Season 6’s top 5 contestants were not messing around with their song choices this week, choosing some interesting and unexpected tunes that worked in some cases, not so much in others.
Coach Usher kicked off the night with the debut performance of his new single “Good Kisser,” and if there’s one thing Usher knows, and can certainly pass on to this season’s contestants, it’s performance. The man is a singer, a dancer, and he knows how to put on a show. There were dozens of backup dancers, lights, and it was like watching a Broadway or arena show.
This week saw the semi-finalists each performing twice. One song was their own choice, as a dedication to their hometown and those that mean the most to them, and the other was chosen by their coach.
Contestant Dedications
Kristen Merlin
Team Shakira’s Kristen Merlin dedicated Miranda Lambert’s “Gunpowder and Lead” to everyone back home in her hometown of Hanson, MA, who knows the “Crazy Kristen” that runs all over the stage. And while it sounded like a great karaoke performance, she didn’t really seem to live up to the legend of Crazy Kristen. The craziest thing about her performance was her bedazzled collar.
Josh Kaufman
Josh Kaufman has seen a lot of support from his hometown of Indianapolis, but his dedication, John Legend’s “All of Me,” went straight to his wife and kids, who are the reason he’s able to pursue his dreams on The Voice. Josh has earned a reputation as a “soul man” this season, and he brought that in spades in this performance. It was beautiful, and heartfelt, and had Blake saying there was no question of Josh’s being in the finale.
Jake Worthington
LaPorte, TX-native Jake Worthington is blown away by all the support he received from everyone in his hometown, and decided to dedicate Waylon Jennings’ “Good Ol’ Boys” to his friends back home for having his back through thick and thin. Jake always knows his audience, and chooses these classic country songs that suit his voice so well, and always have the country fans on their feet. He even sold Usher on country music with this performance.
Kat Perkins
Are you sick of hearing “Let It Go” yet? Well, Kat Perkins is hoping you aren’t, because she chose the Disney smash to dedicate to the kids she nannies for, who encouraged her to audition for The Voice. It might be the sheer Frozen over-saturation, but everything about this performance seemed painful, and not just the obvious ploy for votes. It was another great vocal effort from Kat, but we could have all gone without “Evanescence Does Disney.”
Christina Grimmie
Christina Grimmie dedicated Fun.’s hit “Some Nights” to everyone back home in Marleton, NJ, because though she’s growing up and experiencing life, she’ll never forget where she came from. It was the perfect song choice for Christina, not only because it was age-appropriate, but because it reminded us of her fun side, and didn’t seem like she was trying too hard. While the beginning was a little bit garbled, she really shined at the end with some big notes.
Coach’s Choice
Kat Perkins
Kat Perkins has broken the bottom three curse, being saved by America two weeks in a row, and is ready to fight her way into the finals. Performing Sia’s “Chandelier,” the song was not only representative of where she’s at in this point of the competition, but also would allow Kat the chance to show off her ridiculous vocals. It was a very dramatic performance, and a bit of an operatic song, which seemed to be pushing Kat’s limits at times.
Christina Grimmie
Christina Grimmie and her coach Adam took a big risk this week, tackling Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek,” with all its vocoder glory. It’s a beautiful song, and Christina has a beautiful voice, but it almost seemed like between the vocoder and the backup choir and the improvs and even the gigantic origami flower on her top, the whole performance just seemed like too much. It would have been better if it had just been a more stripped-down, simple performance, to show off Christina’s voice.
Josh Kaufman
Usher chose One Republic’s new song “Love Runs Out” for Josh Kaufman, because it’s a new song that would allow Josh to really put his own stamp on it. This was the biggest rock number Josh has undertaken, and he certainly proved that rocking out is not beyond him, as he rose to the challenge and had the crowd screaming by the time his performance was over.
Kristen Merlin
Shakira chose Jewel’s “Foolish Games” for Kristen Merlin’s semi-final performance, because it’s a timeless song that would allow the audience to appreciate the quality and richness of Kristen’s voice. It was a beautiful performance, and a great showcase of Kristen’s talent, not to mention a lesson in simplicity that some of the other coaches and contestants could have learned from.
Jake Worthington
In another big risk for the semi-finals, Blake chose Bryan Adam’s ‘80s power ballad “Heaven” for Jake Worthington. This was a different performance for Jake, because it was stripped down, and all about his vocals, leaving him open and vulnerable to every note being picked apart. It wasn’t a perfect performance, technically, (apparently he’s having some vocal problems, but that turned out okay for Kelly Clarkson in season 1 of Idol…), but Jake is just so adorable, you can’t help but smile, watching him sing such a heartfelt song.
The Voice season 6 finalists will be revealed Tuesday night at 8 p.m. on NBC.