Two more contestants were sent home this week on The Voice, and we officially learned who will be coaching the contestants in season 7.
At the top of the show, Carson announced some exciting albiet not-very-surprising news: that Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams would be joining The Voice coaching panel for season 7! Hypable has previously reported on both coaches, but this is the first Gwen has been officially confirmed, and the first the addition of either coach has been mentioned on the show. But we won’t have to wait till next season to “meet” our new coaches, as they’ll both be stopping by The Voice next week to perform!
And in even more good news, it looks like old pals and reigning champs Adam Levine and Blake Shelton will stick around for season 7 to show the newbies how it’s done. Again, this had been expected, but not confirmed until tonight. Another rumor now confirmed is that four-time coach Christina Aguilera will still be returning for season 8 in spring 2015.
Team Performances
Team Usher
Team Usher contestants Bria Kelly and Josh Kaufman took the stage with their coach to perform Lenny Kravitz’s “Always On The Run.” All dressed in black, and rocking out on the tilted stage, they looked natural and comfortable, like real badass rock stars. Theirs was already an improvement over other team performances, because there were only three of them, meaning there was less competing for attention.
Team Shakira
Team Shakira contestants Kristen Merlin and Tess Boyer joined their coach to perform her own song, “The One Thing,” which she wrote about her son Milan (d’aww). Again, it was a good performance, because there were only three of them working together. However, this performance seemed to be less about the contestants, and more about Shakira. It was her song, and she sang most of it. The girls who actually needed the votes didn’t get much of a chance to shine.
‘The Voice’ Confessional
Ah, yes, The Voice Confessional returns. In the first Confessional of season 6, we learned some new facts about the contestants and coaches, like that Bria would like to eat only cheese, Usher cooks in his underwear, Shakira hates alarm clocks, Jake can wiggle his right ear, and Blake used to have a mullet, that looks a little Tina Turner-y on Sisaundra.
Sing for Your Life
Our dear friend Carson revealed the safe contestants periodically throughout the show, and in the end, it was Bria Kelly, Tess Boyer, and Kat Perkins left to sing one last time to earn one last chance from America.
Bria Kelly
Bria Kelly tackled Heart’s “Crazy On You,” which was a song better-suited to her vocal style than last night’s choice of Avril Lavigne’s “I’m With You,” but still not a spectacular performance. It was pitchy at points and just seemed generally forced. She almost seems better suited to a rock musical, like Jesus Christ Superstar.
Tess Boyer
Tess Boyer chose another upbeat song for her last chance performance, with Pink’s “Who Knew.” While the song did allow her to show more emotion than some of her other upbeat choices, she just hasn’t shined quite as brightly since her earlier, more heartfelt performances. Her voice is very strong, and she nails all of her high notes and runs, but she seems to get a little bit lost in the verses, when she doesn’t have much to do.
Kat Perkins
Now this is singing for your life. Kat Perkins had the crowd on their feet with her performance of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals’ “Paris (Ooh la la).” Her performance was a world away from the previous two performers. Kat was completely at home onstage, working the audience, and having a blast. She even sounded much better than her competitors, like she’s been doing this for years.
The Results
After the last chance performances, America was given one more shot to save Bria, Tess, or Kat, by tweeting the contestant’s name with the hashtag #VoiceSave. The polls were open for 5 minutes, and you could track the votes during the commercial break, which, like last week, once again made it not much of a surprise when Kat Perkins was announced as the saved contestant, meaning adios for Tess and Bria.
The Voice top 8 will perform next Monday at 8 p.m. on NBC, with the live results airing Tuesday at 8 p.m.