S07.E08: The Battles, Part 2

[Ketzel]

Gwen (and Gavin, I guess) is impressing me as a coach more and more. The "Man Eater" battle was fabulous!

[Keekski]

I haven't been really disappointed with any battles yet this season. I have been waiting them for us to "show" us the "duds," most of which came from Blake's team tonight. Which leads me to believe his team is weak. 

[Cramps]

I used to dread the battles in the early seasons, but now they've gotten so much better!

Loving Gwen's and Alicia's coaching!

[Primetimer]

Puns and poop advice abound in Night 2 of the Battle Round!

Read the story

[MangoFed]

Taylor and Jordy did really well, but it seemed like Jordy was basically 85% of what Taylor was. He's my pick to go far and potentially win. He's attractive, can sing, is coached by someone that people are responding positively to, and he's getting a pretty solid edit too.

[burntheflaws]

Taylor is one of my favorites in the competition, so I'm glad Pharrell chose him. But Jordy did a great job too. I really appreciated that Pharrell told Jordy to contact him. It shows he's truly invested in helping these artists and is looking beyond just the show to mentor and nurture talent.

 

I really liked the girl in the Team Adam battle tonight. Her voice may sound like a few others we've seen in previous years, but I just love how effortless and rich it sounds. Not normally a fan of the higher, thinner voices like the one that guy had, but he stepped it up and I felt bad for him. He's young, though. He'll have time to grow. And the exposure gained through this show will hopefully help.

 

Despite some of Gwen's less-than-great pitches (mostly regarding clothes), I've really been enjoying her as a coach. But even I was pleasantly surprised at the tips she and Gavin gave the contestants. Both really seemed to be invested and gave helpful and specific criticisms. I like Menlik, but I never would've thought that a battle between him and Troy (a one-chair turner at that, ha!) would end up being so great. They both rose to the occasion, although I think Troy had the edge. Kinda glad that Menlik was stolen but sad that Pharrell's out of steals now. What if someone great comes along? You have no spots left, damn it! I'm still somewhat of an Adam fan, but it does amuse me that both times Adam and Pharrell went head-to-head in a steal, Pharrell won out.

 

I'm also loving the fact that half the steals were for a contestant from Team Gwen. It shows her team is a lot stronger than people give her credit for. Either that or she's just coaching them well.

 

These battles are, on average, much better than those of previous years so far.

 

In other news, goodbye John Martin. Your beautiful face will be missed.

Edited October 15, 2014 by burntheflaws

[LakeGal]

I am starting to think a male will win this season.  The male singers seem to be stronger this year.

[Universalhunter]

I'm pegging Taylor for the finale as well. He's very attractive, he's modern and comes off as wholesome at the same time, and he has a great voice and stage presence.

[missalanny]

I agree about Taylor being a standout. I've been obsessed with his audition since in aired. I didn't even like "Sweater Weather" that much until his version. I really look forward to his performances in the live shows.

[Donny Ketchum]

I am starting to think a male will win this season.  The male singers seem to be stronger this year.

While I do think a male could take it all, we haven't really gotten to see a lot of the females yet.  These two Battle Round episodes have been greatly man-heavy.  Maybe next week will start showing more of the women.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Donny Ketchum

[anonymiss]

Surprisingly, Gavin has provided more insight and been more incisive than...say, undisputed legend Stevie Nicks so far. I enjoy seeing Gwen and Gavin's working dynamic. They are adorable together bopping along to the singers.

 

I'm less interested in the would-be stars each season b/c I know they will pretty much disappear post-show, but the new coaches and mentors are keeping me passively viewing.

Edited October 15, 2014 by anonymiss

[Cramps]

Anonymiss. There is a video on the Voice's YouTube site where Gwen talks about how she's done all her "Homework" viewing old seasons of the show, and because Gavin is mentoring with her they have been viewing the episodes together. She mentioned today about how "they" researched the history of Maneater. It's quite cute .

[DownTheShore]

I was ticked off that Tuesday's show was only an hour long, and that we were just told the results of three of the battles. I initially thought that sitcom that started right after it was just a clip of an upcoming show but it kept going on and on and on...

[Padma]

So far this is my favorite coaching combination. I think Gwen and Pharrell are very sincere and committed to doing well for their team and coming across well to the audience. I'm impressed that they're taking it seriously; it can only help to rejuvenate Adam and Blake who are probably getting kind of tired of it all, if truth were told.

 

The glaring error that was "Jolene" aside, I think Gwen is proving a good coach. She and Gavin work well together and would be great to work with. I thought they coached Man Eater really well, bringing the seriousness out and getting the right vibe between the two onstage. As highly praised as "..Amazed" was, those two had it easier than most of the others since they just performed separate parts. Some of those duets had really difficult harmonies. I'm impressed by how the contestants all are so serious in learning their parts, practicing, they don't have a lot of time and everyone (that we've seen) has really brought it. Nice start! (And since Pharrell's been asked back for S8, I guess he keeps it up and continues to impress.) 

[Noreaster]

I think tonight's battles were good but a slight letdown compared to Monday night's.

 

The Taylor/Jordy battle was my favorite of the night.  Didn't think Menlik was steal-worthy.  Wasn't all that impressed with the Alessandra/Joe battle.  They both came across as really young to me, and Alessandra in particular seemed like she was thinking throughout. I would have preferred Joe to move on.  I'm glad they montaged Blake's youngster battles.  

 

Overall, I'm feeling pretty good about the battles this season. Huge step up so far compared to season 6.

[kj4ever]

Count me in as being impressed with Gwen and Gavin.  They seem so invested and I don't know, earnest about the whole thing?  I thought it was awesome how Gavin said they had watched their blind auditions over and over at home and even with their kids.

 

It was so sweet of Pharrell to follow Joe out and give him words of encouragement.  He really is a class act.

 

I again agreed with all the choices, which is so weird because usually I have a few grumbles.  The talent is much better than I originally thought after watching the blinds.

[car54]

I really liked the 2 episodes this week and I think the 2 new judges are really doing a great job.  I am pleasantly surprised by Gwen, she's doing much better than I expected and she's very enjoyable as a judge/mentor.   I knew Pharrell would be excellent and so far, he's great.

I'm hoping Blake picks up some good steals so his team is better.    

I think I read that Gavin's band is putting out new music after a long time, so I think that's why he's on--promoting that (as well as helping Gwen).

[leighdear]

I also thought it was cool that Gwen talked about researching "Maneater".   Though I would imagine that any one of these coaches could pick up the phone & get insight from the original songwriter on the intent.   

 

"Darryl?...Hey, it's Gwen.  How were you feeling when you wrote "Maneater"? Pissed off and betrayed..ok, good to know...Kthanksbye!"....."Gav honey? He was pissed.  Write that down!"   ;)

[Cramps]

Leighdear-- Hah! "Write that down!"

Jolene was actually my favorite battle this season. I haven't bought it yet, but I may--I thought the arrangement was great and it made me like two performers that I wasn't previously that interested in.

Between that, her dedicated and surprisingly good coaching, and her wanting to dress her country guy up like a Barbie doll, get me a shirt, I'm now Team Gwen!

[beaker73]

I haven't been really disappointed with any battles yet this season. I have been waiting them for us to "show" us the "duds," most of which came from Blake's team tonight. Which leads me to believe his team is weak. 

And mostly comprised of 14 year old boys it seems. 

[Donny Ketchum]

And mostly comprised of 14 year old boys it seems. 

I'm not surprised by this.  Blake seems to have the biggest affinity for kids on this show.  More than any judge.  No way in hell Jake should've even tasted the live shows last season.  But because of Blake's unexplained designs on teens, he did.

[Padma]

I thought Jake had a really good country voice and had improved tremendously from the first time he auditioned. I was very impressed by that and, truth be told, he had some of my favorite performances that season. But I know MMV when it comes to music/singing, it's something I like about this show.. (Like "Jolene" comment above. I thought they did a great job with it, but the song made zero sense to me as a duet and that was what spoiled it for me--for me, it had no meaning as a male/female duet. I guess Gwen and Gavin felt it did so....)

 

Lol'd at the comment upthread about Gwen and Gavin's "conversation" with the writer of "Maneater". I wouldn't be surprised if those kinds of things really do happen (I can imagine Pharrell working the phone with all his "boos" throughout the lives) They impressed by having re-watched the blind auditions and they -did- make coaching look more fun if you could share/talk/plan with your also-musical spouse).

 

They also got lots of points with me by acknowledging the reggae-related history of the song and encouraging Menlik to use that in his performance if he wanted. That's one of my peeves about this show (looking at you, Adam)--bringing on a singer with a strong genre preference and then having him/her perform in everything -but- that genre. Menlik specifically asked each coach if they'd let him do reggae, so ignoring that imo is just disrespectful (however, it happen over and over). I really appreciated Gwen communicating that. I wish she was doing the next season as more singers might choose her after seeing this (I think next Pharrell is going to swamp Adam's record as "The King of the Four Chair Turn", especially if any of his singers go on to get radio play as part of a deal with his label).

 

I think Blake's team has a disproportionate number of kids plus "one or two chair turns" because he's at such a disadvantage in the blinds and rarely makes much of a pitch at all. Also, I really think that, just like last season, he (and probably the producers) wants someone else to win it (preferably Gwen or Pharrell) and, while he's going to do everything to help them compete, he's not really trying to beat the others (I wouldn't be surprised, if for all his talk, Adam won't be doing the same).

 

Pharrell may also become the exception to my feeling about taking people out of their genre. because the Buble-guy really did well, including in spite of having the pressure of following "the best singer on the show" (at least someone really strong). Instead of being Mr. Boring, he turned out to be very good. I'm really interested if he'll bring any of that to Team Blake when Blake gives him a Dean Martin song.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Padma

[petalfrog]

I have a conspiracy theory that Gwen and Pharrel are talking behind the scenes and having each other steal the other's favorites... and then maybe even nudging the contestant in the direction of each other if either Adam or Blake try to steal as well. They are good friends...

[Padma]

I have a conspiracy theory that Gwen and Pharrel are talking behind the scenes and having each other steal the other's favorites... and then maybe even nudging the contestant in the direction of each other if either Adam or Blake try to steal as well. They are good friends...

Makes sense to me! Also having an "If my singer doesn't win, I want yours to" strategy. This could be a big advantage, particularly when it comes to song selection. 

[viajero]

I've also been really impressed with the battles this season.  After those somewhat lackluster Blind Auditions, it gives me hope that we may actually have a good season after all.

 

While I thought that most of Monday's battles were quite good (with the singular exception of Chris vs. Jonathan, which was kind of mediocre), the ones on Tuesday were even better.  I thought all three of Tuesdays winners were as good or better than all of Monday's winners, except perhaps Luke Wade,   if I had to pick a favorite for the night, I think it would actually have to be Alessandra. As burntheflaws noted above, the richness and effortlessness of her vocals were stunningly good for rank amateur. Having said that, both Taylor and Troy were among my favorites coming out of the blinds and did not disappoint.  I´m more convinced than ever that Taylor Phelan has to be an odds on favorite to make the finals.

 

The women really better step it up next week, because so far none of them look like they have finals potential.  Alessandra may have been the best of the women so far, but I am worried about her chances given that her blind audition was montaged.  Several past contestants have gone far on this show after having their battle round montaged, but I can't think of anyone who did so without having their audition shown.

 

Add me to those impressed by Alicia Key's coaching.  She seems to have an instinctive feel for what will work for different singers.  Gwen & Gavin have also been a nice surprise in that respect.

[Donny Ketchum]

Wasn't Alessandra montaged through the blinds?  If so, I'm surprised she beat Joe, whose audition got a full segment.

[hincandenza]

I've also been really impressed with the battles this season.  After those somewhat lackluster Blind Auditions, it gives me hope that we may actually have a good season after all.

 

While I thought that most of Monday's battles were quite good (with the singular exception of Chris vs. Jonathan, which was kind of mediocre), the ones on Tuesday were even better.  I thought all three of Tuesdays winners were as good or better than all of Monday's winners, except perhaps Luke Wade,   if I had to pick a favorite for the night, I think it would actually have to be Alessandra. As burntheflaws noted above, the richness and effortlessness of her vocals were stunningly good for rank amateur. Having said that, both Taylor and Troy were among my favorites coming out of the blinds and did not disappoint.  I´m more convinced than ever that Taylor Phelan has to be an odds on favorite to make the finals.

 

The women really better step it up next week, because so far none of them look like they have finals potential.  Alessandra may have been the best of the women so far, but I am worried about her chances given that her blind audition was montaged.  Several past contestants have gone far on this show after having their battle round montaged, but I can't think of anyone who did so without having their audition shown.

 

Add me to those impressed by Alicia Key's coaching.  She seems to have an instinctive feel for what will work for different singers.  Gwen & Gavin have also been a nice surprise in that respect.

 

 

Wasn't Alessandra montaged through the blinds?  If so, I'm surprised she beat Joe, whose audition got a full segment.

 

Agreed on all counts, you guys.  Granted, "Best singer in 3 aired blind auditions" isn't really much praise, but I was so certain Joe Kirk was going through, it was a legitimate surprise when he didn't even get stolen.  Joe was "a young Adam", "like my younger brother", and all through the rehearsal I thought he sounded terrible and weak and Adam kept praising him.  Uh-oh, I thought.  Then he goes against someone I'd never heard of because her audition wasn't even aired, and was thinking "Damn, she's sounding good, I wonder what lame-ass reason will Adam give to keep Joe?".  Adam surprised me this week, but it was a pretty clear choice: Alessandra sounded gorgeous, just a beautiful clear unforced tone.  Joe is a work in progress and not mature enough as a singer, musician, or person.

 

And yeah. Team Pharrell/Team Alicia right now, so hard.  Alicia gives really good, specific advice; the "pooping" thing sounds funny, but it's the kind of trick you probably learn by working your ass off for years with the best vocal coaches in the business.  And you know what?  Since I was watching home alone on the couch, I tried it- and it actually worked!  I can't barely sing, but I got a little more oomph when I fake-pooped! :) Pharrell is really upping his brand with Americans like myself who have only a passing familiarity with him and his music.  He's smart, articulate, insightful, and seems to genuinely love music and this process.  As the recapper noted:

 

Despite this technically being a Team Adam battle, it's Pharrell who makes the major calls: he praises the "diva-tap" that Alessandra gives her mic to keep time, while also taking the time to walk offstage with Joe for a pep talk following the kiddo's letdown. Adam may say he feels bad about letting Joe down, but Pharrell keeps coaching.

[waving feather]

I was really impressed with Troy. I forgot who he was so I went back to his blind audition and then I remembered that he was the guy with the good voice who only got 1 chair turn. I was baffled then and I'm still baffled now. I really like his voice so I hope he has the artistry to last in this competition. And that Gwen do well for him.

[Minim]

I have a conspiracy theory that Gwen and Pharrel are talking behind the scenes and having each other steal the other's favorites... and then maybe even nudging the contestant in the direction of each other if either Adam or Blake try to steal as well. They are good friends...

 

Makes sense to me! Also having an "If my singer doesn't win, I want yours to" strategy. This could be a big advantage, particularly when it comes to song selection.

I suspect all the coaches and the producers work together to plan the steals and steer the audience towards a preference for certain contestants (admittedly I'm pretty cynical).

 

 

I was really impressed with Troy. I forgot who he was so I went back to his blind audition and then I remembered that he was the guy with the good voice who only got 1 chair turn. I was baffled then and I'm still baffled now.

I've been skipping most of this season (the last 2-3 seasons really) and thought Pharrell would lure me back, but found the blinds unwatchable thanks to the same old problems - too much coach chatter and contestant woe, not enough singing or constructive criticism. The battles, though (if you skip the filler) have been impressive overall compared to previous seasons. Troy seemed to come out of nowhere (probably because I skipped the blinds, duh) and I'm wishing CeeLo were here to tell me just whose voice his sounds similar to. Can't place it, but think it reminds me of someone late 70s, early 80s - maybe early Elvis Costello, Graham Parker (Graham Parker and the Rumour), Roland Gift (Fine Young Cannibals)? I like it a lot anyway. Hope he sticks around.

[Padma]

I'm wishing CeeLo were here to tell me just whose voice his sounds similar to. Can't place it, but think it reminds me of someone late 70s, early 80s - maybe early Elvis Costello, Graham Parker (Graham Parker and the Rumour), Roland Gift (Fine Young Cannibals)? I like it a lot anyway. Hope he sticks around.

This would be great. Actually, I wish CeeLo would come back doing color commentary for each song. "(Contestant) is performing (song) which was written by ... and originally recorded in 1987 by so-and-so as a pop vocal. It's going to be getting a bit of R&B spin tonight."  Or something. Maybe I'm too much of a music geek, but I would rather have CeeLo tell me something about the upcoming song and cut the long drawn out intros to each contestant in half.

Edited October 16, 2014 by Padma

[Oscirus]

Taylor vs Jordy- Poor Jordy. Seriously, it should be a rule that if you turn three chairs in the blind that you don't get  montaged.  I actually liked this battle and it was such a smooth battle.  Right call was made here, but I wouldn't have been mad if he went with Jordy.

 

Alessandre vs Joe- It was ok. Wasn't great.  Adam if you see him as a little brother, then it should probably be you and not Pharell consoling Joe backstage.

 

Menlik vs Troy- Nice coaching by Gwen. It was a fairly even battle but Troy has more potential to win.  So he was the right choice. Really surprised that Menlik wasn't paired against Anita.  Pharell if you don't want  an artist, don't press your button for them.

[ToxicUnicorn]

he praises the "diva-tap" that Alessandra gives her mic to keep time

I freaking hate the diva tap. 

[BogoGog24]

I freaking hate the diva tap. 

 

+1

 

I guess Taylor is a good singer and all but I'm not fawning over him like most people. I could take or leave him, to be honest. I thought they both did pretty well in their battle.

 

Menlik improved a lot since his blind audition. I think he should have won his battle but I'm glad he was stolen. Maybe the trick is not to sing reggae songs (like when he sang Santeria), but to do a Tessanne and give non-reggae songs a reggae twist. 

 

I feel the Alessandra vs. Joe battle was uneven. The song fit Alessandra's voice perfectly, whereas obviously with Joe being a guy it was going to be harder for him. If a male and female must be paired, the song should be in a key that suits them both. It'd be just as unfair to make a woman sing a song that was too low for her. And I think that's why Joe struggled. Most people know how much of a douche Adam can be with his teammates but he really showed his true colors with Joe. Claiming he's like a little brother to him, then basically throwing him under the bus and not even going out to comfort him afterwards. Pharrell made Adam look even worse than he's already made him look when he went out to do Adam's job for him by comforting someone who wasn't even on his own team. I'm predicting Pharrell is gonna win this season, and rightfully so. He's got the strongest team, easily, and the general public/viewing audience seems to love him. He's shown nothing but class and character while on the show, and being a producer, he has an advantage over the other coaches and he seems really invested in the contestants as people and not just pawns for a TV show to help boost his own career. I feel like we might seem take the final few contestants under his wing and maybe do something with them after the show. A lot of coaches have made promises like that in the past but I think Pharrell would actually do it. 

[viajero]

I feel the Alessandra vs. Joe battle was uneven. The song fit Alessandra's voice perfectly, whereas obviously with Joe being a guy it was going to be harder for him. If a male and female must be paired, the song should be in a key that suits them both. It'd be just as unfair to make a woman sing a song that was too low for her. And I think that's why Joe struggled.

 

I´m usually among the first to notice when a battle round song obviously favors one of the contestants, but I'm not sure I agree in this case.  While its true that it did suit Alessandra's voice nicely, I don't think it was out of Joe´s range.  "Stay" is a pretty low key for a song sung by a woman and Mikkey Ekko does a fine job with his parts of the original Rihanna version.  To me, this battle came down to the fact that Alessandra simply proved to have a better voice.  I also think Adam was genuinely torn about letting Joe go.  By now you can usually tell when Adam is only pretending to be undecided. 

[hincandenza]

I agree with basically... everything BogoGog24 said.  I was surprised that Joe was tossed so easily given all the signs of being Adam's new bro-testant, but like you I hate the male-female pairing where one person is going to be in their vocal sweet spot, and one straining the whole time to be singing in the same key/pitch.  If you're going to do that, it should be with a baritone male, so they can work in their own octave space, instead of tenors who can't quite hit the same notes but are forced to sing the same melodic line, and thus pale in comparison. 

 

I mean, I still think Alessandra wiped the floor with Joe, but he did seem to pushing more of a head voice to her natural voice.  This kind of pairing used to be much more commonplace in the early days of the show.  Sadly, they don't have (or are at least not broadcasting) the new thing they did last season, where the coach gives three songs for the battle rounds and the singers pick between them.  I think it helped avoid these exact situations.

Edited October 18, 2014 by hincandenza

[DownTheShore]

I hate the male-female pairing where one person is going to be in their vocal sweet spot, and one straining the whole time to be singing in the same key/pitch.  If you're going to do that, it should be with a baritone male, so they can work in their own octave space, instead of tenors who can't quite hit the same notes but are forced to sing the same melodic line, and thus pale in comparison. 

 

That's a good observation and recommendation.

[Noreaster]

I´m usually among the first to notice when a battle round song obviously favors one of the contestants, but I'm not sure I agree in this case.  While its true that it did suit Alessandra's voice nicely, I don't think it was out of Joe´s range.  "Stay" is a pretty low key for a song sung by a woman and Mikkey Ekko does a fine job with his parts of the original Rihanna version.  To me, this battle came down to the fact that Alessandra simply proved to have a better voice.  I also think Adam was genuinely torn about letting Joe go.  By now you can usually tell when Adam is only pretending to be undecided. 

Yeah, I agree with this.  This Joe/Alessandra battle was not set up to throw anyone under the bus. It's not really a particularly challenging song.  Personally, I think Alessandra has a nice voice and did a good job but there was nothing that really stood out about her performance.  I prefer Joe who showed a bit more emotion and still did fairly well in my opinion.  And I agree that Adam was really torn about this decision.  Alessandra indicated as much in an interview (link in media thread). 

[Cramps]

I wonder if Adam realized Pharrell had gone out to comfort Joe at the time or only learned about it while watching the show. And forgive my cynicism, but I wonder if on some level Pharrell thought he'd comfort Joe to make himself look good ;and Adam look bad).

Or Maybe it was just done out of concern. And maybe when he saw Adam wasn't going to say anything to Joe, he decided someone should, and he took it on himself.

Either way, I'm willing to bet that somewhere out there, if Adam was watching this episode at home, he was cursing Pharrell for making him look like an uncaring coach!

Which may mean we'll see more coaches following upset rejected team members out into the hallway on future seasons...

Edited October 19, 2014 by Cramps

[Noreaster]

Adam did talk to Joe after the battle was over.  He said good things.  Then Pharrell spoke to Joe and when Joe broke down crying, Pharrell offered to walk with Joe out.  I think that was pretty cool of Pharrell and he said some really nice things.  But I'm also not going to knock Adam at all.  It's a game, Adam had to make a decision, and maybe it's just me, but I think it would have been worse if Adam tried to comfort Joe more.  Would have seemed kind of condescending that way.  I think the way Adam did it was just fine.  Treat Joe like a grown-up.  

 

Adam has, by the way, said nice things to eliminated contestants on other teams over the seasons.  So have the other coaches. I don't think we've seen many other contestants break down like Joe did though.  

[Padma]

Adam did talk to Joe after the battle was over.  He said good things.  Then Pharrell spoke to Joe and when Joe broke down crying, Pharrell offered to walk with Joe out.  I think that was pretty cool of Pharrell and he said some really nice things.  But I'm also not going to knock Adam at all.  It's a game, Adam had to make a decision, and maybe it's just me, but I think it would have been worse if Adam tried to comfort Joe more.  Would have seemed kind of condescending that way.  I think the way Adam did it was just fine.  Treat Joe like a grown-up.  

 

Adam has, by the way, said nice things to eliminated contestants on other teams over the seasons.  So have the other coaches. I don't think we've seen many other contestants break down like Joe did though.  

I didn't think Adam did anything wrong or different with Joe either. He probably wasn't crying like that yet when he talked with Adam, or maybe Pharrell was the only one who saw it. Definitely made Pharrell look caring and Adam (unfairly, imo, in this instance) seem cold, even hypocritical, to someone he'd been describing as like "my little brother". I hope Pharrell did it spontaneously without thinking about the negative way it reflected on Adam. If he really felt concerned (and Joe was sobbing, so,...yeah...), I don't know what else he could have done. Telling Adam, "He's upset. Go see if you can do something." would have only been worse.