The contestants brought their performances to another level this week on The Voice, plus we were treated to performances from three of next season’s coaches.
The big story tonight was Adam Levine’s new platinum-blonde hair. The teasing and insults were flying, particularly from Blake, as Adam was compared to the likes of Meg Ryan, Billy Idol, Ellen, Eminem, Susan Powter, Miley Cyrus, and contestant Kristen Merlin. But the insults are well-placed, because it looks pretty terrible.
Coaches’ Performances
Blake Shelton ft. Gwen Sebastian
Coach Blake took the stage this week to perform his new song “My Eyes” with season 2 finalist Gwen Sebastian. While it was a great performance, and very nice of Blake to keep in touch with one of his former team members, Gwen proved to be kind of unnecessary to the song, like a glorified backup singer. All the same, it’s a great song, it was a great performance, and a great opportunity for Gwen.
Pharrell Williams
Upcoming season 7 coach Pharrell Williams took the stage to perform his new hit “Come Get It Bae.” It was a great performance, in large part because it’s such a catchy song. But between his adorable Mickey Mouse sweater, and his paint-splattered backup dancers, it looked like a performance that would have fit right in on The Disney Channel.
Gwen Stefani
Who isn’t excited to see Gwen Stefani performing? This was by no means the first time we’ve seen her perform “Hollaback Girl,” but she’s just so darn cute and happy to be bouncing around onstage with a bunch of backup dancers in banana-yellow jumpsuits. Plus, Gwen and Pharrell are already teaming up, as he joined her onstage to help spell out B-A-N-A-N-A-S.
Top 8
Sisaundra Lewis
Powerhouse Sisaundra Lewis kicked off the night with Tina Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High.” It was a perfect song for Sisaundra, with Adam saying that Sisaundra choosing a song by such a strong woman shows what a strong woman she is. While Sisaundra was brought to tears by the mention of her mother being in the audience for the first time, Mama could not have looked any less pleased to be there.
Josh Kaufman
Team Usher’s last man standing, Josh Kaufman, was inspired by all the famous artists that had walked the halls of the famed Henson Studios, where he was rehearsing, and he put that into his performance of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” Usher felt this was the perfect song for who Josh is as a performer, because it’s all emotion. The coaches agreed it was one of Josh’s best performances, with Blake saying “it had magic all over it.”
Kat Perkins
Kat Perkins really wanted to have a “moment” this week, after finding herself in the bottom three last week, so she broke away from the classic tunes she normally sings, and chose Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” ft. Pharrell. But she put her own Kat spin on it, turning it into a heavy metal version. Kat sounded great, but the arrangement was weird. The crowd went wild, however, and Adam couldn’t have been prouder of Kat’s redemption.
Kristen Merlin
Kristen Merlin is the only contestant remaining on Team Shakira, and that pressure is not lost on her, as she realizes she’s competing not only for herself, but for Shakira. She chose Lee Brice’s tear-jerker “I Drive Your Truck,” because she’s an honest, story-telling performer, and this song hit close to home for her. It was a moving performance, Kristen herself seeming to get choked up at times. As the only country artist not on Blake’s team, she’s really proving herself to be stiff competition.
Delvin Choice
Team Adam’s Delvin Choice had an emotional breakthrough this week, with the help of his song choice, R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly.” He broke down in rehearsals, realizing, “Everything I’ve been through to get here, I finally believe in myself.” And as much as Adam may have initially disagreed with Delvin’s song choice, at that point he realized it was the perfect song for him. Too bad the performance itself was almost painfully cheesy. Delvin was dressed like Teen Angel from Grease, in front of a curtained backdrop, which rose to reveal the tiniest gospel choir of all time.
Audra McLaughlin
Blake chose Rebecca Lynn Howard’s “Forgive” for country sweetheart Audra McLaughlin, because she’s already proven herself to be a standout in the competition, and this song would push her even farther. Blake felt that if she was able to sing the song with conviction, she would really connect with the audience and have a moment. Unfortunately, Audra didn’t really enunciate her words very well in the performance, so as beautiful as she sounded, you couldn’t really tell what she was saying.
Jake Worthington
Team Blake’s Jake Worthington may have felt like crap this week, but he had a breakthrough performance with Brooks and Dunn’s “Hillbilly Deluxe.” Jake said the song allowed him to show a little bit of his redneck side, and Blake said it was like someone kicked a sleeping dog. It was Jake’s most upbeat song to date, and he showed he’s gotten a lot more comfortable onstage since his first super-awkward blind audition last season.
Christina Grimmie
After her success last week putting her own spin on a Drake song, this week Adam suggested Christina Grimmie take on another hip hop hit with Lil’ Wayne’s “How To Love.” Christina was hesitant at first, but Adam feels that if she’s willing to commit to it, this could be her sound, and it’s a sound unlike anyone else’s. The performance looked really cool, with a geometric background, a red jumpsuit, and a glowing neon mic stand. And while Christina was a little pitchy at times, it was an exciting performance, from a girl who’s really found a home onstage.
The Voice live results air Tuesday night at 8 p.m. on NBC.