S17.E08: The Battles, Part 2

[Guest]

Airs October 15, 2019

Quote

The battle rounds continue as the coaches enlist music industry powerhouses Normani, Darius Rucker, Usher and will.i.am to prepare their artists to go head-to-head in hopes of advancing to the knockouts; each coach has one save and one steal to use.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Still keeping track of where we are 🙂

Team Blake

Cali Jones-lesbian, kickboxing country hopeful; knocked out Elliemae in a montaged battle

Corey Jackson-deep voiced, country singer w/ a little Musical Theatre vibe mixed in

Elliemae-Young folk country singer from Idaho. Forced to immediately go back to work on the family dairy farm after her loss to Cali in the battles

Joana Martinez-Cue a million, "I can't believe your only 15's!". Smoky voiced, Miami teen probably made a shrewd decision joining Team Blake

Jordan Chase-19 year old, long haired southern soul singer displaced by Hurricane Katrina

Josie Jones-traditional country teen from small town Alabama. Lost to Kat (and was not saved or stolen) in a somewhat surprising turn of events. Now has to go back to her Ag and Welding focused high school, graduate & then come to Nashville according to Darius Rucker

Kat Hammock-wispy voiced teen in the Dia Frampton lane. Eliminated Josie by playing to her strengths on "Take Me Home Country Roads", a song that wildly favored her going into the battle

Marina Chello-once upon time P Diddy, Bad Boy Entertainment signee that went nowhere. Hoping for a musical comeback

Matthew McQueen (new)-Smarmy gold salesman. Hate the Lewis Capaldi version of that song and didn't like Matt's much better. Has to be pure fodder on Team Blake.

Ricky Braddy-Once upon a time American Idol contestant, Recently out of the closet thanks to a supportive BF

Ricky Duran-Has the sob story double with father's suicide and mother's death from illness. Impressive schnoz in profile, solid (but not spectacular IMO) singer who also shrewdly (or stupidly...time will tell) picked Blake

Zach Bridges-Blake wannabe, did Ol' Red to coerce a turn. We probably need one more VA Hospital X-Ray Technician more than we need one more mediocre country singer in Nashville

Team Gwen

Brennen Henson-21 year old who auditioned partially to give his hometown of Flint, Michigan some positivity. Indie/Alternative sounds seems a good fit with Gwen

Calvin Lockett-smooth singing R&B artist, struggled between his Gospel background and singing secular music before auditioning for the Voice

Caroline Reilly (new)-Gwen finally got her pretty, teen, (70s rock?) princess. If the show is to be believed, she got the very last of the 48 spots.

Destiny Rayne (STOLEN from Team Legend)-Florida singer impressively held her own against Katie Kadan's monster voice earning a Steal from Gwen and an attempted steal from Blake

Elize Azkoul-Vocal coach from Atlanta was slayed by the Myracle. Not saved or stolen either

Jake Haldenvang-long haired rocker

James Violet-Introverted singer-songwriter from Utah, gave busking a go for a couple of years in LA but it ended badly

Jessie Lawrence-31 year old who grew up in the foster system got a last second(ish) and probably undeserved turn from Gwen

Kiara Brown-indie, singer-songwriter-y artist from Las Vegas. Put a chill twist on Tom Petty's Free Fallin

Kyndal Inskeep-?

Myracle Holloway-At 44, I think our oldest competitor. Battled back from substance abuse issues to give the Voice a shot, and pretty easily defeated Elize in her battle

Rose Short-couldn't get John Legend to turn on his own song, did get a turn from Gwen though

Royce Lovett-Reggae/R&B fusion artist seemed tailor-made for Team Gwen from the first few notes..

Team John

Dane & Stephanie-twin harmony act w/ Dane having already transitioned from Dana

Jared Herzog-Total fodder for Team John w/ a hot girlfriend and a very tenuous connection to former Voice winner Jordan Smith.

Katie Kadan-Monster voice carried the day in Tiny Dancer battle with Destiny

Khalea Lynee-Another Florida person. Unsurprising that this 36 year old WOMAN came out victorious versus a 16 year old girl singing a sexy sassy song about claiming a man

Marybeth Byrd-4 chair turn (w/ a Blake being blocked by Kelly), pretty spot on rendition of Angel of Montgomery

Matthew New-Starting a family at 18 postponed dreams of a music career until recently. Adorable sons and wife helped him make the terrible John Legend decision that ended in a montaged battle loss

Max Boyle-Who? Well, Mr. Who won a battle round. Kudos to him, I guess

Mendeleyev-true hippie spawn (with like 10 middle names to prove it), very interesting voice with serious control over his low register

Preston Howell-14 year old crooner (Isn't there always?) from Miami

Will Breman-Another Who?

Zoe Upkins (New & SAVED by Team Legend)-Precocious teen did well despite singing a song on Khalea's turf. Got John's save, could've been stolen by Kelly or Gwen

Team Kelly

Alex Guthrie-one of the plethora of WGWG's this season. From what I recall, felt freeflowing and loose...like a jam band singer. Took down Injoy on Marc Broussard's Home (A great Voice song IMO)

Brennan Lassiter-on first glance, a pretty country princess. But her voice has some edge and weight to it.

Brooke Stephenson-This season's Lauren Duski. Mature beyond her years, not flashy but someone who could be around for a while

Damali-Military high school kid has to be one of the 2 or 3 most least deserving turns of the season. Thanks, Kelly.

Gracee Shrivers (New)-With Blake's team full, Kelly lucked into a 16 year old with a deep and rich country voice for her final contestant. Feels an almost lock for an upcoming battle with Brennan

Hello Sunday-27 year old (combined) duo, a little bit of all over the place manic energy. If it could be harnessed, they might be factor on Kelly's team

Injoy Fountain- A questionable loss to Alex in her battle with no steal or save to bail her out. Why let America have the fun of eliminating the larger, older African-American female contestant with a powerhouse voice this season when the judges can do it for themselves in the battles or KOs lol

Jake Hoot-rare country artist Blake did not turn for. Was his team full at that point? Or more a verdict on Jake's somewhat pinched, higher voice than a guy of his size might be expected to have

Laura Hall-7th time auditioning was a charm for this former college soccer player and daughter of Honduran immigrants

Melinda Rodriguez (SAVED by Team Kelly)-One half of an awesome battle duet with Shane Q. No surprise she stayed with Kelly when she had the chance..

Shane Q-visually a reminder of the late stand-up comic Ralphie May (r.i.p.). Maybe just barely edged out Melinda on a Sam Smith song that was in his wheelhouse. Definitely a frontrunner on Team Kelly.

Steve Knill-37 year old from San Francisco with runs and affectations to Mt. Everest and back. Only Kelly turns, and even she wants him start dialing it back a little bit before Battle practices had enough begun yet

Edited October 16, 2019 by PhD-Purgatory15

[MysteryMavin]

Wasn't there another montaged battle? I thought there were two.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

There were two. Max Boyle defeating Matthew New on Team Legend, and Cali Jones beating Elliemae on Team Blake.

[adhoc]

Thank you for the update and commentary, PhD!  

[foxfreakinmulder]

Thank you PhD-Purgatory15.

I really like will.i.am he was one of my favorite singers on Songland. I've never been a fan of his music but it was really cool what he did on Songland so I became a fan of him he seems like a really nice person. 

It bugs the crap out of me when Kelly yells out during the song.

If they would cut out the back stories we saw during the blinds they wouldn't need a montage. Does anyone know if they show that package to the audience before the battles?

[DaphneCat]

43 minutes ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

Thank you PhD-Purgatory15.

I really like will.i.am he was one of my favorite singers on Songland. I've never been a fan of his music but it was really cool what he did on Songland so I became a fan of him he seems like a really nice person. 

It bugs the crap out of me when Kelly yells out during the song.

If they would cut out the back stories we saw during the blinds they wouldn't need a montage. Does anyone know if they show that package to the audience before the battles?

Yes.  I think Songland went a long way in showing that people really just want a good show about music.  We got a LITTLE background about the song writers but it was mostly about the music.  And yes, giving us the same back story over and over does NOT make me think someone is a better singer.  I also do not need to see them picking out clothes, doing their hair, or doing a dress rehearsal.  I really just want to see the performances.

[viajero]

A lot of talent in this episode.  Katie just blows you away, but Myracle, Destiny and Injoy were all really good as well. 

And the prize for the first totally incomprehensible decision of the season goes to Kelly for picking Alex over Injoy

[foxfreakinmulder]

9 hours ago, DaphneCat said:

I also do not need to see them picking out clothes, doing their hair, or doing a dress rehearsal.  I really just want to see the performances.

I couldn't agree more. That's why I don't care for Gwen as a coach, she thinks earrings are an important part of a performance for some stupid reason. Didn't she have one of her girls cut her hair or change the color the first year she was a coach? I remember she also will ask them to remove their glasses. Which has nothing to do with their talent. It's not a fashion competition Gwen. 

[foxfreakinmulder]

7 hours ago, viajero said:

A lot of talent in this episode.  Katie just blows you away, but Myracle, Destiny and Injoy were all really good as well. 

And the prize for the first totally incomprehensible decision of the season goes to Kelly for picking Alex over Injoy

I like Katie she has a fun personality and a huge voice.

I really think Kelly picked Alex over Injoy because Alex is young, she's won with young singers.

[Sile]

22 hours ago, viajero said:

A lot of talent in this episode.  Katie just blows you away, but Myracle, Destiny and Injoy were all really good as well. 

And the prize for the first totally incomprehensible decision of the season goes to Kelly for picking Alex over Injoy

I think that after all of the other judges made over Injoy (isn't that a creamer/sugar brand that caters to offices?) Kelly thought she would be stolen and that way both of them could remain.  She seemed really surprised that nobody used a steal.

[Babalooie]

On 10/17/2019 at 12:38 AM, DaphneCat said:

I also do not need to see them picking out clothes, doing their hair...

...but then Gwen's only talent would be wasted.

[Wicked]

I never finished watching last season, and watching Injoy get sent home reminded me why. This show's format is so frustrating, they way good people go home and mediocre people can stay on.

[Wandering Snark]

Yeah not sure which peeved me more, Injoy going home or having a repeat of everyone's backstory taking up so much time so we got two montage battles.