we should vote for her?   –  Download from iTunes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTpy_KpFPGU

Laith Al-Saadi – Team Adam – We’ve Got Tonight by Bob Seeger  – Seeger is a fellow Michigan dude. This week, we’ll see a different side of Laith–an intimate performance at the piano.  His girlfriend is ALWAYS there to support him. “Love is the most important thing in life,” he says. Adam should have advised him not to clip off the end of phrases. He keeps moving away from the mic to look at his hands on the keys. Laith has a strong voice, but he either growls or bellows. He doesn’t have the ability to intricately phrase a tender ballad. He shines when the chorus gives him the opportunity to let loose.  Aw. The girlfriend is crying in the audience. Pharrell feels America needs to vote him through because…he’s like the dude in your high school who loved rock and roll? What? Adam mocks the audience for their tendency to clap along off beat. Really, they should tell the audience to sit on their hands. That is annoying “You could hear a pin drop,” Adam describes the room during the performance. He believes Laith is “important” because he’s keeping rock n roll ALIVVVEEE. –  Download from iTunes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrU-z1rDXqI

WHAT EVERYONE HAS BEEN WAITING FOR. I mean…to hell with the contestants. Coaches and lovebirds Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani sing their duet “Go Ahead and Break My Heart.”  They are spectacularly mismatched as duet partners. Honestly, I still think this relationship is PR driven. I mean, I believe they are dating for real, but I can’t help thinking rebound and promotional possibilities are what drive the relationship. Her vocal sounds out of place on a country song. Not feeling the chemistry, to be honest.

Adam Wakefield – Team Blake – Love Has No Pride by Linda Ronstadt (Bonnie Raitt)  – His mom loved the Bonnie Raitt version of this song. Blake says magic happens when Adam tickles the ivories. Adam and Blake work out the arrangement together. The singer is pretty clear on what he wants to do–he instructs the band himself. The band comes in on the second verse. That was Blake’s suggestion. I think I would have prefered just Adam at the piano. Having said that, it’s a powerful and heartfelt vocal performance.  It’s a 40 year old song that hasn’t gotten much play in the last 30. That could hurt him, but I hope not! Laith could take a lesson from Adam on how to phrase a blues ballad with nuance. Christina calls it “fiery, soulful and strong.”  She claims she had a dream about him, but then would not elaborate. What? “Lots of girls having dreams about you,” says Blake, calling it Adam’s best performance. ‘I’ll see you in the finale,” he says. Yeah, you probably will! –  Download from iTunes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgmX7H54BFE

Bryan gets the pimp spot!

Alisan Porter – Team Christina – Cryin’ by Aerosmith – Alisan brought her kids to rehearsal to meet Christina. Cute. All the songs she does on The Voice are pieces of who she is, says Alisan. It paints a full picture of who she is as an artist. Well. There’s not much to say after that. She was channelling her inner rock goddess for sure up on the stage tonight. She brought vulnerability, emotion, and balls to the walls passion, all wrapped up in a perfectly crafted performance. A less skilled singer would have yelled their way through that song. Alisan understands vocal dynamics-when and where to ramp it up. That brought the house down! Having said that: Rock! Alisan is not my favorite thing, and I hate “Cryin'” but she killed it. Pharrell felt she was tapping into the band Heart. She’s killing the “mom” stereotype, he says. Adam is mad he can’t talk! But Carson has to move it along. “You were a superstar just now!” gushes Christina. – Download from iTunes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb2XjS_YxfI

Bryan Bautista – Team Christina – 1 + 1 by Beyonce – He’s never performed a female song on the show. Christina thinks it’s a perfect way to get back to his sexy romantic self. Whooaaa. I am completely under Bryan’s spell. I mean. This is so romantic. SO SEXY. So passionate. He’s on his knees and it doesn’t even feel corny, because I believe every single word he’s singing. Wow. Bryan. THE ANSWER IS YES. This is legit Bryan’s best performance to date. That was gorgeous. He’s going to sail through to next week. If he keeps THAT up, he’ll make the final. Adam calls his vocal “effortless” in his higher register. Christina thinks he GOTTA DO A DUET with Beyonce. Heh. Maybe he could be Bryan with the Good Hair. Take that Jay Z. – Download from iTunes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLvC5vDL2gU