S07.E12: The Knockouts, Part 2

[Moonbow]

I don't know about applying all these altruistic motivations to Pharrell's decisions.

 

Yeah, I agree. Why would he "give" Ricky to Gwen when at this point he has already weakened his team so much that she probably has a better shot at being in the finale than he does? (Besides, I doubt Ricky is a potential winner anyway.) And if he cares so much about nurturing young talent, why did he pick Danica over Katriz? People have also said that the producers must have made him pair up his strongest contestants (Luke and Taylor P.), but I don't see this kind of pairing on any other team, and I doubt it's the producers' intention to make Pharrell look foolish.

 

I do really like Pharrell, but if the other coaches get called on their favoritism and WTF-decision-making, the same standards should apply to him. I think so far he's made even stranger decisions than Shakira did last season (and she had a much weaker team to begin with than Pharrell did).

[Nedsdag]

I know I'm late to the party but I have to put in my two cents:

 

• I like Taylor3, maybe because of my love for the Keanu Reeves/Tim Lincecum hybrid he reminds me of, but TBTH Troy would've won over him HAD HE STOOD STILL AND SANG THE SONG. Plus, my hatred of the song "Hey, Ya" has clouded my objectiveness.
• Alessandra did not bring anything to "Next To Me" that I haven't heard before, so I am not surprised that Grimmie 2.0 (Mia) won.
• Elyjah, Elyjah, Elyjah! The way Pharrell was treating him one would think he was training the next Michelle Kwan/Gabby Douglas in the way he was saying "we have work to do." My guess is that he picked him because he didn't want to come back stage and comfort him during his predictable breakdown. He may be 18, but he's been coddled so long by the women in his life, that he has never been given true constructive criticism.

[jjjmoss]

Maybe the winning coach gets an extra bonus in their salary? I don't know for sure though. There must be some incentive for them trying to win. I think if a really good winner comes from their team it does boost their own careers a bit. For example, after Danielle won S4 I think it gave Blake a big boost to his career. I don't think this has really happened with any of the other winners though. If they win, it also means they most likely will be invited back for the next season.

I kinda doubt this. I mean, her album opened with 41k, which is fine for a female starting out but hardly a big gamechanger that would provide a big boost to her coach.

Plus his new album opened with just over 100k, less than, say, his album back in 2011. His presence on the show has raised his profile significantly, but I don't see that his winning seasons have necessarily helped him.

[adhoc]

Just catching up with the thread.... and now two follow-up thoughts:

 

1. Sure, Pharrell is allowed to have favorites, just as Adam and the other judges tend to do. That may be unavoidable. But I think he blundered by telling Elyjuh that Ricky totally won the knock-out round but then picking Elyjuh to move on. At least, that's the way I remember it going down:  Pharrell agrees with the other judges that Ricky was way better, but then picks Elyjuh. This leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I was insulted on Ricky's behalf, especially since, as another poster mentioned, he "did the work," came out swinging, was vastly improved, and so on. It's not that I think Ricky is God's gift to singing. It's just the principle of the thing.  Pharrell could have lied--said that there were good and bad things about each performance, etc.--in a manner that would have made it seem like, from Pharrell's POV, Elyjuh had almost done as well as Ricky--but he didn't.  I don't have much respect for how he handled that at all. 

 

2. I appreciate that a lot of folks liked Taylor 3 Names' rendition of Mad World. Myself having seen other versions (include Adam Lambert's, which I really liked, and Tears for Fears' original, and the Gary Jules version), I didn't find this one to be all that special. But I can see how some folks might have liked this rendition (Taylor's "marching leg" notwithstanding).  

 

Just my opinion, but I think that Mad World--and therefore Taylor--benefits slightly from what I call the "Hallelujah" effect. Most folks seem to love that song (Hallelujah, I mean), and if they have never heard it before--and even often if they have--they tend to be very affected, very moved by it.  Even if the singer wasn't the greatest. It's almost as if it's really hard to botch Hallelujah. It's a song that lends gravitas and grace to whoever is singing it.

 

That's kind of the way I feel about Mad World.  Again, I'm not saying Taylor's version was bad, because clearly many viewers loved it. What I'm saying is that I think he (as would any singer) benefited by choosing that particular song. 

[BogoGog24]

I kinda doubt this. I mean, her album opened with 41k, which is fine for a female starting out but hardly a big gamechanger that would provide a big boost to her coach.

Plus his new album opened with just over 100k, less than, say, his album back in 2011. His presence on the show has raised his profile significantly, but I don't see that his winning seasons have necessarily helped him.

 

I meant something more along the lines of him discovering a potential country star, in the long run, will help boost his career. Danielle's sales aren't big but she's opened for big acts such as Brad Paisley, Hunter Hayes, and now Scotty McCreery and Miranda Lambert in the fall. Just last night she performed at the Grand Ole Opry for the second time. She's slowly becoming a rising star in the country industry and if she ever gets a few hit songs under her belt or a successful selling album, Blake is the one responsible for introducing her to Nashville. It further adds to his list of credentials. Cassadee Pope is also doing quite well, even though Blake didn't exactly "discover" her.

[poppy-]

I think the goal isn't to win, it's to get talked about. And that's what's happening with Pharrell!

 

Adam did basically the same thing, right? He kept Damien instead of that woman who sang Crazy in Love --- after every single coach gave lukewarm praise to Damien and said the woman tore the stage up.  What's the difference?  I think  we know Adam saved her to be cannon fodder. And I think the judges maybe overpraised her a bit since it was clear her time was up anyway, based on Adam's history.  And, not insignificant, Damien is way better than Eliyah.  But still.  

[Noreaster]

I think the goal isn't to win, it's to get talked about. And that's what's happening with Pharrell!

 

Adam did basically the same thing, right? He kept Damien instead of that woman who sang Crazy in Love --- after every single coach gave lukewarm praise to Damien and said the woman tore the stage up.  What's the difference?  I think  we know Adam saved her to be cannon fodder. And I think the judges maybe overpraised her a bit since it was clear her time was up anyway, based on Adam's history.  And, not insignificant, Damien is way better than Eliyah.  But still.  

I think the goal overall is to be entertaining.  But winning or wanting to win ties into that.  The Voice is a competition after all.

 

Not sure what you mean by "Adam's history". With regard to steals, all the coaches tend to favor their original team members over steals. Adam actually gives steals a better chance compared to his fellow coaches based on history.  If you mean the type of contestant Toia is (belter, black, woman), Adam also has had the better track record there.  

 

I don't think the Damien example works here.  The other coaches seemed to favor Toia's performance because of her theatricality but also thought Damien's performance was very good. Meanwhile, Adam decided to go with the artist he thought made a more interesting song choice. (Personally I thought Damien did a better job anyway. Toia was all over the place, sounded out of breath at times, didn't seem to be hitting all her notes.)  

 

In the Elyjuh case, the other coaches clearly favored Ricky and Pharrell acknowledged himself that Ricky gave the better performance. Pharrell also said something about Elyjuh's song choice not being a good fit, but contestants picking their own songs and showing who they are is the main point of this round.  Yet Pharrell went with Elyjuh anyway.  (Personally I don't mind Pharrell's decision.  I didn't think Ricky's performance was that great so it would have come down to personal preference for me.)

Edited October 30, 2014 by Noreaster

[Cramps]

Noreaster you make some good points. Adam tends to get beat up on here for things he did in earlier seasons,which aren't necessarily accurate descriptions of his Voice coaching behavior anymore.

The things that I think are accurate are the following-- Adam usually has a very strong team, so strong contestants will get booted along the way. And he's a great salesman, who could sell ice to Eskimos. Both of those descriptions could apply to Pharrell, it seems. The big difference is that Adam can be super annoying and self absorbed, while Pharrell comes off as very zen and nurturing.

And in other news- this is my favorite combination of coaches the show has ever had. Really fun and entertaining. I just wish they had a more interesting mix of contestants. Why the aversion to rock musicians?

[BogoGog24]

Maybe no rock singers auditioned. I auditioned for S8 this past July and in my group of 10 there were no rock singers. Everyone was mostly straight pop, indie, or R&B.

[glitterpants]

To me it seemed that, because there was 99% chances of Ricky getting a steal, Pharrell thought that Ricky would be alright no matter what, but if *he* didn't help Elyjuh, no one else would. His decision benefited both contestants by allowing both of them to stay, so I don't mind it even though I can't really stand to watch Elyjuh when he performs.

[MangoFed]

Out of curiosity (this might not be the appropriate thread), but what is the audition process like?

[BogoGog24]

Out of curiosity (this might not be the appropriate thread), but what is the audition process like?

I can just send you a PM if you'd like ;)

[tmelange]

I just have to chime in to say that I happen to love love LOVE Elyjuh. While he didn't connect with that Chris Brown song emotionally, he slayed it technically. His runs are so well done, and his embellishments are really well designed. He reminds me very much of Luther Vandross to the point of nostalgia. I don't care about the spelling of his name (that's not his fault) or his facial expressions. He's the only contestant I find vaguely interesting. Very glad Pharrell kept him around.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEGNjrE4S-E

Edited October 30, 2014 by tmelange

[Noreaster]

I would love to hear first-hand accounts of the audition process.  But I've read some interviews in the past and will post the links in the media thread.  

[cal]

I just got to watch Tuesday night's show and I'm totally confused by Pharrell.  Ricky clearly won that round.  Clearly.  All the judges - including Pharrell - said so.  But then he chooses Elijuh to move on.  Huh?  WTF?  If you've got your favorites and you're going to have them advance regardless of who did a better job, why even bother having the contestants actually sing at all?  Let's just have the coaches sit there and put up pictures of two contestants and then they can just pick thier pets.  Pharrell has the ability to help any of the contestants outside of The Voice, there's no need to subvert the competition to help his favorites.

[realdancemom]

I don't think the Damien example works here.  The other coaches seemed to favor Toia's performance because of her theatricality but also thought Damien's performance was very good. Meanwhile, Adam decided to go with the artist he thought made a more interesting song choice. (Personally I thought Damien did a better job anyway. Toia was all over the place, sounded out of breath at times, didn't seem to be hitting all her notes.)  

 

In the Elyjuh case, the other coaches clearly favored Ricky and Pharrell acknowledged himself that Ricky gave the better performance. Pharrell also said something about Elyjuh's song choice not being a good fit, but contestants picking their own songs and showing who they are is the main point of this round.  Yet Pharrell went with Elyjuh anyway.  (Personally I don't mind Pharrell's decision.  I didn't think Ricky's performance was that great so it would have come down to personal preference for me.)

I agree with you.  Like you, I preferred Damien's performance over Toia.  I've read others that said the same thing so the Damien/Toia situation is not the same.

 

I also previously posted that even though Ricky won this round, it's not like he's great and would have won the show.  Pharrell really likes Elyjuh so he chose him.  And if I was only listening to the Voice, I prefer Elyjuh's voice.  He just makes weird faces and needs to learn how to connect to a song since he had no connection. 

Edited October 30, 2014 by realdancemom

[briochetwist]

I can just send you a PM if you'd like ;)

 

Me too please!  I'd love to hear about it.  :)

[blueray]

I can just send you a PM if you'd like ;)

Can you send me one too :)

[glow]

Me too!

[kj4ever]

I know I'm late to the party but I have to put in my two cents:

 

• I like Taylor3, maybe because of my love for the Keanu Reeves/Tim Lincecum hybrid he reminds me of, but TBTH Troy would've won over him HAD HE STOOD STILL AND SANG THE SONG. Plus, my hatred of the song "Hey, Ya" has clouded my objectiveness.
• Alessandra did not bring anything to "Next To Me" that I haven't heard before, so I am not surprised that Grimmie 2.0 (Mia) won.
• Elyjah, Elyjah, Elyjah! The way Pharrell was treating him one would think he was training the next Michelle Kwan/Gabby Douglas in the way he was saying "we have work to do." My guess is that he picked him because he didn't want to come back stage and comfort him during his predictable breakdown. He may be 18, but he's been coddled so long by the women in his life, that he has never been given true constructive criticism.

I almost wondered the same thing. Eli had a major crying jag over winning his battle, and seemed close to breaking just during the coaches comments. Imagine the epic meltdown that would have followed him not winning?

[Keekski]

I can just send you a PM if you'd like ;)

 

Me! Me! 

[hincandenza]

Late to replying, but I watched the show the night of, and knew as soon as Pharrell said "Elyjuh" that this place would be full of responses.  For me, in the moment, Ricky's performance was one of the best I've ever seen on this show- I was seriously in awe.  Although it's worth pointing out that listening to it on my TV was epic, while on my computer via youtube it was just "really great".  That's something I'll have to remember when judging people, or hearing the coaches talk; it's all but certain that what they hear in the room and what I hear on my fancy TV and sound system are wildly different, and that what any of us hear while watching online or youtube is different still from the TV broadcast.

 

I know the gimmick of "slow down and balladize a pop song" is at this point a pretty tired cliche used to express a faux-deepness.  Even so, I found his voice was gorgeous, especially that moment when he sang "instead of using fo-o-orce" as a series of stepladder tones before then growling the next line.  I really felt like he connected to the lyrics, such that I found myself hanging on every word of a freakin' Miley Cyrus song, you guys!  That performance should be shown to the other contestants to demonstrate what the coaches mean whenever they talk about "connecting to the lyrics" and "feeling it", because it doesn't matter if he spent hours getting his exact growl right and planning his song like he was storming the beach at Normandy, or if he just let loose and magic happen- in either case, we the audience didn't know or care. 

 

In Defense of Elyjuh

It's very odd to have that lopsided a response from all the coaches, much less when the principal coach even echoes it and then still goes the other way.   That said, I can come up with a justification for picking Elyjuh: the guy has a truly incredible voice as well, it's like butter, just so smooth and controlled and soulful.  He is admittedly a weird physical performer: he's not awkward at all and is very loose, but his face gets kind of overly emotive and inappropriate to the song and could benefit from a less-is-more approach.  But man, when you close your eyes, he sounds like he's ready to be on the radio right now.  Seriously, open the video in a new tab and then come back, so you can hear without looking at how he moves around.

 

Pharrell is a producer first and foremost, so maybe he's hearing something in Elyjuh's voice (which, those runs up high and down low were incredible) that he can see as potentially being very successful.  Plus, all three of Pharrell's steals have come from Gwen's team, and two of her 3 steals from his team.  I wouldn't be remotely surprised if Pharrell looked over, saw that Gwen was literally in tears listening to Ricky sing, and a wordless exchange cemented their agreement "Okay, you promise to steal Ricky if I pick Elyjuh".  Voila! Pharrell gets to keep both singers in the competition, even if one isn't on his team.  And Pharrell might be thinking that Ricky hit an unexpected homerun on Tuesday but overall is still not vocally as ready, whereas the choreography problems with Elyjuh are more quickly and easily fixed than someone's fundamental voice or artistic identity.  Heck, look how much people improved as performers after just a half hour with Taylor Swift! :)

 

But that's just all spitballing on my part.  I 100% think Ricky hands-down won that round on singing and performance- as did every person watching actually- and agree it would be frustrating to know that you did the absolute best you could, nailed it, blew away all four coaches and audience and still don't get picked.  But he got stolen, and Gwen seems psyched to have him, so hey- he made the live rounds, Ricky can't complain too much.

 

 

Pharrell's real motivations?

The best I can think to explain some of the odd choices Pharrell has made, similar to what's been speculated above, is that he is motivated by two, and possibly three things:

 

1. Purely as a true mentor, how he can mold and improve the artists?  Maybe he felt he was done with Ricky in terms of teaching, so he let him go to another team
2. Leave his mark on the show by impacting and improving as many people as possible.  His battle and knockout rounds have been some of the better ones this year, and he's had the most people stolen.
3. There's almost a "degree of difficulty" to make odd choices in these battles/knockouts, give up your "best" singers... and still pull off a season win.  If you were a producer, what would say "great producer" more than taking the seemingly less gifted contestants and making them incredible?

 

 

There's still one night of knockouts to come with a single steal left from Blake, but if I've done the math right, so far the coach who has had the most singers stolen through both the battles and knockouts are: Pharrell (5), Gwen (4), Blake (1), and Adam (1).

 

Whatever he's doing in the rehearsals, and whatever choices he's making, Pharrell is also seeing a lot of the singers he doesn't pick moving onward to the next round (as is Gwen, surprisingly, although I'm not mentioning her since she isn't being criticized for making poor choices).

 

• Of the 12 blind audition singers who picked Pharrell, 9 of them (75%) moved on from the Battles by win or steal
• Of the 8 knockout round singers on team Pharrell, at least 6 of them so far (75%) have moved on to the Live Rounds

 

 

If I were auditioning next year and got to pick my coach, I could take from things like the Ricky/Elyjuh battle that Pharrell will dump me even if I shine... or I could take from it that Pharrell working with me will make me immediately and measurably better as an artist, and I'll probably also have the best chance of at least moving on to the next round to have another shot at proving myself.

Edited October 31, 2014 by hincandenza

[Noreaster]

Pharrell's real motivations?

The best I can think to explain some of the odd choices Pharrell has made, similar to what's been speculated above, is that he is motivated by two, and possibly three things:

 

1. Purely as a true mentor, how he can mold and improve the artists?  Maybe he felt he was done with Ricky in terms of teaching, so he let him go to another team
2. Leave his mark on the show by impacting and improving as many people as possible.  His battle and knockout rounds have been some of the better ones this year, and he's had the most people stolen.
3. There's almost a "degree of difficulty" to make odd choices in these battles/knockouts, give up your "best" singers... and still pull off a season win.  If you were a producer, what would say "great producer" more than taking the seemingly less gifted contestants and making them incredible?

 

I can't really make sense of Pharrell's strategy yet since he has done some contradictory things. Like keeping Elyjuh, but letting Katriz go. But my early theory is #3. It makes for a better story if Pharrell can improve and win with this underdog. Certainly the producers edited the episode to make it seem like the other coaches thought Pharrell was crazy for the decision. Really heavy-handed editing.

 

Whatever he's doing in the rehearsals, and whatever choices he's making, Pharrell is also seeing a lot of the singers he doesn't pick moving onward to the next round (as is Gwen, surprisingly, although I'm not mentioning her since she isn't being criticized for making poor choices).

 

• Of the 12 blind audition singers who picked Pharrell, 9 of them (75%) moved on from the Battles by win or steal
• Of the 8 knockout round singers on team Pharrell, at least 6 of them so far (75%) have moved on to the Live Rounds

A lot of contestants advancing from Pharrell's team could just as well mean that he's doing a poor job keeping the better contestants.  The Luke/Taylor pairing is questionable.  And Pharrell's decision to keep Elyjuh over Ricky.  

 

Personally, I haven't been impressed with Pharrell's coaching yet.  It seemed like Alicia Keys was the one making the difference in battles.

 

And maybe worth mentioning, on the old TWoP boards, some people pointed out that Usher had a lot of his original team members advance in each round in season 6.  Suggesting this meant Usher was a great coach.  But at the end of the day, when you look at which contestants made it to lives and how long they stayed in the competition, none of his people lasted past top 10.  Usher won with Josh Kaufman, originally from Team Adam. (To be clear, I'm not saying Usher is a bad coach or anything.  He definitely deserves credit for winning with Josh. Just that this particular data point on how many people are advancing from which coach's team may not be particularly meaningful.)

Edited October 31, 2014 by Noreaster

[hincandenza]

True, only time will tell and we can't really make a final judgment until we see the results.  If Pharrell, like Usher, has his team gone a few rounds in, or conversely if he's dominating the last few rounds, then we can make a clearer case.

 

I was just making a claim that there could be good reasons he has made seemingly "bad" choices, including keeping around all the people he can that he finds promising- whether on his team or not- or simply using his own judgment as a producer.  We aren't privy to more than a glimpse of the rehearsals and some of the actual performances; the coaches might love or hate a performer for other valid reasons we don't see (musical knowledge, work ethic, attitude, etc).

[Kromm]

Troy vs. Taylor - Whoa. Dude!  Surf's up! Tubular!  Only not.  Troy's performance was just... awkward and weird for me.  As for Taylor?  He picked a great song.  Not totally sold on him, but he at least he knows his sound, and he sang it pretty well. For me this wasn't even close. Round to Taylor, by a lot.

 

Alessandra vs Mia - Alessandra's voice is fine, but with no real emotion at all. It was like a reaaly good Cruise ship performance.  Mia had emotion. But not as good a voice.  Still, better emotion and some minor strain than a robotic excellent peformance.  Round to Mia, IMO (Blake and Pharrell are full of shit, or maybe were angling for a steal).

 

Elysha vs. Ricky - Elysha is such a little Star-Suck-Up. But it's kind of amusing. His actual performance was pretty good, but a little... I want to say "bouncy".  It was smooth, but didn't seem to have much emotional weight. Ricky's by contrast had emotional weight... but I have to admit on some level it also felt manipulated to be that way (that leaches the effectiveness for me). I call it a wash, and can't care enough about either. Pharrell pretty much saying Elysha LOST but giving it to him is weird, but I can't really be bothered by this.

[Cramps]

Kromm- ha! Troy is such a modern day valley dude (okay, Orange County, but close). I kept expecting him and Gwen to talk about surfing "and like going to the mall together, because it would be like so awesome!"

[mercfan3]

It's really much simpler than that. He's gotten attached to Elyjuh. He's setting it up so that Elyjuh has the best chance to advance, like all of the coaches do with their favorites (and have always done.) And even when he clearly loses, he still gets picked. (See James vs. Juhi, S5). 

 

It happens. It's just usually, the coach gets attached to one of his/her better members of their team. 

 

BTW: calling it right now, Gwen and Bryana are going to be the "cute coach pairing/bromance" of the season. We're going to have a Jacquie and Xtina part II. 

[Padma]

I agree that Ricky won and also that there's something about Elijah that so far isn't coming across that well on television. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if Pharrell chose him just because he felt he'd be bored to coach Ricky and it would be interesting and fun to see what he could bring to The Voice with Elijah. The coaches don't really get anything if they win, so I could definitely see doing this in a less competitive way, choosing singers that excite you to work with as a coach, regardless of where you think they'll finish.

 

I'd appreciate being able to hear about the audition, too, BogoGog24! Any chance of just posting it as a thread of it's own? And thanks for sharing your experience. Sorry (for all of us!) that you didn't get on and keep right on going all the way to the finale. :)  Any idea who you would have chosen for your coach on a four chair turn? 

Edited October 31, 2014 by Padma

[Noreaster]

It's really much simpler than that. He's gotten attached to Elyjuh. He's setting it up so that Elyjuh has the best chance to advance, like all of the coaches do with their favorites (and have always done.) And even when he clearly loses, he still gets picked. (See James vs. Juhi, S5). 

 

It happens. It's just usually, the coach gets attached to one of his/her better members of their team. 

Yeah, I think you're right.  I let myself get a little sidetracked to try to understand why Pharrell might prefer Elyjuh. But sometimes there's no rational reason for likes/dislikes. There doesn't have to be. Tastes vary. Music is subjective. 

 

I think the James/Juhi situation was easier to understand because Adam was very clear in his decision. He didn't hide his bias and didn't really try to make excuses for it.

 

Pharrell, on the other hand, was somewhat convoluted in his explanation to keep Elyjuh. He tried to justify his decision and make himself still look like a good guy. And did a poor job of it. Sometimes it's better to admit you're human, admit your biases, and be willing to take the subsequent flak. Let the results speak for themselves. If Pharrell can successfully carry Elyjuh far in the competition, like Adam did with James, then it's worth it.  

[Cramps]

Yes, Elyjuh is annoying--but it's not like Ricky is the second coming of Al Green. He 's kind of generic and boring. Off the top of my head I can think of ten contestants still in it this season who I am more interested in watching perform.

[poppy-]

I'm surprised to see Ricky getting middling respect here. Both of his performances surprised me with both his skill and emotional resonance. Maybe it's because he's so attractive. It's an odd thing about this show but I do think that performance coming from a normal looking person (like last year's winner, or Elijah) would perhaps get more praise.

 

The previous poster who suggested listening to Elijay sing without watching -- good tip. His voice is something else.  Pharrell's team is just good. 

 

This is only my 2nd year of watching this show. Is Pharrell the only Voice coach who is not an accomplished singer?  I mean, he's obviously a good enough singer, and he's an exceptional performer, on top of his producing cred.  But it's "The Voice" and his voice doesn't really compare to the other coaches, this year or last.  It'd probably be  a better show if it was all superb producers looking for a vocal artist, but .... isn't that what American Idol is supposed to be?

Edited October 31, 2014 by poppy-

[mercfan3]

Yeah, I think you're right.  I let myself get a little sidetracked to try to understand why Pharrell might prefer Elyjuh. But sometimes there's no rational reason for likes/dislikes. There doesn't have to be. Tastes vary. Music is subjective. 

 

I think the James/Juhi situation was easier to understand because Adam was very clear in his decision. He didn't hide his bias and didn't really try to make excuses for it.

 

Pharrell, on the other hand, was somewhat convoluted in his explanation to keep Elyjuh. He tried to justify his decision and make himself still look like a good guy. And did a poor job of it. Sometimes it's better to admit you're human, admit your biases, and be willing to take the subsequent flak. Let the results speak for themselves. If Pharrell can successfully carry Elyjuh far in the competition, like Adam did with James, then it's worth it.  

 

Well, Adam also had the problem in that he didn't stick his favorite against his perceived weakest member of his team. (Like say, Michelle vs. Audrey). 

Pharrell went and paired up his two weakest team members, just because he wanted to advance Elyjuh..and then Elyjuh couldn't even beat Ricky. Juhi and James were pretty even, but Adam wanted to match up his steal. (Something coaches do..it's just contestants like Juhi usually stay on their own team.) 

 

I think Pharrell's personality is just that he has a tendency to be "nice." Adam is more blunt. There's nothing wrong with either.  Michelle Chamuel actually talked about this part of the competition in an interview. She mentioned how part of the experience is how well you bond with your coach and how much he/she thinks that they can help you. If there isn't a connection, sometimes it doesn't matter how good you are, the Coach will chose someone else. (I always wondered who she was thinking about during S4, here.) 

 

BTW: Juhi is just the most screwed contestant on this show ever. Won her rounds twice, still went home. 

[glow]

 

This is only my 2nd year of watching this show. Is Pharrell the only Voice coach who is not an accomplished singer?  I mean, he's obviously a good enough singer, and he's an exceptional performer, on top of his producing cred.  But it's "The Voice" and his voice doesn't really compare to the other coaches, this year or last.  It'd probably be  a better show if it was all superb producers looking for a vocal artist, but .... isn't that what American Idol is supposed to be?

 

Pharrell's voice doesn't compare to Christina Aguilera's, but Gwen's not much of a vocal power house. And is Adam a much better singer than Pharrell? I don't really see that. 

[mercfan3]

Adam is a significantly better singer than every coach not named Usher or Christina. I'd put Shakira, And Blake on the next level. Followed by Gwen and Cee Lo. Then Pharrell. 

 

(Which is fine, Pharrell's voice is unique, but isn't why he's one of the biggest music stars at the moment.) 

[Noreaster]

Well, Adam also had the problem in that he didn't stick his favorite against his perceived weakest member of his team. (Like say, Michelle vs. Audrey).

Pharrell went and paired up his two weakest team members, just because he wanted to advance Elyjuh..and then Elyjuh couldn't even beat Ricky. Juhi and James were pretty even, but Adam wanted to match up his steal. (Something coaches do..it's just contestants like Juhi usually stay on their own team.)

I guess this is where personal tastes come into play? I didn't think Juni was that great. Style over substance. Whereas for James, he was inconsistent. When he's on, I think he is really really good. Adam said that James did much better in rehearsals so he might have thought it would be an easy matchup. I felt that way myself seeing the pairing on paper.

[cal]

I understand that the coaches may bond with certain contestants or they have their favorites or whatever.  I don't have a problem with that, it's just human nature.  But when you have a competition where, in this round, you are pitting two people against each other in order to see who advances, then the winner of the battle should - I don't know...WIN.  It shouldn't matter if you think person B is a better singer than person A, if person A outperforms person B in a competition, they should win.  Period.  You know, the whole "on any given Sunday...." thing.  If there is no clear winner and both contestants performed at or about the same level, then it is appropriate to bring other factors (personal preference, potential, work ethic, etc.) into play. 

 

I'm prepared to disagree with some decisions or not understand the reason someone is being praised or bypassed, but if all 4 coaches are saying "OMG, person A totally won that round" and then the final decision is to advance person B, I find that to be an inappropriate result in a competition.  In fact, in some ways it makes me want to quit watching the show because it is no longer a real competition.

[mercfan3]

I guess this is where personal tastes come into play? I didn't think Juni was that great. Style over substance. Whereas for James, he was inconsistent. When he's on, I think he is really really good. Adam said that James did much better in rehearsals so he might have thought it would be an easy matchup. I felt that way myself seeing the pairing on paper.

 

Obviously there's some personal taste, but my point was that typically coaches take their favorite and put them against someone they think they have a 95% chance of beating. Juhi vs. James could have easily developed into a situation where James lost to Juhi (and it did) because he's inconsistent. I guess my point was, it wasn't like he paired James against some fodder like Audrey (who I liked..but I knew what Usher was doing the second he did that)..he paired him against someone that would challenge him. Now, I think he's like Blake and he favors his own team over steals (I think Usher and Shakira are the only two coaches that don't do that. And Shakira kind of can't because she had to depend on steals for her talent.). Which is why they got paired...but he essentially said that, no matter what, James was going to win that knockout. And he was honest about that, which is fine...that's his personality..and he simply did what Pharrell is doing now, and all the other coaches have done in the past. (I mean, didn't we all know that Griffin was fodder for James? Because that's what Blake does..)

 

Which is essentially the same thing as Pharrell did with Elyjuh. Except not only did Elyjuh not win (like with James vs. Juhi), he was also paired against Pharrell's other weakest member. (like Audrey). So it was a double case of "I know what you are doing Pharrell..I'm not sure it's your smartest move." 

Edited October 31, 2014 by mercfan3

[Noreaster]

James wasn't inconsistent until that round. He was very strong in the blinds and the battles.

cal, I understand what you're saying and I agree that it's not a real competition in these early stages. The coaches have the control and do pave the way for their favorites. I think it's really interesting to see what the coaches do and how their tastes lean. The public will be the one with the control soon enough.

Edited October 31, 2014 by Noreaster

[mercfan3]

James wasn't inconsistent until that round. He was very strong in the blinds and the battles.

cal, I understand what you're saying and I agree that it's not a real competition in these early stages. The coaches have the control and do pave the way for their favorites. I think it's really interesting to see what the coaches do and how their tastes lean. The public will be the one with the control soon enough.

I thought James was clearly beaten by Will in the battles too, and Adam picked him. But part of Adam's problem is he typically has all of the talent. And I think that's why he gets picked on some. If you have all the talent, you have to pair them up some time, and people's early favorites are going to lose out earlier than they should because Adam just had all of the four chair turns. 

 

Pharrell's got a similar problem, but he demolished his team in a way that Adam never has. 

 

And yea, I actually really like seeing how all of the coaches chose..their preferences..their song choices..their strategy. Gwen's a really interesting coach to me, for that reason. She seems to have an ear for talent in the way that Cee Lo did. People thought her team was the weakest, but currently..she's got the top 3 youtube views from the knockout round, and the top itunes performer on her team. I've also seen a lot of improvement for a good majority of her team. I'm very impressed by her. At the end of the day, Adam always makes sure he goes into the lives with his best singers. Which I know seems obvious, but he's the only coach that'll do that. And I always found that his song choices are the most interesting. Shakira, I actually think is the most fair coach. Whoever wins the round in her mind..wins. She doesn't pick favorites..she stays in the moment. She can hurt her team by doing that..(A team of Kristen, Ddendyl and Clarissa would have performed much better than her team last season), but I kind of like it.. Usher and Blake are similar in a lot of ways. They play to win. They know what people like. But Usher's a little less safe and a little more modern. 

Edited October 31, 2014 by mercfan3

[BogoGog24]

I agree that Ricky won and also that there's something about Elijah that so far isn't coming across that well on television. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if Pharrell chose him just because he felt he'd be bored to coach Ricky and it would be interesting and fun to see what he could bring to The Voice with Elijah. The coaches don't really get anything if they win, so I could definitely see doing this in a less competitive way, choosing singers that excite you to work with as a coach, regardless of where you think they'll finish.

 

I'd appreciate being able to hear about the audition, too, BogoGog24! Any chance of just posting it as a thread of it's own? And thanks for sharing your experience. Sorry (for all of us!) that you didn't get on and keep right on going all the way to the finale. :)  Any idea who you would have chosen for your coach on a four chair turn? 

 

Since so many people have asked, I think it will just be easier to create a separate thread about audition experiences. I'm surprised there actually isn't one already. I believe next season the judging panel is going to be Adam, Christina, Blake, and Pharrell right? So if all 4 had turned for me I might have picked Blake because, even though I'm not a country singer per se, country is probably the genre that suits me the most and I also think he seems like a fun coach to work with. If not Blake, my second choice would maybe be Pharrell but I haven't seen enough of him yet to know what his coaching style is like and all that.

[BogoGog24]

I think Juhi is actually rumored to be on Idol this season.

[poppy-]

Pharrell's voice doesn't compare to Christina Aguilera's, but Gwen's not much of a vocal power house. And is Adam a much better singer than Pharrell? I don't really see that. 

 

Adam and Pharrell have the same vocal range, basically.  Tenors who go E2-B5 and like falsetto.  But what Adam can do with his 'instrument' is so much more fluid and versatile. I do think he's a much better singer.  And Gwen = Charli XCX, not too shabby.

Edited October 31, 2014 by poppy-

[glow]

And Gwen = Charli XCX, not too shabby.

 

What's that?

[TacoBoutIt]

glow, Charli XCX is a singer.  Her song "Boom Clap" was performed in the battles by Bryana and Gianna.  She's been featured on the "song of the summer" (debatable) for the past 2 years. (Fancy by Iggy Azalea and I Love it by Icona Pop).

Good ear poppy-, the similarity actually never occured to me.

I am late to the party and in the extreme majority because:

1) I loved Troy's performance.  It might actually be my favourite knockout performance on The Voice US.  I liked it that much.  It was just so entertaining.  I really wish he advanced because with the right song choices, his performances would be epic.  I loved that he did the Obadiah Parker version and the original Outkast version.  Perhaps the Outkast part and the dad dancing wasn't the smartest choice.  But dang it, I enjoyed it so much.  In a competition filled with sob stories and songs that aim to pull at your heart string and singers doing vocal runs like it's a marathon, someone who is pure fun and entertainment would be refreshing.  And his voice is pretty good.  But alas, the Voice likes favours Whitney Houston ballads and acoustic version of pop songs more.

2) I actually like Elyjuh (oof the spelling of his name kills me though). Yes, he's a bit too much and I can see how his melodramatic personality can veer into annoyance.  But I find him amusing.  I do think that Pharrell's the right coach for him and Ricky being stolen by Gwen is a blessing in disguise for him (I think Gwen is much better suited for him)

[viajero]

I finally caught up with this episode.  I thought it was actually a pretty good one, with all 6 performances raging from above average to very good.

 

I liked that Troy took risks, but I don’t think it really worked.  I thought he had the worst vocals of the night and his performance after he put down the guitar was way too awkward and manic.  In contrast Taylor 3-names finally really connected with a song.  So Gwen got it right.  In fact, I'd say she was the only coach who got it right in this episode.  I thought Alessandra and Ricky were the clear winners of the other two battles.  Not that Mia and Elyjuh were bad, as there really were no bad performances.

 

My ranking for the evening:

 

1. Ricky Manning
2. Taylor John Williams
3. Alessandra Castronovo
4. Mia Phirrman
5. Elyjuh Rene
6. Roy Ritchie

 

I think Gwen may actually have the strongest team at this point.  Or at least I’m dreading the fact that we are going to lose at least one of Bryana, Taylor 3-names, Ricky Manning or Anita Antoinette by the end of the next round.

[DownTheShore]

Coming late to this particular discussion, but count me as someone totally unfamiliar with the song "Mad World" and who's never seen Adam Lambert (whoever he is) sing it.

 

I have to say, I've been really impressed with Taylor Swift's coaching.  She seems to be able to quickly zero in on what is lacking with each performer's stage performance and suggest corrections.

 

Is is just me, or are others still at the point where the majority of the singers haven't made an impression to the point where you can associate names with faces?  Elyjah I recognize because he's got such a rubber face and Danika I recognize because for some reason I keep thinking that she's Native American and I keep puzzling over it, but the rest of them I refer to to myself as "Blake's country guy", "Joaquin Phoenix-looking guy", "Sean Lennon-looking guy", etc.  Most of the women still haven't separated themselves in my mind.  And if they fall into the "Indie singer" category, my mind simply ignores them because they all sound the same to me - all angsty, crackling voices.

[mercfan3]

If you haven't seen Adam Lambert..do yourself a favor and youtube him.  The fact that the guy can front Queen and get good reviews while doing it, should say enough. In My Opinion, he's the best reality singing competition contestant ever. And he probably doesn't make my top 5 of personal favorites, this is just my unbiased view. (My biased view would be that Haley Reinhart is the best reality singing competition contestant ever. Youtube her too, because she's fantastic. ) "Mad World" was great, but to me, wasn't close to one of his best. (Whole Lotta Love, Change Is Gonna Come, Tracks of My Tears)  It was funny, because even though he wasn't my favorite that season (Allison Iraheta), I actually felt lucky to get to watch that guy every week. Like "wow, people who don't watch American Idol are seriously missing out." 

 

Personally, I like a lot of these contestants, but I don't love any of them. I'm definitely going to miss Troy though. He was a breath of fresh air. And I wish he had been the steal instead of Sugar or whoever Blake is going to steal. (Unless someone does something stupid this round..but I don't think Pharrell has any contestants left that heavily outweigh each other, and Adam essentially has softball pairings, so I don't expect it.) 

[MaryPatShelby]

 

 

.

 

Is is just me, or are others still at the point where the majority of the singers haven't made an impression to the point where you can associate names with faces? 

Not just you, me too. I can remember a couple of the names, but usually by the next morning most of it is just a blur. I'm always so impressed to come here and find that most commenters not only remember names, sometimes full names!, but exactly which song they sang.  And remember performer names/songs from previous years? Unless I actually bought the song, that's never going to be me!

[BogoGog24]

Not just you, me too. I can remember a couple of the names, but usually by the next morning most of it is just a blur. I'm always so impressed to come here and find that most commenters not only remember names, sometimes full names!, but exactly which song they sang.  And remember performer names/songs from previous years? Unless I actually bought the song, that's never going to be me!

 

I actually for the most part haven't remembered names or songs this season, I have to look on Wikipedia or a recap to remember before I write my opinions on each performance.

[Oscirus]

Sorry Late to the party.

 

I can't even think about Juhi and not get pissed. Ceelo picking the other guy because Juhi made the mistake of having good grades in school/other options still pisses me off. Crap like that shows how shallow the whole "voice" theme is with this show. Now onto the matchups.

 

Troy vs Taylor- I like that that Troy took on such an ambitious project and that the song showed off his personality. Unfortunately, he just happened to run into somebody that showed everything that he could do.  I think this is one of those performances that Taylor won't be able to top similar to Lindsey's Gotye performance or Amanda's Aerosmith.  I don't think he'll win but I do think Taylor can make the finale if he's handled right.

 

Allesandra vs  Mia- I hate that Allesandra got double montaged, because I didn't really get a feel for the type of artist she is. Mia is one of the singers that's really surprising me in this competition. When I first saw her, I didn't think she'd make it past the battle rounds. But now, I think she could be a contender. I found it gutsy that she took on a project that showed off a different aspect of her voice.

 

Elijah vs Ricky- Yea Ricky won. Everybody knows he did, but choosing Elijah isn't even the worse part of this decision ( why were these two even paired together?) Ricky's not anything special and he's pretty much a wasted steal. So this matchup really doesn't have any bearing on the finales one way or the other. If I was going to compare this decision to anybody it would be Erin vs that rock band in season two. Yea, the rock band won, but there wasn't much more that Ceelo could do with them, it seems like that decision here as well.