‘The Voice’ Season 5’s top ten contestants took the stage to perform a lot of crowd favorites, in an effort to earn America’s votes and make it through to the top eight.
It was a particularly enjoyable night of performances on The Voice, as the contestants and coaches chose a great selection of songs that are huge crowd pleasers that will likely boost this week’s iTunes sales. Reality shows like The Voice and American Idol are great showcases for introducing great classic songs to a new generation, and this week’s performances were a great example of that influence.
‘The Voice’ top 10 group performance
The top 10 contestants kicked off the show with a performance of The Mowgli’s “Say It, Just Say It.” We’re still at the point in the competition where there are just far too many people onstage for these group performances; it’s a little chaotic, and none of the contestants really get enough of a time to shine. That said, they all seemed to have a great time and sounded good. However, while the song choice made for an energetic performance, the spoken/shouted “Just say it” lines were pretty awkward and weird.
‘The Voice’ top 10 solos
Austin Jenckes
Blake chose The Outfield’s “Your Love” because he wanted to the emotional performer to finally have his “moment” on the show, and prove he’s a real contender. It was a great choice because it’s such a catchy, well-known song, and really proved Austin’s voice can be radio-friendly. But he threw in that trademark Austin grit at the end to truly make it his own.
Jacquie Lee
Jacquie Lee slowed things down this week with a ballad version of Zedd’s “Clarity”. Memorably performed last year by runner-up Michelle Chamuel, this version of “Clarity” is a far cry from Michelle’s and unlike any other version of the song we’ve heard before. The point of this arrangement was to show a different, non-belt-y side of Jacquie, and it did that. However, we want to see Jacquie giving it all that she’s got, and this performance left us wanting more.
Will Champlin
Coach Adam took a chance by choosing a relatively unknown song, “Love Me Again” by John Newman, for Will Champlin. He chose the song to show off Will’s vocal range, and the risk was worth it because it was another awesome performance from Will, who’s proven himself to be a real showman. So mild-mannered and mellow offstage, he seems to explode with energy onstage, so much so that each time he plays the piano during a performance, he spends half the time standing up, fighting the urge to bounce around.
Caroline Pennell
Caroline Pennell took on John Denver’s classic “Leaving On A Jetplane,” a song she chose herself because it has a lot of meaning for her personally. It was a great song for her, allowing her to show the warmth of her tone, but also that she has enough power to not get overwhelmed by such a classic song. She carried the song and didn’t let it carry her away and was so invested in the performance she was at times singing through closed eyes.
Cole Vosbury
Cole Vosbury performed another classic 90’s tune, Mr. Big’s “To Be With You,” and for the second week in row, Cole proved himself to be quite the romantic ladies’ man under all that beard. It’s a great song, and aside from the song suiting his voice very well, the little flips in his voice and the personal touches he added to the performance, made it even more enjoyable.
Tessanne Chin
Team Adam’s Tessanne Chin took on Gladys Knight and the Pips’ “If I Were Your Woman,” which is a huge song to undertake. But it was no big deal for an unstoppable force like Tessanne, and she certainly did Gladys proud. She held her own with the huge song, and showed not only her exceptional voice, but also her passion and personality. It was a great opportunity to show off for Olympian and fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt in the audience, who she later fangirled over.
Ray Boudreaux
Ray Boudreaux stuck to his roots with Ray Lamontagne’s “You Are the Best Thing,” demonstrating the style of music he’s been raised on, and the style he’d like to stick to as his career progresses. He looked very comfortable surrounded by a brass band adding to that jazz sound. It was the perfect song for his Louisiana gentleman, and the ladies in the crowd went wild for it.
James Wolpert
James Wolpert took on a beast of a song with Harry Nilsson’s “Without You,” proving one of his greatest skills this season is introducing classic songs to a new generation, and making them popular all over again. He once again took it to a whole new level with his powerful voice and distinctive style, and it gave his biggest fan Adam Levine another opportunity to gaze adoringly at him as he sang.
Kat Robichaud
Kat Robichaud finally delivered a performance to her full potential, with a show-stopping rendition of Pat Benatar’s “We Belong.” It was over-the-top in its theatricality, (in true Coach Cee Lo fashion), but it was a perfect representation of all that Kat brings to the table in this competition. Her last few performances have been a little underwhelming, but this week delivered exactly what we’ve been waiting to see from her.
Matthew Schuler
Matthew Schuler closed the show with Labrinth’s “Beneath Your Beautiful”, which gave him the opportunity to show off a different side of himself: the romantic, vulnerable side. He sang the song with his future wife in mind, and brought a lot of emotion to the performance, even getting teary afterwards. The ladies in the crowd loved it, and Adam said he wouldn’t have any trouble finding his future wife after a performance like that.
Check out The Voice live results show tonight at 9 p.m. on NBC.