The Voice 23: Team Kelly’s D. Smooth delivers a stunning Ed Sheeran Hit
The Voice Season 23 semi finals aired Monday (May 16) as the Top 8 was whittled down to a Top 5. Once again, the format felt rushed as voters were only given a small 5 minute window to vote. Another weird wrinkle was that voters could only vote for one contestant. (Read our Recap)
The voting format possibly hurt eliminated singers like Holly Brand and Ryley Tate Wilson. Holly could have received country voters second or third choice votes if fans could have voted for more than one artist. And Ryley could have received some votes based on being a memorable standout early in the season. Regardless, Team Kelly Clarkson’s D. Smooth was a singer for which the format didn’t matter, as he straight up nailed his take on the Ed Sheeran hit, “Thinking Out Loud.”
A magical arrangement
In his pre-performance package, D. Smooth shared, “I kind of harp myself on just being different. I feel like Kelly sees that in me.” Kelly says she picked him due to his versatility and that he has his “own vibe, no matter what he sings.” In his rehearsal clip, the singer’s mom says, “I’m so glad America gets to see what we’ve been seeing our whole life.” It’s funny how an American Idol contestant took on this song last week as Ed sat on the judges panel. And now the singer performs it after Ed won a lawsuit involving the song. D. Smooth asks for bongos in the intro which Kelly says is like “slow dancing on the beach.” It was cool to see his vision come to life as he took the usually pop ballad into a new more soulful direction.
D. Smooth starts with a very confident vocal that has finesse. The arrangement is magical with bongos, bass guitars, and a saxophone. It was the most creative arrangement, and best vocal of the entire night. He extends some of the runs adding a jazz vibe to it. The performance allowed the singer to project as the key is in the sweet spot of his range. His tone may not be the most creative, but he is simply an excellent singer. He truly brought it to The Voice stage.
All four coaches give D. Smooth a standing ovation
All four coaches stand for the performance. Blake Shelton says, “I don’t know how you don’t vote that guy into the finale,” calling the performance an “incredible showcase.” Kelly says, “your voice is seamless, it’s straight from the soul.” She asks viewers to vote him through to the finale and that’s exactly what America does. D. Smooth advanced to the finale alongside Team Blake’s NOIVAS and Grace West, Team Chance the Rapper’s sibling trio Sorelle, and Team Niall Horan’s Gina Miles. Every coach will be represented in next week’s finale.
Grace West’s performed a steller take on a classic country Tammy Wynette song, so it was nice to see both advance to the Top 5. It wasn’t the best night of vocals, but these two had the clear moments of the night. It’s odd that the semifinal served as the first live show of the season. It led to the typical first live show nerves at a deep point in the season. It’ll be interesting to see if America continues to reward the strongest performance next week by crowning the artist who delivers the night’s best performance.
The Voice 2 part finale airs on NBC Monday May 22 at 8 pm ET/PT and Tuesday May 23 at 9 pm ET/PT
