Six became five tonight, as The Voice season 8 looks forward to the semifinals. But not before revisiting some of our favorite contestants from seasons past.
‘The Voice’ alumni performances
Jacquie Lee
Jacquie Lee is one of the most memorable sparkplugs to ever grace The Voice stage, finishing second as part of Team Christina in season 5. She returned to the stage to perform her new song “Tears Fall,” which was written by Sia. To be perfectly honest, the song seemed a little bit below both Jacquie and Sia. It was pretty much a bland pop song, certainly no “Chandelier” or “Elastic Heart,” and while Jacquie gave a great performance, and threw in as much of her vocal acrobatics as she could, it still came across as pretty unremarkable.
Avery Wilson
Do you remember Avery Wilson from season 3 of The Voice? Be honest. He was eliminated in the knockout rounds, so odds are, you don’t. But from the way Carson spoke so highly of him, you would have though he was an old favorite. Then Clive Davis called him the next Whitney Houston, which is praise so huge and unimaginable that it would make any performance a bit of a letdown. But then we had to watch an entire performance in which some enormous creature had apparently taken a GIANT BITE OUT OF HIS HAIR. It was very distracting, and makes it difficult to report on anything else about the performance. His singing seemed… good?
Vicci Martinez
Now, Vicci Martinez is a contestant we can actually remember, even though she was all the way back in season 1. It’s good to see she’s still kicking around the music industry, producing her own music. She performed her song “Bad News Breaker,” and you would’ve thought this was the song written by Sia. Vicci still seems completely at home in her old stomping grounds, and even threw in some kind of interpretive ballet, mic-pack slinging, and drumming. Now where can we get some of those light-up drumsticks?
Craig Wayne Boyd
Oh, Craig Wayne Boyd. It’s great to see you again, buddy. You’re so earnest, so likeable, but this performance was a real country snooze. “I’m Still Here” is your standard sentimental country schlock at its finest. It was fine, really. Just fine. But thanks for the shout out to those of us who have ever skipped a few meals and slept in our cars. Maybe we all have a future on The Voice! The good news is, the season 7 champ’s temporary coach Gwen Stefani would probably love Craig’s sassy shiny shirt and jewelry.
Voting Results and Last Chance Performances
Carson revealed the results of America’s votes throughout the show, and who would have ever expected that the bottom two would be India Carney and Kimberly Nichole? This was bad news for their coach Christina, who would lose one of her girls tonight, no matter what.
India Carney
In a pretty amusing choice, India chose Pink’s “Perfect” for her last chance performance this week. She may have Pink’s pipes, sure. But she doesn’t have Pink’s heart, or at least doesn’t know how to show it onstage. This was yet another calculated performance from India, designed to look genuine, and sentimental, but just came across as looking that much more fake. Stop trying to be so perfect, India.
Kimberly Nichole
Kimberly chose The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” for her last chance performance, which I think we can all agree is a pretty awesome song choice. Kimberly has been a rockstar, and a show-stopper this entire season, and has made clever choices to make herself stand out. This was another one of those unique choices, that once again demonstrated how much of a well-rounded entertainer Kimberly is.
Instant Save
As soon as Carson opened the #VoiceSave window and the live results were posted on the screen, India and Kimberly fans began pulling their hair out (after tweeting for their favorite, of course.) Because it was an even 50/50 split for almost the entire time. When the live results were taken down, it seemed like Kimberly was narrowly beating out India, 51% to 49%, but when the results were revealed, Carson announced that India had been saved once again.
First of all, where are all these last-second India voters? Why are you hiding in the shadows, India fans? Why are you doing this to us?
Secondly, a note for India: India, it does not look good when you launch yourself away from your teammate to celebrate your own victory. Sure, you’re certainly allowed to be excited, but it doesn’t do much for your image as a competitive robot.
Tune in next week to see the top 5 perform on Monday at 8 p.m. on NBC, with our season 8 finalists revealed on Tuesday at 8 p.m.