S07.E11: The Knockouts Premiere

[Cramps]

Buffylew- YES! Maybe we should start campaigning for Danica to sing songs that we find less annoying!

[Noreaster]

I thought Monday's night episode was good.  I pretty much agreed with the coach decisions and steals. My least favorite 4 performances were eliminated: Tanner and Toia weren't good, Katriz is too young and unable to connect to the songs, and Griffin's song choice was odd.  My favorite of the night was James David Carter. He performed a well-known song but added his own twists and managed to make it his own. It's so un-Blake-like.

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). 

There is no shortage of people calling Adam out for this so I think it's fair to point out that Pharrell is doing the same thing. Especially since this Katriz one was so blatant.  Of course Pharrell has the right to change his mind as the game goes on, but it's not as if Katriz faltered during the battles or knockouts. She continued to give excellent vocal performances.  Also seems odd in light of how he kept Elyjuh the following night due to potential and despite Elyjuh's lack of connection to the song.  

Edited October 29, 2014 by Noreaster

[MangoFed]

Not saying this is the case, but it's always possible that Pharrell just doesn't enjoy working with Katriz. Maybe she's annoying or whatever. Again, I'm not saying that's the reason he cut her, but there's a thousand possibilities, some of which included things that we can't see, such as how coach/contestant mesh, their personalities, their work ethics, etc.

[Noreaster]

Yep, agreed. A lot of good reasons why a coach may decide to not work with a contestant any longer. I don't like Katriz myself and am not really trying to knock Pharrell. Just pointing out the Pharrell is doing the same thing that a lot of people criticize Adam for.

[Donny Ketchum]

Yep, agreed. A lot of good reasons why a coach may decide to not work with a contestant any longer. I don't like Katriz myself and am not really trying to knock Pharrell. Just pointing out the Pharrell is doing the same thing that a lot of people criticize Adam for.

Because Adam does do what it is for which he's criticized.  Pharrell's new, so we have no proof one way or the other.

[viajero]

Good show.  Enjoyed most of the performances.  My ranking based on just this episode:

 

1. Bryana Salaz (Where did she come from? Fantastic performance of a song I never could stand much)
2. Taylor Phelan (He may not be unique in the indie world, but he’s a breath of fresh air on this show).
3. Luke Wade (I love his voice, but too many runs on this one)
4. Katriz Trinidad (Can’t believe Pharrell let her go just as she was putting more personality into her performances)
5. Sugar Joans (A good all-around performance showing that she has a lot more to her vocals than just a growl)
6. Toia Jones (Most entertaining performance of the night)
7. Danica Shirley (Yet another merely competent by-the-numbers Whitney cover)
8. James David Jones (Good voice, but totally forgettable performance)
9. Damien (Ditto - plus I’m getting really tired of seeing him cry in every episode)
10. Jessie Pitts (like many have said, needs to show that she’s more than Ellie Goulding light)
11. Tanner Linford (how did he even get this far?)
12. Griffin (Crash and burned)

 

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.

 

Ditto. Her advice really worked in most cases; the biggest exception being Griffin.  I almost wish she was coaching Bryana the rest of the season.

Edited October 29, 2014 by viajero

[Noreaster]

Because Adam does do what it is for which he's criticized.  Pharrell's new, so we have no proof one way or the other.

What proof do you need?  We're just looking at his behavior on the show.  Pharrell said certain things in the blind audition pitch, then dropped Katriz in the knockouts.  He was on his knees if I remember correctly and said something like how Katriz was the person he had been searching for for his own label. It was a verrrry hard sell.  

 

Pharrell's behavior is exactly what many people accuse Adam of doing.  Making promises in the blinds, then dropping them before lives.   At least, in some of Adam's cases, the contestants didn't perform as well in later rounds.  For Katriz, her on-screen performances remained at a very high level.  

[Universalhunter]

I can't for the life of me understand Pharrell's love of Sugar Jones. Is it just the name?

Count me as another who isn't a fan of Katriz. Her voice was good I suppose, but it didn't stand out to me. I didn't think she was any better than Danica or Bryana or even Sugar Jones. She wasn't a captivating performer. I never saw much personality from her. I don't dislike her, just don't understand all the fuss about her.

Edited October 31, 2014 by Universalhunter

[ToxicUnicorn]

I wasn't excited about Katriz either.  

 

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.

 

I love these comments.  I'm so damn sick of Stevie Wonder and you have to be pretty damn good to pull off a diva song and make me like it.  Even Tessanne couldn't do that for me.  I'd rather be interested than impressed.

 

Team Gwen:  Bryana vs Sugar.  Bryana is fine and I was happy to see she looked genuinely surprised when Gwen chose her, which always makes me viscerally happy.  I was so disappointed Pharrell used his steal on Sugar.  Why, why?  First, I do not want to see more of Sugar.  Second, I would have loved for Taylor to have gone to Pharrell.

 

Team Blake: James David Carter's You've Got a Friend vs. Griffin's As Long As You Love Me.  I have nothing against JDC.  He turned in a fine performance of a very nice song.  Something was missing, though.  Maybe his performance was not up to his standard?  Maybe my first impression of him was too enthusiastic?  Maybe he looked a little too rehearsed?  I am still hoping he will turn in some nice performances, but I did not enjoy that one.  I actually liked Griffin's better, because it was far more unexpected.  Bye bye, Griffin.

 

Team Pharrell: Danica vs. Katriz.  If I closed my eyes, and she sang the right song, and someone made her cut out the runs, I think I would really enjoy Danica's voice.  I think she is very skilled, puts emotion into the song, and has a lovely tone.  But I can't stand her embellishments.  I actively rooted against her, even though I agree Katriz comes off a little like Danielle (too young and robotic).  I so wish Danica were on Blake's team and I am so disappointed in Pharrell that he lets her indulge herself.  (I know, tastes may vary.)

 

Team Adam: Damien vs Toia. I was pleasantly surprised when Adam chose Damien because I expect Adam to go with the big belter every time.  Damien does not seem like the kind of horse that Adam chooses for his end game, but I'll be glad to hear Damien again.  Toia gave it her all, no doubt, and I respected her, but she wore me out.  I was pleased she was not saved.  I think there are far fewer Damien-type singers in the world than Toia-types.

 

Team Blake: Jessie with the hat and long blond hair vs. Tanner of the baby face and Taylor Swift crush.  For me, Tanner had an edge going into the song because he had a winning personality and because he wasn't another breathy, affected teenage girl.  (I agree Jessie I think of Jessie as closer to a Caroline Glaser - boo - than a Caroline Pennell, who was one of my favorites.)  But - Jessie surprised me.  Not my type, but she seemed to have an idea in her head rather than the last few on Adam's team who seemed to be self-conscious posers.  Ahem.

 

Team Pharrell: Luke's Rich Girl vs. Taylor's Rather Be.  I'm almost ready to toss Hall and Oates in the Stevie Wonder pile, except they're not quite there in the overplayed department yet.  Luke was ok.  The song, despite the fact that it was seared into my brain from doing too much listening to the clock radio, was still catchy and made me smile.  Other than the fact that the material was good, though, I was not impressed by Luke's spazzy performance or singing.  As wacky as it was, it seemed entirely studied to me.  So, once again, I'll go against the grain and say I preferred Taylor.  Glad he was stolen.  Wish he had gone to Gwen.

 

ETA: I might be mixing up this Taylor battle with Tuesday night's Taylor battle.  

 

None of the performances in this episode were good enough to listen to again, in contrast with last season at this stage.  Pharrell lost a lot of credibility with me by stealing Sugar, so maybe I will root for Gwen this season.

 

I agree that Taylor Swift had a lot of good advice..

Edited November 1, 2014 by ToxicUnicorn

[rollerblade]

Can't believe Tanner made it to knockouts. So weak compared to the rest of the field. At least he's gone now.

 

What a waste of steal on Sugar. I must be the only one who's meh toward Bryana. She's just another screamo. Give her the song that Jacqui fumbled on (forgot the name), and see how she does.

 

I'm with Pharrell on the Danica pick. Despite that annoying song choice, Danica's voice is like "full-bodied", and she had complete command over that shitty song. It made Katriz's voice sounds hollow in comparison, and incidentally, hollow was how I felt about her performance of At Last.

 

It was also smart of P to pair Luke with Taylor. Just like he said during battles, "The good news is, someone's gonna get stolen."  Righto.

 

Griffin. *facepalm* Shame, I was starting to like him cause of what he did in Battles.