The Voice is airing a totally redundant clip show in the 8 pm hour. Carson is live in the studio introducing clips from last week’s show.
The live competition begins at 9/8c pm. Watch this space for my live blog!
Click to Download The Voice Top 10 performances from iTunes
This week’s performances weren’t as good over all as they were last week, but there were some gems. Matthew continues to own the competition. At this point, he and Jacquie are duking it out for first place. Caroline missed the mark for a second week. If she doesn’t turn things around she’s going to lose ground. James and Kat both redeemed themselves this week. I think Austin may be on his way out.
The Show kicks off with the Top 10 performing “Say It, Just Say It” It’s so jaunty!
Austin Jenckes – Team Blake – Your Love by Outfield – Blake thinks he can solve his iTunes problem with this Outfield song from the 80s. Alrighty then. Blake has him out in the middle of the Swaybots with his guitar. It’s ridiculous. His vocal is fine, but Austin can only win with songs that highlight his powerful, emotional delivery. Mid-tempo songs are doing nothing for him, big glory note notwithstanding. Is Blake bussing him? Austin has mastered the art of the slow build, says Blake. Christina’s passive aggressive compliment is basically: If your aim was to master the slow build, you did it. Adam wanted more of his gravelly tone and high notes earlier on. Cee Lo is impressed with his range. – 1-855-864-2301
Usain Bolt, olympic champion, is in the skybox to support Tessanne.
Jacquie Lee – Team Christina – Clarity by Zed – Christina leads Jacquie in some Yoga. Alrighty. She wants Jacquie to use a quieter tone and her falsetto, to allow the young singer’s vulnerability to emerge. It’s interesting what happens when Jacquie doesn’t have her big voice to hide behind. She needs to work on dynamics and varied phrasing. For the first time, she didn’t seem confident, especially early in the song. But there were some very lovely moments here. She has a nice falsetto, and when she hit the chorus, she was herself again. “It was so lovely,” says Christina. Emotional and gorgeous, she calls it. “So special.” Cee Lo calls her one of the best. He notes a couple of wonky spots early on. Blake agrees. He wants her to get back to belting next week. Adam thinks she’s handling herself with grace. – 1-855-864-2302
Will Champlin – Team Adam – Love Me Again by John Newman – Adam advises Will to go for it and have a good time. Will is singing an unfamiliar song, but he feels it fits right into his wheelhouse. It’s a big risk singing a tune not familiar to the audience. Will attacked the song with passion and energy–playing the keys, eventually standing on the piano bench before he took the stage. He’s got an amazing range too. I don’t know. It’s not an AMAZING song. I’m not sure the song will resonate with the audience. Adam says Will’s Voice journey been like a yo yo and is a testament to sticking with it. Adam is happy Will was able to introduce this British hit to American audiences. Christina felt he came into his own in the performance. Christina says he looks like “Satan” in his red coat. Blake calls him an “accurate” vocalist and likes the way he rolls off his notes. – 1-855-864-2303
Caroline Pennell – Team Cee Lo – Leaving on a Jet Plane by John Denver/Peter Paul and Mary – Caroline’s mom reveals she and her husband both sing. Oh. CAROLINE picked this song. It’s one of her favorites. She sang it at camp. So, this might work if she’s been singing it forever. Cee Lo wants her to convey some “zeal.” In other words: Don’t make a boring song even more boring. The rainbow video behind her is hilarious. Welp. This performance is pretty zeal-free. A very sleepy performance from Caroline this week. There’s no variance here. from verse to chorus. It’s hard to imagine this tune flying up the iTunes chart. Cee Lo calls it “nice.” He’s being tactful. Cee Lo blah blahs about letting go and allowing her to lead herself. It’s so obvious Cee Lo didn’t like that performance at all. It was great for Adam, because he enjoyed hearing her story, and where she’s at right now. His critique was also really tactful. I mean bottom line–That performance was a snore. – 1-855-864-2304
Cole Vosbury – Team Blake – To Be With You by Mr. Big – Blake wants to continue to break the mold with the versatile singer. The coach picked the song, but it turns out it’s one of Cole’s favorites. Cole’s at the piano, but Blake convinces him to use the guitar. The background singers behind Cole sing loudly and not always on key. REALLY distracting. Cole always delivers vocally, with his gravelly phrasing and impressive dynamics. Too bad the song itself is a cheesy bore. Blake says Cole makes him SO HAPPY. He’s sure the girls are going to get on board. He sang “the daylights” out of that song, says Blake. Adam is a big fan. Still hurting that Cole’s not on his team. Cee Lo genuinely supports him. Maybe he’s better off on Blake’s team, he says. He compares the look of the background singers to the “American Horror Story.” – 1-855-864-2305
Carson, in the skybox is fielding twitter questions, and answers rather defensively that YES THE VOICE ALUMS GET RECORD CONTRACTS. He name checks the Swon Brothers. Adam jokes that he and Blake will record a duet called “Beer and Family.”
Tessanne Chin – Team Adam – If I Were Your Woman by Gladys Knight – Adam wanted to give Tessanne a big, classic soul song. Oh, that should help her sell iTunes. NOT. Well, that was an amazing vocal. The song is arranged differently from the original, allowing Tessanne to put her own stamp on it. She had several big moments. She made some creative vocal choices that were spot on. But will a big old fashioned soul song capture America’s attention? I’m not so sure. Adam felt like Tessanne solidified her presence on the show as a major contender. He thanks her for trusting him. Christina heard her Jamaica accent come out, and she loves it. Christina wants to hear even more just like it. – 1-855-864-2306
Ray Boudreaux – Team Blake – You Are the Best Thing by Ray Lamontagne – Blake wants to give the song a feel like the audience is at a concert. Ray connects to the lyric because he’s got a new love. Blake warns him to enunciate. A perfect song for Ray’s warm soulful rasp. Contemporary roots music is the way to go for Ray. Blake has definitely found the right formula for him. Blake calls the performance “awesome.” He feels like Ray has brought it back to his style of music. He loves the way he bends notes. It’s in his Louisiana blood. Christina feels he’s shown the most growth. He’s found an identity, she says. Cee Lo agrees with Christina. Real and sincere, he calls it. Adam wanted him to be a bit more checked in. Bust out more. – 1-855-864-2307
James Wolpert – Team Adam – Without You by Harry Nilsson/Badfinger – Adam picked the song, because it’s a big deal and like the Joni Mitchell song, he’ll be introducing kids to a classic. James is all fancy in a suit, at the top of a stairway, delivering a very passionate vocal. The simple melody really highlights his unique tone. Yeah, he loses the pitch when he hits the high notes, but passion trumps all here. I think James is back! He nailed that. It’s a hard song to sing, says Adam, and he turned it into something that’s “intrinsically yours”. Christina notes is dapper outfit. She loves the song choice. His pitch doesn’t always line up, but his tone is super clean, but with a rasp when he wants it. She likes that he’s a multi-dimensional singer. Blake makes fun of his half mic. Adam insists that it’s an ode to Freddie Mercury, and Blake should shut up. – 1-855-864-2308
Kat Robichaud – Team Cee Lo – We Belong by Pat Benatar – Cee Lo has some suggestions for her theatrical presentation. And it’s a good thing, because this performance is very specifically choreographed. Kat actually performs with the dancers. She starts the song seated at the piano. At one point, they pick her up and set her on top of the piano. It’s all very dramatic. The performance is elegant, simple and for once probably didn’t scare viewers. A very bold and passionate vocal from Kat. Her best performance to date. It may keep her out of the bottom 3 this week. Cee Lo is exhilarated by her performance. He thinks they did everything right. Adam felt there was struggle in her past performances, but not tonight. Perfect and elegant. It’s what everyone was waiting for. – 1-855-864-2309
Matthew Schuler – Team Christina – Beneath Your Beautiful by Labrinth feat Emeli Sande – Matthew loves indie/alternative, so it’s interesting for him to sing a love song. Wow. This is absolutely beautiful. Not only does Matthew have a gorgeiou tone and incredible phrasing, but he sang this song with such earnest passion, I swear I wanted to cry! If that performance doesn’t fly up the charts, I’ll be absolutely shocked. Matthew is a major contender. On one hand, I miss Matthew singing alt rock songs, because that’s my thing. But Christina is picking tunes that resonate with the audience, so I can’t really complain. Christina hopes he takes in the audience adoration. He brings it every week, says Christina. Adam calls the performance no less than amazing. – 1-855-864-2310
