The Voice 5 Live Playoffs conclude tonight with Team Cee Lo and Team Christina.
Ten more contestants take the stage to vie for a spot in the Top 12. The results will be revealed on Thursday.
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The coaches were a little bit mean tonight, in contrast to last night’s praise fest. Although, they could have been more honest with Amber Nicole, who tanked, ironically, with Voice alum Cassadee Pope’s song “Wasting All These Tears.”
The Top 12 will be revealed on Thursday, when two members of each team will be sent home. America’s vote will determine the top 2 on each time, while each coach will choose to save a 3rd.
The performances overall weren’t as good as last night. But the performance of the week surely goes to Matthew Schuler, from Team Christina, who gave an impassioned performance of Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball.” That kid is special.
I have no idea what Cee Lo Green is talking about during his critiques. I’m not sure he does either. He may have ruined Tamara’s chances with that terrible song choice, “I Will Survive.” But she may be in luck, because overall, his team isn’t that strong. And he may go right ahead and save her if she’s in trouble. Because Cee Lo’s team is so weak, they all performed first, rather than mixing up the performance order like last night.
His strongest singer is Caroline Pennell, but I hope he doesn’t treat her like this cute little wind-up doll. He threatened to give us all cavities with her sweetness, and that’s not the way to help her win. The White Stripes song she sang tonight is sweet, but it’s a throw away. He needs to hook her up with some substantial songs, or she’ll begin to grate on viewers nerves.
Before the contestants take the stage, Christina Aguilera performs “Say Something” with Great Big World. Christina dips her toe into alterna-pop balladry, harmonizing prettily with the lead singer.
Team Cee Lo will perform first.
Amber Nicole – “Wasting All These Tears” by Cassadee Pope – Her sister is a vocal coach to stars like Usher. Interesting. Also interesting? That she chose to sing Cassadee’s faux country tune. Her vocal style isn’t well suited to this song. Ooh. She’s underpitch through the entire song, including on the big notes she attempts to hit. OUCH. BYE AMBER. That wasn’t good. Who forced her to sing this song? Really? R&B stylings on top of cheesy banjos? Not a thing I want to hear again. Adam thinks it was a good performance, except for the big note she biffed. He loves that she went for it. Oy. The coaches trying to soft pedal her terrible performance. Blake feels she’s treading on sacred ground for him, but “I thought it was good.” Hm. Christina thinks country suits her. A nice choice. She hears a little bit of Rihanna in there? Okee Doke. She loves her adlibs and REFUSES TO CRITIQUE HER TERRIBLE PERFORMANCE. She does mention that she missed the note. Cee Lo felt she rose to the occasion. Oh. He wanted to connect Amber with the first real “success” of the show. Or he totally wanted to buss her. I’ll go for option B. – 1-877-553-3701
Jonny Gray – “Bittersweet Symphony” by The Verve – Cee Lo calls Jonny the last of a living breed, whatever the hell that means. Cee Lo advises Jonny to sing it like he means it. This is a classic and epic 90s rock tune, but as a competition song, it’s tough. There’s no melody and not many places to take it. It’s a pretty monotonous performance until the very end when he finally kicks it up a notch vocally. I don’t think it was enough. I’m disappointed. Jonny has an intriguing voice, but has never lived up to the promise of his audition. Adam felt he sang that “beast of a song” well. Christina felt it was consistent, great execution and tone. She would have liked him to let loose a little more. Cee Lo notes the understated sincerity of his voice. Cee Lo rambles on about nothing. – 1-877-553-3702
Carson reads twitter questions from his smart phone. Zzzzz.
Tamara Chauniece – “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor – She got backlash from her church for going secular. OY. Cee Lo thinks “I Will Survive” has girl power written all over it. No. It has “immediate elimination” written all over it. Sheesh. This is a terrible, dated song choice. It will sell poorly on iTunes and could get Tamara booted from the show. Her vocal is competent, but nobody really wants to hear this in a singing competition. Why not give her something contemporary? Tamara has the goods. Oh right. She might survive the week otherwise. “I Will Survive.” Oh the irony in that title. Adam admires Cee Lo’s ability to bring us back to other musical decades. After Blake compliments her outfit, he compliments her pipes. Cee Lo thanks her for taking on that mouldy oldie to satisfy his need to live in the past. Well, he didn’t say exactly that, but pretty close. – 1-877-553-3703
Kat Robichaud – “She Keeps Me Warm” – Mary Lambert – Whoa. Kat is changing the pronoun in order to turn the song into an ode to her husband, completely invalidating the original intent of the song. In case you didn’t know, the song is a lesbian anthem. In it, a woman pledges a strong and brave love for another woman. And I thought she was going to be bold and sing it as is. She’s hugging some strange woman in the audience though. I’m confused. Her vocal was hit and miss. As in, she missed a bunch of notes. But her phrasing is always interesting. And I appreciate that she tackled a ballad, rather than another rock song. But she could have been a lot braver. Adam says there are 7 gears of Kat. He wanted to see the 7th gear. I guess he was disappointed? Christina wished she had soared a little higher. Cee Lo: BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. I still have no idea what he’s talking about. – 1-877-553-3704
kat-20 by mjsbigblog
Caroline Pennell – “We’re Going to Be Friends” by The White Stripes – When I saw this twee song on the list, I KNEW Caroline would be singing it. Cee Lo says the song reminds him of the two of them. He would have protected her if they’d gone to school together. Cee Lo is so weird. His aim is to give the viewers cavities with her sweetness. And yep, this performance is adorable by half and I’m already hearing the ka-ching of iTunes purchases. It’s another song with little melody until the chorus. Caroline is dressing it up with cute little bits of awkward phrasing. It’s a nice and sweet performance, but I wasn’t bowled over by that. Adam felt she came into her own tonight. She did a “beautiful Caroline rendition of that song.” Blake says she could be singing about killing people, and he’d still want to skip around the stage. He also makes a squicky comparison to amputations. Cee Lo references Napoleon Dynamite and other random things. Something about people loving her and people please vote for her. Whatever. – 1-877-553-3705
Next, it’s Team Christina
Josh Logan – “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley – Christina is totally impressed with Josh. She doesn’t have many notes for him, except to take it to his upper register at the end. No hat tonight. He’s very bald. His rendition is both soulful and jazzy. Josh can do amazing things with his voice, great phrasing, and rasp in the right spots. He’s almost scatting a little here. He punches up the vocal on the chorus. He probably could lose a few of the adlibs, but I ain’t mad. Cee Lo says he has great taste in music. He’s flattered that he covered his song. Adam finds the runs a little busy. (Yeah, I agree with that). He wanted it a little simpler. Christina calls the performance original and appreciates his skill. Christina loves his adlibs–not to much for her at all. – 1-877-553-3706
Olivia Henken – “Roar” – Katy Perry – Oh. She’s going to countrify “Roar.” Do I want to hear this? Christina is looking for some tender moments. Add a couple of banjos to a song and it turns country? Uhm. No. I would have appreciated a shot at pop music from Olivia. Having said that, she uses her big voice effectively on a big anthem. She has a few wobbly moments, but she gives it all she’s got. Everyone wave your hands, ya’ll. Blake thinks a country voice works well on the song. It was risky, but it worked, he says. Christina felt she made it her own and that she can do it all. They’re rushing through the comments now. Must be short on time. – 1-877-553-3707
Stephanie Anne Johnson – “Georgia on My Mind” – Ray Charles – Her step dad has lung cancer. She’s going to sing this for him. Christina is giving her some good technical advice. Stephanie is a real diamond in the rough. Christina could help her, I think. For that reason, I hope she survives. She has some really special moments in this song. It’s not a perfect vocal, but her phrasing is so unique and so different, there’s got to be a place for her in this competition. Cee Lo has mixed emotions. All good. He thinks he messed up with her. Adam was terrified initially, but he loved the way she changed it and turned it into her own thing. Christina loves her jazz skills. She studied opera! Christina asks her to hit a note and she does. Oh. NOW we have time to kill. Christina asks her how Grandma is. Fine. – 1-877-553-3708
Matthew Schuler – “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus – Christina thinks people need to see him tackle a pop song. Whoa. I had my doubts. It’s not a song he would have chosen for himself, but Matthew is SLAYING. He’s proving he can sing anything. The vulnerability and pain this song conveys is coming through loud and clear. He hits a big note and I absolutely believe every single word he’s singing. Every word, even the tiny ones, are imbued with feeling. The crowd goes absolutely wild when he finishes. Matthew is Christina’s secret weapon. Cee Lo HATES Matthew. Ha ha. Not really. Adam is also angry. The coaches are jellus. Blake points to his team, “This is the guy you have to look out for,” he says. Christina loves his charisma and emotion. – 1-877-553-3709
Jacquie Lee – “I Put a Spell On You” – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – She’s keeping a journal at Christina’s behest. Her pitch is accurate, but now it’s time to work on emotion. Christina gave her the song because she’s wise beyond her years. Not sure I want to hear a 16 year old sing this song, though. Jacquie has a powerful, soulful voice. She completely loses herself to the song, but I’m not convinced she’s really understands the grown up emotions of the song. The crowd loved it, though. Cee Lo calls it the absolute best. Adam laughs because Cee Lo is mad she’s not on his team. Christina is honored to be her coach. She connects to Jacquie. – 1-877-553-3710
