On the latest episode of The Voice, there were some major disagreements between the coaches as Team Blake and Team Usher faced the knockout rounds and some surprising eliminations.
Though Adam and Shakira didn’t have any big decisions to make tonight (they finalized their teams last night), they sure had a lot of opinions about Blake’s and Usher’s contestants, and disagreed with some of the eliminations they made.
Team Blake
Savannah Berry vs. Justin Rivers
Team Blake kicked off the night with two pop country artists: Savannah and Justin. Both artists stepped away from their country roots and focused more on pop: Savannah with Justin Bieber’s “As Long As you Love Me,” and Justin with Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb.” While Blake admired Savannah’s ability to make a song her own, her challenge would be to stand out among the other country artists on Team Blake. Justin would have to focus on keeping his performance simple, and not adding too many runs just because he can.
Savannah, once again, was able to make her song her own, singing a darker, more haunting version of the Biebs’ hit, and showing she can transcend genres, beyond just country. Justin’s performance started off small, with his eyes closed, but his momentum grew and grew as the song went on, and ended on a huge note. The coaches were impressed with both performers, but it seemed Justin’s big end note really gave him the edge, and Blake chose to bring him to the live rounds.
Holly Tucker vs. Luke Edgemon
Blake paired Holly and Luke together because they’re both powerhouse vocalists with a gospel background. Holly chose Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying,” but struggled in rehearsals with her confidence. Luke, as a former Warbler, made a tongue-in-cheek decision to sing Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” which was also the Warbler’s first hit on Glee, but intended to make this version his own.
Holly brought it with her country performance, and the song really proved to be a showcase for everything her vocal talent had to offer. Luke really changed up “Teenage Dream,” turning it into more of an R&B jam. He sounded great, but the performance was really lacking a “moment” to truly show off his vocals.
Usher disagreed with Luke’s choice of arrangement for “Teenage Dream.” He felt that changing the song so much made it difficult for the audience to connect. Adam and Shakira, however, “got it,” and while they agreed that this was not his best performance, they saw potential in Luke. Coach Blake thought Luke’s performance was cool, but wished he had taken the opportunity to really show off what he can do. Holly did show off more, so he chose Holly as the winner.
After the contestants had left, Adam couldn’t get over Blake’s decision: “Let me explain why you’re an idiot…he’s a whole unique thing: he’s original, he’s different.” Shakira agreed with Adam, saying, “He has a point, [Luke] is awesome.” But Blake stood by his decision, saying that his fellow judges were underestimating Holly. Only time will tell if Blake made the right decision.
Danielle Bradbery vs. Taylor Beckham
Blake paired his two youngest contestants together to see who could overcome their confidence issues and move on to the live shows. Danielle chose Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take The Wheel” because she liked that it was story-driven. Taylor chose Rihanna’s “Russian Roulette” in a combined effort with Blake to make Usher look stupid for losing her in the battle rounds. For their performances, Danielle would have to deliver big with her first ballad, and Taylor would have to sell her song.
Danielle’s song was a great choice to really demonstrate the power of her vocals, and she sounded like a mini Carrie Underwood. Taylor, on the other hand, started too low, and while it picked up at the end, the performance was a bit all over the place. The coaches agreed that Danielle’s confidence really set her apart, and the song choice is what killed Taylor. Blake chose Danielle to advance to the live shows.
Grace Askew vs. The Swon Brothers
Grace chose Tina Turner’s “I Can’t Stand The Rain” to show off her bluesy side and to prove that she’s more than just a country girl. The Swon Brothers chose Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away,” because it’s such a popular catchy song that it would keep the audience engaged. Blake advised Grace to make sure she enunciated her words, which is apparently a “Southern” problem. The Swons would have to make sure their vocals and harmonies were on point because as a duo, they have twice the chance of screwing up.
Grace brought her own unique style to the performance, but she did not take Blake’s advice about enunciating her words, and was hard to understand. The Swons’ harmonies sounded great on “Drift Away,” and they even had Usher smiling and singing along. Blake admired the way Grace never sings the same thing the same way twice, but felt that it hurt her in this round. He chose The Swon Brothers as the first duo in The Voice history to advance to the live shows.
Team Blake’s contestants advancing to the live shows are Justin Rivers, Holly Tucker, Danielle Bradbery, and The Swon Brothers. Blake has played it safe with a slew of country artists, but the two-time-winning coach obviously knows what he’s doing.
Team Usher
Josiah Hawley vs. Jess Kellner
Usher paired these two for the knockouts because they both have distinctive voices, and he wanted to see which performer would bring more character to the stage. Josiah chose Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black” to show his versatility, while Jess went with James Morrison’s “You Give Me Something” in memory of her mom. Josiah’s biggest challenge would be to overcome his looks and confidence and connect with the audience through his vulnerability.
Josiah gave a sexy performance that sounded great, but showed no vulnerability whatsoever. Jess showed some moments of promise, but overall the song proved to not be a great choice for her. Adam, in fact, felt they would have been better off singing each other’s songs. While Usher appreciated Jess’s ability to move the crowd emotionally, he couldn’t imagine continuing the competition without Josiah, and chose him to advance to the next round.
Audrey Karrasch vs. Michelle Chamuel
Usher really took his coaching seriously with his indie artists. Audrey took a risk choosing Lil’ Wayne’s “How To Love,” and when Usher felt her performance was not genuine enough, he got right in her face and made her sing it directly to him. Michelle chose Pink’s “Raise Your Glass” as a shout-out to the underdogs, and when she had trouble with breath control in rehearsals, she and Usher did some push-ups together before she sang.
Audrey took the stage looking rough in some goth makeup, and her performance ended up sounding pretty rough as well. The vocals were all over the place, her pitch was off, and the whole thing seemed forced. Michelle, on the other hand, could not have brought any more fun energy to the stage, and even though she was jumping around and (oddly) crouching, her vocals were on point. In the end, Usher chose Michelle to advance, because she’s a real “thinker.”
C. Perkins vs. Vedo
This pairing was the battle of R&B singers since Usher felt he could only move forward with one. C chose Chris Brown’s “She Ain’t You,” but struggled with the song’s high notes, leading Usher to worry that it was the wrong song choice for him. Vedo chose to sing the Bryan Adams ballad “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You,” in memory of his mother who passed away shortly after the blind auditions. His challenge was not to get too overwhelmed with emotion.
C chose to focus more on amping up the crowd than on his vocals, and his performance suffered for it. Vedo, however, found the perfect amount of emotion: connecting with the crowd but not overdoing it. His voice sounded perfect, and he held a beautiful long note at the end of his performance.Vedo’s emotional moment connected with Usher, who sent his “shining star” on to the live shows.
Cathia vs. Ryan Innes
Usher paired these two together because they’re both emotional singers, and he wanted to see whose performance would be more believable. Cathia chose Kelly Clarkson’s “Mr. Know It All” as her first English language song she would be performing on The Voice, while Ryan chose Gavin DeGraw’s “I Don’t Wanna Be” to represent his journey in music. Usher worked with both of them in rehearsals to improve their stage presence.
Cathia’s performance, while coming across a little bit theatrical, was vocally awesome. Ryan went for a more rock-sounding vocal this week, and while the raspy break in his voice was often the highlight of his earlier performances, this time it was just too much, and it verged on screaming. The coaches all had high expectations for Ryan based on his performance on the show thusfar, but they were disappointed with this one. However, Cathia blew everyone away with her vocals. In the end, Usher chose Cathia to advance.
The contestants representing Team Usher in the live shows are Josiah Hawley, Michelle Chamuel, Vedo, and Cathia. Usher’s got the most diverse group of artists, and he feels this is going to work in his favor for the live shows.
Tune in Wednesday night at 8/7c for a special one-hour recap of the season so far, and get ready for three straight nights of The Voice next week, as the live shows begin.
Were you surprised by Blake’s and Usher’s decisions? Are you excited for the live shows next week?
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