S18.E10: The Knockouts Part 2

[Guest]

Airs April 20, 2020

Quote

The knockout rounds conclude as the coaches, along with a mega-mentor, prepare their artists to perform individually against a teammate; the four artists saved during the battle rounds compete for America's vote in a four-way knockout.

 

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Part of me feels like Mandi T. might be part psychic. Like she just sensed that they weren't really looking for a ton of country singers to audition this season....so she said "A Ha!", I'll go ahead and audition doing classical/opera and then once I get through, I'll immediately pivot to singing country and potentially be the only female country (depending on what happens w/ Samantha in the 4 way save battle) for the entire season.

I was also ready to go off on one of my Voice soapboxes when Blake and John and Nick were giving their commentary on the Micah/Tayler battle. Micah goes for a modern song and sings it in a way that I could actually see a world where Micah could be on the radio and Tayler gives the 864th best rendition of a slow ballad on a music singing competition show and the 3 Stooges lose there minds because it's nothing but 25 glory show notes and nothing else to Tayler's performance. I was going to go off in real-time, and the Kelly picked Micah and sort of floored me. Kudos to Kelly on that one.

Zero surprise that the loser of Mandi C./Thunderstorm and Cedrice were the two remaining steals. The judges are just captivated by Cedrice's looks and presence, and John L. basically engineered a steal Pharrell style by pairing those two together.) 

Regarding the 4 Way, TMH and Nelson were the appetizers and then Michael and Samantha were the entrees or the main event. By the narrowest of margins, I think I'd give Michael the edge...but if Samantha takes it, I wouldn't be mad at that outcome either. And man, if ever there was a time for TMH to bust out some Journey (Open Arms, or Don't Stop Believing) or I Wanna Know What Love Is...this was it. It wasn't the time to pigeon hole a One Republic song that way. Nelson was just what John was fearing in the mentoring session, pretty forgettable.

 

Edited April 21, 2020 by PhD-Purgatory15

[alalaxmom]

Quote

I was also ready to go off on one of my Voice soapboxes when Blake and John and Nick were giving their commentary on the Micah/Tayler battle. Micah goes for a modern song and sings it in a way that I could actually see a world where Micah could be on the radio and Tayler gives the 864th best rendition of a slow ballad on a music singing competition show and the 3 Stooges lose there minds because it's nothing but 25 glory show notes and nothing else to Tayler's performance. I was going to go off in real-time, and the Kelly picked Micah and sort of floored me. Kudos to Kelly on that one.

This a thousand times!  I was getting so aggravated during their critiques and was beyond shocked when Kelly went against the grain.

[Jal]

I like Micah but the song choice was boring and the performance wasn't that great either. Couldn't get through the whole thing. But it's nice that Kelly went against the grain.

Allegra is my favourite. 

Nick is making some great moves in his debut season.

Edited April 21, 2020 by Jal

[viajero]

I thought the women really brought it in this episode. I think Allegra’s performance was my favorite, but Toneisha, Tayler, and Arei were all pretty great.

I did find what Micah did with Graveyard quite interesting, but also kind of agree with the coaches that it's just not a great choice for a singing competition.  Meanwhile, Tayler gave an almost perfect performance in every way, even if on an old classic that has been done to death.  It's a pity that she got sent home.

I think Micah himself recognized this given that he posted the following on YouTube:

"Tayler should have won. I think we all know that. I knew that from the moment I found out what I was singing. But Kelly chose me for some reason and I can’t help but be grateful. Thanks for your kind words and support. I definitely have something to prove in the lives."

I did get a kick out of the way James Taylor almost immediately fell in love with Graveyard (with which he clearly was unfamiliar).  This is a great compliment to Halsey, who's strength as a song writer is often overlooked.

For the first time I was a bit disappointed with Thunderstorm. I would probably still have picked him over Mandy (even though she did give a technically good performance), but it just wasn’t up to level he’s shown in previous rounds.

The 4-way comes down to Michael and Samantha. I might give it to her by the smallest of margins, but will not be upset if he gets more votes.

At this point, Nick's team suddenly doesn't look so weak after all.  With Allegra, Arie and now Thunderstorm, he's got some real stars on his team.

Anyway, it sounds like they are going to follow Idol's lead and have the supposed live rounds performed from everyone's homes.  It will be interesting to see how they handle it.  I guess we'll find out on May 4.

Edited April 22, 2020 by viajero

[realdancemom]

20 hours ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

I was also ready to go off on one of my Voice soapboxes when Blake and John and Nick were giving their commentary on the Micah/Tayler battle. Micah goes for a modern song and sings it in a way that I could actually see a world where Micah could be on the radio and Tayler gives the 864th best rendition of a slow ballad on a music singing competition show and the 3 Stooges lose there minds because it's nothing but 25 glory show notes and nothing else to Tayler's performance. I was going to go off in real-time, and the Kelly picked Micah and sort of floored me. Kudos to Kelly on that one.

Zero surprise that the loser of Mandi C./Thunderstorm and Cedrice were the two remaining steals. The judges are just captivated by Cedrice's looks and presence, and John L. basically engineered a steal Pharrell style by pairing those two together.) 

Regarding the 4 Way, TMH and Nelson were the appetizers and then Michael and Samantha were the entrees or the main event. By the narrowest of margins, I think I'd give Michael the edge...but if Samantha takes it, I wouldn't be mad at that outcome either. And man, if ever there was a time for TMH to bust out some Journey (Open Arms, or Don't Stop Believing) or I Wanna Know What Love Is...this was it. It wasn't the time to pigeon hole a One Republic song that way. Nelson was just what John was fearing in the mentoring session, pretty forgettable.

I agree so much with your post.  I'm really happy that Kelly went with Micah.  Yes, it wasn't his best performance and Tayler was better technically.  But I'm so tired of that Cyndi Lauper song.  It's been sung to death in singing competitions.  I was actually expecting Kelly to pick Tayler because all the other judges told her to do that but I really wanted her to choose Micah.  I was surprised but happy with her choice. 

I also agree with what you said in the 4 way.  I liked Michael the best with Samantha second.  However, Kelly is right that there's a lot of country voters so I can see Samantha winning.  TMH should have done one of the classic rock songs that you mentioned.  I did like his glory notes at the end but that's it.  Nelson should have chosen a different song because he does have a nice voice.

I don't like Allegra as much as other posters.  She needs to enunciate better.  I do like her tone though.  Toneisha is so good.  She's so effortless when she sings.

[foxfreakinmulder]

51 minutes ago, realdancemom said:

I don't like Allegra as much as other posters.  She needs to enunciate better.  I do like her tone though.  Toneisha is so good.  She's so effortless when she sings.

I agree!

I hated the girl's version of Stand By Me, and the version of Time After Time, hated them both.

In the 4 way Knockout my favorite is Michael with Todd second and I'm one of the few that doesn't like Samantha's tone. Also, the song Always On My Mind everyone does Willie Nelson's version but I love Elvis Presley's version more.

Do the coaches ever keep the person they stole in the Battlerounds?

I hate the audience yelling/screaming every time a singer hits a high note, shut up! 

[marykat71702]

Pausing watching to say that I'm realizing why I quit watching this show for a while...

I just wish that, for once, the coaches/mentor would say either "I'm not familiar with this song/this might not be the right song for you". The constant tongue-baths are tiresome.

I wasn't impressed by Tayler's version of Time After Time, I'm glad that Kelly chose Micah.

 

[realdancemom]

9 hours ago, marykat71702 said:

Pausing watching to say that I'm realizing why I quit watching this show for a while...

I just wish that, for once, the coaches/mentor would say either "I'm not familiar with this song/this might not be the right song for you". The constant tongue-baths are tiresome.

I wasn't impressed by Tayler's version of Time After Time, I'm glad that Kelly chose Micah.

 

This time, the coaches did say that song choice was important when they were talking about Micah.  I think this set of coaches have given more constructive criticism than any other set.  I read that coaches don't like to be too critical of other coaches' contestants because then that coaches' fans might turn on you and not vote for your contestants.  I like to hear constructive criticism but then I usually agreed with Simon on AI and he didn't hold back.  I guess I don't want them to be that mean either.

Like you, I'm glad Kelly chose Micah.

[Vermicious Knid]

Taylor's rendition was absurdly affected. Glad she didn't get through. But I don't think it's fair the Steals get to stay and the Saves have to battle it out for one spot.

[marykat71702]

On 4/21/2020 at 6:05 PM, viajero said:

"Tayler should have won. I think we all know that. I knew that from the moment I found out what I was singing.

I thought they chose their own songs for this round, but this makes it sound like they were assigned songs.  Does anyone know which it is?

Allegra does nothing for me. In fact, she kind of annoys me.

When I saw the title "Someone to Love" for Todd, I thought it was going to be Queen. Color me disappointed.

Also not a great song choice for Nelson in that kind of situation.

Edited April 23, 2020 by marykat71702
Added something

[PhD-Purgatory15]

marykat71702,

I caught that too with Micah's comment. I wonder if they each bring a couple of songs, and then if the first choice isn't cleared for some reason they can somewhat seamlessly transition to a Plan B.

All that said, Micah was too hard on himself. He did a really good job with a fast, syncopated song and still soared pretty high on the choruses. Can't tell you how happy I was that Kelly didn't listen to the other judges...just on principle lol.