S17.E10: The Battles, Part 4

[Guest]

Airs October 22, 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]

With 5 Battles left, this is where we stand 🙂

Team Blake

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

Corey Jackson-Unceremoniously dumped from the show after a close loss to Zach Bridges. In another season would've been a definite candidate for a Coach's bring back artist

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. Survived a poor song fit (High Hopes) to advance to the Knockouts

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 (SAVED by Team Blake)-once upon time P Diddy, Bad Boy Entertainment signee that went nowhere. Keeps her musical comeback hopes alive for (probably just) one more round after losing to Ricky Duran in her battle

Matthew McQueen-Couldn't stand the thought of losing to a 15 year old. Immediately lost to said 15 year old.

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. Won a questionable battle against Corey Jackson to move on to the KO round. Still thinking (the collective) We probably needs one more VA Hospital X-Ray Technician a little bit more than 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

Jessie Lawrence (Inexplicably SAVED by Team Gwen)-How is this dude still here? Deservedly lost an "I Can't Feel My Face" battle w/ Rose and yet lives to sing another day

Kyndal Inskeep-Kyndal and her very Maren Morris-esque voice slayed on Morris's "I Could Use a Love Song" to beat back James Violet and stay on Team Gwen

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. After dealing w/ wardrobe concerns, she easily knocked off Jessie Lawrence on the Weekend's smash hit

Royce Lovett-Reggae/R&B fusion artist seemed tailor-made for Team Gwen from the first few notes..Bob Marley exhibition in the Battle against

Team John

Dane & Stephanie-Got praised out the wazoo, still lost to Marybeth and received no save/steal to keep their pretty harmonies in the competition

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

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-defeated Jared in a battle of fodder on Team Legend

Zoe Upkins-(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. Bizarrely got Kelly's pick against actual contender Brooke Stephenson in a suspiciously montaged battle. Thanks again, Kelly.

Gracee Shrivers-With Blake's team full, Kelly lucked into a 16 year old with a deep and rich country voice for her final contestant. Won a montaged battle against 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-Stepped up multiple levels to defeat Steve on a Willie Nelson classic

Kiara Brown (STOLEN by Team Kelly)-

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 was 1-and-done after being eliminated by Jake Hoot on a song that probably hamstrung his maximilist inclinations when it comes to runs and melisma

[Sounder]

Ok lemme say something......I'm not a country fan......but I know a little something.  I went two steppin' once.....mostly for the gals.....but anyway......how can anyone call Zach Bridges and Corey Jackson mediocre?    I'm in such a zone on this that Kelly said exactly what I was thinking all during the battle......as a duo......they can be absolutely big and sell lots of albums,. I'm serious.    But they won't be one so .......forget it.   But I know Kelly and I are right.

[Chyromaniac]

Boy, Corey sure was a fan of that pony ride pantomime, wasn’t he?

[Ellee]

@PhD-Purgatory15

Thank you so much for your posts.  I end up watching for the ones I initially like and don’t really try to keep track of who is who.  With that being said, your team recaps draw me in to what is happening on the show.  

[Cementhead]

10 hours ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

Jessie Lawrence (Inexplicably SAVED by Team Gwen)-How is this dude still here? Deservedly lost an "I Can't Feel My Face" battle w/ Rose and yet lives to sing another day

Yeah, that whole moment was so over-the-top.  Nothing about this guy's voice or stage presence warranted Blake trying to steal him 'symbolically'  because in Blake's words, he deserves to be on the show.  What the hell.  I am sure it has everything to do with his super sad back story and absolutely nothing to do with his mediocre at best talent. I say that with no offense to him.  It's moments like this that make me hate this show.  Admit it, Show, it's no longer about the voice, is it?  It's now the same contrived, manipulated bullshit that all the other shows are about. 

[Ashforth]

The Voice has committed the cardinal sin of television: it's boring. 

The pretend conflict between the coaches is boring. The backstories of the contestants are boring. The odd choices of who gets saved are boring.

At this point, I don't think the coaches even choose the battle pairings or the songs. I suspect that a producer does that and the coaches and guest coaches just show up for the filming of the so-called "coaching sessions." 

There is so much bullshit that who can even care? As evidenced by the number of us posting in this forum, not many. It's too bad, because The Voice used to be a truly entertaining show.

[foxfreakinmulder]

2 hours ago, Ashforth said:

The Voice has committed the cardinal sin of television: it's boring. 

The pretend conflict between the coaches is boring. The backstories of the contestants are boring. The odd choices of who gets saved are boring.

At this point, I don't think the coaches even choose the battle pairings or the songs. I suspect that a producer does that and the coaches and guest coaches just show up for the filming of the so-called "coaching sessions." 

There is so much bullshit that who can even care? As evidenced by the number of us posting in this forum, not many. It's too bad, because The Voice used to be a truly entertaining show.

I agree with everything you said. I used to enjoy watching but haven't in a long time and for me this season has been boring. As of right now there is not one singer that I'm hoping will make it to the finales.

[DaphneCat]

3 hours ago, Ashforth said:

The Voice has committed the cardinal sin of television: it's boring. 

The pretend conflict between the coaches is boring. The backstories of the contestants are boring. The odd choices of who gets saved are boring.

At this point, I don't think the coaches even choose the battle pairings or the songs. I suspect that a producer does that and the coaches and guest coaches just show up for the filming of the so-called "coaching sessions." 

There is so much bullshit that who can even care? As evidenced by the number of us posting in this forum, not many. It's too bad, because The Voice used to be a truly entertaining show.

1 hour ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

I agree with everything you said. I used to enjoy watching but haven't in a long time and for me this season has been boring. As of right now there is not one singer that I'm hoping will make it to the finales.

Yes, when will they realize we really just want a show about singing.  It would be one thing if in the battles, the coaches simply picked their top 8 and you legitimately disagreed with their choices but it is really frustrating when good singers leave and bad singers stay just because two good singers were paired up and two bad singers were paired.  And I would love to hear REAL constructive criticism - for example, someone could tell one of the singers that when they were doing the duet they were overshadowing the other singer and not in a good way.  That way, it might keep you genuinely guessing which singers are going to make it through at the end.

And PLEASE go back to having a minimum age limit.  I do NOT want to hear over and over how good someone is for 15!  It should be how good you are period, not how good you are as a left-handed, blind-in-one-eye, non-English-speaking, 12 year old who was raised by wolves and has never been in a building before.

[foxfreakinmulder]

8 hours ago, DaphneCat said:

And PLEASE go back to having a minimum age limit.  I do NOT want to hear over and over how good someone is for 15! 

And don't you just love it when a 15 year old says, "I've been working for this my whole life."

[Jennabelle88]

6 hours ago, foxfreakinmulder said:

And don't you just love it when a 15 year old says, "I've been working for this my whole life."

OMG. This KILLS me! 

[Koalagirl]

I stop watching The Voice once they go to lives.  Then I watch the finale to see who won.