mercfan3

Chris has such a beautiful voice. But he's a sweet emotional singing R&B song. He's not an overtly sexual singer. And he sang that way the entire season (except for when he chose the songs.) Kid has to learn to say "No." He tried to sell it, but he was uncomfortable. His voice is fantastic though. And that continued tonight. I thought Damien was off. People blame Adam for the duet, but I thought it was Damien's bad. He didn't sing his big belts well..and too much melisma. I thought this was one of his worst weeks. Matt was also off vocally, but "Wasted Love" is easily the best song of the bunch. He's a great emoter and performer he just needs to control his pitch..which he had done the last couple of weeks. I particularly liked his duet with Adam. (Where he did control his pitch..unlike the awfulness that was Over The Rainbow). Craig was solid. I loved his duet with Blake too. In Pictures was really sweet and emotional, but his original was a little boring. Overall though, solid job by Craig. Chris is the best singer, Matt got the best songs, Craig's got the country voters, and Damien doesn't have a shot.

I completely agree. He can be a bit too honest. I know some were upset about him essentially declaring Matt the winner with two other finalists still around. But really, he knows the show wants Damien gone, Chris had been in the bottom 3 weeks ago, and Matt has dominated on itunes more than anyone since Cassadee Pope. I wonder who the favorite to win on Adam is. It's the same thing as Tessanne/Will in season 5. Sure, Will was still in the competition..but everyone and their brother knew that it was really between Tessanne and Jacquie, and Will was just there. People's problem with him, IMO, is that he can be too honest. No, Blake or Usher would never say that. But they are both thinking it.

Also..I feel like there's a little bit of giving Blake too much credit. I almost believe that the producers quietly said that to him in season 5. Almost. (Although I have a different opinion.) But Jake went far further than he should have and Blake clearly bonded with him. He doesn't do anything differently with any of his contestants. They all get safe mid tempo country songs (at least the country singers..sometimes not country singers.). That gets votes and it sells on itunes. It's kind of boring for me, but it works in general. Jake beat the juggarnaught that was Christina Grimmie (Two weeks in a row)..while not being nearly as good. I think the idea that Blake phoned it in there is silly. Personally, I think one of the most brilliant things that Adam has done on the show was to label Blake as the country coach. So, although if Blake gets a great country singer, he's nearly unstoppable..he actually struggles to get any other type of great singer. I also don't buy that they tell the coaches they can't win. These coaches all have egos..and part of what keeps them engaged is the competitiveness of the game. (And don't be fooled by Blake, he's clearly competitive too. And he's better at the manipulation aspect than everyone else.)

I thought Chris performed all of the songs given to him well. I prefer R&B Chris to boyband Chris..but the kid sings on pitch and delivers every time he gets thrown up there. But the reality is, songs like "When I Was Your Man" attracts more voters than songs like "Jealous." The Voice audience is skewing older (why the strategy of older R&B songs weren't bad. My older family members love Damien..and the songs Damien sings.) Heck, even "Sexual Healing"..a ridiculous song choice if there ever was one..did better on itunes..likely because it's not current pop. Now that being said, "When I Was Your Man" is my absolute favorite performance...probably this season (although Taylor's "Royals" and two of Matt's are up there for me..). I thought he sang it better than Bruno (I like the falsetto changes)..and the ending was just..so perfect.

Damien picked the Dawson's Creek song. I feel like any criticism for Adam's song choices goes out the window with Damien's pick. At the end of the day, that's who Damien is as an artist. He's an old school R&B singer. And I actually don't mind that Adam went with lesser known songs. His constantly forcing Chris to do pop dance boyband songs, when Chris very clearly was also an R&B singer (although, a different type..Damien's more powerful, Chris more of a crooner..like an Usher style..) was not only a poor strategy (IMO, Chris could be a front runner instead of third or fourth finisher if we got more songs like "If I Was Your Man" and less songs like "Jealous.") but it also isn't the musical style that he wants to be in. He flat out said that he was uncomfortable with Uptown Funk. But I also think it's unfair to say that Adam outright busses people. He doesn't. I think he tries to do what is best for his contestants. He can just be out there sometimes. And yes, he has his favorites. Every coach has their favorites..but the worst I would say Adam can be is neglectful of them. (Which worked pretty well for Will.) Now the show..the show definitely did not want Damien in the finale..(And pimped the heck out of Chris..)

Ugh. He's so boring though. And Adam's going to be unbearable..likely for the next three seasons.

I thought Damien, DaNica (who I thought were the front runners in a situation like this) were terrible. Luke and Jessie were awful too, but I didn't see them as front runners. Sugar and Ryan noticeably improved, but not enough to where I want to see them again. I really liked Anita's, but I doubt what she did will get her votes. Reagan was the best. But she went first and it wasn't a song that will earn votes.. So Taylor 3 names it is.

It works the other way too. People like songs that they've heard before. Plus, a song like "Sugar" doesn't typically sell well, and IMO..it did because of how well Chris did with the Bruno song.

Both of Chris' songs will get the multiplier, assuming he stays in the top 10 with Sugar, I believe. Like I said, I really don't understand the Chris favoritism. I like Chris the best. I like his voice the best. And he's a charismatic performer and obviously the most marketable for a record company. But there's no way he's going to win. So why push him so hard? But no, Damien has not been the worst bussed contestant ever. (Holly Tucker, Kristen Merlin, The Swon Brothers..remember that finale..) In fact, it's pretty normal for the person who performs first in the first hour to be the person who performed first in the second hour. Yes, he's gotten boring old songs..but the older people who watch the show actually like/prefer that style. Adam was just full on Adam with Chris and Damien's song choices all season..it was Chris that saved himself with his Bruno Mars pick. Damien picked a worse song for himself than Adam ever did. edit: It's pandering because so long as he does a decent job, he'll get a ton of votes. Country fanbases eat it up. It's just like if he sang a song that was an ode to America.

My theory is Adam wants to sign Chris. It's obvious Chris is his favorite, but that wouldn't be enough to give Chris the preferential treatment he's gotten. (And he was pimped far more tonight than just performance slots..hello..sweet pretty sensitive crying humble boy..) The show knows..and pretty much everyone whose watched itunes knows..Matt's going to win. Like..it's not a contest. So why the push for Chris? Sure, he'd be the most marketable winner for the show..but the show isn't going to get him as a winner. However, if Adam wants to sign him..but isn't interested in the other two..he's got to have Chris beat Damien. He can't very well sign Chris with both Damien and Matt beating him. But if Chris makes the finale and Matt wins, all Adam has to do finale night is say "I love these guys so much, I'm going to sign them if they don't win." Boom, he gets Chris. (assuming Chris doesn't get a better offer. Which is the other alternative. Republic is interested regardless of whether he wins or not..and so the show is trying to get him as far as possible.) edit: And I agree...what Adam wants Chris to be and what Chris wants Chris to be seem to be very different. And quite frankly, Chris has the better idea.

Yea, Taylor's voice was clearly tired. He's got a good voice. It's very unique and interesting. But it's..maybe fragile is the word for it..It would make sense that him, out of anyone, would struggle after the likely tiring week they had. I think Chris, Craig, and Matt are pretty much locks..if we look at itunes, but TJW should get the wildcard..and he's got as good of a shot as Chris or Craig at taking Matt down.

I'm pretty sure it was the contestants choice..but I know they get suggestions too that they might have been with. I think for Chris, Craig, and Matt they probably got what they wanted. I'm not sure Taylor or Damien did. Chris was always far too good for the type of songs that he was getting, and he proved it tonight. His second song was really an incredible vocal. I really hope we go more that style if he's in the finale. (And he deserves to be there.) As much as he's good at performing and fits the teeny bopper image..he's better that that. Matt was excellent tonight too. Based on the past and tonight, these two are top 2, imo. Craig..was a little boring, I thought. I actually preferred his first performance but that's the Craig I like. I want southern rocker Craig..not "I'm country and I sing about jesus." Craig. Still, he's a very talented contestant. Taylor's voice seemed really strained tonight. He's a better singer than what he showed. I think he gave his spot in the top 3 to Chris, but hopefully he's okay in the wildcard because based on the rest of the season he deserves to be there. Damien..I'd say poor Damien, but Adam actually gave him the better of the two songs. He really was great in his first one..if a little boring. But the second..I don't even know what that was..still..because he's such a great singer, so long as they didn't saddle him with something awful for a wildcard song, he's a threat in that round if he doesn't make top 3. I think our top 3 is Chris, Craig, and Matt though.

I still would like an all female cast with one male. How funny would a shakira/christina/gwen and like..Blake or Usher panel be?

1. We need one more week of live shows. I know they want to limit them because that's when shows take a nose dive, but we can't have tripple eliminations. And actually, if they absolutely must have them...then do it top 12 week. Just send the B3 home instead of having them sing another week. 2. Twitter save...realistically, it's not going anywhere..but I'd like to get rid of it. Still..maybe the person with the lowest number of votes is eliminated and the second and third one sing for their lives? 3. No wild card. This is just stupid, unorganized, and unfair. We don't even know when they'll be announcing the winner... 4. Coach's comments..either be constructive or be adorable/funny. The Blake/Usher/Shakira/Adam panel had chemistry and could be funny..so their comments were at least entertaining. And Gwen and Christina..as well as Adam occasionally..can be constructive. But it can't be all "OMG YOU ARE THE BEST EVER."

Yup. Itunes is a sample size...and the situation was similar to that of Amber and Michelle. Amber got the itunes bonus, but overall..it was obvious that Michelle's two songs were selling better than Amber's two songs. Same thing happened with Grimmie. I'd be willing to bet a lot of money that Grimmie was the third. I'll go even further and say that the itunes bonus for the finale wasn't put in because they were afraid Grimmie wouldn't make the finale, but rather because they wanted her in the twitter save. Why have the twitter queen and never get to use it? I couldn't figure out for the life of me why the started pimping Jake..until thinking about it..who could beat Grimmie for the second spot. Jake was the only option, really. He'd get the Blake vote and the aw shucks vote and the country vote. That's pretty much all of the shows biggest demographics..

Chris can actually sing, and Adam has yet to give him a song where he can showcase that. That's my biggest problem with it. And good lord, the competition this season is filled with singers with limited range, let the one who has range show it a little. He gives him crappy rap pop songs, or crappy bubblegum pop songs. It's hilarious when you consider what Chris has chosen for himself to sing (Gravity, Sitting on The Dock of The Bay, Georgia On My Mind.) He actually does a fantastic cover of "Let's Get it On." Stripped back and acoustic..nope..Adam chooses the cheesy dance pop song for Chris to sing..again. That's my biggest issue with Chris' songs. Him, Damien, and Danica are the best technical singers in this competition, and as bad As Damien and Danica's songs have been, they at least although them to show that they can sing. Chris have been bad and haven't allowed people to actually get a good look at his talent. When given the opportunity, IMO, he slaughtered the other three people on the bottom with him. (Danica would give him a run for his money, but her voice waivered and she seemed nervous. Plus, she's not great at power singing, which is what I"d Rather Go Blind requires.) The one thing I'll give Adam, is he has set up Chris to win the twitter save by getting him the younger fanbase. I think he could have done that and given Chris non shitty songs, but his song choices achieved that. (I'm sure Chris' cute face didn't hurt, either.) So at the end of the day, he's got a very good shot at the finale because he's got a good shot at winning the twitter save. BTW: I don't think they realized how much of an advantage it is going last on the twitter save. But I'd also say there has yet to be a twitter save that I disagreed with..other than Matt/James..but I think that was just personal preference and both of their voices were dying.

It'll actually be interesting to see who gets the worse song choice. Damien is going to get a horrible one because Adam knows he can't get three contestants to the finale. Chris will get a horrible one because Adam wants him to be in the finale more than anyone. Matt laughs all the way to the top 10 on itunes. Again. At least they all get their own pick though. Damien's song is going to be some random 70s R&B song no one has ever heard of. Chris will sing Justin Bieber.

next week they'll have two songs each, so performance order doesn't matter that much. Essentially, there are a lot more viewers at the 9pm slot than the 8pm slot, so that's why it helps. So long as people perform after 9, they'll be okay.

Good Lord I hate that RaeLynn song more than like..any bro country song. By a mile. I hate everything about it. Her voice. The lyrics. The melody. Ugh. I actually liked Grimmie's song a lot, but she got screechy.. Luke's save me was weird. He just really fell apart during the lives. Like a Bria Kelly/Matt Schuler fall apart. Pharrell should have kept Taylor Phelan. Really sad to see Danica go. I wanted her and Chris in the top five, but I thought Chris outsang her. (Please give him a good song next week Adam. Please. If he had sung that song last night, he wouldn't have needed a save. ) Farewell Ryan.

That would be an upgrade to what he's been getting. "Sexual Healing" is such a bad song choice, it's comical.

Which is funny, because I think when it comes to strategy, Blake is significantly better than Adam. If there's anyone being a fox, it's Blake, not Adam. I never think Adam busses anyone on purpose simply because his clear favorites tend to get the worst song choices. The only one that didn't really apply to was Grimmie. And he just had Grimmie do covers that she had done previously on youtube. (I honestly think that Adam was a bit in awe of Grimmie's creativity.) But James, Sarah, Melanie, and this year Chris..I think were all clearly his favorites. He just outsmarts himself sometimes.

Adam has been amazing with song picks for Matt. Really truly amazing. Every week is itunes bait. Damien..not so great. But, old R&B songs and Adele have a shot at selling well. I get what he's trying to do for Chris. And maybe, after the show, it'll help him. But his song picks have been atrocious. CHR is not good for selling itunes. Period. The fact that the kid can get as high on itunes with "Sexual Healing" suggests he would have done quite well with a decent song. (And has more to do with Chris' abilities and pretty face than anything Adam has done.) That being said, the one thing Adam did do for Chris in this competition is likely make him the leader amongst the younger fans. I'm not sure how much weight that will carry though, as older fans actually dominate the show. (But I'd imagine younger fans are more likely to power vote.) And still, even though I think he's the favorite..my guess is Matt and TJW also have a few younger fans themselves.

Chris - beyond horrible song choice. He deserves to stay just for making the best of it. (And his falsetto..damn..) Please keep the cute boy around. Damien - Beautiful vocal. Just beautiful. I don't quite like what he did to the song, but it was gorgeous none the less. Matt - performance of the live rounds. I haven't been that excited about him, and he's still not my style..but everything just worked. Wonderful song choice. He emoted well. He sung beautifully..it was just perfect. Ryan - lol..go home. TJW - He's impressive to me. He's actually a creative person that thinks about his interpretation..something I'm not sure Reagan (who I did like) really does. Plus, there's something about his tone I adore. I wouldn't mind it if he won. (Although I think this is Matt's to lose.) Danica - not so great of glory notes. Definite step down from last week. Luke - boring. Probably worse than Ryan. Craig - deserves to be in the B4 after that. Safe. Boring. And didn't sing as well as he normally does. But he won't be there. B4 - Luke, Ryan and Danica are definites..I'd say Chris is likely the fourth, but Damien could make an appearance there. And I'd say the team Adam contestant in the B4 is probably going to win. (Although Danica could give them troubles.)

Rumple was my favorite character. I found him complex, and thought that because he could recognize the awful things he had done, and truly wanted to improve who he was..he was actually a redeemable character. But they screwed the pooch on that this season. He's even OOC evil.

I always think it's obvious who Blake's favorites are too. But for some reason, some coaches are allowed to have favorites (Blake, Usher) and some aren't (Adam, seems like Gwen is getting that treatment too.) I think part of it is in how they treat their contestants though. For instance, Adam asking Bieber to tweet for Christina..when Kat was also in the twitter save. That's not a good look. Or Adam saying that Will should be proud of himself, and Tessanne is the winner. And I think part of it is the Tony Lucca fiasco. I think people don't like Gwen having a favorite because it seems she's bonded with Ryan on a personal level. But I also see it as similar to the James/Tessanne situation. I think, even if she likes Ryan as a person more, she knows TJW is her best chance at winning and is being strategic with him. Personally, I don't care. I find Adam's blunt nature entertaining. He's not a PR guru like Blake and Usher. But you can always tell who everyone's favorite is. Blake flat out clears out paths for his favorites. And yea, he did a terrible job with Reagan. I'm not sure if she was ready for this competition in the first place, but Gwen probably would have been the best coach for her. And Blake's song choices are beyond boring. Yes they are safe. Yes they do well on itunes because they are safe. But Danielle Bradbery just did a cover series...and she showed she was capable of singing more than just mid tempo 90s country songs.