After two nights of unforgettable perfomances earlier this week, America’s votes were revealed, and the coaches had to make some tough choices.
In atypical Voice style, the results show moved along at a pretty good clip, with each team’s group performance immediately followed by their results. There was very little extraneous nonsense, aside from a brief appearance by Dax Shephard to promote Parenthood, and to imply that long-haired contestant Jonny Gray looks like a girl.
The Results
Team Blake
Team Blake kicked off the show with their first group performance, of the Edgar Winter Group’s “Free Ride.” Blake has quite a varied team this year, with outrageous pop rocker Nic Hawk, country powerhouse Shelbie Z, soulful Ray Boudreaux, and passionate singer-songwriters Austin Jenkes and Cole Vosbury. It was a good first performance from the team, though Shelbie seemed the most confident and competent vocally. Nic, for some reason, had his own weird dance break in the middle of the song. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen again.
Team Blake’s results were the first to be revealed. America loves a man with a guitar and a beard, as Austin Jenckes and Cole Vosbury were the two contestants to be saved by America’s votes. This left Blake to choose between Shelbie, Nic, and Ray, to use his one save. Though he seemed to have shown favoritism towards both Shelbie and Nic in the past, he surprisingly chose Ray to advance in the competition, because he felt he could do the most work with him as the competition went on.
Team Cee Lo
Team Cee Lo came together for the first time to sing Supertramp’s classic “Give a Little Bit.” Jonny Gray, Amber Nicole, Tamara Chauniece, Caroline Pennell, and Kat Robichaid are all talented musicians, but unfortunately, they didn’t make for the best group performnance. Kat, Amber, and Tamara all have very powerful voices, and they tended to overpower the softer voices of Caroline and Johnny. Kat is a force to be reckoned with, and it’s impossible to take your eyes off of her…which doesn’t work very well for a group performance. It seems like she’s just not suited for singing with a group.
Though they may have been overpowered in their group performance, Caroline’s and Jonny’s talent shone through in this week’s life playoffs, with their votes automatically landed them in the top 12. Cee Lo agonized over his decision, saying all three remaining girls were equally talented, and equally incomparable, and promised to support the careers of those eliminated. In the end, it was no great surprise that he chose Kat to advance, though it was sad to see artists as talented as Amber and Tamara sent home.
Team Christina
The group performances seemed to get worse as the night went on, as Team Christina’s rendition of Maroon 5’s “Love Somebody” probably was not Adam Levine’s proudest moment. All five contestants, Josh Logan, Stephanie Anne Johnson, Olivia Henken, Matthew Schuler, and Jacquie Lee, were pitchy throughout, and their interactions were awkward. They’re all great vocalists, but perhaps it’s a difficult song to sing? Only Adam Levine knows for sure.
It was no big surprise that Jacquie Lee, the little powerhouse who stole the show Tuesday night with her take on Screamin Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You”, was the first to be voted through by America. Matthew Schuler’s creative take on Miley Cyrus’s hit “Wrecking Ball” was memorable enough for America that they voted him through as well. Left to choose between Josh, Olivia, and Stephanie, Christina rambled on for awhile about how much she cares about each of them, and how much of a break this has already been for them, before naming Josh as the contestant that would be moving on.
Team Adam
The run of terrible group performances was ended by the final performance of the night, from Team Adam’s Preston Pohl, James Wolpert, Will Champlin, Tessanne Chin, and Grey. The harmonies in their performance of Capital Cities’ “Safe and Sound” were so on point that they sounded like they were pre-recorded. Not only that, but each artist’s solo bits sounded great. This is definitely a team whose group performances will be something to look forward to this season, rather than dread.
Both James and Tessanne had standout performances this week, so it’s no surprise that these performances left enough of an impression with America that they were both voted through to the top 12. Adam agonized over choosing between the remaining contestants: Grey, Preston Pohl, and Will Champlin. And while he has already eliminated Will for seeming redundant in addition to fellow bespectacled contestant James Wolpert, Will’s creative arrangement of One Republic’s “Secrets” likely made him impossible to eliminate, and Adam chose to keep him.
What’s Next?
Next week, the top 12 contestants will compete outside of just their teams for the first time this season. America will vote after Monday night’s performances, and on Tuesday, we will find out which contestant will be going home. Plus, Sara Bareilles will take The Voice stage to perform her new hit, “Brave.”
As the coaches have hinted at, next week they are going to have to start getting mean. While they have thus far showered praise on each other’s contestants each week, it was only because they weren’t really competing yet. But now that their own contestants will be competing with these other talented musicians, it’s likely the coaches will be a lot more critical of everyone’s performances.
The Voice top 12 will perform next Monday at 8 p.m., with the results revealed Tuesday at 9 p.m. after The Biggest Loser.
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