My favorite performances tonight were Chris James fresh R&B take on “Jealous.” People, I am getting some JT vibes right here. His falsetto is OFF THE CHARTS. And that last note was amazing. Such a soulful dude. Matt McAndrew proved tonight that he was probably the better choice for the alt/guy slot on Team Adam instead of Taylor Phelan. He poured himself into that performance of “Take Me To Church.” And thank jeebus, because there were some hella boring performances tonight.
There were performances that featured fine singing, but suffered from mediocre song choices. Young Reagan James displayed her musicality, including beautiful phrasing and incredible timing on a forgettable song, It Ain’t Over Til it’s Over. Damien sang the snot out of “He Ain’t Heavy” but why was I zzzzzzzz. But I’m sure the emotional power ballad will sell a zillion iTunes. And Luke Wade. Poor Luke Wade. His Thinking Out Loud went nowhere, but then I could barely concentrate after he sang two beats too soon, and didn’t cover his mistake very well. Sugar Joans was all soulful and growly on “Take Me to the River” but a million adlibs aren’t going to substitute for authentic emotion. That performance needed some grit. Maybe not the best song for her.
And in the FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE NO department? DaNica Shirey did the exact thing I feared to “Creep.” She sang it as if she were standing next to a piano in a Las Vegas lounge. In no way could DaNica even come close to expressing the despair and self-loathing an interpretation of that song requires. Way to ruin one of my fav Radiohead songs.
And speaking of ruining? Oy Ryan Sill. He completely botched the high notes on “Ordinary World” to the point of embarrassment and the coaches didn’t even notice. Or chose not to. When Ryan is inevitably in the bottom tomorrow night I wonder which coach will pipe up and say…”I listened back to your performance on TV and…” Wait for it!
Craig Wayne Boyd and Anita Antoinette both delivered solid performances with two well-worn songs from icons George Strait and Bob Marley, respectively. Please Blake and Gwen, take this opportunity to lead your charges to surprising places. Anita’s “All About That Bass” was unexpected and the reason why she sailed into the finals. I’m not asking for radical song choices–just performances that will make me sit up and take notice.
If Jessie Pitt’s idea of re-arranging a song is to SING IT REAL SLOW. Well, that’s going to get old pretty quick. Blake might want to step in and suggest she change it up. Her performance of “Don’t You Worry Child” had some pitch problems, too.
And lastly. Oh Gwen. What were you thinking? After John Taylor Williams performed a hip and soulful version of “Stuck in the Middle with You” last week, she saddled the singer with the ultimate 70’s cheese–Bread’s “If.” That song was considered a joke back in 1971 and it didn’t age well. There are SO many great singer/songwriter ballads from that era AND GWEN CHOSE FREAKING BREAD. The song was also a little too rangy for the lad. Please pick wisely next time, Ms Stefani.
THAT’S ME! Before you take the POLLS below. Make SURE to read The Voice 7 Top 12 Recap from LoveOutLoud! She’s got her own perspective and it’s definitely worth checking out! I’ve also put together a handy dandy Guide to the Voice 7 Top 12 which I plan to update weekly with performance videos. Bookmark it!
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The Voice 7 Top 12 – Favorite Performance
The Voice 7 Top 12 – Favorite Team
The Voice 7 Top 12 – Who SHOULD Go Home?
The Voice 7 Top 12 – Who WILL Go Home?