S07.E11: The Knockouts Premiere

[photo fox]

The knockout round begins with top team members selecting their own songs to perform individually. Taylor Swift serves as an adviser.

[tmelange]

They've released the Knockout pairings and songs. You can find the list HERE.

 

Can I sigh really loudly now over not one but TWO Beyonce songs, one Miley wrecking ball, one Beiber song, yet another Hall and Oates, and a Whitney Houston ballad. Good grief.

[realdancemom]

Thanks for the list.  Why did Pharrell pair up Taylor and Luke?  I love both of them.

[Padma]

Yes, great to see the list, but I also question the Luke/Taylor pairing unless he's doing it so Gwen gets one of them. I guess I can't complain about some overly-familiar songs since it is season...seven?  But some choices seem strange.

 

Like Griffin's song. Not that I'm a big fan of his, but I liked his growth in the battleround and could understand if he made his "swan song" a crooner's hit from days gone by. But, imo, no way did Griffin (either the "old" one or the "post Pharrell" one) choose that song. I can't see Blake, King of Branding, choosing it either. Just ...what? why? and...huh?

Edited October 24, 2014 by Padma

[tmelange]

Seeing Taylor and Luke paired up makes me almost sure that the pairings are the creation of the producers. It seems to me that no coach who wants to win would pair those two, since they are the best on the team. I think the producers are concerned with good TV, and don't want to pit the best with the worst, which is the way every other elimination pool (such as in sports) is organized. I think the knockout round is more problematic to montage, since you can't montage one performer without the other, so they are careful to put performers with comparable skills together.

 

Remember that knockout performance where Michelle Chamuel did great and the blond girl was so very terrible? I bet that's the type of situation the producers want to avoid when they set up pairings.

Edited October 24, 2014 by tmelange

[Oscirus]

Yep, Pharrell's a moron.  Other then his steal vs steal matchup it's fairly obvious to see who he's going after each round.

 

I would say that  I hope his stupidity costs him next season but we all know it won't.

Edited October 26, 2014 by Oscirus

[MangoFed]

What are the odds the Taylor / Luke pairing ends in a steal? 99%?

[tmelange]

So they released the Taylor/Luke knockout battle. I can see why the two of them are paired; they are both very professional. Of course, Adam starts his comments with his titular "me me me" statement of how the two of them were his big losses for his team, then he again does what is becoming a habit: announcing that he'll be stealing the loser. Oh Adam, you're such a princess.

 

I thought both songs were boring. I love Hall and Oates but in the way that I love Kenny Rogers. The songs are great for me to sing in the car on a road trip, but not so exciting on a singing competition. I don't know the song Taylor sung. So good, but boring for me.

[Noreaster]

I like what Adam does, essentially putting both of them at ease.  He doesn't do the lame thing of the coaches hiding their feelings and hitting steal buttons at the last second.  Like him or not, Adam tends to be more obvious with his feelings and that to me is more authentic.  

Seeing Taylor and Luke paired up makes me almost sure that the pairings are the creation of the producers. It seems to me that no coach who wants to win would pair those two, since they are the best on the team. I think the producers are concerned with good TV, and don't want to pit the best with the worst, which is the way every other elimination pool (such as in sports) is organized. I think the knockout round is more problematic to montage, since you can't montage one performer without the other, so they are careful to put performers with comparable skills together.

 

Remember that knockout performance where Michelle Chamuel did great and the blond girl was so very terrible? I bet that's the type of situation the producers want to avoid when they set up pairings.

It could be producer influence, like anything else on this show.  But I don't see how montages in knockouts are any more problematic than in battles. Two contestants would be montaged regardless.

 

Actually, to me, uneven pairings are less of an issue in knockouts.  The contestants are singing separately so how one performs doesn't affect the other.  In the battles, the duet format makes it more important to match up genres and skill sets. More entertaining performances that way. I think that's the reason for the more even battles over the past couple of seasons, like Delvin/Josh in season 6. 

 

Competitive knockout pairings, meanwhile, have always been far less common.  It seems to happen more when the coach's team is pretty stacked and they can't be avoided (i.e. Team Adam many times).  I don't remember the Michelle Chamuel knockout, but the coaches usually pit their most promising contestants against the much weaker ones.

 

Who knows in this Luke/Taylor case. Best is subjective. Maybe Pharrell doesn't think Taylor and Luke are the best. Or he has a certain strategy in mind and doesn't want to carry both to lives.  

[tmelange]

The Voice seems to have a "keep it nice and positive" philosophy which may be why they don't want to show a performance where the contestant does poorly. In the knockouts, you can't show one performance without the other, so if one is spectacular and the other embarrassing, it leads to a fundamental conflict with the show's philosophy. I brought up the Michelle Chamuel knockout because that was the "Raise Your Glass" performance that was so great, meanwhile her partner did that lil wayne rap song that was cringe worthy. I can understand if the producers want to avoid instances where disparate talent is pitted against each other, so they pair like and like.

[Noreaster]

I still don't get what you're saying.  How are the knockouts more problematic than the battles when it comes to montages?

[tmelange]

In the knockouts, you're forced to montage two full performances, if one is unusually bad. In the battle rounds, there is only one duet performance, and if one person is awful, it typically means that the single performance of the two contestants is not worth viewing. It's easier to montage one shared performance than to montage two full performances when only one was bad and the other was phenomenally good.

[Noreaster]

Okay, we're going to have to disagree then.  I think the amount of time for one duet performance is the same as two solo knockout performances. Coaches are also not spending any more time commenting on one than the other.  I don't see a difference in a knockout montage vs. a battle montage myself.  

 

If the producers were so concerned about even knockout pairings, I think there would be more pairings like Luke/Taylor.  As it stands, the other knockout pairings seem pretty strategic and make more sense to me.  Not that I'm knocking Pharrell by the way.  The coaches have the right to pair up and advance contestants any way they please. 

[DownTheShore]

 

DaNica Shirey (“Saving All My Love For You” by Whitney Houston) Vs. Katriz Trinidad (“Superwoman” by Alicia Keys)

 

DaNica is supposed to do justice to Whitney Houston while Katriz gets an Alicia Keys (Pharrell's coaching helper's) song?  Guess we know who's supposed to win that one.

[BogoGog24]

Well if I remember correctly each coach gets 1 steal, so there will be 4 steals total. Maybe they're trying to set it up who's going to be stolen. You can tell rather easily from the pairings who will probably advance and then in the cases of 2 strong singers pitted against each other, that there will most likely be a steal. 

[tmelange]

DownTheShore I think the contestants picked their own songs, not the coaches.

[mercfan3]

I think it's more problematic to montage knockouts because that is extremely unfair to the contestant montaged. The next round is LIVE voting. Which is why no one has ever been montaged prior to a live voting round. (Merlin was montaged in BR2, but the playoffs weren't live.) 

 

I like it when Adam tells contestants they are stolen regardless. But I also don't mind the last second button push. I think with Usher it's a little more...strategic..or..intentional. But I don't mind that. With Gwen, it actually seems like..for the most part (except when she was hugging that girl..) it's actually very much of a "do I want him..no I don't want him..do I want him.....no...OH WAIT YES HOLD ON." Because it's every time, I'm thinking she simply has trouble deciding whether she wants someone or not. 

 

Although, for the most part..this show isn't like Idol for me. I have loved every single one of the coaches..even though Cee Lo is now officially a creep and I can no longer love him. 

 

As for Pharrell, the pairing makes sense if your favorites aren't necessarily his favorites. To me..he could know that Luke and Taylor are his two best..but what if he prefers two of his other contestants to one (or both) of those guys. Like..say Menlik, Katriz, and Taylor P. are actually his preference on his team..but Luke and Taylor are almost guaranteed spots in the top 12 if he advances them. Then it makes sense. 

[rollerblade]

Oh look, it's Chandelier again.

I'd feel bad but the song is for Jean Kelley hah, and she gets paired with lightweight Menlik.

[MaryPatShelby]

You know what I could do without?  Every.Single.Artist telling us what they thought when they saw Taylor Swift (or any of the mentors during the battle rounds, for that matter). They all react the same, it's not new or interesting information for the viewer, and are you going to tell me that word doesn't get out immediately that she's there?? No one can possibly be all that surprised.

 

Edited to add: Of course, as soon as I posted this, two artists did NOT tell us how they felt when they saw Taylor!!

Edited October 28, 2014 by buffylew

[rollerblade]

Edited to add: Of course, as soon as I posted this, two artists did NOT tell us how they felt when they saw Taylor!!

 

Heh, maybe it was edited out.

[netlyon2]

#catswatchingtaylor??  Really, show?

 

Only saw the first half (Sleepy Hollow always trumps everything), but I enjoyed Danica and maybe Sugar.  Nothing really moved me though.  Will watch other performances when the recap goes up.

[BogoGog24]

The producers probably ask the contestants to talk a little bit about their reactions meeting Taylor or whichever chosen mentor. 

 

And speaking of Taylor, she's one of my favorite artists anyway, but she did a kick ass job mentoring. Just as I predicted, she gave great advice to them about performing and communicating the message and feeling of the songs they chose. The only piece of advice I cringed at actually was what she told Griffin to do with the arm waving thing. That just looked stupid. But all her other advice was spot on. I'm glad she made other Taylor get rid of the guitar. I hate that so much when artists use an instrument as a crutch, especially if they don't plan to play it for the whole song. 

 

Bryana vs Sugar - Bryana was so much better here than her audition. Maybe that was just nerves or the song choice or something. Taylor gave her some great advice about dialing it back here and there. Does anyone else think Bryana looks a lot like Jacquie Lee from Season 5? Sugar actually sounds great when she isn't growling. She was able to hold it back until she got to the key change and then it was back to Miss Growl again. I don't know if Pharrell should have necessarily wasted his steal on her, considering each coach only gets one now. If he could get her to stop that growling thing, I could see a lot of potential in Sugar but that seems like a habit she's probably been doing for years and cannot be unlearned in only a few weeks. The general public doesn't seem to like her too much so I predict she'll be one of the first eliminated in the lives.

 

James David Carter vs Griffin - Both performances were a snoozer for me but I agree with picking JDC over Griffin. Griffin's song choice was hands down stupid. JDC's wasn't really much more impressive though. I remember Scotty McCreery doing that song on Season 10 of Idol and his version was far superior.

 

Danica vs Katriz - No! I like Danica but I love Katriz. She should have been stolen, for sure. I do agree with the coaches that she could loosen up more but there's no doubt she's got the pipes to win. She reminds me a lot of Jessica Sanchez from Idol Season 11 or Charice. I'm mad no one stole her. Didn't Pharrell say at her audition that she was the kind of artist he had always been looking for? Maybe he'll sign her to his label after the show or something. She definitely deserves something. As for Danica, the image was an improvement over last week.

 

Damien vs Toia - I do agree with Damien being chosen over Toia. He has a great tone to his voice. I felt like Toia was more focused on performing than actually singing. 

 

Jessie vs Tanner - I personally don't care for Jessie and she is basically just an Ellie Goulding wannabe, but she easily won this battle over Tanner. Tanner has potential but he needs a few more years I think. He's not mature enough yet.

 

Luke vs Taylor - I personally honestly think both these guys are insanely overrated. I'm not fawning over either one of them, to be honest. But if I had to choose between them, I'd pick Luke over Taylor. There's something about Taylor that grates my nerves. I don't think he's particularly unique at all. He is a carbon copy of every lead singer of every indie hipster band out there right now. Nothing special. His voice doesn't impress me at all. That is where I think Luke has the upper hand, at least. He does have a unique character to his voice that you don't hear very often. I think there's something more authentic about him. Taylor strikes me as one of those obnoxious hipster guys or something. Ugh. Luke seems more authentic, soulful, and old school. He's cute but in a completely unconventional way. He's unique and different. Taylor (Swift) gave him great advice about sitting on the pyramid thingy for the start of the song and then getting up. 

[rollerblade]

The singers make their own song choices? Do the judges know their song selection before or after pairing? So much shenanigans.

[Oscirus]

Has there ever been a more destructive coach then Pharell. Bad decision after bad decision tonight. The only good decision  he made tonight (Luke) was a no brainer.  Not to mention that he's pretty much exposed himself as being full of it but whatever.  Onto the matchups:

 

Bryana vs Sugar- Sugar made Gwen's decision too easy with that horrible song choice.  Sugar got stolen?  Sugar shouldn't have made it this far and now she's in the live show? Bad decision number one.

 

James vs Griffin- Horrible song choice seems to be the theme of the night. Maybe I'm biased because of the Carolina version of that song, but I felt that Griffin did himself no favors with that choice and the things he chose to do to that song. James song was also boring but it was competently sung.

 

Katriz vs Danica*** sigh*** I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but I think Katriz pretty much destroyed Danica tonight.  She bought it and put some stank on it.  Danica did nothing with her song and it came out as competently sung lesser version of the original.  I take it we're going to have to hear about Danica's dead dad every night. Tonight's also another lesson. If Pharrell pulls theatrics to get you on his team, disregard, he's quite insincere. Bad decision number two.

 

Toia vs Damien- This could have went either way but bad song choice seemed to be the theme of the night for these artists. Whereas Damien got to show off his vulnerability, Toia got to show off her vocals and fun side.  Vulnerability trumps vocals the majority of the time.

 

Tanner vs Jessie- Could this battle be anymore boring? Tanner felt like a charity case, and Jessie's pretty much a one note Elliot Goulding type of artist.  I guess Blake made the right choice here but does it really matter?

 

Taylor vs Luke- Bad decision number three, pairing these two up. It was a fine battle.  The one thing I will give Pharrell is that he did a good job trying to get Luke to show off other facets of his personality, even if Luke did over do it. Taylor is a good singer, but he's not as good as Luke.  Good steal by Adam though I don't know why he had to go through all of the theatrics of getting Blake to push his button when it was obvious that Taylor was going to pick him.

Edited October 28, 2014 by Oscirus

[prettyvegas]

Danica was one of my favorite blind auditions - I absolutely love her voice. I'm glad she's moving forward, but I definitely need to hear her do more current stuff ie: the Jessie J that she sang in her audition. She looks older than she is, so she shouldn't be singing those older songs on top of it. I also love both Taylor and Luke so I was mad Pharrell paired them, but I was pleasantly surprised that he picked Luke.

[MangoFed]

 

Luke vs Taylor - I personally honestly think both these guys are insanely overrated. I'm not fawning over either one of them, to be honest. But if I had to choose between them, I'd pick Luke over Taylor. There's something about Taylor that grates my nerves. I don't think he's particularly unique at all. He is a carbon copy of every lead singer of every indie hipster band out there right now. Nothing special. His voice doesn't impress me at all. That is where I think Luke has the upper hand, at least. He does have a unique character to his voice that you don't hear very often. I think there's something more authentic about him. Taylor strikes me as one of those obnoxious hipster guys or something. Ugh. Luke seems more authentic, soulful, and old school. He's cute but in a completely unconventional way. He's unique and different. Taylor (Swift) gave him great advice about sitting on the pyramid thingy for the start of the song and then getting up. 

I'll try and explain why I like Taylor. His voice isn't incredibly good or anything. It's solid, but like you said, it's not THAT different from any number of indie rockers. What appeals to me is mostly his musicality and the arrangements he's done (more his first two performances than this one). He rearranged a really ubiquitous song by the Neighbourhood for his blind, and made it more interesting and dynamic than a normal cover. His duet of Breakeven was similar... he doesn't do anything to blow people away, but I think he makes really specific, meticulous choices in how he arranges and performs songs (and by he, I mean he and production and coaching and whoever else is involved in the performances) that add to the song. 

[mercfan3]

Pharrell's top 4 were Taylor, Luke, Danica, and Katriz. Chances to win: Taylor, Katriz, Luke, Danica. He essentially got rid of his top 2 possibilities of a winner tonight. For no explicable reason. And then stole Sugar. Who is pretty darn bad. ...like..I don't have a clue what he's doing. And it's surprising to me..because he's so good at creating hits and knowing what sells. And he was great when he mentored with Usher. But I just...wow...

 

Bryana vs. Sugar - lol. This was easy. Bryana was actually pretty impressive. That's a hard song to sing. She's got a lot of potential. Although she may be too current to do well in this competition. 

 

JDC vs. Griffin - I don't like either, but this was another easy victory. 

 

Toia vs. Damien - the both chose terrible songs for themselves. I might have gone with Toia, but I don't think it mattered too much. 

 

Tanner vs. Jessie - I though this knockout was two likable people with unlikable voices. Didn't particularly enjoy this one either, but it was another obvious choice. 

[TacoBoutIt]

I'm pleasantly surprised by Taylor Swift mentoring.  I'm a fan (her newest album isn't that great though) but I was dubious that she was a mentor.  She gave great advice though.

 

Bryana vs Sugar- I think Bryana could be a dark horse in this competition if Gwen coaches her right, especially now that Katriz is gone.  She's young, she has stage presence and personality (Showing personality is something I think Katriz lacks).  She also did the song justice.  Sugar, Sugar...she sang the song better than I thought she would.  I did like the key change part in the end.  But I just don't like her voice...There's just something off about it.  She's sounds a bit sharp most of the time? (Her opponent did a better version of Love on Top imo)

 

James vs Griffin- No contest.  James was the clear winner.  This is the first time he caught my attention, great rendition.  Griffin, oh boy, that was perhaps not the best song choice.  His falsetto was quite nice last time but this time it was drowned out by the music.  Also, he needs a style makeover. I'm glad he ditched the leather jackets but today he looked like a priest.

 

Katriz vs Danica- I like Katriz more than Danica and I thought she did better but it could have gone either way.  Katriz has more potential so it would have been more interesting.  I do think that she needs to come out of her shell more.  Hopefully Pharrell does sign her.  Danica has a great voice but she's a bit bland.  For me, she's not exciting.  Also, I can't believe she's a year and a bit older than me, she looks much older.

 

Toia vs Damien- I have to give Adam credit for choosing Damien.  Toia was entertaining but her performance was not that spectacular.  I'm glad Adam saw through the pizzaz and picked Damien.

 

Tanner vs Jessie- I don't think Tanner should have been picked in the blinds to begin with.  This was the best he sounded so far but his voice just isn't that great.  Jessie needs to separate herself from Ellie Goulding.  Yes, we know you sound like her but sounding like Ellie Goulding probably won't get you very far in the music industry.  I do like though, that she showed us that she had a bit more range tonight.  Singers like her on this show are usually limited by their small voices.  She showed that she has a bit more than that nymph-like Ellie Goulding style voice.

 

Taylor vs Luke- I really really like Luke's voice.  Rich Girl was an odd choice but he pulled it off well.  I go back and forth with Taylor.  He did very well with Breakeven but I don't think Rather Be was the right song.

 

There's something about Taylor that grates my nerves. I don't think he's particularly unique at all. He is a carbon copy of every lead singer of every indie hipster band out there right now. Nothing special. His voice doesn't impress me at all.

This is also my problem with him.  Yes he's talented and he has musicality.  His song choice also demonstrates that he's aware what's current in the indie pop/rock scene.  But I don't think he's that unique.  Yes, he's different in terms of the competition but in the indie scene, there's tons of him.  His voice isn't particularly outstanding or unique (unlike Dan Smith from Bastille or Joe Newman from alt-J).  He has stage presence but it's not that commanding.  I also think that he's better off back being in a band.  I do think that him and Adam are probably a better fit than him and Pharrell.  And despite my criticism, I am interesting to see how he does.

One more thing. I don't like that the knockouts pairings are split between commercial break.  What's worse is that it seems that the one who performs after the commercial break is always the one who loses in the knockout. I wish the Voice editors would be a little less lazy.  Spice it up.

[BogoGog24]

I too hate the commercials between each performance. It's just annoying. I guess they do it to keep people watching though, to find out how the other person is going to do.

[burntheflaws]

I am supremely bummed out that Sugar is moving forward to the lives while Katriz is not. That seems really unfair to me. And no steal for Katriz? What the actual hell? I really thought that since Pharrell fought so hard to get her on his team, and seemed so heartfelt in saying her voice was exactly what he wanted for his label, he'd pick her. I hated that he paired up so many of his strong contestants against each other. Maybe it just means his team is full of strong singers, but I think there could've been better match-ups.

 

I was one of the people who shrieked "Noooo" (in the most unflattering way possible) when I found out about the Luke/Taylor match, since they're two of my favorites. As soon as I saw it I knew one of them would be going to Team Adam, which, while not surprising, is a bit of a bummer since I wanted to see Pharrell coaching them both and seeing what his song decisions and collaborative efforts with them would be.

 

But anyway, BogoGog24, I also thought of Jacquie when I saw Bryana. Small, cute girl with a big voice. And the thing is, I like Bryana's voice much more than I ever liked Jacquie's. She did a great job with "Heart Attack." I kinda eye-rolled when I found out that was her song choice, since it was yet another big pop song with little substance like "Problem." But she did a great job, especially with those softer falsetto notes and that huge high note at the end.

 

The knockouts were pretty good. There was no big stinker; every match-up had at least one really good performance in my opinion.

Edited October 28, 2014 by burntheflaws

[PepperMonkey]

Mango, I DO understand what you're saying about Taylor. Perhaps he should consider trying to get into the producing/ songrwriting end of the business.

I must be officially insane because I didn't think the Taylor - Luke battle was that special. I've never thought Taylor is a great singer; I guess he's good but so are a lot of people.

Luke was definitely the best of the two, but having said that, I'm following up with noting that he really did over adlib and almost ruined the song. Not that it's a song that holds up that well 30 years later except for the awesomeness that is Daryl Hall's spectacular voice.

 

I am so distracted by how freaking OLD Danica looks that I can barely enjoy her singing. I know that sounds horrible, but she seriously looks like 50. Can't someone help her with some hair and makeup tips and other over all styling? Also, I just, on principle, hate when anyone sings Whitney cause it never quite stands up.

Edited October 29, 2014 by PepperMonkey

[Cementhead]

I agree that Danica looks much older than her age.  I read on here last week that she was 25 and I seriously just about fell off of my chair!!  I also missed her intro last week when her mom & daughter were in the audience and when the camera guy kept going to them while she was singing I couldn't figure out who they were and who's baby it was.  I was so confused.  This is so awful to say but I thought it was maybe her grand daughter. eek.  And as a 41 year old, I am not just snarking on old people!  She did look better somewhat last night and perhaps not as old as the previous week.  And she is actually a tiny little thing which I did not notice last week because her styling was so atrocious.

 

I could honestly go my whole life without ever having to hear someone sing another Whitney Houston song.  Ever.  Same goes for Stevie Wonder.  After too many years of watching singing competition shows, I am burned the hell out.

 

Jessie totally looks like a young Connie Britton. I enjoy her but like others have said, sounding exactly like EG is going to get her nowhere in real life.  Watching Tanner's reaction to T-Swift was cute.

 

Edited to add:  That Griffin-singing-Beiber perfromance was cringe-worthy.  So bad.  What in the world possessed him to choose that song at this point in the show? 

Edited October 28, 2014 by Cementhead

[Primetimer]

Oh look, Taylor Swift is here!

Read the story

[Padma]

Luke was definitely the best of the two, but having said that, I'm following up with noting that he really did over adlib and almost ruined the song. Not that it's a song that holds up that well 30 years later except for the awesomeness that is Daryl Hall's spectacular voice.

I loved it that Blake told him that because, while I like him (his singling reminds me a bit of Josh Kaufman), he needed to not do that So. Darned. Much. Pharrell seems to respect Blake and I liked that he agreed and would have done "25% less" (I'm guessing Blake would have chosen about "75% less" ... but it's a start, if Pharrell actually means it.)

 

Speaking of Pharrell, I missed the first half or so. A post upthread says Pharrell "showed he's full of it." Why? What did he do? From the previous weeks he'd seemed pretty good, I thought, as a coach and judge.

[Minim]

Only Luke and Taylor were interesting enough to keep my attention all the way through their performances, although agree with other posters that both have been over-hyped. Also Damien, purely because of how emotionally he performs (horrible song choice and enunciation though). Everyone else lost me at hello, or at least by the 30 second mark, largely because of boring songs/performance choices.  (The advantage of this, however, is that a 2-hour show only takes ten minutes to watch on YT.)

 

On which topic, it seems like the song list is not just stale, but has mold growing all over it. Someone mentioned royalty costs/broadcasting rights in another thread and I’m wondering whether that varies by (potential) size of audience – looking at some YT performances from the Voice UK and Australia, there are more interesting songs (or maybe just more to my taste) than what seem to be staples here. Is NBC really nit-picking over the cost of fresher songs when they spend so much on the show, or do the contestants/coaches/producers just have boring taste in music?

 

And, coaches, PLEASE stop pretending Jessie Pitts and all the other whispery girls with faux-English accents who have come along the Voice conveyor belt are ‘unique’ or ‘quirky’. They’re just derivative singers with weak voices and lousy breath control. (No, I don’t include Caroline Pennell or Lindsey Paveo in that group – they were actually creative.)

 

As an aside, I think all Pharrell’s steals are from Gwen’s team – producer shenanigans, helping a buddy out, or is Gwen just good at maximizing limited talent? (Read that last part how you will.)

[BogoGog24]

I loved it that Blake told him that because, while I like him (his singling reminds me a bit of Josh Kaufman), he needed to not do that So. Darned. Much. Pharrell seems to respect Blake and I liked that he agreed and would have done "25% less" (I'm guessing Blake would have chosen about "75% less" ... but it's a start, if Pharrell actually means it.)

 

Speaking of Pharrell, I missed the first half or so. A post upthread says Pharrell "showed he's full of it." Why? What did he do? From the previous weeks he'd seemed pretty good, I thought, as a coach and judge.

 

In the blinds he told Katriz Trinidad that she was the type of voice he had "always been looking for," yet he dumped her in the knockouts. And no one even stole her either. 

[pivot]

It is absurd that they only showed 6 knockout rounds last night. They could have easily gotten in another 2 if they didn't spend so much time recapping what we are going to see after the next commercial break. So annoying.

I can't believe Pharrell stole Sugar and that he got rid of Kaitiz. The producers must be making him weaken his team because that is absurd. At least Taylor and that Buble wannabe are gone from Blake's team. His team is still horrendous, but he was smart enough to pair strong contestants with weak ones unlike Pharrell.

Gwen continues to bug.

And I was incredibly impressed with Taylor Swift's advice. She seemed to take it very seriously and actually improved on all of the contestants' performances. Much better than Chris Martin and his useless ass from last season.

Edited October 28, 2014 by pivot

[realdancemom]

I still don't know why Pharrell paired up Luke and Taylor.  I do agree about choosing Luke but he could have had both of them on his team.  Oh well, Taylor's song choices match Adam's so I guess it worked out for Taylor.

 

I would have chosen Katriz over Danica.  Danica has a nice voice and she looked better last night vs. last week.  But she still screams old to me because of how she looks and her song choice.  I know that's shallow but once we get to the Live performances, it's not all about the Voice anymore.  

 

I also don't know why Pharrell would steal Sugar.  Taylor was a good mentor except when she told Griffen to do that stupid hand thing.  It broke up the notes and it just looked dumb.  James has a nice voice but what a boring song.  Damien has a nice tone and I like his vulnerability in his singing.

Edited October 28, 2014 by realdancemom

[MelsW]

In the blinds he told Katriz Trinidad that she was the type of voice he had "always been looking for," yet he dumped her in the knockouts. And no one even stole her either. 

 

That's what all coaches do in the Blinds: they talk up the person auditioning, promise them the world, then only 50% make it through the Battles. If you are going to call Pharell out on that behavior, then you would have to do the same for the rest of them (especially Adam, known for his YourTheBestEverMyFavoriteLetsWinThis speeches during the Blinds, before he dumps half of his stacked team). I find Katriz to have the same issue that I thought Danielle Bradbury had a couple seasons back...nice voice, technical singer, but ZERO emotion or feeling behind it. Danielle was ol' dead eyes and I feared it would be that all over again with Katriz. I would have liked to see Katriz stay around longer to see if she could be coached through it, so that's unfortunate.

 

Notable moments for me:

 

-I am glad Gwen's coaching called Sugar out on that growling nonsense

 

-Bryana is S5's Jacquie's little sister

 

-Jesse Pitt is winner of this year's Affected Voice trophy, joining the likes of Caroline Glaser

 

-I am one of the few people on earth neutral on TSwift...don't love her or hate her. I thought she did great in the mentoring position. I know she doesn't have a phenomenal voice or anything but no doubt, the woman knows how to perform. I like Chris Martin better than her music-wise but she mops the floor with him when it comes to mentoring.

[limecoke]

Probably alone out here but I loved, "You've Got a Friend".  The song is so James Taylor and JDC made it very fresh and interesting.  Personally, I'm far more moved by a good song done well than by someone who screams at me through half the song.  MMV

 

Luke's "Rich Girl" was good but I preferred Cole Vosbury's last season.  But then I preferred Cole so no surprise.

 

Swift was a good mentor.  

 

Thank you, Pharrell, for inflicting us with Sugar on the live shows.  She's going to be the gum on the bottom of the shoe this season.

Edited October 28, 2014 by limecoke

[tpplay]

 

Probably alone out here but I loved, "You've Got a Friend".

 

Nope.  I love that song and I think he sang it beautifully.

[Padma]

Nope.  I love that song and I think he sang it beautifully.

Me, too. He really surprised me by choosing something small and intimate and then singing it with such sincerity. Smart move since most of the others were amping up the volume. ("As Long As You Love Me" was a weird choice, and I'm glad Griffin wasn't the winner, but I must admit I liked his version better than JB's. Still, I wonder what he was thinking.)

 

Wandering in and out of the room while this played out on On Demand I certainly could see how MUCH filler they used. I doubt it's royalties, the show makes a fortune from advertising and then even sells the performances on iTunes. It was so obvious that those 6 performances could EASILY have been 10 and STILL had a lot of filler. 

[glitterpants]

I can't believe Pharrell let Katriz go either. I mean, I see how Danica has the potential to do well on the show, but it would have been so interesting to see Katriz' evolution as she tries to figure out what kind of artist she is with Pharrell's help. Apparently, I like Katriz a bit more than I thought I did. And as far as 15 year old singing geniuses go, I feel that Katriz >>>>>> Bryanna, who, in spite of Pharrell's words of advice to her (to go change the pop world or something like it) comes off as terribly cookie-cutter. 

 

Should also be docked a few points for sheer unoriginality in their song choice: Toia and Jessie. I thought both were overrated. Props to Toia for keeping up with Crazy In Love, but what she did with the song was not actually that interesting. Jessie has a nice quality to her voice but her performance was a bit hectic.

 

Taylor Swift was a joy (especially when she shut down Adam with "that's a good conversation to have never").

[Cramps]

I am not a fan of Diva belters, but Danica moved me. Her voice is perfect. I never thought Pharrell would keep her, because of the age thing, but wow. I totally get the unicorn comment. Her voice is special.

When you see Taylor on award shows, she'll be standing up in the audience, dancing to songs, while all the other industry- ites are seated. I always wondered if it was sincere or put on. After watching her last night, I think it's sincere. She's a music geek (in a good way) who was really into mentoring the performers. She, Alicia and Gwenn have impressed me with some of the performances they are getting out of people.

[adhoc]

I'm thrilled that Pharrell chose Danica! I thought he was going to do the usual "Oh, Danica, your voice is great, but Katriz is only 15, she can be molded, etc., etc."  I'm tickled that he picked the one I thought truly deserved it. 

 

MelsW, you put it perfectly when you said "I find Katriz to have the same issue that I thought Danielle Bradbury had a couple seasons back...nice voice, technical singer, but ZERO emotion or feeling behind it."  

 

That is exactly what I was thinking half-way through Katriz' performance. In fact, toward the end of the song, I said to myself, "Her eyes are dead--she is not connected with the song."  Yes, no one stole Katriz. Maybe there is a reason why. I'm just sayin'. 

[yourpointis]

from IDF - iTunes chart as of 5 pm (didn't see anywhere else to post this)

 

 

101. Jessie Pitts - Your Song (The Voice Performance)
128. Luke Wade - Rich Girl (The Voice Performance)
142. James David Carter - You’ve Got a Friend (The Voice Performance)
250. Damien - How Do I Live (The Voice Performance)
259. Taylor Phelan - Rather Be (The Voice Performance)
364. Bryana Salaz - Heart Attack (The Voice Performance)
377. DaNica Shirey - Saving All My Love For You (The Voice Performance)
377. Ethan Butler & Matt McAndrew - Yellow (The Voice Performance)
647. Taylor Phelan - Sweater Weather (The Voice Performance)
789. James David Carter - Nobody Knows (The Voice Performance)
806. Luke Wade & Griffin - Maybe I’m Amazed (The Voice Performance)
829. Sugar Joans - Love on Top (The Voice Performance)
1119. Luke Wade - That’s How Strong My Love Is (The Voice Performance)
1168. Taylor Phelan & Jordy Searcy - Breakeven (The Voice Performance)
1329. DaNica Shirey & Toia Jones - Halo (The Voice Performance)
1455. Taylor John Williams & Amanda Lee Peers - Jolene (The Voice Performance)

[ericad]

Minim, I agree with you completely about Jessie's breath control. I couldn't stand listening to her sing that song because all I could hear was her heavy breathing into the microphone after every.single.line..... it was so distracting.

[MaryPatShelby]

I am not a fan of Diva belters, but Danica moved me. Her voice is perfect. I never thought Pharrell would keep her, because of the age thing, but wow. I totally get the unicorn comment. Her voice is special.

 

Maybe I should move this to an Unpopular Opinion thread, but I HATE Whitney Houston's music.  Just hate it.  Hate it when she sings, hate it when other people sing her songs.  But darned if Danica didn't make that song tolerable.  How'd she make me like a WH song?  I'm pulling for her.

[Donny Ketchum]

Bet Toia wishes she'd chosen Gwen now.  Nothing good ever comes from choosing Adam.  Nothing ever.  At first chance, as I thought, he dumped her.

[Kromm]

Damian.  Wow.  

 

I'm used to this show disappointing when it comes to subtle but powerful at the same time.  It's usually totally incapable of it.  But Damien did it in spades (vs. Toia, who just doesn't understand the concept at all).

 

Almost as good was Danica.  Katriz was a lot better than I expected (certainly better than she was in the rehearsal they showed), but Danica was better.

 

James vs Griffin was a bit of a joke.  James was approximately 82x better than Griffin.

 

Bryana vs Sugar, I neither loved nor hated either.  That's really not recommending either of them, is it?  If I HAD to choose?  Bryana.  Barely.  I mean it's a shitty song, but she did it better than the original, I guess (not a high bar).

 

Tanner just wasn't good enough for this show.  Sorry, kid.  Jessie was pretty good, but ALWAYS sounding JUST like Ellie Goulding in every performance is not going to leave her much room to move.

 

Luke vs Taylor - Rich Girl is a truly great song in the right hands.  I don't know if Luke's version was epic... but it was interesting.  It worked. Rather Be is also a pretty darn good song.  But Taylor just made it suck.  I don't get the 3 chair steal at all.  Were they reacting more to the song than Taylor?  I hope so.  At least Pharell himself wasn't a nitwit and picked the right one.

 

 

To give Taylor Swift some real credit.. to this day I don't think she's a great singer, but she certainly really DOES seem to know her staging. Most of the advice she gave along those lines was pretty good.

Edited October 29, 2014 by Kromm