S07.E21: Live Eliminations

[Tara Ariano]

Two artists are eliminated in a results edition. Taylor Swift is slated to perform.

[Princess Lucky]

Yikes. Is Danica the only woman left? And was Ryan saved again (defeating the instant save curse)? And is Team Adam still intact? Ugh.

 

At least Team Blake fans can now focus all their voting on Craig.

[HotForBacon]

So happy Chris was safe :D

[NewRadical]

I am sad that Blake is down to one... luckily it's a really strong one. That being said, I thought Ryan did the best of those bottom three.

 

If he makes it again, I am going to lol so hard. 

[Valny]

Ok thank the TV gods, the right people got eliminated. It couldn't have been just my ears right? Both girls sounded like crap! It was saying out loud "oh come on, this is bad"  so much off keyness from reggae girl(wow, that last note!) and was Reagan sick or something, her voice was sounding weaker than usual. Sorry, but they both were painful to listen to tonight.

 

Craig is my pick for the winner, has been for a while.

[Dots And Stripes]

The instant save performances were paaaaaainful. Anita's big note sounded off. I probably would have given it to Ryan based on that round, but not by much. I still would have preferred to see one of the women saved.

 

I think being the only member of Team Blake and the only woman could help CWB and Danica respectively. Time to start losing some of Team Adam, pronto.

[LakeGal]

Interesting that Ryan got to sing last again this week.  Not surprised he was twitter saved.  The females both sounded awful.  Plus the young girls are going to vote for the cute boy.

 

I hope next week Chris doesn't get to sing last yet again.  They should make all of Adam's team sing at the beginning of the show since he is the only one with all his singers.

 

I did not think Pharrell sounded very good in his group sing.  I noticed he got a bit political at the end of the song.

[rollerblade]

Best of the worst, my man! Next week he will probably face Damien and Chris for the save. He'll just have to figure out how to stand out between Sam Cooke and One Direction and he'll sail onto the Top 6!

 

*sarcastic cackle*

[Ketzel]

If Pharrell had been up for elimination with his team, I think he would have gone, based on that team performance. He was painfully flat every time he came in and it was especially obvious next to Danica, who is always pitch perfect. But I thought his quick reference to what is going on in Ferguson was a very genuine moment.

 

Damien sounded beautiful in the team number with Adam. He really stood out, especially in direct comparison to the other contestants singing alongside him.

[buckybruce]

America got it right. Reagan & Anita were just awful. With Ryan just marginally better in terms of performance. Gwen will be happy her little boy toy will still be around for another week to crush on. It will be between CWB and Harry Potter for the final two, and, like most elections, it will be who gets out to vote.  I can't vote up here in the Great White North, and am too tech phobic to try and figure out how to get around the out of country voter blocking, but, would vote for CWB for the win. Just like I would have voted for Tessanne, had I been able.

 

It was nice to see The Voice treated all the Top Ten, and their families to a Thanksgiving dinner. Interesting to see CWB take the lead as the "elder statesman" of the group when making a toast. He just seems so genuine as a person. He alluded to once to making "bad choices". I wonder what they were?

[mercfan3]

Yea, Reagan and Anita were two of my favorites..but Ryan absolutely killed them. Although, I may not have put Anita in the B3 this week (I probably would have thrown luke or Damien in there..) 

[blueray]

I'm glad my favorite two got through Matt and Creg. I thought that they sung the best yesterday. I agree with those who went home, though it's sad now that there is only one girl left.

 

I said this to the people I was watching with but is it just me or Pharell and his team seemed like they were in an SNL skit. Danica was the only one who could sing, the other guy and Pharell seemed like they were parodying it lol.

[beaker73]

Ryan again?!? Are you effing kidding me?!

[tmelange]

Pharrell is not much of a singer, which is why he mostly produces. That performance was all style and no substance on his part. Pharrell is no Usher.

 

Reagan clearly lost her voice. Whether it's a result of strep or overwork, she clearly was soldiering through with no voice. That performance was the worst thing I've heard in ages. She had no voice. My cat sings better than that.

 

These competitions are a long vocal road. If you don't take care of your voice, you crap out.

Edited November 26, 2014 by tmelange

[Sunnyside]

Ryan again??!!! I can't stop laughing. This guy just won't go away! Could it be all those posters his mother plastered all over their house? I can't stop laughing but I gotta say hey, I agree, he was the best of the worse. I was rooting for Anita but she was just too weak this week with wrong songs. Never was a Reagan fan, so....

I'm not a fan of country but been rooting for Craig since the blinds. Something just appeals about him and his story seems most genuine. Not the best vocal but has the most stage presence out of the rest, IMO.

I'm glad Damien was saved. Plenty of more should go home before him, such as Chris.

Chris had two (2) close-the-show opportunities. Enough. His stiff, predictable stage performance couldn't even be helped by all the grand lighting, band, backup singers, and dancers -- he lacks natural R&B swag, needs more experience. So I'm bored with him. Not a fan of Matt but he has been performing so much better.

I like Danika and she deserves to be there! Yeah she's boring too, but girl can sing.

I would dare to say that Luke is as much a coffee house singer as the Amish guy. Luke needs to stay in his lane and stop singing all those power house classics. His voice can't carry the volume that comes natural for those who can belt them out naturally.

[Noreaster]

So I just watched the group and instant-save performances online. Groups were great.  Even Pharrell, who really can't sing, was entertaining. I especially liked Damien's part tonight. He sang some of his lines in a short staccato manner that sounded really good to me. Something I noticed he did in another song, either last week or the week before. Would love him to get an upbeat song and show that side more. 

 

The instant-saves were awful.  Do the contestants get to choose their songs and rehearse them at all? Ryan's performance was really boring but at least it didn't hurt my ears. Reagan and Anita deserved to go home based solely on those performances.  

 

Here are this week's itunes results as of voting close.  There was a really big gap between the bottom three and the rest of the field. (source: http://headlineplanet.com/home/2014/11/25/voices-craig-wayne-boyd-secure-itunes-bonus-taylor-john-williams-follows/)

 

6 – Craig Wayne Boyd – I Walk the Line

25 – Taylor John Williams – Come Together
27 – Matt McAndrew – Fix You
38 – Chris Jamison – Uptown Funk
49 – DaNica Shirey – I Have Nothing
51 – Luke Wade – Try a Little Tenderness
59 – Damien – You and I
126 – Reagan James – Fancy
141 – Anita Antoinette – Let Her Go
174 – Ryan Sill – Starlight

 

Chris had two (2) close-the-show opportunities. Enough. 

Chris closed the show this week, was second-to-last the week before, and second in the live playoffs.

 

I think the producers generally slot what they perceive (based on rehearsals) to be the better performances later.  For the past two weeks, I have found the second hour to be far more entertaining than the first hour.

[jjjmoss]

Weird gender shift when both S4 and S5 had a female T2. 

[iknow]

I definitely agree with the results. I heavily disliked Reagan from the beginning (she could have used Usher's don't-lose-your-breath bootcamp), and Anita was so off-key, I was cringing all the way through her performance. The women this year have really not been as good as the men, and I expect Danica to be out soon, too. She needs more current, less belt-y stuff to work with.

 

I notice many people who dislike country music are rooting for CWB - count me in! Country music isn't popular at all where I'm from, but his beautiful, warm, deep tone and confident stage presence make it seem like I'm watching a seasoned artist with a story to tell. (It doesn't hurt that he looks like Sawyer from Lost LOL.)

 

I also love Taylor, Damien and Matt. They all have incredible voices, and Matt and Taylor have been given great songs. Damien needs to get more current ASAP in order to stay in the competition (same goes for Luke).

 

I don't hate any of the singers left, but I wouldn't lose sleep over Danica or Chris, really. Ryan and Luke are in the middle for me, they're either good or meh depending on song choice.

Edited November 26, 2014 by iknow

[tmelange]

What struck me with the elimination performances is that the singers seemed unprepared. I don't know if the extra taping of the Thanksgiving dinner or the interaction with family meant less rehearsal time, but they all sounded bad and looked disconnected. Anita's performance seemed very throw-away, and Ryan's lacked energy. Of course, it could be a straight-up lack of talent, but to have them all do such a noticeably bad job seems to speak to a lack of prep time.

[Cementhead]

Not a fan of Ryan's but thought last night was actually his best performance yet.  And is it just me who is really bothered by the constant lip licking thing he does?  Ugh. 

 

And IMO, that was Reagan & Anita's worst perfomances.  Reagan runs out of breath after every line she sings (I know she has been sick but she's been like that since the get-go) and Anita was horribly off-key.  That big note moment was cringe-worthy.

 

 

I definitely agree with the results. I heavily disliked Reagan from the beginning (she could have used Usher's don't-lose-your-breath bootcamp), and Anita was so off-key, I was cringing all the way through her performance.

I swear I had not yet read this post above from  iknow before I posted.  I totally look like a copy-cat because we basically said the very same thing!

Edited November 26, 2014 by Cementhead

[Primetimer]

Sorry! The point is, we're basically down to a bunch of white guys.

Read the story

[Shades of Scarlet]

First off, the performance of "Only the Good Die Young" was one of my favorite-ever Voice performances, maybe the favorite, from a team.  Just splendid.  I thought all four of them sounded very good, and contrary to repeated allegations, Adam did not treat his three charges like backup singers; they each had an equal amount of lines and stood up there in line like a barbershop quartet.  Loved Merkovich's piano and the sax, too - we hardly ever get to hear good saxophone on this show because of its recent aversion to rock songs.

 

Yeah, Reagan was just done.  Nelly Furtado is not a great singer to begin with, but if I can do a credible job of singing one of her songs, a top-10 Voice contestant should be able to be as well.  All I took away from the performance was that Reagan indeed had the lung capacity of a bird, or in fact perhaps much less.  Birds chirp in tune, as well.  As far as Anita, nice to hear a Jason Mraz song (!!), but it was atrocious.  She just couldn't sing on key.  That glory note!!!   Oof.  I FFWDed through the coaches' comments but certainly hope it was less than efusive.  Or maybe they only went to Gwen and she stammered something about what a nice person Anita obviously is. 

 

I thought Ryan was good with "Collide," another bit of a reach by the Voice songbook committee that I appreciated; I started watching in S4 and don't recall hearing it much if ever on this show.  He was tired, I'm sure, but his pitch was good and his vocal was strong (for him).  Clearly he needs some kind of massive breakout this coming week to stay in the game. 

 

Enjoyed the Pharrell group sing although I thought Luke was trying to do some sort of bizarre Louis Armstrong impression, which didn't work. 

 

Loved the Thanksgiving interlude.  Cute! 

 

Taylor Swift was great.  I loved her hamming it up, thought her tone was excellent, and I appreciated that she used the Voice band instead of bringing along her own ensemble.  Not sure why it seemed like she didn't want to hug Carson given that she hugged every contestant who went in for a hug in the knockouts (I sure would have) and even said "I'm a hugger" to one of them.  But then he asks her two or three questions and she gives intelligent, nuanced, articulate answers without stumbling once over her words, just after singing and prancing all over the stage.  She's really pretty remarkable. 

 

Amusing/interesting that Blake is down to one, but it's the person who has to be the odds-on favorite to win.  I don't think Team Pharrell has any chance and I think Taylor's limited emoting is going to bite him at some point, even if he did break out of that somewhat with "Come Together."  Team Adam should be the source of Craig's competition, but there's a long way to go.

Edited November 26, 2014 by Shades of Scarlet

[basiltherat]

Not just because he's older than most of the others, but Craig seems like he is alreadly THERE, meaning he is already a star and the rest of the world just needs to catch up to him.  He has great presence and on stage and comfort in the filmed sequences.  Win or not, with Blake on his team, he will have a great future.  One day, he may be the new Blake!

[Noreaster]

Craig is a ringer!

 

Just kidding. Really he is just one of the more experienced professional contestants.  Stands out in this season's cast but would have blended right in with the casts of earlier seasons. Personal preference...I appreciate his talent but don't care at all for his singing/performance style. 

[rollerblade]

Sorry! The point is, we're basically down to a bunch of white guys.

http://previously.tv/the-voice/two-girls-one-elimination-ew/"> Read the story

 

No CON(S) for Luke? :p

[Noreaster]

Oooh, just for fun, conspiracy theory alert!

 

The whole double-stealing of Craig was just a master plan by the producers. Would Gwen really have stolen Craig in the first place?  And has Blake ever stolen anyone back before?  He's usually so loyal to his original team members.  And you know, Blake actually threw James David Carter under the bus with the live playoff song.  I call sabotage!  Producers wanted a Craig win all along!

 

And genius marketer/coach that Blake is, he was so playing favorites with Craig.  Bussing Jessie and Reagan. Pleeeeease.  Blake wanted to pave the way for Craig. 

Edited November 26, 2014 by Noreaster

[Muffyn]

I said this to the people I was watching with but is it just me or Pharell and his team seemed like they were in an SNL skit. Danica was the only one who could sing, the other guy and Pharell seemed like they were parodying it lol.

I kept waiting for the punchline during this performance.  I'll take the Joey Ramone version, thanks!  

 

Adam did do a great job of sharing the spotlight with his team during the group sing.  It made it an enjoyable performance.

 

Okay, so I started nodding off during Anita's song.  Then she hit the glory note.  Or, in this case, the shame note.  Woke me right up.  

[Sammich63]

Oooh, just for fun, conspiracy theory alert!

 

The whole double-stealing of Craig was just a master plan by the producers. Would Gwen really have stolen Craig in the first place?  And has Blake ever stolen anyone back before?  He's usually so loyal to his original team members.  And you know, Blake actually threw James David Carter under the bus with the live playoff song.  I call sabotage!  Producers wanted a Craig win all along!

 

And genius marketer/coach that Blake is, he was so playing favorites with Craig.  Bussing Jessie and Reagan. Pleeeeease.  Blake wanted to pave the way for Craig. 

I don't really agree with the busing of Jessie.  I think Blake really, really likes her.  I think both James David and Reagan ended up being disappointments somewhat, but he has a real soft spot for Jessie.  I wouldn't be surprised at all if he doesn't end up having her sing backup on his tour and/or do a guest stint like Dia and Xenia did several seasons back.  He's also promoted RaeLyn (along with Miranda) and Gwen Sebastian, and neither one of them made it to the lives.  I do think that Blake saw the audience reaction to Craig, and probably Twitter responses/iTunes downloads, and realized he was the horse to bet on instead of the others. 

 

I think when Blake really likes a contestant or sees lots of potential , he will go the extra mile for them.  If not, then you don't hear from them again (Jermaine) or not hear much from them (Cole).  I was so hoping he was going to help jump start Cole's career, but it never happened.  I also don't think he's been involved in Terry McDermott's career since his season.  He definitely favors his country contestants and that's understandable. He's still my favorite coach and Gwen is now a close second.  It will remain to be seen how involved she will be with her contestants. 

[car54]

I'm sad to see Anita go, she had a bad week, and I think she put herself into a corner by mostly doing regae songs.    I liked her a lot but I don't think she was quite ready or maybe Gwen didn't push her to open her style up to more options, but I liked her a lot.

 

I think Adam usually takes a back seat on his group sings--and gives his team the spotlight.   I really liked their song last night, and I really disliked Pharrell's group song.

[abelard]

I think Taylor Swift just won the voice.  I mean that in the best way.  Her performance was perfect for this show.  Every contestant on The Voice from now on should study her performance of "Blank Space" last night to see how it should be done: she worked the crowd, played to the entire audience, sang two lines to the Coaches (with that cute little kick in Blake's directions), she winked right at the camera at just the right moment, she let the backup singers carry the tune in the middle so that she could move around more, and then she hit several glory notes at the end.  She's not a great dancer but her choreography was excellent and she executed it with precision: when she came back to the center of the stage, she really nailed her mark, she was dead center in relation to the set and the band behind her.  In addition to knowing how to maximize her interactions with the crowd and Coaches, her movement in the space, and her looks at the camera, she exuded a level of confidence that 99% of contestants can only dream of.  My goodness, well done, Taylor Swift.

 

Even though I know that big music stars get a lift from singing their latest releases on The Voice, I am always pleased to see it when a huge name still puts out enormous effort, and plans their Voice appearances really thoughtfully, and just really tries.  I hate it when big stars sort of half-a** it on this show.  I really appreciated that Taylor Swift not only sang on the catwalks surrounded by audience members, but touched hands and pulled up that one hipster dude and sang one line directly to him, right into his eyes.  She wasn't "above it," not at all.  She worked the show like she had yet to get her first #1.

 

Adam's group performance was really strong, though I think they could have benefitted from about three more rehearsals.  My big takeaway from that was how young and contemporary Damien looked.  He was styled to look like he fit in with the three white dudes, all of whom have a hipster-y vibe, and I loved that look on Damien: a light-colored denim jacket, dark-wash jeans.  Just so current, not "old" at all.  Why can't they style him like that when he sings his solos?  As someone commented upthread, I also thought his singing on Only the Good Die Young was very good, very pop/rock, and I would love to hear him sing more uptempo stuff like that.  He can do it!!  And it would make him seem his actual age!!!

 

Pharrell's group performance was very beautifully sung, even though Pharrell has about a tenth the singing chops of Danica and maybe half of the singing chops of Luke.  On this song, Luke's stupid smiling didn't bother me b/c it fit the song, since it's about optimism and hope and gratitude.  The real standout was Danica, by about ten miles.  What a voice.  She was singing in her upper register without strain.  She is so mellifluous it's crazy.  I think Danica gets guff for coming across as so much older than she is but otoh, she does great with old standards and her voice is old-school and she knocks that out of the park, maybe she should just sing Billie Holliday and Lena Horne from now on.  I think I would buy an album of Danica covering great jazz standards. 

 

CWB is getting a lot of praise today for being "already there," but he wasn't already there when he started this show -- The Voice really got him to this level.  I always thought he was a looker, but it took Gwen's styling to bring out the HOT that was waiting there, underneath the outdated fringe.  CWB has a bit of cheese in his performances, and Blake has managed to knock that right out and keep CWB squarely in the "outlaw cowboy" (as Blake says)-with-a-heart-of-gold box, where he's doing great.  CWB's proclivity to cheesiness now comes off as tenderness, and Blake's choices for him have let his voice come out full-range, with that depth and roughness that makes him really stand out.  Well done, Voice.  If CWB doesn't win this season, I'll think something is very very wrong either with America or the producers. 

 

So now I am rooting for CWB, Damien, Danica, and I guess T3N for the top 4. 

[HotForBacon]

Do they announce who's safe based on rankings?

[DownTheShore]

I agree with your summation, Abelard, and your final four picks.

 

It'll be interesting to see what song Damien sings next week, whether or not he really gets a chance to show his range with a song that's neither a "soul classic" or one of Adam's "let's see how much we can over-challenge both the singer and the audience" songs.

 

I thought Danika's singing in the team song really made Pharrell's seem very poor in comparison.  While I like the song they sung, I just don't think it worked for the three of them because there wasn't a cohesive song direction: Danika was singing a ballad, Pharrell was trying to be socially relevant, and Luke was mugging it up.  I liked Team Adam's song and was surprised how Billy Joel-ish Adam managed to sound.  I liked that everyone got equal time in the song and that they managed to harmonize well.

 

I agree that the coaching that CWB (always think "country western band" when I read those initials) has received on The Voice has given him a master class on how to present himself and sell his singing.  The coaches have really buffed the rough edges where they needed to be buffed and left others intact to set him apart from the other contestants.

 

I think what keeps saving Ryan (other than the fact that Anita and Reagan really sucked with their sing-off songs this week) is that he has that whole "cute puppy" vibe going.  He just seems to be such a likeable guy and he does a good job with his songs - neither extraordinary nor cringe-worthy - so that he's always going to get the benefit of the doubt in the vote.  He's this season's Jake Worthington, whom I always had a soft-spot for, because he reminded me of one of my nephews; never underestimate the power of affection-transference in this show's voting.

 

I've figured out why T3N always wears the hat or the headband - it's simply to distinguish him from the other white guys. I mean come on, Chris, Ryan and Luke?  For the longest time they were just Crewcut, Smiley and Square-Face to me before I actually associated their names.

Edited November 27, 2014 by DownTheShore

[hincandenza]

Do they announce who's safe based on rankings?

Almost certainly not; they can't mask the final 3, but otherwise they order the reveals as you'd expect to keep up the tension as much as possible. Even if, say, Adam's team had finished 1-2-3, they wouldn't announce all of them first.

Reagan totally Sarah Simmonsed herself right out of this show. Not sure what happened, but wow was she not ready for this, her voice blew out (or was never there), but her swan song only cemented why she left. Just awful, and it was awkward sitting through that long paise while blake tried to find the words of praisw. I'd predicted before the results that'd she'd be bottom 3 but then get saved... however, a couple of lines into her song and I knew it was all over, same with Anita. Ryan, to his credit, rose to the occasion just enough to get the save.

Nthing that at this point, CWB is loping towards victory. Who but maybe Matt still has anything to surprise us? DaNica and Damien are the best two singers, but they just don't go to that next level necessary, ever. Luke feels like he's running out of gas and picking poor songs, Chris and Ryan seem uninspired, and T3N is decent but also feels like amateur hour still. I think I've missed the 8th contestant, but I honestly can't remember them, so... that's pretty much my point. CWB has made the huge strides, and barring a collapse on his part should be in the finals. Blake wont let that happen.

Taylor Swift has really won me over, from her continued hitmaking and her appearances on the show. She's smart, articulate, hell of a performer and songwriter, and comes across as genuine. Future coach material right there... even though I'm 95% sure she lipsynced most of her performance, alas...

[buckybruce]

I don't think Taylor Swift lip-synched, but, she might have been singing along into a live mic,  with a track of herself, which is quite common, especially during the parts of the performance where they was a lot of physical movement on her part.  Gwen, on the other hand, lip-synced her entire performance with her team last week.

 

I also, have been impressed with TS, especially the way she blew Adam off when he started going on about his "cyborg parts" during the mentor rehearsals. What was her response?...."yeah, like thats a subject we need to talk about, like...never.". "The Douche" just didn't know how to handle that, and when asked by Carson how he like working with TS, he said something about her "busting his chops".

 

I had pretty much written off Taylor Swift after her performance with Stevie Nicks at the 2011(?) Grammy awards. She was so out of tune, Stevie kept looking over at her, wondering what the hell was wrong with her. I thought at the time, "pretty girl, she writes songs that seem to touch people in the country genre, and she could be a model", but, girl, take some singing lessons. I'm not unhappy to be proven wrong on this.

Edited November 27, 2014 by buckybruce

[Padma]

Almost certainly not; they can't mask the final 3, but otherwise they order the reveals as you'd expect to keep up the tension as much as possible. Even if, say, Adam's team had finished 1-2-3, they wouldn't announce all of them first.

Reagan totally Sarah Simmonsed herself right out of this show. Not sure what happened, but wow was she not ready for this, her voice blew out (or was never there), but her swan song only cemented why she left. Just awful, and it was awkward sitting through that long paise while blake tried to find the words of praisw. I'd predicted before the results that'd she'd be bottom 3 but then get saved... however, a couple of lines into her song and I knew it was all over, same with Anita. Ryan, to his credit, rose to the occasion just enough to get the save.

Nthing that at this point, CWB is loping towards victory. Who but maybe Matt still has anything to surprise us? DaNica and Damien are the best two singers, but they just don't go to that next level necessary, ever. Luke feels like he's running out of gas and picking poor songs, Chris and Ryan seem uninspired, and T3N is decent but also feels like amateur hour still. I think I've missed the 8th contestant, but I honestly can't remember them, so... that's pretty much my point. CWB has made the huge strides, and barring a collapse on his part should be in the finals. Blake wont let that happen.

Taylor Swift has really won me over, from her continued hitmaking and her appearances on the show. She's smart, articulate, hell of a performer and songwriter, and comes across as genuine. Future coach material right there... even though I'm 95% sure she lipsynced most of her performance, alas...

I'm impressed by Taylor S. too and agree that she was lipsyncing bt I'm pretty sure I've seen Adam do it before as well, so it just may be a good idea under these circumstances. Speaking of Adam, if I could quote two posts I'd quote the one below yours about loving how TS shut down his "cyborg" thing. Apparently it did bug him a bit that she didn't find every word he uttered incredibly charming and definitely was capable of "busting his chops" Loved that! She'd be a great coach, I think. Maybe could fill in for Blake if he ever leaves (hope not, but I'm sure he will).

 

I'm sorry to have lost Anita, but at least she went out by bombing on a song of her own choosing. Reagan was just lucky to get as far as she did, imo. And I've come to prefer Ryan to most of Adam's team and to Taylor. He doesn't do songs I particularly like--and I think he said he liked R&B but Gwen has picked him as boy band...or indie...or rock...I'm not sure. Anyway, he seems nice and a hardworker--could be worse (plus I thank him for edging out Reagan who I am so happy to never have to hear struggle through a song again.)

 

I liked how "head of the household" CWB seemed at the TG dinner and that he has a special friendship with Ryan also made me more favorably disposed to him than Taylor, etc. Not that I think he should win, but I would hope he advances over a couple of others.

 

I actually liked "What a Wonderful World"--very touching even with the tie in to current events and a good choice for Pharrell who obviously knows he can 't sing. Some of the notes he hit were very nice. Luke wanted to give it jazz/blues sound which makes sense since that's his style, and Danica rescued the whole thing by having such a great voice. Really, she can do anything and I'm  still hoping for F3 of her, Damien and CWB with any of the others still left now filling in for F4--unless we get to vote someone back from looong back because there are a few I think would be great for a second chance. Not sure how that's going to work.

 

The physical change in CWB has been so dramatic to me, as much in its own way as Nick David's. And now Blake has him on the right path musically, he really has emerged as the frontrunner, surprisingly, and I think even Adam agrees. Plus, the show must be impressed that during the break he did 200 radio interviews. That's someone who -really- wants it, is totally ready and committed to doing what's needed to promote himself if he wins. I'm sure producers originally hoped that someone other than  Team Blake would win but under the circumstances, they're probably hoping CWB will win now--and give the show its first big breakout star  who'll put in lots of promotion time..

[Shades of Scarlet]

I also, have been impressed with TS, especially the way she blew Adam off when he started going on about his "cyborg parts" during the mentor rehearsals. What was her response?...."yeah, like thats a subject we need to talk about, like...never.". "The Douche" just didn't know how to handle that, and when asked by Carson how he like working with TS, he said something about her "busting his chops".

 

 

The "cyborg parts" bit was quite obviously scripted and meant to be funny (which it was).  Do you really think Adam was seriously telling Taylor Swift that he had cybernetic parts in his body and expecting her to have a conversation about that? 

 

I'm pretty sure Adam's comment to Carson was unrelated to the humorous exchange. 

[Padma]

The "cyborg parts" bit was quite obviously scripted and meant to be funny (which it was).  Do you really think Adam was seriously telling Taylor Swift that he had cybernetic parts in his body and expecting her to have a conversation about that? 

 

I'm pretty sure Adam's comment to Carson was unrelated to the humorous exchange. 

No, I think Adam was trying to be cute and funny (and maybe a little sexy) - and was quite put off when Taylor batted it off like a little annoying gnat (then again, I didn't find it funny either. MMV). I think his "she busted my chops" was an accurate reflection of her dry humor and how she wasn't being all coy and girly with him--and he was "okay" with it, but also maybe...just barely so. I think he thought she'd kiss up more, as most people on this show do to him other than an occasionally mild jab from Blake.

[viajero]

That was easily the worst set of bottom 3 performances in Voice history. Just another indication of the lack of talent this season. While Ryan was slightly less bad than the other two, I would still have put Anita through based on her body of work this season.

 

Personally, I had been kind of hoping Damien would be in the bottom 3 after his mediocre performance on Monday night.  But given how bad this bottom 3 were, I’m glad voters saved him.

 

Not that I think it matters much. CWB already has this season sewn up. Even the producers know this, given the way he’s already getting the winners edit.

 

I personally have trouble rooting for any of them.  Most of the guys all kind of blur together and while Danica has a great voice, there’s nothing particularly interesting or unique about her vocals or performances.  It kind of makes me wish Bryana Salaz has made it to the live rounds.  At least she was enthusiastic and her high energy performances would have really stood out among this crowd.

 

I still think that besides CWB, Reagan may have the best shot at an eventual career.  But she desperately needs vocal lessons and a lot more experience.

 

I don't think Taylor Swift lip-synched, but, she might have been singing along into a live mic,  with a track of herself, which is quite common, especially during the parts of the performance where they was a lot of physical movement on her part.

 

I don’t think she was either lip-synching or using a back track.  She just relied heavily on the back-up singers during parts of her song.  It any case, count me among those who have been impressed by her this season.

Edited November 27, 2014 by viajero

[kj4ever]

I just watched again and Tswift was so lip synching. Maybe it's because I grew up with people that could actually sing, but I find it deplorable to do it, especially on a show called The Voice. Hell why don't we just let the contestants do that or sing to a backing track too?

[Shades of Scarlet]

No, I think Adam was trying to be cute and funny (and maybe a little sexy) - and was quite put off when Taylor batted it off like a little annoying gnat (then again, I didn't find it funny either. MMV). I think his "she busted my chops" was an accurate reflection of her dry humor and how she wasn't being all coy and girly with him--and he was "okay" with it, but also maybe...just barely so. I think he thought she'd kiss up more, as most people on this show do to him other than an occasionally mild jab from Blake.

 

 

Adam knows Taylor Swift; he's met her in person before at least twice in settings without television cameras.  He also knows John Mayer, after Maroon 5 opened for Mayer (somewhat ironically, now) for a couple of tours and whom Adam credits as M5's big break.  Adam would well familiar with Taylor Swift's personality.  I also don't think Adam Levine, recently married and making multimillions, much cares if any particular female singer, even Taylor Swift, is coy and girly with him.  He's not Cee-Lo Green. 

 

There's no doubt that Adam has some rough edges, which is not entirely surprising given some aspects of his background, and which have softened over time but still occasionally irritate even me, a fan of Maroon 5 since they were Kara's Flowers back in about 1996.  But the lengths to which he can be criticized by some Voice watchers border on the amazing.  If Blake had made the same comments and Taylor had had the same very funny reaction I doubt anyone would have mentioned it, or Blake would have come in for praise.  It was a humorous bit, almost certainly scripted or at least encouraged by a producer or two, and nothing more.  

 

Back to this episode:  particularly toward the breakdown of her number, I'm pretty sure that Taylor was singing into a live mic to a soft and possibly intermittent backing track of herself, which is (unfortunately) quite common for a number of performers.  It wasn't really needed anyway as she and the backing singers were very strong.        

[tmelange]

I think Adam is good friends with Katy Perry, who is supposedly Taylor's frenemy with a recent emphasis on the enemy part. Perhaps Taylor just doesn't have much patience for Adam's shtick because he's in another camp?

 

Anyway, just think, we may get one more chance to hear Reagan with the new Voice format that gives the contestants one last chance to stink it up. I'm not sure how that's going to work, but I'm already SMH.

[Princess Lucky]

And genius marketer/coach that Blake is, he was so playing favorites with Craig.  Bussing Jessie and Reagan. Pleeeeease.  Blake wanted to pave the way for Craig.

Reagan totally Sarah Simmonsed herself right out of this show. Not sure what happened, but wow was she not ready for this, her voice blew out (or was never there), but her swan song only cemented why she left.

I agree with the second comment. I think the only strategy on Blake's end was to get rid of James David Carter. Meaning, he had two hot country dudes and he only needed one. The audience kept Craig and that was that. I don't know who chose JDC's song in the play-offs (or whatever that's called, the last show before the finalised teams) and Blake may have tipped the scale in Craig's favour there, but, at any rate, JDC was underwhelming and I say that as someone who loved him in the blinds and thought he'd be a contender (edit: also consider Demian, who is being given dated songs but sings the hell out of them). Craig, on the other hand, was awesome. To be honest I also agree that the double-steal could have been arranged for maximum drama but, again, Craig made the most of it and he deserves to be there 100%.

 

As for Jessie and Reagan, I think Blake liked them both but they both let him down. Reagan more so. Jessie was really the only option since JDC was out (because he'd cut into Craig's votes) and I think Blake liked her. She had a great moment with Holding Out For A Hero but in the end it was kind of clear she wouldn't last. But Reagan was a contender. She did this to herself. Indeed, like Sarah Simmons, another early contender that flopped. I'm sure Blake was counting on Reagan to last until at least the top 6/5 (or whatever, I never know the rules until Carson speaks them out loud). But Craig is the one who has popped and taken advantage of every moment. So, he's the one still standing. And rightfully so.

Edited November 27, 2014 by Princess Lucky

[dizzyizzy01]

I just watched again and Tswift was so lip synching. Maybe it's because I grew up with people that could actually sing, but I find it deplorable to do it, especially on a show called The Voice. Hell why don't we just let the contestants do that or sing to a backing track too?

 

 

She wasn't lip syncing, but there's definitely a backing track.  The production of the song almost requires it unless she were to change it up a bit more for the live setting.  Anyway, she's not a contestant so I don't understand why one would jump to the comparison of letting the contestants sing to a backing track.  She's not competing to win the Voice, and she's never been known as a great vocalist.  She's a good songwriter and a fairly engaging performer.  She's just there to give an entertaining performance which I think she succeeded in doing.

[poppy-]

If vocal prowess was a requirement for involvement in this show, Pharrell wouldn't be involved. 

PERFORMANCE is required, though, and Taylor Swift (annoying as she is) brought it. 

 

And so did Pharrell.  He did a nice job singing side-by-side with better singers, without making himself look bad or hiding their (quite different) lights - while throwing in an unexpected political comment -- all while giving a nice performance.  Tricky balance and done with grace.

[mercfan3]

Taylor Swift didn't lip sync. The track would have been completely in pitch if she had.. She did rely a lot on the background singers, but as others have said, singers that move around a lot do that. 

[Noreaster]

I agree with the second comment. I think the only strategy on Blake's end was to get rid of James David Carter. Meaning, he had two hot country dudes and he only needed one. The audience kept Craig and that was that. I don't know who chose JDC's song in the play-offs (or whatever that's called, the last show before the finalised teams) and Blake may have tipped the scale in Craig's favour there, but, at any rate, JDC was underwhelming and I say that as someone who loved him in the blinds and thought he'd be a contender (edit: also consider Demian, who is being given dated songs but sings the hell out of them). Craig, on the other hand, was awesome. To be honest I also agree that the double-steal could have been arranged for maximum drama but, again, Craig made the most of it and he deserves to be there 100%.

 

As for Jessie and Reagan, I think Blake liked them both but they both let him down. Reagan more so. Jessie was really the only option since JDC was out (because he'd cut into Craig's votes) and I think Blake liked her. She had a great moment with Holding Out For A Hero but in the end it was kind of clear she wouldn't last. But Reagan was a contender. She did this to herself. Indeed, like Sarah Simmons, another early contender that flopped. I'm sure Blake was counting on Reagan to last until at least the top 6/5 (or whatever, I never know the rules until Carson speaks them out loud). But Craig is the one who has popped and taken advantage of every moment. So, he's the one still standing. And rightfully so.

Basically, Blake is not as sincere, genuine, authentic, or whatever as he appears to be on-screen.  He tries to appear neutral, but really he has favorites and may give advantages to certain folks. 

 

For Jessie and Reagan. perhaps Blake let them both down.  The coach's job is supposed to offer contestants helpful advice and guide them to maximize their exposure on the show. These were somewhat "unique" contestants that stood out among this male-dominated top 12 and to be eliminated this early? Isn't it fair to say that he failed with these two ladies?

[Cramps]

I think initially Blake was a much bigger fan of James David than he was of Craig Wayne--but Craig got stronger with each performance and James David got less impressive. So he shifted his allegiance. I don't blame him.

As for the women, Blake is never as good a coach of his non-country singers and obviously neither of his two female contestants ever won the majority of the audience over.

Personally Jesse's vocal affectations were like fingernails on a blackboard to me and I always felt like I was being told how great Reagan was, but then never heard it when she'd actually perform.

I'm really sorry to see Anita go, but her performances last week just weren't good.

Edited November 30, 2014 by Cramps

[Moonbow]

Basically, Blake is not as sincere, genuine, authentic, or whatever as he appears to be on-screen.  He tries to appear neutral, but really he has favorites and may give advantages to certain folks. 

 

For Jessie and Reagan. perhaps Blake let them both down.  The coach's job is supposed to offer contestants helpful advice and guide them to maximize their exposure on the show. These were somewhat "unique" contestants that stood out among this male-dominated top 12 and to be eliminated this early? Isn't it fair to say that he failed with these two ladies?

I'm sure that all coaches have favorites, because it's only human to like some people/artists better than others. I don't see how not blatantly showing his favoritism makes Blake (or anyone else) any less authentic though. I'm sure he does genuinely like everyone he brought to the live rounds anyway.

 

As for Reagan and Jessie, it's hard to say if Blake did the right thing by essentially giving them free reign, or if he should have guided them into a different direction and perhaps extended their stay on the show. I think he stepped back because he recognized that they both had clear ideas about what kind of artists they wanted to be, so whether they succeeded or failed, at least it would be on their own terms. I think that especially with Reagan, her age played a big part: she's definitely very creative, but not quite ready for the big stage yet.

[Padma]

Could someone who really liked Reagan please explain to me what was creative about her performances? I hated them so much, but even Blake kept saying how creative and "ahead of her time" she was. What was it, for example, with the Elton John song that she did that was creative? Or the other one she did that I actuallyknew, (lol) where not one note of the real melody was sung. I had such a strong negative reaction to what she did, but I think I must be missing something, or it's a style of singing that I don't know or understand.

 

Help?  (And it's not just "breathy, indie" I think because I loved Caroline Pennell and Dia Frampton was fine, liked Melanie Martinez, etc. But I thought Reagan had "zero" talent and clearly I'm wrong because all the coaches thought otherwise,just like many here di, What did I miss? What should I have been listening for to enjoy what she was doing more?)

[Moonbow]

Could someone who really liked Reagan please explain to me what was creative about her performances? I hated them so much, but even Blake kept saying how creative and "ahead of her time" she was. What was it, for example, with the Elton John song that she did that was creative? Or the other one she did that I actuallyknew, (lol) where not one note of the real melody was sung. I had such a strong negative reaction to what she did, but I think I must be missing something, or it's a style of singing that I don't know or understand.

 

Help?  (And it's not just "breathy, indie" I think because I loved Caroline Pennell and Dia Frampton was fine, liked Melanie Martinez, etc. But I thought Reagan had "zero" talent and clearly I'm wrong because all the coaches thought otherwise,just like many here di, What did I miss? What should I have been listening for to enjoy what she was doing more?)

You may be mixing up Reagan and Jessie. Jessie is the one who sang Elton John's song and "Holding out for a Hero" (which is perhaps the other song you meant?). Reagan is the one who the coaches called creative and ahead of her time (although they may have said that about Jessie too, I don't remember). I do think that Reagan is good at rearranging songs in creative ways, but that didn't come across too well in some of her performances, because she had problems with breath control and pitch. What I've been really impressed by are things I listened to on Youtube: her original songs and her cover of Blake's "Neon Light", which makes it sound completely different (I actually like it better than the original, because I'm not a huge country fan). I'm amazed that a 15-year-old could have done something like that, and I'm sure Blake based some of his comments on Reagan's work off the show too. But like I said, I don't think her creativity translated all that well to what we actually saw on TV, and I think it's probably because of her lack of experience.