The Voice 4 Top 6 perform TWO songs tonight. Plus, Michelle Chamuel gets a surprise visit from Taylor Swift! I’ll be liveblogging the performances right here.
Welcome to Nashville Star Nashville Voice The Voice! There were 8 country performances tonight out of 12. One was a rock song countrified. One was a country song gone pop. And another was a pop song from a singer who started in country. Only TWO performances tonight, “Ain’t No Way” by Sasha Allen and “Somewhere Only We Know,” by Michelle Chamuel were completely untouched by the country genre. I could live with that if the performances being presented were challenging. But, unfortunately, the coach with his team intact, Blake Shelton, is playing a very safe game. Danielle Bradbery, The Swon Brothers and Holly Tucker are ALL repeating themselves at this point. Team Blake=Team Dull.
Adam, Shakira and Usher may only have one contestant a piece, but at least they are taking risks. Maybe it’s to the detriment of their teams, but at this point, I have to say that I’m grateful. Michelle Chamuel from Team Usher and Amber Carrington from Team Adam were the standouts tonight. They both took risks that paid off. Michelle is consistently watchable. Not only is she a fantastically theatrical performer, but she’s an amazing interpreter, She’s certainly not the best technical vocalist. But it’s the skill and self-awareness that she brings to every song that makes her compelling. Amber not only has huge pipes, but she knows how to use them. Her phrasing and dynamics are gorgeous and she traverses across genres easily. An honorable mention goes to Sasha Allen who absolutely KILLED on “Ain’t No Way,” but I’m afraid she didn’t cut it as a jilted lover out for revenge on “Before he Cheats.” Shakira’s song picking skills are pretty horrible, but at least she’s trying to be creative.
If Team Blake wins this competition coasting his mediocre heels, I’m going to be very disappointed.
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Two songs–the coach chose, one, the artist the other.
Tomorrow night, ONLY ONE singer will be eliminated!
Holly Tucker – Team Blake – “When God Fearin’ Women Get the Blues” by Martina McBride– Blake chose this song for Holly. Revealing her feisty side last week kept her in the game, so he figured why change something that ain’t broke? Too bad she’s first, though. It’s going to hurt her. It’s another peppy performance from Holly, but it’s nothing special. Top 6 is not the time for an artist to rest on their laurels. The theatrics push her to show up, says Usher. But he wanted to see more. Shakira thinks she’s learned how to have fun on stage. Adam likes the new character that’s emerged. It’s Blake’s favorite performance of the season–strong and full of energy. – 1-855-864-2301 Sprint Text 1 to 8642 – Download from iTunes
Michelle Chamuel – Team Usher – “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane – Usher chose this song for Michelle. Once again, he pledges his support to his sole team member. At this point, he considers her his friend. Michelle brings so much vulnerability and power to her performances. That she is able to balance the two is part of her wonderful charm. She invests herself deeply into every syllable she sings. I can feel every word. Michelle hasn’t had a bad performance yet. Another fantastic performance from my homegirl. Shakira thinks it will be another amazing week for her. Also Usher is an amazing coach. She’s really learned how to use dynamics, she says. Adam has loved watching her carve out her own spot. Usher felt the performance had depth and showed off her vocal ability. – 1-855-864-2302 Sprint Text 2 to 8642 – Download from iTunes
Holly and Michelle are up in the sky box being interrogated by Christina Milian. BLAH BLAH BLAH. Holly, marching band girl, shows off her sax skills. We also see a photo of Michelle with Taylor Swift. She was so nice and so kind, says Michelle of her surprise mentor.
Swon Brothers – Team Blake – “Wagon Wheel” by Darius Rucker – The Swons chose this song. – Namechecking Oklahoma again…but without mentioning the storms (just all of the talent that has come out of OK) SMART. Well. Yee Haw. This is pleasantly generic. Another solid, but unremarkable performance from the brothers. But because they each possess: 1. a Penis and 2. a Guitar it will be more than enough. HOLLY CRAP. The hoe down chick dancers in little skimpy outfits who join them on stage are HILARIOUS. The staging on this show cracks me up. Shakira calls it fun and loose. She’s feeling very inspired by country music. Adam says it’s his favorite performance. Blake thinks the duo have a unique sound (REALLY?) – – 1-855-864-2303 Sprint Text 3 to 8642 – Download from iTunes
Sasha Allen – Team Shakria – “Ain’t No Way” by Aretha Franklin – Sasha has been listening to Aretha Franklin her entire life, so she chose this song for herself. And boy. This is where Sasha really shines. She’s an R&B singer through and through. She pours herself into the song, as if to say “Ain’t NO WAY YOU’RE SENDING ME HOME THIS WEEK HELLS NO.” She hits perfect emotional highs and she’s absolutely in the moment. Whoa. That was magic, and could have been a pimp spot performance. Adam delivers on more blah blah about not picking her before. Every week, Adam! Let it go. He calls it her best performance ever. Usher agrees, and it’s one of his favorite songs. Shakira points out that NOBODY in the competition could do the song as well as Sasha. – 1-855-864-2304 Sprint Text 4 to 8642 – Download from iTunes
Danielle Bradbery – Team Blake – “Shake the Sugar Tree” by Pam Tillis – Once again, Blake is taking the “if it ain’t broke” path with Danielle. A Pam Tillis song was Danielle’s biggest selling iTunes song, so why not? Blake is winning playing it safe. Have the other coaches noticed? It’s another radio ready performance from the young singer. Blake better be careful, though. If Danielle doesn’t continue to grow, she could be left behind by a more aggressive contestant. Usher noticed that she overcame some nerves. He admired that. Once again, Adam is all bitchy that he couldn’t snag Danielle for his own team. He calls her solid and one of the best on the show. Blake says she makes his job easy. Her voice is so pure–there’s no reason to change things up. He compared her to his wife, Miranda Lambert. “You’re seeing a star being born,” says Blake, proudly. – 1-855-864-2305 Sprint Text 5 to 8642 –Download from iTunes
Amber Carrington – Team Adam – “I Remember You” by Skid Row – Adam chose one of his favorite rock songs for Amber. She never heard the song before, but Adam says don’t worry, we’re going to countrify it for you! And that put her at ease. Originally a hair metal power ballad from the 80s, the song lends itself pretty well to the country treatment. Let’s call it a power COUNTRY ballad–perfect for Amber to show off her huge pipes. That should sell well on iTunes. Why the hell is she standing in a ring of fire? That looks freaking scary. Blake thought it was smart to bring the song back to country. Shakira liked the song choice and appreciates that she changed it up. Adam STILL believes it’s important to take risks. He’s totally undaunted that his team is decimated while the risk-averse Blake Shelton has held on to everyone on his team. – 1-855-864-2306 Sprint Text 6 to 8642 – Download from iTunes
Danielle watches a good luck video from her sister as she and Sasha chat with Christina Milian in the sky box thingy.
The Swon Brothers – Team Blake – “Okie from Muskogee” by Merle Haggard – Really playing that Okie card hard, aren’t we Blake? This song is so dated, it’s patently ridiculous. Sing it with some irony or I will be rolling my eyes so hard they may get stuck in the back of my head. Welp. There go my eyes! Straight to the back of my head. Not only is the performance irony and humor free, but it’s also BORING AS HELL. Jeez Blake. Usher thinks it’s great they can have fun, and represent where they are from. Adam notes that Blake is beaming with joy and that he’s been dying to have an act do the song . “How can you not enjoy that song!” he exclaims. (Uhm. Easy.) He thought it was funny. (Am I missing something?) Blake says it’s right for the guys to dip into tradition and remember their roots. He has no doubt they hit 90% of the viewers smack in the heart. Download from iTunes
Holly Tucker – Team Blake – “My Wish” by Rascal Flatts – This is Holly’s pick, and she dedicates it to her parents who have always been there for her. I actually think Holly is better on the uptempo songs. She’s OK on the ballads, but pales next to Amber Carrington, both in the strength of her voice and ability to convey emotion. Calling her “diverse” is kind of ridiculous. She hasn’t strayed far from her gospel/country roots all season. Hate to namecheck Amber again, but she’s shown a lot more diversity. Shakira notes that she consistently delivers good performances. Adam says she’s shown range and scope. Her songs have revealed diversity. Blake admires they way she can scale back her voice. He loves her dynamic range. Download from iTunes
Christina Millian interviews The Swon Brothers and Amber Carrington. If you’re really country guys, says the Swons, don’t wear skinny jeans or drink flavored coffee. Ooops Starbucks is a big sponsor. OUCH. Amber was very excited to meet Maroon 5 the other day. She calls Adam “goofy.”
Michelle Chamuel – Team Usher – “I Knew You Were Trouble” by Taylor Swift – So, Taylor Swift herself SURPRISES Michelle during rehearsal and LOVED her rendition. She wouldn’t change a thing! Of course she wouldn’t, because Michelle is AWESOME. Admittedly, the performance gets off to a slow start. Is it going anywhere? But then, Michelle kicks it up a notch in the chorus, and she literally turns this little pop song into a total rock n roll moment. She swings her head and dips as she sings about TROUBLE. What a fantastic performer! And the audience agrees with me. There’s a LONG set of applause for Michelle. It doesn’t stop. Adam has run out of words for Michelle. Blake is SO FREAKING JEALOUS right now. Blake calls it “head banging.” Usher says we learned more about Michelle tonight. It was a new way to connect to her. – Download from iTunes
Amber Carrington – Team Adam – “Crazy” by Patsy Cline – This is Amber’s choice and Adam loves it. He can’t wait to see Blake cry afterward. He advises her not to pull her mic away when she hits the big notes. One of Amber’s most understated performances, it’s also her bluesiest. She adds beautiful little flourishes at the end of her phrases, but it’s never too much. Her performance is sweet, simple and expresses the ache in this classic song. Like I said, Amber is the contestant (besides Michelle) who has exhibited real diversity in her performances. Blake thought she did a great job on one of his “sacred” songs. Shakira felt it was beautiful, airy and dreamy. Adam calls her a breath of fresh air and a firecracker. He wouldn’t have allowed her to perform the song if her version wasn’t reverent. He calls her ability to sing in a simple and understated way, underrated. Download from iTunes
Danielle Bradbery – Team Blake – “A Little Bit Stronger” by Sara Evans – Sara picked the song because it shows off her upper register. But, OOPS she’s having trouble hitting those high notes in rehearsal. She dedicates it to her sister, who had a hard time with romance. See, because she’s so young, she’s never been through that herself. Danielle’s voice is clear as a bell, it’s easy to get caught up in its gorgeousness while forgetting about everything else, like emotion and power. Whoops. Except that she does have a problem with the last big note. It cracks on top a little. And I think she knows it. Usher calls the note incredible. Hm. Adam reminds Blake that he performed with Sara Evans before. He also calls that last note powerful. Blake compliments Danielle on the way she was able to pace herself until that very last note. Uh. Why are they gushing about that last bad note? It was hardly the highlight of the performance. – Download from iTunes
Sasha Allen – Team Shakira – “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood. That Sasha says she wants to bring some “New York sass” to the song proves why this is absolutely a horrible song choice for her. Oy Shakira. Do you WANT to lose your last team member. Why did this performance get the pimp spot? It’s not good. She sounds shrill and soulless stuck at the top of her range, and I ain’t buying her as the country girl gone wrong. Sorry! She kinda growls the last line and rips her dress off to reveal a skimpier outfit underneath. Blargh. The audience is going nuts. I’m confused. “I guess there’s more than one Sasha Fierce” says Usher. Blake liked that she ripped her dress off. Doesn’t really mention her vocals. Shakira is so happy, she feels it was a great performance. –Download from iTunes
