S07.E20: Live Top 10 Performances

[Tara Ariano]

The Top 10 artists perform.

[Noreaster]

Here is the promo for the Top 10 episode:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2OQ3Ie44nk

 

I usually avoid promos/previews so I don't know how typical this is.  But I hate how they highlighted Luke's mistake last week. The Voice is supposed to be a positive show, right?  Embarrassing shit like this is why I could never watch American Idol.  

[mercfan3]

That surprises me too. I remember they had a preview like that last season, but then it was taken down. 

[pivot]

Yeah, they are usually nicer that that.

Saw the song spoilers and again Adam gives Damien sucky old 70s music. He is determined to get him booted early like every other AA contestant he has ever had on his team. Adam sucks. Why does he only give creative, current or interesting song choices to his white contestants?

I think all but 1 of the songs have been done already on this show, some of them already this season. It's kind of irritating how limited the songbook has been on this show the past 2 seasons.

[Padma]

Yeah, they are usually nicer that that.

Saw the song spoilers and again Adam gives Damien sucky old 70s music. He is determined to get him booted early like every other AA contestant he has ever had on his team. Adam sucks. Why does he only give creative, current or interesting song choices to his white contestants?

I think all but 1 of the songs have been done already on this show, some of them already this season. It's kind of irritating how limited the songbook has been on this show the past 2 seasons.

This is incredibly irritating. I wondered last week with all Adam's talk about how he kept telling Damien "trust me! Trust me!" if Damien had other ideas about what he wanted to sing.

 

Hopefully Chris will be eliminated first (I'm not a huge fan of Matt's either, but I agree he's better than Chris. I did like "Take Me To Church", so..there's that.).

 

It won't surprise me if it's Damien who goes this week, thanks to Adam's determination to make him non-relevant to today's music and to never showcase his talent with anything contemporary.  (Oddly, I think maybe he would have done best with Gwen. She's not very good at the judging part but I've been impressed so far by her song selection and how she really pays attention to her singers and the kind of music they want to record. If she were around again, I could see a good reason for people to choose her--much better than "I'll do your hair! We can get some cute outfits for you!" She really has seemed so committed, makes very good selections for the singers and is open to their input too, plus seems as nurturing, supportive and "low stress" as Blake. I'd love to know what Damien would be performing tonight if Gwen had been his coach, not Adam--or Pharrell who seems equally wedded to dated songs--or worse, song-destroying concepts.)

Edited November 24, 2014 by Padma

[realdancemom]

Yeah, they are usually nicer that that.

Saw the song spoilers and again Adam gives Damien sucky old 70s music. He is determined to get him booted early like every other AA contestant he has ever had on his team. Adam sucks. Why does he only give creative, current or interesting song choices to his white contestants?

I think all but 1 of the songs have been done already on this show, some of them already this season. It's kind of irritating how limited the songbook has been on this show the past 2 seasons.

Unfortunately, Damien wouldn't have done much better with Pharrell because he also seems to be in a time warp with his song choices.  I've been disappointed with Pharrell since the blinds.  I thought he would be better.  He could have had Taylor P. or Katriz instead of Sugar if he paired up his contestants better.   

 

I agree with those that said that Gwen doesn't have a great sales pitch.  But her contestants have improved a lot which says a lot about her coaching.

[tmelange]

There are no words for the stink-eye I'm giving Pharrell. Good grief, Otis Redding and a Whitney Houston snoozer. Why doesn't he just whip out the Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield and James Brown for next week -- oh wait, he'll likely be eliminated by that point.

Edited November 25, 2014 by tmelange

[Mya Stone]

Ahhhhh it's XTina!!!!! I've missed her SO MUCH.

[Ohwell]

I haven't watched much of this season but I caught a few performances tonight.  Damien was flat during most of his song.  Most of the women sounded bad, and I'm tired of that one girl singing reggae.  Is that all she's got?  The country dude Craig Wayne Boyd or whatever--anyway, he sang the hell out of I Walk the Line.

[rollerblade]

There are no words for the stink-eye I'm giving Pharrell. Good grief, Otis Redding and a Whitney Houston snoozer. Why doesn't he just whip out the Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield and James Brown for next week -- oh wait, he'll likely be eliminated by that point.

 

Can't believe they made me wish for a theme week - at least there's less of a chance of oldies week every week.

 

Anita's performace was nixed by my local station, they decided to cut away from Voice to show some speech of a grand jury. *side-eye*

[NewRadical]

I think this episode was slightly better than last week.

Adam keeps keeping Chris newer and newer songs. I think next week he will get One Direction's next single that hasn't been released yet.

That being said, I thought Chris did pretty good. I was glad my tv cut off before Adam could gush though.

Reagan has really dropped for me. Everything Adam was saying - that she kept up with the song and kept the pace was the exact opposite of what I saw. I thought he was going to actually give her a critique but then nope. I did like her but I think she is someone who made need the studio magic to really make her shine. 

I thought Ryan did much better. I haven't been a fan but I thought he did well with the song.

I wish Luke would do something more contemporary. 
TJW I actually liked. It was a strange performance but pretty good. And I really inured Blake commenting that he looked like a ninja. 

Matt... I think he is good but I think the song choices for him have been amazing. I don't see him going home anytime soon. I am not sure all the hype is necessarily justified. He also sounds familiar... like someone... but I cannot put my finger one it... Part of it sounded like the Kookss? Maybe that's what I was hearing. I might just be the bland white boy thing.

Craig was okay... It wasn't my favour version but it was good and I predict it will go really well for him. Danica is blah to me.

I did not like Anita. Damien has meh.

Edited November 25, 2014 by NewRadical

[blueray]

I think most of the people did good tonight. My favorites were Matt and Craig. I wish Anita would sing something other then raga.

 

The only performance I didn't like was Luke's but that may have been the song choice.

[DownTheShore]

When I was listening to Anita sing another reggae song and thinking what a poor choice that was because the public isn't going to vote for two Jamaican singers in a row as winners of The Voice, I wondered how she would have done if she was given the song "Goldfinger"? I think she could possibly give Shirley Bassey a run for the money if she tried it.

I surprised myself by liking Craig's version of *I Walk The Line* and T3's version of "Come Together".

I was PO'd by the song choice for Damien. Enough with Stevie Wonder already; Stevie Wonder songs are best sung by Stevie Wonder, IMO.

I thought that Chris did well with his song. I like Danika so I was okay with her song, though I constantly wonder why these newbies think that they can ever top Whitney's version. I mean, why even force the comparison?

Edited November 25, 2014 by DownTheShore

[buckybruce]

Craig Wayne Boyd for the win!!! Blake so called it during rehearsal when he said the only difference between him and Craig was he had a couple of lucky breaks, and CWB hadn't. I could hear CWB on any country radio station tomorrow, see him on the charts, see him opening for a major artist, and winning a CMA award in the next two years. All he needs is "The Song". He has all the tools. I wonder if he writes? He certainly is creative, that rendition of "Walk the Line" was great.

 

Also....Danica's version of Whitney....ok, but, not even up to a Tessanne Chin standard, who did a great job on it. Damien...I like his voice, but not the song choices. Reagan...meh....Chris...I have never heard that song before, but A+ for the song, and C+ for Chris. Taylor...please go home. Luke...go home.Anita...

Edited November 25, 2014 by buckybruce

[Dots And Stripes]

There are no words for the stink-eye I'm giving Pharrell. Good grief, Otis Redding and a Whitney Houston snoozer. Why doesn't he just whip out the Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield and James Brown for next week -- oh wait, he'll likely be eliminated by that point.

I so disagree! This was the most I've liked Luke in a long time. I missed Danica's performance because I was watching the news, but she's one of the few this season who has a great voice. I think others have good style or artistry, but Danica is one of the only ones I just want to hear sing everything. I'm cool with Team Pharrell and his oldies. I find the oldies preferable to Nick Jonas or generic songs I'll forget ever existed in a few months.

 

As much as I loathe Adam, I must admit I'm a fan of his song choices this season. Matt is picking interesting songs but has an unremarkable voice. Damien started slow but ended strong this week. I still can't warm up to the guy who sang the Bruno Mars song.

 

I loved seeing Christina back. More of her and her crazy, please! I still don't get Anita. I liked her auditions, but that's about it.

 

I can go for a CWB, and Blake, win. I'm not a country fan, but he showed something special tonight. Reagan can't leave too soon for me.

[Noreaster]

Ugh, I'm really not into this season at all.  

 

Reagan's performance was just painful to my ears. Felt like a high school talent show. Definitely hope she goes home. 

 

I didn't really have favorites tonight. Most did a serviceable job, but I'm not blown away by anyone. The better performances for me were Luke, Taylor, and Ryan. I also liked Damien who started off boring but sounded great in the second half.  

 

Chris and Matt were decent. Chris's vocals were okay but he has good natural stage presence and is definitely entertaining. Matt immersing himself into the crowd seemed awkward to me. Still like his voice a lot.    

 

I want to like DaNica, but I couldn't help thinking of Tessanne's kick-ass "I Have Nothing" performance in season 5. DaNica's just can't compare. Also wish that she would pull back on the superfluous runs.    

 

Appreciate Craig's ability, but I don't care for how he changed up "I Walk the Line". I wasn't sure what song he was singing at first, then just found his performance to be boring.  

 

Anita's performance felt gimmicky to me. Like she had to make the song reggae just for the sake of doing so. Maybe this really represents her personal style but I prefer her slower tempo stuff. Like last week's "Redemption Song".

Edited November 25, 2014 by Noreaster

[poppy-]

I'm not familiar with the song, but going to guess all those times Chris sang "don't believe me , just watch" were supposed to feature incredible dancing. I kept watching, he kept not dancing . Not really fair , but that was the song!

Christina Aguliara and Gwen are not friends and didn't try to fake it. Gwen is sweeter and more generous. Christina seemed kind of bitchy.

The Fall Out Boy guy was quiet but he knew what he was talking about. I liked him as a mentor.

Poor Reagan. I admire her style but she couldn't even catch her breath. When the coaches say 'please America just realize that she was attempting something difficult' that is not good. But I hope she stays because I do want to see what she does next.

[Padma]

I've gone from trying to see what people see in Reagan to giving up and admitting I see absolutely nothing in her--not cute (imo, perpetual "bitch face") and her vocal  stylings irritate me greatly! I was rewatching (really, listening in the background) to the first week of blind auditions and without knowing who it was couldn't stand how she broke up the syllables "ho -oh- oh- old". I couldn't stand it last week either and her tuneless rendition of "Sad Songs" did exactly the same thing. I don't have any impression that she has any idea what she's singing about most of the time and I hate her voice and how she is never, ever on key for anything. Ugh.

 

But, to my surprise, I wouldn't mind a CWB win. (And there goes Blake and his branding again. "Here's a guy that could have been a star long ago if he'd just had a lucky break! Get behind this talented underdog everyone!" But I love the humility of it.)

 

Hope Damien squeaks through another week. Chris can go home, but it will probably be one of the better singers who just got a"golden oldie" to sing (Anita, Damien, Danica) . Luke could be in that group too, but I think he'll get by another week, hopefully. CWB got one--but killed it.

 

If they had a theme week, the first theme I'd want is for them to choose their own song so Pharrell and Adam will stop.Also I'm not sure what Anita really wants--is she like Mantik and always does reggae? I'm not sure about that..

[jjjmoss]

We're already at 70% males left, and 2 of the bottom 3 for both iTunes and Twitter right now are females Reagan and Anita...

[Padma]

I'm still in for Danica and Anita.

re: the announcement from Ferguson. Is it fair to count votes this week when some of the performances were not broadcast in many places this week?

[Kayleigh1717]

This season is a little odd for me as there is no one I really really want to see win, and no one (not that Sugar is gone)  I mute after the first minute or so.

Matt - I've never really cared for, but Adam has a knack for picking songs that work well for him

Anita - why did she have to do a reggae version of the song, it just did not work.  She has such a good voice, but it is lost in the gimick.

Damien - like him a lot, but wish he would stop over-emoting

Regan - Blake needs to stop letting her pick songs.  She does not understand what works for her voice

Luke - another one I'm indifferent to, but did a good job tonight

Craig - I have never liked country at all, but for some reason I find myself rooting for him.  His version of I Walk the Line was a bit strange, but I kind of like it.l

Ryan - meh

DaNica - love her voice, but cringed when I saw she was doing Whitney.  Whitney songs should be banned, no one can do them justice.

Taylor John - same as with Matt, I don't ge the appeal.  Maybe I'm just geting too old

Chris - I really like his voice, but I'm worried that the song choice might hurt him, just like it did in the first live round

[pivot]

I think this season is a pretty big pile of meh. I don't dislike any of the contestants left, but I am not crazy about any of them either.

I really feel like Adam hosed Damien with that song choice. He is crazy nuts about his other two contestants and gave both of them interesting song choices. Then, he gives Damien a shitty song. He does this every season. It's why I'd never pick him for my coach if was a contestant.

And Gwen has pigeonholed Anita into reggae music and won't let her out of that box. She would have killed doing Whitney's My Love is Your Love without making it reggae.

I'm guessing that we will see a bottom 3 of Damien, Anita and Reagan.

I expect the finale of the show to be 3 boring white guys. I don't really care which of them win as long as it means we get a more interesting finale next season.

[Ketzel]

When  Adam decided Chris was going to sing 'Uptown Funk," I wonder if he knew that Bruno Mars was going to be performing it on SNL the Saturday before.  I was dancing in my living room, watching Bruno and his crew tear the place up. Forty-eight hours later, out comes Chris and I actually fell asleep on the couch before he was finished.

Edited November 25, 2014 by Ketzel

[mercfan3]

I thought Chris, Craig, and Danica were fantastic.

Reagan was terrible. And I like her a lot, but she was.

 

Everyone else was somewhere between good and meh. 

[tmelange]

I just want to take a moment to say how impressed I was with CWB's hair. They've not only lightened it, but now it's perfectly feathered and at an ideal length to make him look younger and hotter. LOL It had body, but was producted-up so it didn't move. He looks really good now, much better than his blind audition. /shallow observations

[Muffyn]

I'm starting to think Taylor whateverthefuck has the mark of the beast on his forehead.  First the hat; now a really stupid headband.  What is he hiding? 

[DownTheShore]

I was wondering about that headband too.  Maybe he has a freakishly large forehead or a receding hairline...or maybe his head will explode if he doesn't keep something banded around it.

I just wish Gwen would stop commenting on how well the various contestants are dressed.  The show is called "The Voice" and not "The Look" for a reason.

[rollerblade]

I just wish Gwen would stop commenting on how well the various contestants are dressed.  The show is called "The Voice" and not "The Look" for a reason.

Well.... :)

I just want to take a moment to say how impressed I was with CWB's hair. They've not only lightened it, but now it's perfectly feathered and at an ideal length to make him look younger and hotter. LOL It had body, but was producted-up so it didn't move. He looks really good now, much better than his blind audition. /shallow observations

 

I still want the show to be Blinds all the way to the end. Judges may know what they look like, but audience should only get to see a silhouette performing, so the votes will be based on The Voice, and not The Voice-plus-Everything-Else.

 

 

I really feel like Adam hosed Damien with that song choice. He is crazy nuts about his other two contestants and gave both of them interesting song choices. Then, he gives Damien a shitty song. He does this every season. It's why I'd never pick him for my coach if was a contestant.

 

Can't put 100% blame on Adam here.

 

Someone from last week's thread mentioned that the song selections are a collaboration between singer, coach & producers. Basically none of the singers are forced to do a particular song, I think. So either all the songs on Damien list are "worse" than You and I, or he doesn't know what he wants and decide to leave his fate in Adam's hands.

Edited November 25, 2014 by rollerblade

[Padma]

Well.... :)

 

I still want the show to be Blinds all the way to the end. Judges may know what they look like, but audience should only get to see a silhouette performing, so the votes will be based on The Voice, and not The Voice-plus-Everything-Else.

 

 

 

Can't put 100% blame on Adam here.

 

Someone from last week's thread mentioned that the song selections are a collaboration between singer, coach & producers. Basically none of the singers are forced to do a particular song, I think. So either all the songs on Damien list are "worse" than You and I, or he doesn't know what he wants and decide to leave his fate in Adam's hands.

I didn't see that thread, but from what I've read, the degree of involvement of singer / coach / producers in song selection varies from team to team and sometimes from week to week. I think there are many times when singers are shut out of the decision-making process completely. 

[tmelange]

I think Adam saw how wildly successful Matthew was with the christian vote two seasons ago and that's the lane he put Damien in with that song choice last week. "You & I" is sort of in that same vein, "Here we are on earth together, It's you and I, God has made us fall in love, it's true..." He's pandering to a demographic in the same way Blake panders to the country vote. I don't think Adam is racially-challenged per se; he's just separating his contestants into lanes so they're not competing directly against each other until the end. Or at least that's the impression that I got.

[glitterpants]

They're all killing me softly with these song choices.

 

Is it just me or did Anita sound less good than she usually does? It was particularly apparent during the group song. 

 

Part of it sounded like the Kookss? Maybe that's what I was hearing. I might just be the bland white boy thing.

 

Speaking of bland, I checked out Matt's original material from his pre-Voice album and I've come to the conclusion that Adam and Matt are doing a great job of making Matt seem more exciting (musically) than he actually is. 

 

In spite of what the coaches are trying to sell us, I don't think Ryan is "rock" at all and his voice sounds best when he's singing more R&B-ish stuff. Mostly I wish he wouldn't do that awkward half-squat when he performs.

 

Chris is my anti-Taylor Three Names, I tend to have a negative reaction to the former and a positive reaction to the latter. 

 

Oh, and Pharrell must be stopped. It was good to see Christina, maybe she could hide his collection of hats and take his chair while he's looking for them.

Edited November 25, 2014 by glitterpants

[Shades of Scarlet]

Heh.  The anti-Adam hate is (as usual) strong. 

 

Mostly a bland night with a few strong performances. 

 

Matt (Adam) - Fix You, Coldplay:  This was a good performance, although I'm really tired of everyone, not just Matt, exhorting the studio audience (which usually doesn't need much encouragement to get excited) to "come on" and whatnot and running into crowds of audience members.  I'm also over giving the contestants songs by artists that they've already done once during the competition.  I want to see them stretch their range a bit.  Note, though, that this was not an egregious instance of that, sicne "Yellow" was a battles-round song that Matt "only" dueted on, and since "Yellow" and "Fix You" are fairly different as Coldplay songs go. 

 

Anita (Gwen) - Let Her Go, Passenger.  First, I love the song, but I think this is the fourth time it's been performed on The Voice and it's only 2.5 years old.  Weird.  As for Anita, I'm over her.  She was horrible during the group song and when she attempted to vocalize out of the limited "reggae range" for this song, she was flat.  It was bad.  If she insists on Reggae-ing everything up, which she does, it's time for her to go.  Nice gal, but should be done now. 

 

Damien (Adam) - You and I, Stevie Wonder.  Loved it.  Yeah, it's from the early seventies.  Yeah, I know (or do I?) that Adam "always" does "this" to "his AA contestants."  Except that the producers and Damien have a say as well, and the point of emphasis for me is that Damien sang the heck out of this and sounded great doing it.  He should stay.  

 

Reagan (Blake) - Fancy, Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX.  Awful.  Last week, I assumed that Reagan sounded bad on "Sad Songs" because she was still recovering from strep throat, but now I'm starting to wonder.  Also, this was just an atrocious song choice by Blake.  Where's the outrage for his selection?  I know Blake is a great, humble guy and I quite like him, but if Adam and Pharrell are going to get slammed for their song choices, I think Blake needs to answer for this one.  You just can't do an electrohop rap in a singing competition, even though I was impressed with the band's instrumentation.  By the way, it was ridiculous that the show didn't mention Charli XCX, you know, the gal who mostly did the actual singing on the original?  Maybe they didn't get her permission.   

 

Luke (Pharrell) - Try a Little Tenderness, Various (Otis Redding version).  Luke doesn't move me one way or the other, but I thought his performance here was pretty decent.  I don't care how modern the song is or isn't; it's been covered successfully as recently as 2011.  Luke made it sound current and I liked his take on it. 

 

Craig (Blake) - I Walk the Line, Johnny Cash.  YES!!  Craig is just showing unbelievable growth on this show.  He knocked this one out of the park with his tone and a really nifty arrangement that paid proper homage to the classic but gave Craig and the band some interesting things to do.  I loved it when Gwen commented that she was so glad she stole Craig.  Yes, but what about when you then promptly picked Anita over him?  Not mentioned.  It looked to me like Adam was struggling not to overpraise Craig because I think he knows that Blake has his sleeper surprise of the season.  In fact, I'm not sure Craig's much of a sleeper anymore.

 

Ryan (Gwen) - Starlight, Muse.  Wow, an actual rock song.  Good call on the song choice by Gwen.  I thought Ryan sounded very good on this and improved dramatically from the sessions we saw to the live number.  No way he should go home off of this one.  

 

DaNica (Pharrell) - I Have Nothing, Whitney Houston.  This is my favorite Whitney song so I'm really not too bothered by its selection or how Tessanne Chin performed it.  It was obvious from the Clive Davis bit (which I enjoyed) that DaNica is a big WH fan, so let her sing this one.  The only problem is that now she's done two of them, so no more please.  However, I imagine she stays.

 

Taylor (Gwen) - Come Together, Beatles.  I didn't think he sang this all that well, actually.  iTunes disagrees, but I found the Blake/Adam/Shakira/Usher performance that opened S4 much more interesting.  I was also too distracted by the bizarre headband, which made him look like an extra from The Karate Kid.  However, when he was "framed" by the mock-up Polaroid for a few seconds, he was hatless.  HATLESS!  No headgear.  First time ever on camera?      

 

Chris (Adam) - Uptown Funk, Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars.  Good song that I had not heard before.  Chris made this work in a way that Reagan utterly failed to do with "Fancy," and of course no one knows this song yet.  He's really improving and appears to be benefiting greatly from Adam's coaching and song selection.  Great natural performer, too.   

 

I'd vote off Anita and Reagan.  I've got to believe they will be both in the bottom three, perhaps with Luke.

 

Deeeeee-lighted to see Aguilera.  Loved her strained "nice gal" routine.           

Edited November 25, 2014 by Shades of Scarlet

[tmelange]

I listened to the performances on youtube with my headphones, and they all sounded a bit better than on the TV. That said, what most impressed me about Matt was the way his voice didn't change at all when he was in the crowd hugging people. He pulled all that off with complete vocal consistency. That was my take-away.

 

Ryan's take on Starlight lacked...well it lacked. He gave me the impression of a guy doing musical theater or just Broadway theater in general. To me, his voice lacks depth or uniqueness, or something. I think I liked Josiah Hawley's version better. The cuts to Gwen while he was singing were positively scary, with that red lipstick and the fawning expression. Of course, that wasn't as bad as Adam sitting with his mouth open during...CWB's performance? I have to go back and look for his crazy expression.

 

Luke's voice does nothing for me. For a guy in the "white guy singing soul" category, his voice lacks the heft of Josh Kaufman or even Ryan Innis. I think he'd be perfectly serviceable if he were in a different lane. Also, what is it with him and the lyrics. It's "shabby dress" not "shaggy dress." 

 

I didn't mind Anita's reggae version of "Let Her Go" but it lost all of the emotion. Her version needed...some of those reggae riffs to give the version some authenticity.

 

Damien did better than I expected with "You and I" but neither his voice nor his persona excite me. I found that low tremble in his voice annoying. He reminds me of a serviceable wedding singer.

 

I can't believe Blake picked that song for Reagan. It is opposite of his entire philosophy. I have to believe she wanted to do it and he let her. All I have to say to her is just because it looks easy doesn't mean that it is. She has great presence, but she's not ready for prime time.

 

As for Pharrell -- I had such high expectations, and all he's given us is a bunch of life-improvement platitudes. I am a long way from impressed.

 

CWB is #6 on the itunes chart. That's all I need to say about that as I hit replay again on youtube.

Edited November 25, 2014 by tmelange

[nextian]

I think they made it really clear in the intro package that Reagan picked Fancy, not Blake. She said that she really wanted to do it. From what I have read, I don't think Blake ever overrides an artist who really wants to do a song. Should Blake have refused to let her sing it? I don't think so, but if course that is open for debate.

[Shades of Scarlet]

I think they made it really clear in the intro package that Reagan picked Fancy, not Blake. She said that she really wanted to do it. From what I have read, I don't think Blake ever overrides an artist who really wants to do a song. Should Blake have refused to let her sing it? I don't think so, but if course that is open for debate.

 

Ah, if so, my bad, I missed that.  I thought I remembered Blake saying "I gave Reagan 'Fancy' by Iggy Azalea"  as he always does, but now that you mention it I have no memory of that intro and may have fast forwarded through it until I saw them standing there with Colbie Caillat.   

 

ETA, no, I'm happy if the coach doesn't, as a matter of personal policy, override the contestant's selection.  Even one as bad as this.   

Edited November 25, 2014 by Shades of Scarlet

[poppy-]

Oh that was definitely all Reagan. Blake said he admired her "big ideas". I'll be honest , I'd have loved it if she'd been able to pull it off. The first verse I was even optimistic- the way she kind of lounged-up 'you should want a bad bitch like this'. Put her in a studio , she'll make something fun.

Anita embarrassed herself in the group song. I don't really get her. I like her vibe but her voice doesn't seem like anything special.

The young man who looks like a lesbian probably should not have shown his house on tv. Since it is a mansion on an enormous estate. I like that he gave props to his mom, though.

Craig will win and I'm ok with that.

I thought it was so cute that they actually had someone crying about the legendary producer. Then she said she wanted to sing for him and I kind of cringed. I get it. And she's good. But still.

Oh one more, I enjoyed Patrick telling a contestant to not pronounce all the words so properly. So many vocal coaches harp on diction. But he's not wrong. I love those little glimpses into technique.

Edited November 25, 2014 by poppy-

[Primetimer]

Everybody shhh, Diana Ross is here!

Read the story

[sydneyjane]

Yeah, I thought it was Reagan's idea to sing Fancy, too - not Blake's.  Whatever...it wasn't a good song choice for her.  Part of the problem, I think, was that she was just doing too much running around on the stage.  You could hear her out of breath throughout most of the song.  It might have been better if she'd stayed in one place...or maybe not. I still like Reagan, but she hasn't been giving me a reason to lately.  I wouldn't be surprised if she was in the bottom 3.

 

On the other hand, I think it's safe to say that Blake can count on CWB for the finals. 

 

Other comments:

Is Anita going to do reggae every week from now on?

Damien doing Steve Wonder. What a, uh, surprise.  Who's next? Freddie Jackson? Luther?

 

Overall, I'm not really like this year's contestants all that much.  I haven't downloaded a song yet, or even gone to YouTube to re-watch any performances. I can see CWB winning it, but...blah. 

[pivot]

I think they made it really clear in the intro package that Reagan picked Fancy, not Blake. She said that she really wanted to do it. From what I have read, I don't think Blake ever overrides an artist who really wants to do a song. Should Blake have refused to let her sing it? I don't think so, but if course that is open for debate.

One of the reasons that Blake is a good coach. He lets contestants have a strong say in their song choices and is a collaborative effort. Adam is the opposite of that. So many of his contestants have come off the show saying Adam picked their songs for them and he has screwed so many of his non-favored contestants over this way.

And why is it that Adam's white contestants get upbeat, recent songs while he saddles his AA contestants with outdated, soul music. And he consistently only gives his AA contestants songs sung by an AA artist while not placing the same limitations on his white contestants.

[mercfan3]

Why is it okay for a country artist to sing country every week, but not okay for a Reggae artist to sing a Reggae song every week? 

 

According to Chamuel, Kelly, and Carrington..contestants are never forced to sing a song. They may not get what is on their list, but they don't have to sing something they don't want to sing. (Unless, it's different from other coaches besides Usher and Adam...but I doubt it. Former contestants would complain.) 

 

I do question how easy some contestants can say no to the coaches. Michelle even talked about how difficult it was to say no to Usher for a few of his suggestions because of who he is, and I'd imagine she was one of the more stubborn (in a good way) contestants the show has had. 

 

I think a big problem for Reagan is Blake really doesn't know how to help her. She's not anywhere close to him musically...so he wouldn't been able to help her arrange "Fancy" in a way that would do well. He is not a performer, more of a sit down and strum the guitar type..so her breath control issues are probably tough for him to help fix too, because that's just not part of who he is. I think she might have been better off with Gwen, who is much more similar to her musically. (Or in past seasons, Xtina, Usher, or Shakira...) 

Edited November 25, 2014 by mercfan3

[Princess Lucky]

Man, like the recapper I was weary of Craig doing Walk The Line but boy did he prove me wrong. Such a good performance. And it was a good in-between style; not his all-out rock jams, but not a romantic ballad either. It was a little of both, it was different than all his previous performances and it was a great reworking of a brilliant song. I also think Craig succeeds in being beautifully emotive. He's masculine and macho-looking so when he brings out the emotion it's almost surprising, and he does not overdo it. He's not being dramatic, he sings songs he personally connects to and it shows. Honestly, year after year I find myself rooting for a Team Blake contestant and this year it's no different. I loved it when Blake said he wasn't better than Craig, he'd just had a lucky break along the way. Humble and true. And I agree with Gwen that he can have a real career afterwards (I mean, if The Swon Brothers can do it, right?).

 

My second favourite was Luke. I love him. He has a distinctive tone that makes it OK when he sings old school classics (unlike Demian, who also has a fantastic voice but it's not different enough to add to the classics). And his performance was so confident, which I loved after last week's incident.

 

Speaking of Demian, it really is obvious that Adam is giving Chris and Matt songs from 5 minutes ago while Demian can only sing dated hits. I don't know how to feel about that. Chris is cute and all and he does a good job but I don't see myself rooting for him, I don't enjoy him that much. Matt does a great job but I remain sceptical of the fact he seems to have no originality other than in his tone. He sings huge hits pretty much the exact same way they were written (God Only Knows was the only song he changed and that was only because he couldn't do all the harmonies because he's one person). I don't care much about it, but I do like his voice.

 

Danica did a great job and she's a great vocalist but again with these song choices? I'm surprised Pharrell isn't really giving his team members more recent songs.

 

As for Team Gwen, I'm still surprised Ryan is there, Taylor actually did a good job with a great song choice (he really opened up as a performer and I enjoyed that) and Anita was shaky yet interesting.

 

Lastly, Reagan sadly is proving she wasn't ready for The Voice just yet. She needs vocal lessons. The raw material and the creativity are there, but she can't go very far right now. I remember Danielle Bradbery who was similarly young and didn't even have creativity (nor did she connect with the songs emotionally) but her instrument was on point. She could sing like nobody's business. Reagan has been faltering. I like her and I'd like to see her turn it around but I'm not sure that's possible.

[mercfan3]

Not every teenage girl is like Danielle Bradbery and Jacquie Lee. Their composure was probably the most impressive thing about them. Bria Kelly struggled with that aspect too, IMO. Reagan is a confident girl, but I'm not sure she's ready for the big stage. 

[SunnyBeBe]

While I wasn't  impressed with any of the song choices last night, my top 4 favorites are STILL Craig, Damien, Matthew and Danika.  

 

My standout performance of the night was Taylor and I haven't even liked Taylor.  I cannot stand that hat, but, I could tolerate the headband. lol  I liked that he took a chance and actually seemed very into it.  His best performance yet, IMO. and even though he's not in the same league with some of the other contestants, IMO,  I even voted for him.  (In addition to my top favorite 4.)

 

Adam just makes me sick.  He sabotages his own team so his favorite one can win.  He's always done that and it really ticks me off.  I wish someone would publicly  call him on it.  These old time, boring songs are not helping Damien. They will bring him down.  Adam knows this.  

[MaryPatShelby]

I thought this entire show was meh, and fast forwarded through so much of  it. But what I really wanted to talk about was the styling. Were they going for Little Mermaid with Danica? If so, A+! Those hair extensions are completely unflattering, and red and wavy.....just no.  And Ryan Sill's shirt looked like what the crew of the USS Enterprise wore.  I just couldn't watch him without thinking "Dammit Jim!"

[hks]

I'm starting to think Taylor whateverthefuck has the mark of the beast on his forehead.  First the hat; now a really stupid headband.  What is he hiding? 

That is exactly what I thought when I saw his headband. Now I feel the need to research him and see if he's shown us his forehead all season. Maybe it's devil horns? :)  Regarding his performance: I actually liked it for once. Usually he bores me, and I was worried about this song choice. But it went well. Except...as I am writing, I can't remember it at all. So maybe not as well as I thought when I watched it.

 

I so disagree! This was the most I've liked Luke in a long time. I'm cool with Team Pharrell and his oldies. I find the oldies preferable to Nick Jonas or generic songs I'll forget ever existed in a few months.

 

As much as I loathe Adam, I must admit I'm a fan of his song choices this season. Matt is picking interesting songs but has an unremarkable voice. Damien started slow but ended strong this week. 

I agree with all of this. I know everyone keeps saying they think the "oldies" are a bad pick, but I loved both Luke and Adam this week. I mean, maybe I'm old (34), but as long as a person does an amazing job, and brings life into a song, I don't care when it comes from.  Both Luke and Damien killed their songs this week.  And in Damien's case, he seems to be bringing the house down when he sings -- so I don't think the old choices are hurting him any. I guess we will see.

 

Looking at everyone else, I think it's Reagan who should go home.  I really like her but it's almost painful to watch/listen to her sing these songs so out of breath all the time. I constantly want her to be able to stop and breathe before continuing. 

[Padma]

I think Adam saw how wildly successful Matthew was with the christian vote two seasons ago and that's the lane he put Damien in with that song choice last week. "You & I" is sort of in that same vein, "Here we are on earth together, It's you and I, God has made us fall in love, it's true..." He's pandering to a demographic in the same way Blake panders to the country vote. I don't think Adam is racially-challenged per se; he's just separating his contestants into lanes so they're not competing directly against each other until the end. Or at least that's the impression that I got.

I guess it's one of those "agree to disagree" things. Imo, Blake isn't "pandering to the country vote", he's a country singer and he tends to give his team country songs, which obviously is what he knows best and especially works well for his country singers.

 

Why does Adam give his black guys 70's/80s music sung by black men? Either he's stereotyping them or intentionally hosing them. Actually, imo, maybe both. I feel sorry for Damien because he's so good and doesn't have a chance to win this win Adam as his coach. Then again, he chose him when he could have gone with anyone, so....

Speaking of Demian, it really is obvious that Adam is giving Chris and Matt songs from 5 minutes ago while Demian can only sing dated hits. I don't know how to feel about that.

I know how I feel -- hate it. But good observation about how contemporary the other two are compared to Demian. It's especially obvious, also, because he's older. And that's exactly how Adam is branding him, "middle aged, black guy singing hits from other AA artists from long ago." It's so obvious--and so obviously not a strategy designed to make him win..

Edited November 25, 2014 by Padma

[meep.meep]

I thought this entire show was meh, and fast forwarded through so much of  it. But what I really wanted to talk about was the styling. Were they going for Little Mermaid with Danica? If so, A+! Those hair extensions are completely unflattering, and red and wavy.....just no.  And Ryan Sill's shirt looked like what the crew of the USS Enterprise wore.  I just couldn't watch him without thinking "Dammit Jim!"

 C'mon - it's at least TNG!  So "Make it so"

 

Little meep.meep hasn't seen much of the season.  She was underwhelmed with everyone.  Danica - "she should sing Adele"  Me - "that's just because of the hair, she should sing Aretha"  She was greatly perplexed by Taylor three names - "this is singing?"  I don't think I've ever seen an episode of The Voice where I didn't end up singing one, or more, of the songs over and over that evening.  Last night - nothing.  Barrels have been scraped.

 

Although, it should be counted as a triumph that Christina remembered to wear pants.

[Ohwell]

Don't know if this has been mentioned before, but Craig reminds me of Darryl Hall, looks wise.

[Muffyn]

Singing older songs can be a blessing or a curse.  If the song is well known and loved and does not have only one version that people generally enjoy, it can work out well for an artist.  If it is well known by only an older audience and has not carried on with the younger audiences, that can harm them.  Also, if the song must be sung a certain way by a certain person to be considered good (that is, if a majority of people just cannot imagine the song being changed at all) .  Some of the singers may be limited by their mentor's knowledge of other genres.  Adam may got to the 70s/80s soul realm because he is more knowledgeable about R&B from that era than the current artists.  In those cases, the singer needs to push for a better choice.  That may be hard, especially for someone like Damien, who does a good job with the songs he's performing; they just might not be the songs that keeps him in to the end of the competition.  

 

I get the feeling Luke knows a lot of songs from singing along with the radio.  He typically gets the lyrics close to right, but he doesn't get them right.  He had a few good mix ups last night.  

 

Reagan would benefit greatly from a real vocal coach.  She needs to learn how to breathe properly.  I'd hate to see the "youngest person in the competition" pass out from lack of oxygen.  Leave that to me when I'm climbing stairs.  

 

Taylor (Gwen) - Come Together, Beatles.  I didn't think he sang this all that well, actually.  iTunes disagrees, but I found the Blake/Adam/Shakira/Usher performance that opened S4 much more interesting.  I was also too distracted by the bizarre headband, which made him look like an extra from The Karate Kid.  However, when he was "framed" by the mock-up Polaroid for a few seconds, he was hatless.  HATLESS!  No headgear.  First time ever on camera?                

Now I have to watch again just to see him without a hat or a bandanna.  Did you check for the mark of the beast?  An on/off switch?  A model number? An unfortunate tattoo?  A fivehead?  Inquiring minds want to know!

[Noreaster]

Damien (Adam) - You and I, Stevie Wonder.  Loved it.  Yeah, it's from the early seventies.  Yeah, I know (or do I?) that Adam "always" does "this" to "his AA contestants."  Except that the producers and Damien have a say as well, and the point of emphasis for me is that Damien sang the heck out of this and sounded great doing it.  He should stay.    

Yeah, I don't really see why some are saying that Adam always does this to African-American contestants. In another thread, I went through my memory of Adam's previous AA contestants (Amanda Brown, Judith Hill, Delvin Choice, also mentioned Javier whose season I didn't watch).  A lot of different song choice strategies. And some of these contestants picked their own songs too.  

 

Maybe some are conflating other coaches and AA contestants?  Just last season, Sisaundra was given some oldies.  

 

Anyway, I definitely don't see Adam trying to sabotage Damien (not that I ever think any coach tries to sabotage any contestant).  Adam seems really enthusiastic about Damien onscreen, and the results have been good so far. Oh, and there was that Sam Smith song recently.