anonymiss

He is bitchier but I suspect it's just that he was more guarded/less confident to say what was on his mind first time round. He's a lot more relaxed now but still just as focused. He obviously has had his ego stroked by Nina being his no.1 fan and winning the title already, so he's letting his snark come out. I'm enjoying it. Ben's personality is so cloying that I'm glad to see him go. Although, I admit I liked his coat because I'm "junior"-ish so could see it working for me and getting a lot of compliments on the pockets. Relieved Jay Sario is still here after that fug coat. He still hasn't learned to edit, which is what got him excluded from the final runway originally. I liked Helen's! Second time in a row. Maybe it's because I'm similar to her in age and frame so I am actually "getting" her designs for once. Plus I have such low expectations for her I"m impressed whenever she does anything different from that pencil dress she replicated each challenge. Oh, this might be the first time I've appreciated Justin's work, although it wasn't NEARLY as great as they were gushing over. It had potential to be great if he'd made the middle not look like the model was with child.

So glad the plot devices separating the trio are gone. Haven't cared about them individually since they separated--well, except for Avery because they gave him a believable storyline with Juliette. Jeff Fordham was newly hot this episode. The actor has filled out nicely after being very leanly built in all his past roles. Layla and Jeff have surprisingly good chemistry. Scarlett's gaunt face is distracting but seeing her back performing in the trio is the only time I enjoy her. Hope it doesn't take too long to resolve the plot device of Gunnar's insta-kid.

Harsh but true. Gwen is so much better than that twitter-tweener bait that sounds like it took all of 1 minute to create. And she performed it in a onesie. She used to exude cool by being herself but now is a wannabe of her younger self. Not cool.

I can't bear to watch most of the show anymore but that last performance was offensive in its undue praise. He eviscerated it and I don't mean that in a good way. It's one of those songs that shouldn't be used to showboat your voice, like what contestants tend to do with Imagine. Blake only started paying attention to what was going on in the music world outside of Nashville when he needed to for this gig so there's no way he'd heard of that song. It'd be a pleasant change to have someone with extensive music knowledge like Chris Martin fill in for him for a season if the show can afford that deal.

I wondered if maybe they couldn't come to an agreement until the show made budget cuts last season.

This is what I wanted to know every time he repeated it.

They don't need to "fake it" because they were already established as friends long ago. There are photos over the years of the two of them at each other's families' parties from before The Voice came into existence. Yes, Gwen is sweet and generous but I find that trying and banal over time (esp. after seasons of that with Shakira). Loved hearing Christina sing a bit. Had to chuckle at her obvious attempts to squeeze in any singing she could to show off her voice, not that I'm complaining when she sounds lovely and her advice is on point.

I liked that Helen's dress had a Latin dance feel to it, but more importantly, it was the only one with a bare neckline that screamed out for...say, a diamond necklace. Ben's would have been in the running if he had edited out the nonsense liner and left the neck unadorned.

Much more than a few under 30, tbh. That said, though, we're supposed to believe, according to what Teddy recounted, that she's smart, warm, funny, and, of course, great in bed. But most importantly, she's always fun and readily available at his convenience. So I don't have a hard time believing she's got her hooks into him (pun intended). Just wish this storyline wasn't so trite. I can't see it surprising me at all.

Ugh. Keith is too self-righteous and believes Tyra's hype about him. He may have had "every right" to publicly shame Chantelle for lying about sleeping with him, but it was devoid of any compassion for the relatively harmless schoolyard crush she had on him. The girl already carries with her a lifelong sense of being an Other, so it would have been kind of him to take that into consideration in the way he chose to confront her. Yes, she LIED. But he could have shown some empathy that it came from a place of liking him, wanting to fit in/seem cooler, and bond with Shei, the fellow female who is well liked. I didn't mind Yu Tsai or Chantelle in their talk. I was pleasantly surprised they were able to communicate rationally and eventually accept each other's perspectives. Overall, though, I agree with Yu and his point: "But I don't work for you" after she said, "You rub me the wrong way a lot of the time, too." There is such a thing as deference to your employer when you are entry level. There's nothing wrong with her complaint--in fact, it was impressively articulated--but she generally lacks a sense of deference and decorum at her work site, especially one where she is getting opportunities disproportionate to her resume. Adam's admission of having been a giant math nerd growing up makes a lot of sense. I can definitely picture that and understand why he is/was such a try-hard, boasting about how much he has sex and can drink. He was my favorite this episode, just minding his own business. He does seem to model better buzzed, though. Perhaps she's better elsewhere, but that Korean female model of nepotism was so bland and limited.

That's what I'd like to know. I sure hope not since he's my favorite. I like Alex but was hoping for a Maneet win or final 2. I find it a bit odd how Ted and others keep repeating "spices" and "curry" around her like those components and Indian food are still so exotic and remarkable.

I'm glad Len contradicted CAI's blathering critique of Alfonso's foxtrot. Shaking my head at Julianne making self-references all night, reminding us she wore the leopard-print first and did a trio paso first. Also, did CAI call out Julianne and Derek for "having the same name?" I think CAI has been given her walking papers or suspects it so is lashing out at the Houghs with little jabs here and there like when she dismissed Derek's team choreo as more Derek team choreo we've all seen before, so she preferred the other's, etc. Liked that Len used a technical term to critique Boring Bethany's Viennese waltz b/c it disarms the crowd and prevents the booing that I can't stand, I'm here for Alfonso winning or anyone but Bethany & Derek.

I respect Antonia from her TC showings and she's a surprisingly excellent judge, so I'm glad to have her regardless of how she may look. Her makeup artist definitely sabotaged her in the last episode, though.

Adam and Shei were hot together. Too bad his appeal is only as a boy toy fling, but good for her for knowing it. THere's also no way that was her best shot from just the snippet of footage we were shown. I was impressed with Yu Tsai's seemingly effortless jumping pose. That was awesome. That said, his style of directing started out professional and constructive, but now is just impatient and insulting like what Jay Manuel always did. Jay wasn't like that on Canada's version of the show, which leads me to wonder if he and Yu both got Tyra's producer note to amp up the nastiness/sound bites. I was 100% in agreement with how Chantelle explained how Yu calling her "Panda" made her feel a certain way. At the same time, I was suspicious that she was vocal about it now in order to gain even more leverage to be kept around.

I don't mind Alyssa's unfortunate appearance but I wish she would pick a tone of voice and stick with it.

I liked Kate's. She does have an unremitting hyperfeminine/princess-y aesthetic but I can appreciate that. Girlfriend knows her corsets. Until Alexandria opened her smug mouth to remind us how supremely above this she is, I was disappointed to see her go this early. Every now and again she creates something impressive, but at least now I'm relieved of her stank attitude of entitlement and superiority. I totally agree. I remain as underwhelmed with him as I was with the first garment he ever presented. (Ugh. Now I'm getting annoyed again with Tim and his sham save.) I loved the slutty but well executed appeal of Samantha's and Chris'. I know Chris didn't have his heart in it, but it was still a creative beautiful design, which is more than someone like Michelle can ever usually say. If Dmitry weren't Dmitry he would have been in the bottom 2 or out for that rope-y mess.

Eric always seems to have "never made this before" like he says about every dish he's made on Food Fighters. I was disappointed to not see Marcel cook more, if not win. His food and personality is fun to watch. These special episodes are great. I loved the one with the judges competing and wish they could do a rematch of some sort. I hated/loved watching Jet suffer Geoffrey Zakarian's wrath.

I was proud of Ryan. THought he was another lousy pretty boy but he showed a lot of improvement and delivered a good vocal of Ne-Yo's "Miss Independent." His competitor was shrieking at the end--awful. Agreed with Adam's comments completely--especially his self-awareness of being "the king of squirrel-yness." Brava to Jean. I HATE Sia's voice and therefore have never remotely enjoyed Chandelier--until sung by Jean. It was also the first time I understood the lyrics. I laughed at how Pharrell so honestly said the male reggae singer was "in his own world, and who can argue with that?" Swifty is always painfully off beat when she subjects people to her dancing. Totally disagreed with Blake. Reagan was so off pitch. Grant did great. Funny how he looks like an old kid. He already has the bags under his eyes and threat of a receding hairline! His seriousness and Buddy Holly hair and style reminds me of Rivers Cuomo. Anita was awesome.

Don't blame Erin one bit for copping a rubdown of Val. :p I don't care an iota for Janel (in fact, she's kind of annoying with the bad acting in their packages) but I'd be glad if this was Val's victorious season--if it's not Alfonso and Witney's, that is! I'm tired of seeing Sharna's sexy face/impression of "video ho" in those bumpers inspired by pop/hip-hop videos. She's gorgeous but actually looks silly or unconvincing doing it...like, even she's tired of it or embarrassed about it. Mark's contemporaries all look the same to me, but he and Sadie deserved to win the dance off. Bethany was slow and stiff and so reminded me of another of Derek's overscored partners: Ricki Lake. Ready for Lea to go after seeing how dead serious she was about choosing what she perceived to be "easy mode" to win the dance off. It's uncomfortable witnessing how desperate she is to win. He likes them the same way Justin Timberlake started dating actresses when he needed their contacts. What industry does Mark want to break into? Music.

Sucks they are bringing back LaShawn's homophobia storyline. I do not want to see that but it's a very real thing so I guess they can't avoid it. Not fun to watch, though, and the music they play doesn't keep it light, either. That fight previewed for next week looks just like the last time this group vacationed together in Hawaii and Vince stormed off leaving Tamar sobbing.

I don't think Tamar had lipo or she would have a flat stomach. She still doesn't. Beyond that, though, I, too, see that it came about gradually when she was touring, etc.

I missed Nina in regards to Benjamin's look. I could totally see her calling it out as just a dated look. The model was outstanding and he executed it well but the design was just a variation of the one-shoulder dresses that were all the rage a few years ago when all the dolman sleeves were in with the thick belts and leggings.

When I saw Zanna again I groaned: "Oh yeah. This is that series with the cheerleader for a mentor." (Although, Tim isn't much better these days. Hell, I'd welcome Anne Slowey back and I wish Joanna Coles wasn't busy running Cosmo.) Helen reproducing the same basic dress/silhouette she almost always does. Alexandria irks me b/c of her snotty confessionals and just her overall snotty being. I'm sure there will be many more to come. I did share her reaction to Kate coming back for the 3rd time, though. I like Ivanka but I think she lacks real imagination and is all about basic ready-to-wear, as evidenced in her faulting of Chris March's look but gushing over Michelle's. I really like Fabio but actually preferred (ugh) Alexandria's look.

Funny seeing Antonia continue Elizabeth Faulkner's bridesmaid curse, which, coincidentally Antonia herself used to share. The difference is Elizabeth has no humour about it but I don't fault her for that. Refreshing to see someone not playing anything up for the cameras. She definitely won't give you a fake smile for the sake of it, etc., and I think that's impacted her career as a celebrity chef. Also neat seeing Antonia judging Fabio. I've never been a Fabio fan because I don't think much of his cooking. (I hate it when chefs use the "I'm XYZ so what do you expect me to know outside of that" excuse and I'm immune to the charms of his Italian accent except when he does FOH.). I don't dislike him though so good for him and his charity. I enjoyed all the chefs this battle but was hoping Faulkner would finally win and maybe she'd be less bitter. She did allow herself some smiles this time, though.

Vince has the occupation she wanted to dig more than the money but that was the cherry on top. (She was with him before Gaga right?) She loves him on those 2 conditions. That don't make her a real gold digger though because she does enjoy his company just like people are attracted to their partners physically but may not like other things about them (e.g., a bf whose bed game is insane but temper is, too.) It's a trade off and she found the ones she prioritizes most in a person: music business connections and steady income which turned into major income after they already were solid.