Last night’s Voice gave us all sorts of exciting treats, from great contestant performances, to a new British boy band, to (most importantly) Adam Levine’s phone number.
Yeah, sure, there was some singing this week on The Voice, but the single most important thing that happened was that Blake Shelton tweeted out his friend and lover Adam Levine’s phone number during the show. This obviously led to a massive influx of calls, some of which the coaches fielded during commercial breaks. But if Adam’s smart, he’ll tweet Blake’s number Tuesday night, if one of his contestants is in the bottom three, along with the hashtag #VoiceSave, and all the inevitable retweets would surely save his at-risk contestant. STRATEGY!
This week’s Voice kicked off with a performance by British newcomers Rixton, and in case you missed their introduction by host Carson Daly, their gigantic shout-y stage props made it very clear: RIXTON. Anyway, they were great, even though “Me and My Broken Heart” sounds a lot like Rob Thomas’ “Lonely No More,” but better.
Top 10 Performances
Kat Perkins
No one knew how much Kat Perkins sounded like Stevie Nicks until she took on Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” for her top ten performance, evoking the spirit of the late great Nicks herself (Just kidding, Stevie is very much alive. She was one of the few to make it out of AHS: Coven alive.) Kat really showed a different side of herself, after so many rockers and power ballads, and her tender, emotional performance drew praise from all of the coaches.
Tess Boyer
Team Shakira’s Tess Boyer was the lucky contestant to earn America’s #VoiceSave last week, and decided to change things up this time around with a current, poppy, soulful song. She chose Paramore’s “Ain’t It Fun,” certainly her most upbeat song yet. The coaches were bowled over by Tess’s pitch perfection, and Tess’s coach Shakira, who was dressed in what looked like a ‘90s figure skating costume, feels Tess’s lower register is very special.
Audra McLaughlin
Audra McLaughlin had some big shoes to fill this week, performing Reba McEntire’s “You Lie,” a pretty big and vocally challenging song. But to nobody’s surprise, Audra knocked it out of the part with a beautiful, powerful performance. Adam said it was as good as any vocal performance can be, Shakira said she’s going to be in the top 5, and they’re not even her coaches! Blake, who is, felt that Audra had with this performance one of those moments that everybody hopes to have.
Josh Kaufman
Usher gave his most soulful team member Josh Kaufman “This Is It” by Kenny Loggins, because it’s a song that exercises every register of the voice, and it would really show off Josh’s incredible range and rhythm. Josh’s former coach Adam continues to kick himself each week for letting Josh go, Blake said that Josh’s performance sounded just like a record, and Usher praised Josh’s “manly” falsetto.
Christina Grimmie
Christina Grimmie made her name on YouTube performing cover songs and making them her own, and she certainly brought that ingenuity to the stage this week with her performance of Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home.” Not only did she show off her artistic creativity, but her arrangement completely showed off the best of her voice. Usher said that not only would this performance make Drake proud, but it would also land her a spot in the finals.
Jake Worthington
Country boy Jake Worthington took on country legend George Straight’s “Run,” and realized he had “a lot of boots to fill.” Blake felt this would be a good song for Jake, but he would have to contend with the pressure of the performance, and doing right by his hero George. His performance did not seem quite as confident as some of his previous performances, but his vocals are so solid, and his attitude so “aww, shucks” genuine, that you can’t help but like him.
Bria Kelly
Bria Kelly chose to step out of her rocker comfort zone and sing a more tender song this week, Avril Lavigne’s “I’m With You.” It’s a tough choice, given that everyone watching has belted this song alone in their car at least once. Unfortunately, Bria’s performance left a lot to be desired, and none of the coaches had any particularly glowing remarks about it.
Delvin Choice
After last week’s heartfelt dedication to his parents, this week Delvin wanted to perform a song that would represent who he wants to be as an artist. To that end, he chose Gary Clark Jr.’s “Bright Lights.” This song presented the challenge of being rather slow and steady, so Delvin would have to make it his own. The driving, exciting performance once again demonstrated Delvin’s ability to get the audience in the palm of his hand and use them to his advantage. By the end of the performance, Coach Adam was about ready to climb off of his big red chair and run up onstage.
Kristen Merlin
Kristen Merlin was excited to jump a little outside of her country comfort zone with the folkier “Let Her Go,” by Passenger, but was probably more excited for a performance in which her microphone would work the entire time, after last week’s mishap. It was another solid performance from Kristen, and the coaches noted how much more comfortable she has become onstage throughout the course of the competition.
Sisaundra Lewis
After last week’s more restrained performance, Sisaundra felt it was time to “rattle the cage” this week, choosing the Steve Perry belter “Oh Sherrie” to do so. To no great surprise, Sisaundra completely owned the performance. Blake thanked her for making him look smart by singing the crap out of the song, but then undid all of Sisaundra’s hard work to that end by saying “Here’s the song, here’s the crap coming out of the song” to illustrate his point.
The Voice top 10 results show airs Tuesday at 8 p.m. on NBC.