S08.E07: The Battles Premiere, Part 2

[Tara Ariano]

The battle round continues. The advisers are Ellie Goulding, Lionel Richie, Meghan Trainor and Nick Jonas.

[susannot]

Cody Wickline is the perfect name for a country singer.  I knew he would win as soon as I saw him.  Haven't watched before, but he was by far the most marketable as a success that I saw tonight.

[ennui]

Cody Wickline is the perfect name for a country singer.  I knew he would win as soon as I saw him.  Haven't watched before, but he was by far the most marketable as a success that I saw tonight.

The show has barely started here tonight, but I tuned in to see Cody. He's the only one I remember by name from the blinds.

[anonymiss]

I'm enjoying Meghan and Nick Jonas more than I thought I would. 

 

I think Christina is wearing blue contacts that make her blue eyes look even more blue and supernatural. She looks like she stepped out of an X-Men comic a lil bit.

 

Too bad they had to montage people. Anthony is great but wasn't big on anyone else. Can't wait for Sawyer. Actually, I forgot I really liked the two women rocking out to "Gimme Shelter." That was not at all what you usually see and I loved that.

Edited March 11, 2015 by anonymiss

[ennui]

The montages make me feel like the show is on fast-forward. NBC rushed Celebrity Apprentice, and now they are rushing the Voice. Is this the new age of broadcast tv?

[ChicksDigScars]

Yeah, I rewound the DVR and watched Gimme Shelter three times.  

 

I just hope that Blake doesn't pair Meghan and Sarah against each other in the Knockouts. I'd like to see them both in the live shows.

 

And OH! Blake went there! He wanted Meghan so badly that he hauled out the "just remember who had three of the four finalists last season and screwed the pooch and lost to ME" card. I don't know when the Battle Rounds were filmed, but Adam looked RAW when Blake brought that up. Heh. It made me smile.

Edited March 11, 2015 by ChicksDigScars

[Padma]

Adam disappointed me by not firing back that of four coaches, he was the only one who brought 3 finalists to the end--and its about all that performance time, almost as much as actually "winning". (or somesuch. Say something! I think 3 at the end out of 4 spaces--and coaches--is somehow impressive even if Blake did win.)

 

I was hoping, too, that he would point out just what Meaghan said--that she already knew Blake so well and could benefit from something different since she's trying to expand her range. (Also, if I were Blake, I would have hoped she chose one of the others. How awkward if you want to save someone else when s/he is competing against your friend! Kind of boxed in there.)

 

I'm negatively surprised by all the summarizing of battles, not even much clip-wise. But I'm positively surprised by what we've seen. The guest mentors seem helpful and the coaches I usually worry about--Adam, Pharrell--seem improved, as does everyone's song selection. Good start--except for all the people we don't get to see.

 

With all the omissions, when is the BR over?

[burntheflaws]

"Gimme Shelter" is far and away my favorite battle of the season so far. It was great to see these two women rocking out and doing such a phenomenal job at it. But I thought Hannah won it, so I'm glad she was stolen.

 

Speaking of which, I've been trying to place her face, and tonight it occurred to me that she looks incredibly similar to Summer Glau.

 

I agreed with most of the winners chosen tonight, barring Meghan and Paul. But then, after the whole Ricky vs. Elyjuh thing last year, I can't say I'm that surprised. It seems like Pharrell picks the artist he's intrigued with, despite who wins the actual battle/knockout, and then hopes said person gets stolen so they both stay on the show.

Edited March 11, 2015 by burntheflaws

[hincandenza]

Omg! I was coming here just to make the "curvier River Tam" reference myself! And I thought I was so clever... :)

I thought Hannah slayed that, hands down performance of the night for me. She was like some supernatural creature with her diamond-edged voice, looking like a witch when she scampered across the stage and belted "Raaaape!". Or when she flung out her accusing finger as if cursing her opponent to the fires of hell; you could tell Pharrell was eating it all up with a spoon. It was so dramatic, but man she has an incredible voice and an almost operatic stage presence. I kinda like the novelty of it, it's not one of the standard competition singer archetypes we see.

[kechara]

I usually don't care for the battle rounds but I enjoyed what I saw tonight. I did miss the final battle or two as I was on the phone.

I liked the Gimme Shelter battle but I wasn't as into Hannah as I could have been.  I think she could have turned it down a notch and been even more effective.  Also...I'm old so I love the tone of Sarah(?)'s whiskey voice

[blueray]

I was a bad student and had the voice on the background while I was working on a paper. So I kind of tuned in and out. The two country guys were good but honestly I don't recall the others that much. I did however catch at the end when the commercial said "there's going to be a steal" when there was only one group left to preform. I hate when they do that. Now there's no point they are both going through. Though watching the heated three judge battle was interesting.

[Rosieroo]

 

Speaking of which, I've been trying to place her face, and tonight it occurred to me that she looks incredibly similar to Summer Glau.

Thank you! I knew she reminded me of someone and  I was going with Marie Osmond but I knew that wasn't quite right. 

[Primetimer]

We need to talk about Pharrell and Carson.

Read the story

[DeLurker]

The show has barely started here tonight, but I tuned in to see Cody. He's the only one I remember by name from the blinds.

With you on this.  I mostly stopped watching a season or two ago - it is too much of a time commitment to sit through 2 cycles per year.  I do stop in when I am flipping through the channels though and I caught some of Cody's blind.  Guy has a classic country sound (and for the record, I have only liked a handful of country songs since Hank Williams (Sr)).

 

I only caught a couple of the sessions with the mentors, but Meagan Trainer and Lionel Richie both struck me as being really helpful.

[MelsW]

I found most performances to be unmemorable last night. Hannah Kirby and Sarah Potenza was probably the best one of the bunch even though I thought I would like that battle least. I tend not to like shouty singers and in rehearsal they were both getting a little screamy for my liking. I could have kissed Meghan Trainor when she said something to the effect of "you don't need to yell at me". Preach, sister. They both ended up reigning in their inner yelling and I enjoyed the performance.

 

So far, I am really liking Lionel and Meghan as mentors. Ellie Goulding and whatever Jonas that is haven't impressed me yet. I remember reading or hearing an interview w/Ellie where she stated she has never had formal voice training and I know a big critique of her singing is she is more of a studio singer and can struggle live at times (no breath control and that type of thing). She would probably be at the bottom of the list if I had my pick of the 4 mentors and really wanted to step up my vocal game.

[basiltherat]

I think it was a real big mistake for Blake to steal Meghan . . . but an ever bigger one for Meghan to choose him.  Now, Blake is stuck with two Janis Joplins, with Sarah in my opinion being the better.  If Meghan would have gone with Adam, I think she would go much further because Adam would advance her to stick it to Blake because of Blake and Meghan's past relationship.  What a plum for Adam to win with Blake's friend.  Now, it's gonna be awkward when Blake has to let her go once again.

[xfuse]

 

I just hope that Blake doesn't pair Meghan and Sarah against each other in the Knockouts. I'd like to see them both in the live shows.

I'm sure he's going to. He doesn't need two of the basically same type of singer. It's smarter for him to just have one. 

[ennui]

Yeah, I rewound the DVR and watched Gimme Shelter three times.  

 

I just hope that Blake doesn't pair Meghan and Sarah against each other in the Knockouts. I'd like to see them both in the live shows.

 

And OH! Blake went there! He wanted Meghan so badly that he hauled out the "just remember who had three of the four finalists last season and screwed the pooch and lost to ME" card. I don't know when the Battle Rounds were filmed, but Adam looked RAW when Blake brought that up. Heh. It made me smile.

I was disappointed that Blake brought that up. It seemed like a sucker punch.

Besides, it's not the coaches who win, it's the contestants. I don't see how the coach can honestly take credit for someone else's talent. Yes, they picked them, nurtured them, but it's the singers who win or lose. When it gets to voting, we don't vote for Blake or Adam.

[Biggie B]

Meghan reminds me of Cyndi Lauper - not vocally, just her looks. 

 

Lionel Richie gave a lot of constructive advice, especially about not looking down, using the stage, and creating that tension between the two singers. 

 

I don't know what it is, but I just can't get behind Blaze. I hated that bow tie he wore - he's too big a fellow to cut his neck off like that. And please, stop with the "My family has suffered so much" shtick. Just stop it. I'm sorry for whatever hardships or setbacks his dad or whoever might have endured, but honestly, I DON'T CARE. It has nothing to do with you, the contestant, singing right here and now at this moment. I'm not going to give a pity vote, so just sing your song and leave your personal tales of woe off to the side. We all have our troubles. It's not a contest to see who's suffered the most, and none of those troubles make any contestant more worthy of winning than the other. 

[rab01]

"And OH! Blake went there! He wanted Meghan so badly that he hauled out the "just remember who had three of the four finalists last season and screwed the pooch and lost to ME" card. I don't know when the Battle Rounds were filmed, but Adam looked RAW when Blake brought that up. Heh. It made me smile."

 

I was disappointed that Blake brought that up. It seemed like a sucker punch.

Besides, it's not the coaches who win, it's the contestants. I don't see how the coach can honestly take credit for someone else's talent. Yes, they picked them, nurtured them, but it's the singers who win or lose. When it gets to voting, we don't vote for Blake or Adam.

 

I actually thought going into that Finals that Adam's contestants were the underdogs. Some people vote for and against coaches. Adam having maintained his team so well throughout the competition meant that Adam supporters were split between his vocalists. It also didn't help that there was some genre overlap between Adam's two top contenders.

 

Pharrell shouldn't have offered up Meghan to the other coaches like that.  I get that it's a way of protecting his artists but I really wanted to see what they could do together.  I also wish she hadn't picked Blake and said something like that she didn't want to put a friend in the spot of having to choose between her and another singer.  It's going to sting really hard if Blake let's her go in the knockouts ...

Edited March 11, 2015 by rab01

[Padma]

Pharrell shouldn't have offered up Meghan to the other coaches like that.  I get that it's a way of protecting his artists but I really wanted to see what they could do together.  I also wish she hadn't picked Blake and said something like that she didn't want to put a friend in the spot of having to choose between her and another singer.  It's going to sting really hard if Blake let's her go in the knockouts ...

I doubt he'll let her go though. I can't see him -ever- dumping a friend.

 

Which makes it really unfortunate for whoever she goes up against (probably Sarah whose voice I really really like). And I actually dislike Meghan because of that--she knows perfectly well she's got an unfair advantage over her teammates now.

 

I enjoyed the country battle and was surprised by the guy who competed against Cody (Brian?) because he was a very good performer in spite of being disadvantaged by his age and (relative) looks. Cody, on the other hand, could be another winner for Blake. He's got a great retro country voice, lots of charisma and as Christina (and I) noticed for the first time last night, lots of sex appeal. Could be a very winning combination...again.

[Rosieroo]

 

 

I enjoyed the country battle and was surprised by the guy who competed against Cody (Brian?) because he was a very good performer in spite of being disadvantaged by his age and (relative) looks.

 

awwww...but dimples!!!  Dimples go a long way. 

[Sammich63]

I am hoping Meghan and Sara aren't paired up. I really like Sara's voice and want to see her stick around to the lives. I wonder if a Blake thinks Sara will be stolen if he doesn't pick her.

[ennui]

I enjoyed the country battle and was surprised by the guy who competed against Cody (Brian?) because he was a very good performer in spite of being disadvantaged by his age and (relative) looks.

His name is Matt Snook, and I felt bad for him that he was 'montaged' in the blinds so we didn't really get to hear him much. According to his website, though, he has a decent career in music already. Not a big star, but he does get work.

[hks]

Speaking of which, I've been trying to place her face, and tonight it occurred to me that she looks incredibly similar to Summer Glau.

Oh my god, that is totally who she looks like - but even more - I think she has a strange affectation when she's speaking, and sometimes while she's singing - she reminds me of Summer when she was in The Sarah Conner Chronicles. You know, a robot. (Sorry, cybernetic organism).  She has that kind of stilted affection, right?

 

I was disappointed that Blake brought that up. It seemed like a sucker punch.

Besides, it's not the coaches who win, it's the contestants. I don't see how the coach can honestly take credit for someone else's talent. Yes, they picked them, nurtured them, but it's the singers who win or lose. When it gets to voting, we don't vote for Blake or Adam.

I must respectfully disagree. Not with the sucker punch part - I think it was a bit mean. But Adam has been mean himself, and he could have come back better than he did. But I TOTALLY think people vote for the coaches.  Not everyone, but I definitely think there's a large group of people who have a favorite coach and vote for his/her contestants no matter what. (Which is why I think Blake's guy won last year. We had the normal amount of people voting just based on the contestants, but then we had the group  who votes based on the coaches - and Blake fans just had one guy to like, Adam fans had three).

 

Meghan reminds me of Cyndi Lauper - not vocally, just her looks. 

Oh totally. And I bet she could do a mean Cyndi Lauper if she tried.

Edited March 11, 2015 by hks

[loveoutloud]

I don't know if any of you guys are active on Twitter (I'm on there wayyyyy too often in my spare time lol) but the consensus on there is that the people from Twitter don't really vote for the contestant, they are voting for the coach. Adam Levine fangirls are pretty hardcore, and they are allllll different age ranges so I can't say that it's the tweens who vote. They are only voting for "Team Adam" and immediately hate against all other coaches and teams simply because they didn't pick Adam as their coach. *GASPS* "How dare they??" ^__^

 

I guess I'm in the minority that didn't like Hannah all that much. She has a great voice but her annunciation killed me last night, I couldn't understand a word she said. Girl's got mad stage presence though!

 

I'm pulling for someone from Pharell's or Christina's team to take it all the way. But I'm usually wrong so and all the people I end up liking go home so..... LOL :(

Edited March 11, 2015 by loveoutloud

[Padma]

His name is Matt Snook, and I felt bad for him that he was 'montaged' in the blinds so we didn't really get to hear him much. According to his website, though, he has a decent career in music already. Not a big star, but he does get work.

Thank you. Matt Snook. No wonder I didn't remember him if he was montaged earlier. I was surprised by how good he was. And I thought he got - a lot- better looking when he was singing, actually quite attractive (and, yes, dimples!), but Cody suddenly stepped up, too, and just overshadowed him somehow. I was hoping for a steal although I didn't expect one. Glad to know he has a career (not just Fed Ex, as I thought he said. Maybe I confused him with someone else or his part time singing career is still good. The BR will hopefully only help.)

 

The teams and coaching seem very good and even to me so far this season , but I vaguely remember not really feeling Pharrell was weak until the lives last season. Kind of wish they'd keep the guest mentors around, because they actually do seem to help.

Edited March 12, 2015 by Padma

[ToxicUnicorn]

Agree the guest mentors have been good.  Lionel sure smacked down the guy who said he could sing anything, though.  I thought that was overly harsh.

 

loveoutloud, can I sit by you?  I wasn't blown away by Hannah either.  I mostly thought that duo was loud.  Maybe it wasn't my kind of song.

 

Cody's audition is probably in my top 10 and I was expecting great things.  His voice is beautiful, but I thought he had a severe case of mumbly-mouth.  His competitor, Matt Snook, was surprisingly strong - but too generic.  I'm glad Blake kept Cody, for the potential, but the bloom is off the rose for me.

 

I really liked Paul and thought Meghan overdid it.  I'm glad they're both still on the show.  However, Pharrell's emphasis on "other" is starting to make me think it is a new word for "hipster", which I'm sure he doesn't mean.  But isn't it sort of the same, in the sense that, if you call so much attention to it, maybe it isn't what it started out anymore?

 

I thought Travis deserved his steal.  He's my dark horse.

 

In my neck of the woods, Sonic is a name of a popular fast food drive through place, so every time Sonic comes on, I think about fried cheese.  She clearly deserved to win, although her battle partner Ameera had the best hair ever.

[ennui]

In my neck of the woods, Sonic is a name of a popular fast food drive through place, so every time Sonic comes on, I think about fried cheese.

It's also an auto dealership group. Or a doctor's screwdriver. But we remember it, and that's all that matters. :)

[realdancemom]

Blake was smart pariring up Matt with Cody.  Cody has a good voice but didn't know how to perform.  Matt is a veteran performer and showed him how to do it.  Meghan Trainor also helped Cody with this and was pretty funny when she asked him what he kept looking at.  I really like Meghan as a mentor.

 

I think Hannah did a great job keeping up with Sarah.  She's young and could have easily been intimidated.  But she held her own and I thought it was a great battle. 

[viajero]

Overall, I thought this was a great episode. All the battles were good, except perhaps for the guys who did Rude

 

"Gimme Shelter" is far and away my favorite battle of the season so far. It was great to see these two women rocking out and doing such a phenomenal job at it. But I thought Hannah won it, so I'm glad she was stolen.

 

I thought Hannah slayed that, hands down performance of the night for me. She was like some supernatural creature with her diamond-edged voice, looking like a witch when she scampered across the stage and belted "Raaaape!". Or when she flung out her accusing finger as if cursing her opponent to the fires of hell; you could tell Pharrell was eating it all up with a spoon. It was so dramatic, but man she has an incredible voice and an almost operatic stage presence. I kinda like the novelty of it, it's not one of the standard competition singer archetypes we see.

 

I agree with both of these comments.  Sarah was great, but Hannah just blew me away.  I would have never guessed from her blind audition that she had such range.  That upper register of hers cuts like a knife.  And I agree about her uniqueness.  After 8 seasons, a lot of contestants seem to start running together, but to paraphrase Blake’s favorite comment, we’ve never seen someone like Hannah before.

 

My overall ranking of the performances of the people who got through in this episode is:

 

1. Hannah Kirby (Team Pharrell – stolen)
2. Meghan Linsey (Team Blake – stolen)
3. Sarah Potenza (Team Blake)
4. Sonic (Team Xtina)
5. Anthony Riley (Team Pharrell)
6. Travis Ewing (Team Blake - stolen)
7. Cody Wickline (Team Blake)
8. Paul Pfau (Team Pharrell)
9. Blaze Johnson (Team Adam)

 

Other than Hannah, the biggest surprise for me was Sonic.  She also just slayed that song.  Frankly I couldn’t care less what she calls herself, if she can sing like that, I hope she sticks around for awhile.

 

We got some women this season who can just plain sing.  And to think that we haven’t even yet seen India, Caitlin, Koryn, Kimberly Nichole, and Brooke in their battles.  I imagine that one or two of then might disappoint, but when you add the others from next week to the top 4 from this episode, as well as Mia, Ashley and Tonya from Monday night, we could easily make up a Top 10 of just extremely talented women that might be competitive with any Top 10 from previous seasons.

 

I also hope that Blake doesn’t match up Sarah and Meghan in the KO round, but I think it’s almost inevitable that he will. 

 

Cody's audition is probably in my top 10 and I was expecting great things.  His voice is beautiful, but I thought he had a severe case of mumbly-mouth.  His competitor, Matt Snook, was surprisingly strong - but too generic.  I'm glad Blake kept Cody, for the potential, but the bloom is off the rose for me.

 

 

For me too.  Cody was the biggest disappointment of the night, maybe in part because I had high expectations.  Not only does he need a quick course in enunciation, but he also didn’t show off much range.  I guess the best that can be said is that he still looks like a star and there is a lot of room for improvement.  He's certainly no Craig Wayne Boyd.

Edited March 12, 2015 by viajero

[ennui]

Blake was smart pariring up Matt with Cody.  Cody has a good voice but didn't know how to perform.  Matt is a veteran performer and showed him how to do it.  Meghan Trainor also helped Cody with this and was pretty funny when she asked him what he kept looking at.  I really like Meghan as a mentor.

 

I think Hannah did a great job keeping up with Sarah.  She's young and could have easily been intimidated.  But she held her own and I thought it was a great battle. 

As for what Cody might have been looking at ... I remember an old special with Celine Dion, and she said that she was taught to sing to the people in the "cheap seats," the people in the balconies, that performing isn't about the people in the first three rows. I suspect that's what Cody was doing.

Edited March 12, 2015 by ennui

[TrueBlue]

Pharrell shouldn't have offered up Meghan to the other coaches like that.  I get that it's a way of protecting his artists but I really wanted to see what they could do together.  I also wish she hadn't picked Blake and said something like that she didn't want to put a friend in the spot of having to choose between her and another singer.  It's going to sting really hard if Blake let's her go in the knockouts ...

 

I doubt he'll let her go though. I can't see him -ever- dumping a friend.

 

If Meghan makes it to the live rounds. I think her back story will come back to bite her, especially if she's still on Blake's team.  Voters don't usually like contestants who seem like they've already had their chance in the music industry (remember that woman who had sung with Michael Jackson).  Then strike two for Meghan will be the perceived favoritism due to her previous relationship with Blake.  Given all that, Pharrell was probably smart to cut her loose.  I think Paul may have voter appeal if he gets to the lives.

 

[Cramps]

Cody has a voice (which I LOVE) like the best molasses, but he's shy and not a natural performer like Craig Wayne Boyd. He will need a lot of work on that end.

With regard to the above comment about Pharrell using the term "other." I'm not sure where he picked it up, since he didn't use it last season at all, but the way he is using it now, is derived from the academic use.

Academically, say in cultural studies, when you are talking about a culture there is what is accepted- usually the white male perspective, and/or the roles other groups are stereotyped into that surround the majority. And then there is the "other"- anything apart from that.

In this case I think Pharrell is basically using "other" as "out of the box." Which seems to intrigue him. Like if he were to find an African Anerican country singer. Or a punk crooner. Which explains his interest in Sugar a bit more.

I don't know if it's now a hipster term, but thanks to Pharrell perhaps it is about to be.

Oh and finally, I love Hannah's performing style. She's almost possessed up there!

Edited March 12, 2015 by Cramps

[BoDiva]

I think Sarah's white glasses (which she entered the competition with, no stylist required) age her. She looks like she should be a guest on Cawfee Tawk.

I've seen/heard Anthony perform on the street here in Philadelphia. And thought at the time that it was too bad he wasn't on one of the singing competition shows. The Voice is right for him and I hope he goes far. He's a fabulous performer and the voice thrives in adversity.

I'm just not a fan of the long-haired male country schtick. And last season's winner would have been my choice to exit early. So I kind of would like Cody to reshape his 80s hair so I can hear him.

[Noreaster]

I thought this was a pretty good night of battles.  I agreed with most decisions and steals. Only disagreed with the Meghan/Paul battle where I felt Paul wasn't that great and should have been sent home.  

 

Given the song choices, a few battles seemed like they were set up to advance particular contestants. Namely the Anthony/Travis battle, Sonic/Ameera, and Blaze/Michael Leier.  

 

Not sure why Sarah and Meghan look so old.  Especially Sarah.  She's in her mid 30s (I think) but looks 10-20 years older.  

[ennui]

So I kind of would like Cody to reshape his 80s hair so I can hear him.

I wonder if Gwen is watching this season.

[realdancemom]

Cody also has beautiful blue eyes.  However, sometimes you can't see them because of his cowboy hat.

 

I was surprised by Sonic.  I was not impressed with her at all during her audition.  She chose a song that was too high for her voice.  Christina chose a good song for her and it showed off her voice during her battle.

 

I haven't noticed any Kohl pimping.  That's good because they made Danica look old and fat last year.  They also gave her that ridiculous Ariel wig.  Danica just happened to be a short curvy woman but she was not fat or old.  If Sarah and Meghan look old, it's on them because they looked that way during their auditions.

[Padma]

Cody has a voice (which I LOVE) like the best molasses, but he's shy and not a natural performer like Craig Wayne Boyd. He will need a lot of work on that end.

With regard to the above comment about Pharrell using the term "other." I'm not sure where he picked it up, since he didn't use it last season at all, but the way he is using it now, is derived from the academic use.

Academically, say in cultural studies, when you are talking about a culture there is what is accepted- usually the white male perspective, and/or the roles other groups are stereotyped into that surround the majority. And then there is the "other"- anything apart from that.

In this case I think Pharrell is basically using "other" as "out of the box." Which seems to intrigue him. Like if he were to find an African Anerican country singer. Or a punk crooner. Which explains his interest in Sugar a bit more.

I don't know if it's now a hipster term, but thanks to Pharrell perhaps it is about to be.

Oh and finally, I love Hannah's performing style. She's almost possessed up there!

Personally, I hope not. I always hate it when he says it. To me, it sounds judgmental and negative. I mean, maybe the multi-ethnic guy with glasses doesn't look like...Robin Thicke... or the 350 lb black guy isn't like Sam Cooke... or the skinny girl with frizzy hair who signs reggae isn't like Christina... but they may not think of themselves as "other" at all.

 

I hear "other" as "other than classically good-looking" ... "other than young".... "other than stereotypically 'cool'".... I don't know how Pharrell means it, but I can usually tell exactly the person he's going to say it to. And I wish he'd stop. "Other" may be a positive to him (Maybe. In this context).  But generally speaking I don't think it is--and I don't think it's going to get anyone lots of votes being branded as "other".  I hope he'll stop. 

[Ketzel]

Agree the guest mentors have been good.  Lionel sure smacked down the guy who said he could sing anything, though.  I thought that was overly harsh.

 

I agree -- and I thought he was wrong, too. I think it is good, and important, for a singer to have a good (accurate) opinion of his or her own strengths. I would have been OK with Lionel telling him, "It's great to believe you can sing anything, but keep it to yourself, kid. Confidence is important but you don't want your audience to think you're getting big-headed over your own talent. Keep it to yourself, and then you get to blush and be grateful when your audience tells YOU that you can sing anything."

Edited March 12, 2015 by Ketzel

[Steph619]

I think when Pharrell calls a contestant "other," he's referring to them as being different as in having something unique that makes them stand out and separates them from the rest like the way their voice sounds or the type of music they like to sing. I don't think he means anything bad by it.

From this episode, Hannah really stood out to me. I thought she did a great job against Sarah and I'm glad Pharrell stole her. I've liked her since the blind auditions. I also liked Anthony. He has a great voice and a lot of stage presence.

Blake stole Meghan, but I agree that he will most likely pair her up with Sarah in the knockout rounds.

Edited March 12, 2015 by Steph619

[mercfan3]

I think when Pharrell says "other" he means it as a compliment.."out of the box" and "extraordinary." When he mentored season 4, he was the biggest Michelle Chamuel fan. (Probably even moreso than Usher.) And all he kept talking about was how different she was. And Usher agreed..but they way he sold Michelle was as a relatable "quirky girl next door." 

 

I don't know that Pharrell has learned that people vote for..and really..like..who they can relate too. 

[ToxicUnicorn]

I think Sarah's white glasses (which she entered the competition with, no stylist required) age her. She looks like she should be a guest on Cawfee Tawk.

Ha!  I agree.  I feel Sarah's style could use some tweaking, the way Michelle C's never did.

 

I thought Pharrell's use of "other" was more the academic version, as in, not in the mainstream.  Except not applied by race or what have you, but to vocal ambitions. So I also  have been interpreting these comments to mean that he views these people as special, individual, with a unique artistic perspective, something new to contribute.  You know ... basically what any judge would say about any contestant.  (Can you imagine Blake saying, "I want to work with you because I think you could be hugely popular churning out the same old stuff that has been selling for the past decade?"  Um, no.)

 

I think he has meant it as a compliment, but I wish he would say it some other way.  Trying to mentor an "other" into finding his/her own artistic voice might make sense.  But it doesn't make any sense to then expect any kind of immediate widespread success for them.  Every time he says it, it sounds like an oxymoron to me.  And pretentious.  I wish he would stop.

 

Wow, I guess it really bothers me.  

 

Cody is 100x more appealing to me than CWB.  Between his voice and his looks, (mostly his voice), Cody is pretty mesmerizing on stage to me, even if he lacks showmanship.  

 

I'm not into young men with flowing hair and hats, but at least their hair looked natural.  Hannah and Sonic's hairstyles made my scalp hurt.

[Yogi Nomad]

I still like Hannah tho' I agree with many posters that she was a bit yelly and dramatic. Luckily it worked with the song and create a memorable battle.

Not feeling Anthony, he was good and I agree that he won the battle but with the song that was right in his wheelhouse, I thought he could do better.

Cody is cute but I never really care about any of country singers on the voice except Amber and Swan Brothers. I actually like country music but most of the time country music performances on the show aren't dynamic enough to hold my attention.

[Cramps]

To continue the "other" conversation, after watching both this and Idol this week (hard to believe I was a punk rock kid...) I realized that years of karaoke performances on these shows have led them to a point where the judges, coaches and sometimes the audiences are yearning for more original and creative performers and interpretations of songs. (Quite a few of the performers on both shows would never have gotten on Idol in the early Simon days). So Pharrell's "other" comment is quite timely--even if many don't care for the terminology.

It doesn't bother me.

[glitterpants]

Also, Pharrell created a collective/label/thing called 'i am OTHER' so it's a word he has been using for a while now and that he clearly identifies with.

Edited March 13, 2015 by glitterpants

[Noreaster]

Wow, I didn't even catch these "other" comments by Pharrell. I must be tuning him out already. That was quick. Took me 2 or 3 seasons before I tired of Blake's and Adam's schticks and mannerisms.  But I'm already over Pharrell's Zen-like demeanor and how he seems overly impressed by virtually every contestant on the show. 

[Padma]

Also, Pharrell created a collective/label/thing called 'i am OTHER' so it's a word he has been using for a while now and that he clearly identifies with.

Interesting. Maybe there's a little bit of "branding" in his over-use of it then.

 

To me, it's like those questionnaires: "Check One: Caucasian__Latin __Asian __African American __ Other".  I always want to know what Pharrell is thinking in his mind are the categories he isn't checking off for someone before choosing "Other". It doesn't seem to usually be the music.  Not a big thing, just something among several that I'm not too sold on him over.

[ToxicUnicorn]

Also, Pharrell created a collective/label/thing called 'i am OTHER' so it's a word he has been using for a while now and that he clearly identifies with.

Oh, I didn't know that.  Thanks, glitterpants.

 

Interesting. Maybe there's a little bit of "branding" in his over-use of it then.

Right.  That makes sense.  Ok, I can dismiss it as cynical, delivered with a dose of wide=eyed wonder.  Fine.  I can ignore that.  It was the possible pretension that was getting under my skin.  

[Donny Ketchum]

My mother-in-law passed away three nights ago, in fact while this episode was airing, so I had to forego watching most of it to help my man with her.  So I only managed to watch again last night.

 

So here's the current roster/cheat sheet now:

 

Team Adam
Tonya Boyd-Cannon (defeated James McNeiece)
Deanna Johnson (defeated Nicolette Maré)*
Nathan Hermida (defeated Josh Batstone)*
Blaze Johnson (defeated Michael Leier)
Joshua Davis (stolen from Team Blake)

 

(Still Waiting)

Bren’nae DeBarge
Barry Minniefield
Lexi Dávila
Jack Gregori

 

Team Pharrell

Mia Z. (defeated Ashley Morgan)

Anthony Riley (defeated Travis Ewing)

Paul Pfau (defeated Meghan Linsey)

Hannah Kirby (stolen from Team Blake)

 

(Still Waiting)

Lowell Oakley
Sawyer Fredericks
Kimberly Nichole
Noelle Bybee
Briar Jonnee
Caitlin Caporale

 

Team Christina

Sonic (defeated Ameera Delandro)

Joe Tolo (defeated Gabriel Wolfchild)*

Ashley Morgan (stolen from Team Pharrell)

 

(Still Waiting)

Rob Taylor
Treeva Gibson
Clinton Washington
India Carney

Koryn Hawthorne
Katelyn Read
Jeremy Gaynor
Vance Smith

 

Team Blake

Brian Johnson (defeated Joshua Davis)

Sarah Potenza (defeated Hannah Kirby)

Cody Wickline (defeated Matt Snook)

Travis Ewing (stolen from Team Pharrell)

Meghan Linsey (stolen from Team Pharrell)

 

(Still Waiting)

Brooke Adee
Kelsie May
Jacob Rummell
Bay Brooks
Brenna Yaeger
Corey Kent White

 

Names in bold indicate those who have either freshly won and stayed on their teams, or been freshly stolen by another coach.  An asterisk indicates that the contestant was montaged.

 

Do the editors forget that Christina has a team?  We only got one battle shown in full and another montaged, and then nothing after that.  The show seemed obsessed with Adam (who has a lot of cannon fodder on his team, IMO), Blake, and Pharrell's teams tonight, for some reason.  I hope they turn it on with her contestants next week.

 

As for the battles:

 

Well, I'll come right out and say that I knew that Sonic had it in the bag against Ameera and Cody against Matt since Sonic and Cody had their full segments shown during the Blinds, while Ameera and Matt were both montaged.  I don't think a montaged contestant has ever beaten a shown contestant other than Alessandra beating Joe last season.  So I had no reason to think that anyone would repeat Alessandra's feat.

 

I actually would've liked to have seen Gabriel and Joe's battle.  Both had good voices in the Blinds, and I'd have loved to have seen how they battled each other.  Didn't much care about Deanna or Nathan's battles since they were up against montaged people (Nicolette and Josh) themselves.  Obviously, they were going to win.  And since they were both montaged here, they're probably not going to lives.  Or going there, but getting kicked out then.

 

So of the shown battles, I was okay with Sarah beating Hannah, even though I thought Hannah kicked ass herself.  Happy Pharrell got her since Christina didn't go for her.  I'm actually surprised that Adam picked Blaze over Michael.  He notoriously dumps his black contestants (especially females) quickly, so Blaze making it was a pleasant surprise.  Ditto Tonya in Monday's episode.  The announcer promised a shocker in Meghan and Paul's battle, and Pharrell choosing Paul was a big surprise, since Meghan kicked his ass easily.  Glad Blake stole her, though.  I don't think Travis should've been stolen, though.  Anthony fairly beat him.

 

Pretty good battles.  Hope next week keeps it up!

Edited March 14, 2015 by Donny Ketchum