The Voice 7 Live Blog, Recap - Live Playoffs Pt 2

The Voice 7 LIVE PLAYOFFS continue! Team Blake and Team Adam performed for last night’s Live Playoffs. Tonight it’s time for Team Pharrell and Team Gwen to perform for YOUR VOTES. Tomorrow night, The Top 12 will be revealed.

VOTING RULES: Do you have a smartphone? Download The Voice App and YOU CAN BEGIN VOTING as soon as the show begins! Other methods begin after the show is over. THE VOTING WINDOW CLOSES AT 12 PM THE NEXT DAY. Ten votes per artist, per originating phone number, email address. 1 iTunes song download per artist. Any artist who enters the TOP 10 before the end of the voting window will have a 10x multiplier applied to their downloads.

Click for The Voice 7 Live Playoff Song Spoilers

Record breaking voting, thanks to the apps, says host Carson Daley.

First, Pharrell Williams takes the stage to perform his new single “Hunter.” Falsetto for days! There’s a jungle theme going on here. Verrry FUNKY. The coaches performance theme this week is HUNTING THAT WOMAN DOWN UNTIL SHE RELENTS. Stalking iz us.

Ryan Sill – Team Gwen – I Lived by One Republic – Oh look. Ryan Sill is first. Can you say “cannon fodder.” I knew you could. Gwen admits that she suffered over choosing a song for him. She googled him! He’s such a positive person, Gwen chose a celebratory song for him. They work together to add a bit of edge to his voice. They also work on his awkward body language. There’s something about his tone that I really like. But this song is overwhelming him a little. I think he would have been better off with a stripped down ballad. Some of his little vocal tricks are cool, but his voice is not powerful. He does hit a nice note toward the end. He could definitely do a teen heartthrob Austin Mahone thing. He’s cute. Adam says he’s always been one of his favs. He compliments his pitch, even if his performance needs more work. Blake calls the performance “truly incredible.” Blake notes that he was singing to one of the team members sitting in the audience. Hm. Pharrell says its so cool to watch him break out of his shell. Gwen feels “so emotional” toward him. She loves his infectious confidence. – Download from iTunes – 1-877-553-37o1 – Sprint Text #1 to 8642 – NBC.com.

Jean Kelley – Team Pharrell – Piano in the Dark by Brenda Russell – Download from iTunes – Jean talks a bit about the experience of losing her mom and how she wants to help empower people. Jean admits that the 1980’s chestnut Pharrell picked for her is different, because she wants to sing contemporary music. Not hearing a lot of enthusiasm there. Really, I don’t get this choice for her. Pharrell is looking for something fresh, but he wants the drama too. He advises her not to hold back. Oy. I was hoping he’d help her dial back the theatrics. I find her to be too much. The crying scrunchy faces and squats as she sings are distracting. Did Pharrell not coach her performance? She does NOT seem comfortable with the old school material. Gwen notes the drama. “It’s a lot” she says. “I think it was really good.” Oh. Faint praise. “Sometimes I didn’t believe it.” Gwen is struggling to be positive. FINALLY SOMEONE SAYS IT. Adam agrees that the drama was overwhelming the vocals. Pharrell says America just got a taste of what you can do. “This is just the beginning.” WHOA more faint praise. 1-877-553-37o2 – Sprint Text #2 to 8642 – NBC.com.

Elyjuh Rene – Team Pharrell – Latch by Disclosure feat Sam Smith – Elyjuh is aware of the criticism he got regarding his last performance. In order to shore up his confidence, Pharrell advises Elyjuh to “embrace himself.” Don’t run away from what got you on the show, he says. There’s a lot of talk from Pharrell about truth and self-acknowledgement blah blah blah. For maximum impact, Pharrell suggests beginning the song acoustically and then opening it up with the band. A good song choice for Elyjuh, it allows him to play with the melody and phrasing. Nice. When the band kicks in, Elyjuh really comes alive. This is so much better than last week. It feels effortless this week. This kid’s ad libs are very creative and never overdone. STANDING OVATION FROM THE COACHES. Gwen loves the way he’s in control of his body. “You are so talented,” she says. “That was crazy!” says a speechless Adam. “It’s unbelievable how good that was.” Adam calls him a front runner. Oh. Too soon for that. Adam. Blake notes the incredible way he navigates a melody. “You’re the one to beat on Pharrell’s team,” he says. Pharrell says he showed EVERYONE who he is. “You’re good kiddo.” Download from iTunes – 1-877-553-37o3 – Sprint Text #3 to 8642 – NBC.com.

Bryana Salaz – Team Gwen – Amnesia by 5 Seconds of Summer – Gwen is working with Bryana to use her adlibs judiciously. “She needs to be vulnerable” says Gwen. Another young singer who hasn’t grasped quite yet that singing is more than big notes. Bryana has great pop potential. But she hasn’t quite matured enough to really slay with a big song. She’s a little wobbly on the big note. This girl has a nice, rich tone, though and lots of potential, but now may not be her time, considering the competition she faces, even on her own team. Bryana’s dad is a veteran. Aw. He’s in the audience tearing up. Adam thinks Gwen is the best coach for her. Good job, he says. Blake feels like she grew as a singer, even in the performance. Pharrell agrees that she has the perfect coach. He agrees that she’s growing as an artist. “You did everything right,” says Gwen. “You’re so adorable!” – Download from iTunes – 1-877-553-37o4 – Sprint Text #4 to 8642 – NBC.com.

Luke Wade – Team Pharrell – Let’s Get it On by Marvin Gaye – Luke has been playing music for a decade. He sold more records last week than he has in his entire career! Luke is blown away by working with a pro like Pharrell. “Bring a woman to her knees,” says Pharrell about how the song needs to be approached. Luke relishes the challenge of singing this great, classic song. For this blue-eyed soul singer, “Let’s Get it On” is a no-brainer. Luke delivers an effortless, soulful, sensual performance. He gets growly in all the right places. Heh. His timing is incredible. We got a keeper! Gwen thought it was incredible. She points to Pharrell. “He’s amazing!” Adam says, “You’re ridiculous…it’s hard to get out of karaoke zone with this…it was all Luked out!” “Some of ya’ll actually got it on,” Blake says to the audience. “You had fun with it.” He compared the way Luke chased the melody to a “cat and mouse game.” Pharrell simply says, “Hash tag Lukified.” Download from iTunes – 1-877-553-37o5 – Sprint Text #5 to 8642 – NBC.com.

Anita Antoinette – Team Gwen – All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor – God. I frigging hate this song. Gwen advises that Anita be super animated. ‘You can’t go too far with this.” Uh. Maybe she could. Anita LOVES the message of the song. “If you have it you own it!” she says. Gwen is giving her so much confidence. Ha ha. Anita is playing this to the hilt, but, amazingly, it’s not annoying! She’s adorable. Her island flavor is rather tasty! I’m not sure she can sustain through the entire competition singing reggae, but in this genre, she’s pretty great! She shakes her healthy booty all over that stage, with such confidence. I just want to say YOU GO GIRL! “Who are you and what have you done with Anita,” says Adam. “Can I just hang out with you?” Blake can’t believe that she ever had stage fright. “You completely owned that moment.” Pharrell says that she’s risen to the occasion. “You must be lighting Jamaica up.” Gwen loves her natural, infectious personality. Download from iTunes – 1-877-553-37o6 – Sprint Text #6 to 8642 – NBC.com.

DaNica Shirey – Team Pharrell – Help Me by Joni Mitchell – Pharrell is giving Danica stuff she’s never done before. She feels challenged. “Your voice is like a hummingbird before a flower,” he says. He thinks she’s up to the challenge of a difficult song. He’s also confident that those who don’t know the song will embrace it. Hm. I don’t know about that. It’s a deep cut off of a 40 year old album. Pharrell thinks she has a real shot at winning. I don’t get this song choice for Danica. It’s not really doing her any favors. She struggles around the difficult melody and rhythm. Joni is NOTORIOUS for her idiosyncratic style. She writes for her voice and can be tough to cover. Nobody is going to buy this iTune. Gwen loves Joni Mitchell. “I’m so happy that just happened,” she says. “I think Joni would have liked it.” DaNica just did the craziest thing ever, says Adam. “You just turned Joni Mitchell into Chaka Khan.” Blake has never heard the song before. Nevertheless, he thinks the performance was perfect. He notes her amazing breath control. Pharrell congratulates her. “You came out here and showed everyone in the world…it’s amazing what you can do with your voice. Download from iTunes – 1-877-553-37o7 – Sprint Text #7 to 8642 – NBC.com.

Sugar Joans – Team Pharrell – I Say a Little Prayer by Aretha Franklin et al – Sugar’s goal is to make a modern soul record. Her dad is also a musician and has worked with some of the greats. Pharrell says he’s been bragging about her. Pharrell seems to be intrigued by her commercial potential. She named herself “Sugar.” Her actual name is Sophia. Girl definitely has a very distinct sense herself. Before you know it, she’ll be losing the last name too. Pharrell believes she can take it all the way to the end. Sugar brings her fully developed style to the interpretation of this classic. She sounds a little strangled on the high notes, though. She needs to pull back that growl a little–work on controlling that big ole voice. But at least this isn’t karaoke, which singing show interpretations of this song tends to be. Gwen says, “You just had your moment. That was so perfect for you.” Gwen loves her purple hair. “That was church,” says Adam, “You just don’t expect it.” Blake calls it the best performance of the night. “Your vibrato comes from no-mans land.” he says. Pharrell is so proud of her. “I felt every moment of it…you took us on a nice emotional roller coaster ride.” He says “It’s going to be so much fun working with you in the future.” – Download from iTunes – 1-877-553-37o8 – Sprint Text #8 to 8642 – NBC.com.

Ricky Manning – Team Gwen – Lay Me Down by Sam Smith – Ricky has been singing on the streets for money…until The Voice. He’s been dating a girl for 4 years. “Lay me Down” is a song he can relate to. Gwen works with Ricky on his falsetto, but once he hits the stage, he still has issues sliding up into his head voice naturally. His runs are a little stilted. His advantage, is an ability to sing with passion, and feeling. But he’s struggling with the adlibs. This song might have been an overreach. Ricky is better suited for pop/ac material, rather than R&B. Adam has become a believer in Ricky and calls him most improved. Blake compliments him on being calm and in control. “Solid, beautiful performance,” he says. “You want it,” says Pharrell. “The subtle things in the middle…you deserve your position on this show. Says his old coach! Gwen says he fixed the falsetto problem. Hm. A bit of overpraise from the judges, there. Download from iTunes – 1-877-553-37o9 – Sprint Text #9 to 8642 – NBC.com.

Taylor John Williams – Team Gwen – Stuck in the Middle with You by Stealers Wheel – He’s doing a “swampy” version of the song. Gwen thinks his bluesy take makes the song more modern. He relates to the song as a kid with divorced parents. Gwen thought he needed to show a lighter side. That’s why she picked the song. But Taylor has other ideas. She suggests he throw in some smiles to engage the audience. Admittedy, I haven’t been crazy about this kid. But I’m liking this arrangement. He turns it into a different song. It’s slinky and pleading rather than snarky. His vocal is super smooth. He pushes his guitar asside to work the audience. Wow. These adlibs are great. He’s more than just a bland WGWG tonight. Aw. Grandma is in the audience. Adam didn’t think the song was him. That he asserted himself and changed it up, really showed his artistry, he says. “Excellent job. Cool, inventive way to do the song.” “Great job dude,” says Blake, “The half time thing really worked!” “He has a vision of himself,” says Gwen. Pharrell wants to get in a critique! He hears a little Terrance T’rent Arby. Download from iTunes – 1-877-553-3710 – Sprint Text #10 to 8642 – NBC.com.