S07.E09: The Battles, Part 3

[Tara Ariano]

The battle round continues. The advisers are Stevie Nicks, Little Big Town, Alicia Keys and Gavin Rossdale.

[Oscirus]

Pharrell's team is previewed for the third time. I wasn't as much of a fan of this one but I can see that both of these women are good singers.

[Noreaster]

Just watched the DaNica/Toia battle preview:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nMRv-zsrII

 

They both have good voices, but I think there are way too many runs.  Vocal acrobatics for the sake of showing off.  Where's the emotion, the connection?  That was also my issue with Elyjuh in his battle.  It shouldn't look like they're trying so hard.  I'm not crazy about these performances despite the strong vocals.  

 

I still remember the awesome Jesse Campbell/Anthony Evans battle in season 2:  

[tmelange]

I didn't see season 2, but IMHO, that Jesse Campbell/Anthony Evans battle is awful. I don't like the tone of their voices, and they ruined the song. I thought this season's rendition of the song kept the...underlying feeling of desperation, and the harmonies were great. Maybe it's because it's two guys singing that it doesn't quite come off for me. I thought their runs were inorganic, and the ramp up of the runs at the end didn't rescue the song for me. Just goes to show how people have such different tastes when it comes to music.

[Padma]

Thanks for linking that. I'll be surprised if Danica doesn't win that. (And ITA about too many runs. I get all the vocal demo at the end--it is a competition) but on the verse there was waaayyy too much for my taste. I don't think Pharrell hates runs like I do (and why I am so grateful every season for Blake who doesn't say, "none" but really puts the brakes on it and makes his team go for a clean note instead. I prefer that too, and most coaches don't seem to.) 

[beaker73]

"Halo" was a giant screamfest. Not very impressed. On the other hand "Yellow" actually made me tear up. I'm super pissed that Matt is on Adam's team.

[Valny]

I didn't care for either of the singers on "You're No Good."  The dark haired girl, didn't like that way her voice sounded in the beginning at all! It was really odd. And different is fine, but I just did not like the sound.When she opened her voice up it sound a little better but she was the right one to let go. I liked the other girl a little better but don't think she has that all of a strong voice really.  I would have switched those two out for that girl who got kicked off last week,Amanda.  I know they had different coaches and it's irrelevant, but man, she's a much better singer than the ones who sang You're No Good. She deserved to still be here.

[Keekski]

Toia needs to lose the wig/weave. So distracting.

[apollonia666]

Arrgh!  My DVR cut off at the very end.  Can someone please tell me which judge Toia went with on the steal?  

[Keekski]

Adam.

[angelita100]

Blessing is overrated.  His voice grates and he's often out of tune.  Pharrell, bad choice of song but you made me love you again by picking Katrice.

 

So far, from all the battles I've been happy with who has been picked to stay.  Didn't always agree with the steals but maybe they will impress me the next time around.  Only disappointment is the woman from the first battle on night 1 of the battles. I thought she deserved to be stolen.

[Oscirus]

Damien vs Kelli- Kelli was nervous which made her easy pickings for Damien who seemed to be having much more fun.

 

Ryan vs Jessie- I thought the battle was pretty much a draw. But I definitely would've picked Jessie. Her voice is more unique then Ryan's. I would say good steal by Blake but this feels more like someone who he's going to use to prop up either Reagan or Taylor in the knockouts then a legitimate weapon.

 

Katriz vs Blessing- Maybe it's just me but Katriz beat down Blessing on a song that was tailor-made for him.  She's easily one of my favorites, if she gets a little bit more training she could be a threat. Though I do wonder if Pharell is more worried about getting her on his label then about her winning. The Blessing steal seemed like a waste. He couldn't even kill it on his song.

 

Matt vs Ethan- Horrible song choice, boring battle, didn't really care who won.

 

Taylor vs Bree- This was a battle tailor-made for miss hand on her hip and she definitely knocked Bree out. That being said, I wasn't that impressed with her performance.

 

Danica vs Toia- Pharell made the right choice, I feared that he was going to fall for that final note by Toia, but  Danica was consistent throughout. I do wish they wouldn't have  started singing over one another at the end. I got what they were going for but I wasn't a fan. On a sexist note (sorry), they both looked liked grandmas out there. They really need a wardrobe change if they want to  be threats in this comp.

 

Other notes.

Seven steals and not one has come from the guy with the most chair turns, either he's getting better at booting non valuable people or something's up with his coaching. On the other hand, Pharell and Gwen have been stolen from three times.

 

I'm not impressed with what I'm seeing coaching wise from Stevie Nicks. I mean, yea, she's the bomb as a singer but as a guest mentor, she leaves a lot to be desired.

 

Editing doesn't seem to love Blake at all as once again, his battle was buried and he's going to have at least one more montage.

 

There aren't any steals that stand out to me as anything other then Knockout round fodder.

[LakeGal]

I did not care for either femate on the battle round for Blake.  In fact I thought tonight was the weakest so far for battle rounds.  I enjoyed last week more than tonight.

[dbell1]

They need to change the title of the show to ' The Screech' more be done with it. I love Beyonce's version of 'Halo', the cover, not so much.

Hope Linda Ronstadt never hears that cover of her song, it really was no good.

[dizzyizzy01]

What happened this week?  All the battles were either extremely mediocre or downright awful.  Blessing cannot stay on key to save his life.  I think I like Danica but that cover of Halo was terrible.

[DownTheShore]

I preferred Danica in that matchup, but absolutely hated how they styled her. She looked matronly.

That song was definitely Blessing's for the taking but he blew it because he completely ignored that he was singing with a partner. He should have turned toward her more often during the song.

[Koffee Kup]

 

I preferred Danica in that matchup, but absolutely hated how they styled her. She looked matronly.

I agree.  I was shocked when they said she was 25, she looked double that.

 

Was not wowed by anyone this week, but still really enjoying Pharell.

[PepperMonkey]

Once again the coaches/ audience must be hearing something live that I'm just not hearing.

I love Blessing's STORY, but I don't think he can carry a tune in a bucket with a lid on it. He should have killed that Stevie song, but wow. I did see what Pharrell sees in Katriz, finally, though. And if I were HER, I wouldn't even care if I win or not cause Pharrell is going to sign her for his label.

 

I just don't care for Taylor. They keep saying confident, which is important, yes, but does anyone say, OMG what an awesome singer? Just nothing special, at least imho. Bree wasn't any better though. Both were meh, so I didn't really care who won, but Taylor ALWAYS looks pissed off (even when it doesn't have anything to do with the song) so I was rooting against her. I hope the other little country girl singer on Blake's team blows her out of the water when/if they go head to head. His team is weak this year.

 

Matt's really good. I, too, am sorry he's on Adam's team cause I'm really pulling for Pharrell and Matt just might win this whole thing.

Edited October 21, 2014 by PepperMonkey

[Mocking Bird]

The Danica-Toia duet was horrible.  Both women's styling was dreadful.  They did look matronly--particularly Danica who could pass for every day of 50.  Oh, dear god, that wig of Toia's!  Hoping she loses that and the troweled on make-up, but doubt she'll last long enough for that.

 

The only voices I enjoyed were the two guys with guitars, but that song choice was dreadful and did nothing for either one of them.

 

The show has grown stale and the talent pool seems very shallow this year.

 

 

[glitterpants]

Gwen, Gwen, Gwen. She seems to be a fairly good coach from what we've seen so far (the lives are the real test!) but the way she keeps pushing her button at the last second (which makes it seem like she wasn't sure but impulsively pushed anyway, or like she's too influenced by what the other coaches do) and offering up silly reasons to choose her (I want to learn from you! I want to dress you up!) really isn't doing much in her favor. 

Edited October 21, 2014 by glitterpants

[Sunnyside]

Smart choice to keep Katriz.

Love Blake, but his duo team song choice for them just didn't do it. They didn't have the Voice to pull it off.

I liked Ethan just as much as Matt but just knew they'd over rate Matt for the win.

Love Danica but needs an emergency makeover. She's beautiful but I agree she is styles to look 50 and not even in a 50 Fabulous way. Sigh. Toia did better than I expected, but needs more coaching to go far.

[leighdear]

Katriz and Bree had the same affectation, and it drives me nuts.  Lack of ENUNCIATION.  When they are so enamored with their "style" that you cannot understand the words.  The word-salad that comes out is just ridiculous to me.  Why do I want to listen to a song when I have no idea what the lyrics are?  How is it going to move me? 

Edited October 21, 2014 by leighdear

[Primetimer]

Blake solemnly swears to learn who Ellie Goulding is, while Pharrell stages an annoying battle.

Read the story

[Wouldofshouldof]

I preferred Danica in that matchup, but absolutely hated how they styled her. She looked matronly.

I was going to say she looked like a 40 year old woman.  I had to keep reminding myself she's 25.  The hair needs to come down, and she needed more makeup.  And I never say that!

[Cramps]

Her styling was appalling! The stylists on this show tend to be lame, but that hairdo was like a grandma or a warden in a 70s prison film. Just no! She' looked great in the blinds. Why do that to her???

I always laugh when they say, "If you want this outfit at home"--because it's inevitably someone who's ensemble we've been trashing.

I'd kill for Pharrell's battle sweater and hat (and I'm a girl)-- but you know he doesn't let their stylists near him!

Edited October 21, 2014 by Cramps

[mercfan3]

The stylists..god, they put Jacquie in about the same dress for a few weeks in a row. Nude tight dress with colored lace on top of it. Like...really. 

 

I remember when Christina Millian was talking about Michelle's stubbornness with the stylists. Michelle was saying that they wanted to put her in these loafers with heels, but she wasn't going to wear heels because they were uncomfortable. Danielle like, woke up from the zoned out state that Christina Millian put her in, made a face, and adamantly stated that Michelle should NOT wear loafers that have heels. Because that would be really ugly. It was the funniest thing because usually, Danielle wouldn't say much during those after the show interviews. (As said, she usually just sort of zoned out.) 

[Noreaster]

That was kind of a boring episode for me.

 

There were songs that were way too on point.  Stevie Wonder for Blessing, Ellie Goulding for Jessie.  

 

Pairing dissimilar singers can't always be helped.  But it makes for less exciting battles when we have songs that obviously favors one person.  Like the Linda Ronstandt song, the Coldplay song, the aforementioned Ellie Goulding song.  

 

I already know I won't like Katriz.  Completely my personal preference, but I don't usually enjoy watching young contestants that have great vocals but lack any sort of identity or uniqueness.  Or can't connect to the songs due to inexperience.  They come across as pageant contestants to me.  

 

The last minute button pushing by Gwen and Blake is annoying.  It's not like they really need time to decide, they're just having fun with it.  Which I guess makes sense for Blake.  I don't think he ever intends to advance his steals.  I don't know about Gwen.  She seems to just be having a good time in general.  Certainly wants to see her contestants do well, but I can't tell if she cares about the game or strategy.  

Edited October 21, 2014 by Noreaster

[MangoFed]

Being a Blake steal is almost always the kiss of death. I guess Cole is the exception to that, but otherwise, I can't think of many he's advanced.

[dbell1]

Being a Blake steal is almost always the kiss of death. I guess Cole is the exception to that, but otherwise, I can't think of many he's advanced.

I'm still bitter about Blake's handling of Cole.  Cee Lo had obviously checked out of coaching that season, and even though Blake stole Cole, he didn't do him any favors with song choice and staging. It was like Blake gave up once he lost all of the 'country' artists on his team. Blake never tweeted support for Cole like he did with other favorites. (disclaimer - Cole is my favorite former Voice contestant, right up there with Xenia on my iPod). 

 

Cramps - you're spot on with the 70's prison matron styling comment.  Why does the show dress larger women in frump wear?  

 

Both Matron and Bad Weave drove me insane with the backstory. When the one talked, it seemed like once her dad died, she had no fans and her voice was stolen by the grim reaper?!? And then the other one cried. The hell?  However, Alicia Keys is my new favorite.  She can do no wrong and gives insanely good advice. 

 

Katriz can get off my screen any time now. I'd really like an age limit on this show.  Anyone under 17 can stay home and get more seasoning. 

[Noreaster]

Cole was a knockout round steal and then advanced in the live playoffs due to popular vote. I don't think Blake would have advanced Cole himself but who knows.

 

Nic Hawk was the one Blake steal exception that I remember.  He was a battle round steal and then picked by Blake to advance over Holly Henry.  My guess is that Blake intended to advance 4-chair turn Holly, but Holly ended up doing a crap job.  

[poppy-]

Danica is 25? What? Wow, they were trying to Adele her but it did. not. work.

I wonder why Blessing chose to sing with his back to his opponent. I guess there really is no good choice for him. But, it was odd. So awkward of Katriz to kind of try to dance with him while he wasn't even facing her. A pro could have handled that better, but, I'll give her a pass. But I won't give her one for not knowing Stevie Wonder songs, I mean, come on.

Who was it who said to Stevie Nicks that her DAD is a big fan? So rude.

I liked Knock on Wood. Damien has a kind of Wayne Brady quality to him which is appealing.

Yellow was the duet of the night.

[tobeannounced]

Adam plus shorts equal no!

 

I didn't really care for the Toia/Danica battle, but I loved how Toia sang to Pharrell, "You're everything I need and more.  It's written all over your face.  Baby I can see your halo. You know you're my saving grace" and they cut to Pharrell just smiling and grooving.  I do believe you could see his halo!

[beaker73]

 

Who was it who said to Stevie Nicks that her DAD is a big fan? So rude.

Ugh - I know.  It reminded me of Idol years ago when it was Bon Jovi week and Jordin Sparks said, "My mom loves you guys!!"  They looked like they got punched in the gut.   

[BogoGog24]

Damien vs. Kelli- Agreed with Damien advancing over Kelli. She seemed nervous every time she stepped on the stage. 

 

Ryan vs. Jessie- I'm so over these coffeehouse girls. Almost none of them really sound like that, it's totally put on. And it's not even that good, at that. That kind of voice is very weak, imo. And there have been so many other contestants just like Jessie on the show in the past and were better than her. I totally did not get it at all when Blake said her voice was unique. Huh? I think she was stolen just for knockout fodder. Her blind audition of The Story was weak, her singing here was weak. She's a very weak singer overall, imo. Their duet was nice though. Ryan's parts were solid and the harmonies were nice. Ryan is also pretty cute.

 

Blessing vs. Katriz- I think Blessing has a solid voice when he's actually in tune but he has such a tendency to sing off key a lot of the time, I don't really get why he was stolen. I like Katriz and am glad she advanced. 

 

Bree vs. Taylor- Bleh. Easily the worst battle of the night by far and I wish both singers could have been eliminated. Blake made the right choice picking Taylor but that's not saying much. I don't get Bree at all. I don't think her voice is very good at all and it's obvious Taylor needs training in her voice. I also don't really care for her attitude. 

 

Matt vs. Ethan- Ethan should have gotten a steal. End of story. I liked Matt's audition a lot but now I'm beginning to think he's a tad overrated. Both of these guys did really well, but I maybe would have chosen Ethan. Regardless of who won, the other guy should have been stolen for sure. Steals were totally wasted on the obvious fodder that is Jessie and Blessing.

 

LaToia vs. Danica- I don't think I disliked their battle as much as others, but it did turn into a screaming match at the end. Maybe it was just one of those performances we had to hear live in the studio. Either of them could have won it, but I agree with Danica being picked. I also agree with everyone here that the styling here was terrible. She looked 40 years old. Gwen is like 45 or something and looks 25. 

[KFC]

I wonder why Blessing chose to sing with his back to his opponent. I guess there really is no good choice for him. But, it was odd. So awkward of Katriz to kind of try to dance with him while he wasn't even facing her. A pro could have handled that better, but, I'll give her a pass. But I won't give her one for not knowing Stevie Wonder songs, I mean, come on.

 

I'll give her a pass on that and even her pageant-y demeanor. She's 15. She doesn't strike me as entitled or obnoxious, just someone who hasn't seen much of the world/musical landscape.

[DownTheShore]

I'm getting tired of the 15- and 16-year olds, too.  Yes, they might have great voices, but the majority of them don't yet have the life experience to really sing the meaning of the song choices.  So they do a nice cover with the choreographed moves, but the underlying emotion of the song is usually missing, in favor of runs and trills and Mariah-hand-moves.

 

Just think of the lyrics from "I Have Nothing"...

Don't walk away from me.
I have nothing, nothing, nothing
If I don't have you

...and think of the youngest ones on this show and you can picture in your mind exactly how they would sing it and how they would move, and they'd all do it the same.

 

There are just so many great singers out there who have never gotten the big break, who actually deserve to be on this show.  But it's so heavily weighted toward "moldable" inexperience that anyone who has developed their own style already has the odds stacked against them, because working with them would require more time and effort on the part of the coach - to teach them something that they don't already know, rather than just dispensing pearls of commonsense.

 

[rollerblade]

I agree.  I was shocked when they said she was 25, she looked double that.

 

Haha, I was shocked when they said she was 25 at Blinds, where her styling was easily 30 years younger than what she wore yesterday for Battles. It's like she was trying to look like Professor McGonagall for some reason.

Edited October 22, 2014 by rollerblade

[Jillikins]

Damien vs. Kelli Douglas - Damien definitely deserved the win, but OMG I felt so bad for her when Gwen's first comment to her was about her awesome body. I was cringing with embarrassment for the poor girl. She does have an amazing figure, but hey, how about her VOICE?

Jessie vs. Ryan - I think I took a nap during their performance, it was so boring. Ryan FTW, but ... zzzzz.

Blessing vs. Katriz - She's a powerhouse. No way he was going to top her. I agree that it would be nice to see someone with a voice like that who has actually had some personal experience to flesh out the vocals, but the girl's got it goin' on, much like Danielle did.

Bree vs. Taylor - Taylor definitely won the battle (Bree was way too whispery in her lower register). I find Taylor completely unlikable, though. She just radiates attitude, and not in the "strong woman who can kick ass" kind of way.

Ethan vs. Matt - also put me to sleep. I vote Matt just because of his Harry Potter Muppet thing.

Toia vs. DaNica - I am such a sap, I was crying right along with them during their coaching sessions. I LOVE ALICIA KEYS. There, I said it. I didn't love DaNica's performance - I actually thought Toia was better. Glad she was stolen, but ... girl, Adam's going to chuck you faster than that day-old latte on his chair.

[waving feather]

Danica is 25?! I'm 29 and she looks like she could be my mother. She has a nice voice but was overdoing the runs too much. I thought Toia won the battle with her much more self assured delivery. Pharrell has a strong team in the beginning but I'm not thrilled with his battle match ups or the person he chooses as the winner. I guess we just have different tastes.

Katriz can sing well but her delivery is so empty. She's a pretty singing robot.

Ryan is so boring. Even after he was he was told not to do the boy band gestures, he still did them during the performance. Just so bland and cheesy.

The song was better suited to Matt. Quite unfair for Ethan but both of them were just okay. It wasn't a good performance overall because they weren't able to mash their performances together in a cohesive way (which Troy/Menlik succeeded in doing).

Dislike both Bree and Taylor. Taylor voice sounded weak whenever she's not in her upper register and I don't really get what Bree was doing.

[hincandenza]

I'm getting tired of the 15- and 16-year olds, too.  Yes, they might have great voices, but the majority of them don't yet have the life experience to really sing the meaning of the song choices.  So they do a nice cover with the choreographed moves, but the underlying emotion of the song is usually missing, in favor of runs and trills and Mariah-hand-moves.

 

(... *snip* ...)

 

There are just so many great singers out there who have never gotten the big break, who actually deserve to be on this show.  But it's so heavily weighted toward "moldable" inexperience that anyone who has developed their own style already has the odds stacked against them, because working with them would require more time and effort on the part of the coach - to teach them something that they don't already know, rather than just dispensing pearls of commonsense.

Totally agreed; the first season was a breath of fresh air when it came on.  The contestants were mostly older and actually experienced professional musicians; they tended to be diverse in their looks and their sexuality- and wow, was it great that they just didn't make a big deal of it, easily cutting to audience shots of Nakia's or Vicci's (or was it Beverly's?) partners in the audience- and you really felt the "voice" concept was upheld.  It made AI and similar shows look pathetic by comparison.

 

Over the next couple of seasons, it seems the American Idol-esque young teenagers crept into the casting.  And now?  Well, I still watch the show, but I too am growing tired of too many youthful karaoke singers who haven't paid their dues or developed their own voices as artists.  And I certainly am not naive enough to think there isn't a good chance of some moderate manipulation for dramatic license going on prior to the live shows in terms of picks, pairings, eliminations, and steals.  But as you put it it so well, the coaches/producers seem to want more and more of these undeveloped young singers they can "mold" and dispense "pearls of commonsense".

 

As for the actual performances on Monday, they were really forgettable for me.  That said, I was surprised how much I liked Matt's voice; it's really something lovely at times, and you can't really "teach" tone like that.  I think he'll do well (and my saying that now means he's sure to be eliminated next week- sorry Matt and Matt's family)

 

Danica is actually an attractive, curvy woman, but you are all so right in how aged she looked.  In her getup on Monday she resembled nothing so much as former first lady Laura Bush.  I wasn't a fan of their "Halo" duet, but glad Danica was picked; if she sticks around, I hope she isn't thrown under the full-figured style bus like Sarah Simmons was a few seasons' back.

Edited October 23, 2014 by hincandenza

[viajero]

What happened this week?  All the battles were either extremely mediocre or downright awful. 

 

I wouldn't quite go that far, though most of them certainly weren't up to the level of last week's battles.  The one exception was Halo, which I thought was a great performance and I'm glad both or going through.

 

Of the rest, I really liked Katriz.  Yes she is only 15 and is still learning how to put emotion into her performances.  But I thought she showed significant improvement over her blind audition in this respect.  She certainly is imensely talented. 

 

I personally don't mind when they include a few talented teens in the competition.  The Voice would not have been the same without the likes of Danielle Bradbury and Jacquie Lee, or even Casey Weston all the way back in Season 1 (who I still think was the best country singer on this show prior to Season 4).  But it seems that this season they have a few too many teens who just aren't that talented.  I wonder if this is a function of two factors:  (1) the number of talented experienced singers willing to go on these shows is drying up, and (2) The Voice is getting some contestants who otherwise might have tried out for X-Factor if it hadn't been cancelled.  In any case, I think most of the teens are getting weeded out before the live shows.

 

Getting back to this episode, I was actually kind of intrigued by what Bree was trying to do with Your No Good in the rehersals. But she completely failed to pull it off on stage when it counted.

[Noreaster]

In any case, I think most of the teens are getting weeded out before the live shows.

I agree. I expect that many of the teens will be gone by the time we hit lives. Same as in past seasons. The coaches really don't try to keep weak contestants around.  

[Donny Ketchum]

Glad she was stolen, but ... girl, Adam's going to chuck you faster than that day-old latte on his chair.

You ask me, anyone who picks Adam, who almost always goes for easy fodder to dump later, deserves whatever he or she gets when the dumping happens.

Edited October 23, 2014 by Donny Ketchum

[realdancemom]

I also liked last week's battles better than Monday's battles.  I liked Matt and Katriz.  Matt's voice and look are interesting.  Katriz is really good for a 15 year old.  She does need to enunciate her words better and I get what people are saying about putting emotion in a song.  I had the same problem with Danielle even though I recognized that Danielle's voice is amazing.  But that song was definitely made for Blessing.  Katriz even mentioned that she doesn't sing Stevie Wonder songs and normally likes the diva ballads.

 

I still can't believe that Bree teaches voice.  In the blinds, her voice was very breathy.  She sounded pretty good in the rehearsals and then lost it in the battle.  I don't like Taylor even though she has a powerful voice.  The blinds made me not like her hand in the hip attitude.

[Noreaster]

You ask me, anyone who picks Adam, who almost always goes for easy fodder to dump later, deserves whatever he or she gets when the dumping happens.

This oft-repeated perception doesn't really match reality.  Looking at past seasons, Adam has been the coach most likely to advance steals.  Amanda Brown and Will Champlin are two that come to mind but there have been a few others that Adam has moved forward at least one round.  Blake rarely advances steals himself.  Christina and Cee Lo haven't at all.  Usher may have a couple of times.  Actually Shakira has done it quite a bit, arguably because she starts off with fairly weak teams.  

[Oscirus]

Katriz legit impressed me this week. Pharell threw her under a bus. Not only did the song favor her opponent but she also had to change up her style and learn a song that she didn't even know. Add in trying to actually perform for the first time with an opponent who was unable to work with her and I'd pretty much say she knocked it out of the park.

 

Now I can see why these singers love working with young girls. Because for the most part, they're freaking fearless.

[ToxicUnicorn]

Damien v Kelli Douglas : Knock on Wood (Adam).  I had to admire Kelli's performance.  She was so nervous, but damn if she didn't give that battle her all.  She kept fighting till the end, every time she wobbled, she'd come back a little stronger on the next note.  I sort of loved her voice, but she was not ready.  Damien did a great job, clearly won, and looks so sincerely in the moment.  He might take the cake for the contestant with the most naked emotions that I've ever seen on any reality show.

 

Ryan v Jessie: I Need Your Love (Gwen).  Oh my goodness, I hate Jessie's voice.  I know Blake has this huge soft spot for people like this, but I so wish he hadn't wasted a save on her.  Jessie only makes me love Caroline from last season that much more (and I LOVED Caroline).  I swear I have seen Ryan before on The SIng Off.  I don't find him remarkable, but he definitely deserved that win over Jessie.  The battle itself made my ears bleed because that song completely belongs to Pentatonix, in my opinion.

 

Katriz v Blessing: Do I Do (Pharrell).  I agree with all the comments above.  Katriz seems extremely talented, savvy, a quick study, she's attractive, and she completely outsang Blessing in his own backyard.  I have no idea what the judges hear in Blessing/why he got stolen  Hope he's gone next round.

 

Matt v Ethan: Yellow (Adam).  Ethan was pretty inconsistent in this one, but I agree that he deserved to be stolen.  Matt got stronger as the song went along.  A really lovely performance.  I'm not particularly drawn to his whole personal vibe, but I did like his voice.  I think the judges are right - he has a lot of potential.

 

Taylor v Bree: You're No Good (Blake).  This was surprisingly not so bad.  From the song choice and the rehearsal, I thought this was going to be a trainwreck.  It wasn't good, either, but I think both did well enough so that neither embarrassed themselves.  Taylor really impressed me in her blind audition.  She was only ok here.  Bree was interesting.  Ultimately, I prefer Taylor and am glad she moved on because I would like to see what else she can do on Team Blake.  

 

Danica v Toia: Halo (Pharrell).  Good grief, enough crying on this show.  More time like last week's spontaneous jam with Little Big Town, please.  I am not watching this show for pathos.  Anyway, this battle increased my respect for Beyonce about 1000x.  I loved Danica's blind audition and still like her voice, but I agree, the stylists should be shot, drawn, quartered, tarred, strung up by their toes, and then set on fire.  Toia did nothing for me and is exactly the kind of person I dislike Adam coaching.  I predict she will not make it far.  She may have a good voice, but I don't think she has star power.  

 

I liked the bit at the start of the show with Blake and Pharrell and Gwen standing in front of the Starbucks counter.  Blake is a pretty funny guy and, for something that was probably scripted down to its punctuation, they all seemed like they were having fun.

 

I am also going to go out on a limb and say that Adam has been pretty appealing this season, so far.  His smile seems more genuine.  He looks like he is having more fun and is not trying as hard to be whatever kind of personality he has been the past few seasons.