S08.E08: The Battles, Part 3

[Tara Ariano]

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

[Donny Ketchum]

Current team roster/cheat sheet:

 

Team Adam

Tonya Boyd-Cannon (defeated James McNeiece)
Deanna Johnson (defeated Nicolette Maré)*
Nathan Hermida (defeated Josh Batstone)*
Blaze Johnson (defeated Michael Leier)
Barry Minniefield (defeated Jack Gregori)
Joshua Davis (stolen from Team Blake)
Clinton Washington (stolen from Team Christina)

 

(Still Waiting)

Bren’nae DeBarge
Lexi Dávila

 

Team Pharrell

Mia Z. (defeated Ashley Morgan)

Anthony Riley (defeated Travis Ewing)

Paul Pfau (defeated Meghan Linsey)

Caitlin Caporale (defeated Briar Jonnee)

Lowell Oakley (defeated Kimberly Nichole)

Hannah Kirby (stolen from Team Blake)

 

(Still Waiting)

Sawyer Fredericks
Noelle Bybee

 

Team Christina

Sonic (defeated Ameera Delandro)

Joe Tolo (defeated Gabriel Wolfchild)*

Treeva Gibson (defeated Katelyn Read)

India Carney (defeated Clinton Washington)

Ashley Morgan (stolen from Team Pharrell)

Kimberly Nichole (stolen from Team Pharrell)

 

(Still Waiting)

Rob Taylor
Koryn Hawthorne
Jeremy Gaynor
Vance Smith

 

Team Blake

Brian Johnson (defeated Joshua Davis)

Sarah Potenza (defeated Hannah Kirby)

Cody Wickline (defeated Matt Snook)

Kelsie May (defeated Brenna Yaeger)

Travis Ewing (stolen from Team Pharrell)

Meghan Linsey (stolen from Team Pharrell)

 

(Still Waiting)

Brooke Adee
Jacob Rummell
Bay Brooks
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.

 

Hey, no montaged battles tonight!  Good form, Show!

 

Okay.  So I thought most of the battles had fair outcomes.  I might've taken Briar over Caitlin, but I can see why Pharrell would've chosen Caitlin.  Barry and Jack were the two older guys who obviously won't get to the live shows.  Either winner would've been knocked out at the Knockouts, anyway.  And they were both one-chair turns, so either was cannon fodder.  Felt bad for Jack, though.  To think Adam just told him that he was seeking to win with a country singer, yet he dumps him.  And then, he doesn't even try to steal one of Blake's dumped country girls.

 

Pharrell continues to perplex.  He tosses Kimberly over Lowell, and then gets her stolen by Christina.  Both did well in that battle, though.  Treeva winning was a no-brainer, since her audition was shown, and Katelyn had been montaged.  I really thought that Katelyn had done better, though.  Brenna and Kelsie didn't really excite me, but I might've chosen Brenna over Kelsie.  I was gonna slap my forehead if India had lost to Clinton and was glad to see Christina choose her over him.  Was surprised that a montaged person got a steal, though.  I don't know much about his style, so we'll have to see if he made a good choice or a bad one with choosing Adam over Pharrell.

 

Really telling about the talent pool that most of the steals have been from Blake and Pharrell's team thus far.  They got some good ones.

 

Can't wait for the final pairs tomorrow!

Edited March 17, 2015 by Donny Ketchum

[hks]

Wow. Every season during the Battle Rounds, I'll see a great duet, which will then prompt me to re-watch the Season 3 battle between Trevin and Amanda on "Vision of Love." That has always been the best battle I've seen on this show, hands down, and I've seen it a countless amount of times.  I re-watch it because I love it, but also because I like to compare great current battles to see how they hold up. While Amanda and Trevin's performance might STILL be my favorite, tonight's battle between India and Clinton on "Stay" was super close.  It wasn't even a battle, like Blake said, it was just a beautiful duet that I got lost in. It was moving. I think Christina was correct to pick India - since she seems to be the most versatile contestant.  But man, was that an amazing performance. Which I'm sure to be watching on repeat.

[SophiaPehawkins]

I'm just glad Christina kept India. I think she's going to be her golden ticket. 

 

Also, Christina's looking great.

[loveoutloud]

I thought most of the battles were pretty terrible until Clinton and India's. Now THAT was beautiful.

No one is really sticking out to me this season. Usually by this time I have a favorite who I'm hardcore rooting for and so far this season....nada. :/

[yourpointis]

I don't know why Christina is not addressing India's vibrato problem. I can't get past the goat sound to appreciate her singing. I would have chosen Clinton hands down. The only battle I truly enjoyed was between Kimberly and Lowell. mmv

[rollerblade]

Stay was a lot less impressive when I listen back with headphones. Maybe it's Youtube's audio encoding (doubtful). India's voice has this annoying shakiness, and I can't tell if it's intentional vibrato, or it's nerves, or she just can't control it. Amber Carrington sang the song better back in S4.

 

Fallin' was so. damn. screechy. That battle was like a couple high school queen bees trying to out-sass the other.

 

Pharrell, doing typical Pharrell things... going for the unique factor. Good luck getting Kimberly back!

[Padma]

I was hoping Pharrell would pass on Lowell so he might actually still have a chance at being a crooner.  Saddling him with an R&B arrangement of "Hounddog" and facing off against an R&B singer? That was cruel. I thought he was struggling to find an approach to it. Didn't Pharrell promise that he was going to respect his style and what he does? Because I'm beginning to think he's as full of fake promises as Adam. 

 

I admire Kelsey Mae's stage presence and confidence, but that duel of "Fancy" wasn't good from anyone (too low?) although KM at least sold it better. (And a teen singing about being a kept woman? Is that really the best country song you could find for them, Blake? Not sure why he went there, esp. as it wasn't a vocal success.)

 

Tonight's battles were the weakest yet, although I enjoyed India and Clinton, glad to see they're both still around.

[DownTheShore]

The two that did "Addicted To Love" (I don't know everyone's names yet):

What a horrible arrangement and poor song choice for those two. That song, done in such an airy-fairy style was just pitiful. Robert Palmer must be turning over in his grave.

----

I was glad that Lowell made it even though that was a poor song choice for him. But he threw himself into that performance, didn't he?

Edited March 17, 2015 by DownTheShore

[anonymiss]

I hate that they sometimes get stuck on some relatively ordinary singer like they are with Caitlin. Adam saying she could win, etc. She's not the best, not even close!

 

Clinton was really great and better than India whose runs are sloppy and tone is too masculine for my taste.

Edited March 17, 2015 by anonymiss

[Amy Beth]

The two that did "Addicted To Love" (I don't know everyone's names yet):

What a horrible arrangement and poor song choice for those two. That song, done in such an airy-fairy style was just pitiful. Robert Palmer must be turning over in his grave.

They were doing the Florence and the Machine cover version. Even though I usually like Florence, her "original" is pretty awful IMO. I don't know why Xtina chose it or why it wasn't montaged.

[Cramps]

Fancy was way too challenging a song for both of the country teens. It's the country equivalent of giving them a Whitney song.

Lots of not great battles last night, and once again Pharrell makes a dubious choice. Why didn't he pair his two crooners together for a battle and then put the former steel Magnolia against the woman from yesterday who did the great Big Mamma Thorton version of Hound dog? That would have made a lot more sense.

Edited March 18, 2015 by Cramps

[Primetimer]

And Lionel Richie's still here, presumably as penance for 'We Are The World.'

Read the story

[MelsW]

Meghan Trainor is apparently the architect of all harmonies on Blake’s team. I am liking her as a mentor. I am still not feeling Ellie Goulding at all and think out of the four mentors, she’s the clunker in the bunch, though she could just be getting a bad edit. I lump her in with Stevie Nicks in the “MEH” category for mentors.

[blueray]

I agree with most of what happened tonight. Though most of the time there was no clear winner.  The part where Pherell couldn't make a decision was funny.

 

Anyhow i agree with whoever said that the older guys (well the one that is still in) probably won't make it to lives. They clearly were having fun! And their performance was entertaining to watch.

[sb1973]

I tried listening to Florence's version of Addicted to Love after skipping through it on the Battles. I thought maybe it was the singers but nope, it was the song. So bad.

[jjjmoss]

The viewers far preferred India and Clinton to anyone else last night - currently #67 on iTunes, while the next-highest is about 300 spots lower. 

She was my fave auditioner, so good for her.

[burntheflaws]

I actually love Florence + the Machine's cover of "Addicted to Love," but then again it was the first version of that song I ever heard. I thought the battle was pretty bad. I guess Treeva won it, but a lot of her high notes sound off to me. Sharp? Flat? Off-key? I don't know the technical term but they didn't hit smoothly the way they should've, in my opinion.

 

India and Clinton's voices blended well together. I thought they added a few too many runs or vibrato to the song, but I really felt the emotional connection. I'm surprised he did such a great job, since he was montaged, but since it was the last battle of the night you knew it had to be good. India's one of my favorites (along with Meghan and Hannah... Caitlin, Brooke and Sarah a little further behind) at the moment, but I'm glad Clinton was stolen.

 

Above all it just makes me happy that the cream of the crop this season seems to be the women. I loved Matt and a few others from last season but I was disappointed at the massive sausage-fest it became. It's getting me excited for the future episodes and especially the live shows.

Edited March 17, 2015 by burntheflaws

[PhD-Purgatory15]

No montages. Good Show, show.

 

If your name isn't Clinton, and you were a montaged audition....nice knowing you. Clinton had a beautiful tone (at times he evoked The Weeknd IMO) so I can't be mad that he was a steal. Generally I would skew to a duet battle more along the lines of "Stay" than like Pharrell's Fallin battle where it becomes all about vocal gymnastics happening individually on the same stage at the same time. Particularly in the male/female dynamic...but as a a couple posters mentioned, the runs and embellishments almost overwhelmed certain parts of the song.

 

Barry and Jack were pure fodder. I want to say that Kelsey and Brenna were pure fodder too, but I'm worried that Blake may overrate Kelsey at the expense of a non country singer like Brooke or Brian in the knockouts. Also, second battle of teenage girls singing about prostitution that Blake has greenlit during his time on the Voice. I forget the opponent, but IIRC, Blake's pop punk Michaela from season 3 or 4 ended up in a similar situation.

 

Had a little hope for Katelyn, but unfortunately she came across as basically a more fully realized version of Caroline Glaser. Understandable that Xtina went w/ the younger, and more human-interesty Treeva. Still feel like she's probably gone in the next round.

 

Pure speculation, but I feel like Pharrell's final steal has to come from Xtina's battle of Rob and Jeremy....or possibly Blake's battle of Corey Kent and Jacob

Edited March 17, 2015 by PhD-Purgatory15

[DownTheShore]

Every time I see Travis Ewing I think that he both looks and sounds like a young Scott McGillvray (HGTV). It's uncanny.

I'm really liking Lionel Ritchie as an advisor. He is really coaching them well on how to relate to the audience and how to use the stage. Think he's auditioning himself for a future coach's chair? Traynor is doing a good job too, helping them musically. Jonas seems to be concentrating on their mental toughness. Goulding seems to be a waste of space.

I'm wondering how Jacob will do; he seems like such a sweet kid. He was smart enough not to go with Adam, once Adam made that Michael Jackson comparison. You know that if he went with Adam, he'd wind up doing Jackson and Wonder songs exclusively.

Edited March 17, 2015 by DownTheShore

[Donny Ketchum]

While we're discussing steals, I find it absolutely delicious that thus far, no steals have come from Adam's team.  That's only further proof to me of how weak a team he's put together this season.  Christina's team is probably the second-weakest one since only one steal, Clinton, has come from hers.  All of the other steals have come from Blake and Pharrell's teams, showing to me how strong their teams must be.

 

Pure speculation on tonight's final battles.  No spoilers at all.

 

Team Adam

Bren'nae vs. Lexi: Well, Lexi was shown in the Blinds, while Bren'nae was montaged, so unless they pull an Alessandra, it's bye-bye, Bren'nae, even if she does outsing Lexi.

 

Team Pharrell

Sawyer vs. Noelle: Well, Sawyer was a four-chair turn who had his audition shown, and Noelle was a one-chair turn who was montaged.  Sawyer's undoubtedly taking this.  As he seems like one of Pharrell's stronger contestants, he'd be foolish not to choose him.

 

Team Christina

No montaged contestants here.  Everyone left on this team was shown in the Blinds.

 

Rob vs. Jeremy: Hard to say.  I liked them both in the Blinds.  But I give the edge to Jeremy since he was a four-chair turn.  Rob might surprise me, too, though.

 

Koryn vs. Vance: Both were two-chair turns.  Hard to say where Christina will go here.  She might go with Koryn, though, since her voice sounded better.  But it'll depend on song choice.

 

Team Blake

Brooke vs. Bay: Brooke was shown in the Blinds, while Bay was montaged.  Bye-bye, Bay.

 

Corey Kent vs. Jacob: Blake has an odd affinity for kids.  (See: Jake Worthington sticking around way longer than he deserved.)  So I imagine he'll chose Jacob unless he really wants to stay loyal to country and go with Corey Kent.

 

Agreed that the steals will likely come from the battles listed above by @PhD-Purgatory15.

Anyhow I agree with whoever said that the older guys (well the one that is still in) probably won't make it to lives.

That was I, and yes, it's sad that Barry likely won't get past the Knockouts.  Sad, because I like him a lot.  But older people are poor vote-getters on this show.

Edited March 18, 2015 by Donny Ketchum

[Athena]

To preface, I've only seen less than five episodes of this show in the whole time it's been on. I enjoyed the Clinton vs India battle because indeed, it was not a battle. I agree that technically it was not perfect (i'm not crazy about the vibratoing), but the feeling was there and the concerted effort to be in harmony. Great performance. I did think India edged it even though she had issues.

 

The "Fancy" choice was strange and while both girls tried, it also highlighted how amateur they were. The lyrics and tone coupled with their ages and experience seemed silly. I snicked a bit when sixteen year sang "When I turned 18..."

 

Nick Jonas seems smarmy.

[xfuse]

 

The "Fancy" choice was strange and while both girls tried, it also highlighted how amateur they were.

I think Blake chose it because it was so hard and he wanted to see if either of them could pull it off. If it worked than he might take them to the lives but if they couldn't he would drop them. I'm betting that the winner of that round is going to be fodder for one of his stronger singer in the KO.

 

Unless Jacob screws up he will pick him. He has his male country singer and that is all he wants.

 

I guess i'm one of the few that doesn't like India.

Edited March 18, 2015 by xfuse

[viajero]

Stay was a lot less impressive when I listen back with headphones. Maybe it's Youtube's audio encoding (doubtful). India's voice has this annoying shakiness, and I can't tell if it's intentional vibrato, or it's nerves, or she just can't control it. Amber Carrington sang the song better back in S4.

 

Fallin' was so. damn. screechy. That battle was like a couple high school queen bees trying to out-sass the other.

 

I noticed the same thing when I listened to it with headphones.  I don't mind vibrato so much, but India wasn't completely in control.  I didn't think Clinton was all that mind blowing either.  It was good, but I agree it just didn't come even close to Amber's version.

 

On the other hand, I did like Fallin' and thought it was one of the best of the night, along with Hound Dog.  Caitlin's voice has a clarity that cuts like a knife and I think one of her strengths is that she can go up high without sounding like she's screeching.  The same cannot be said for Briar and I think that was the difference in this battle.

 

Overall, it was a relatively non-controversial episode for me in that the people I thought deserved to go through, did so.  My only real disagreement was that I thought Kimberly should have won her battle.  But I´m not unhappy that she's now on Team Christina.  Pharrell does make some crazy choices.

 

My ranking of the performances:

 

1. Kimberly Nichole
2. Caitlin Caporale
3. India Carney
4. Clinton Washington
5. Lowell Oakley
6. Barry Minnifiled
7. Treeva Gibson
8. Kelsie May

 

The prize for the worst song selection of the night goes to Christina for giving Addicted to Love to Katelyn and Treeva.  It's hard to think of a song that is less suited to those two (even the Florence version).  I´m glad Treeva got through just because she sounded so great doing Lana del Rey in her audition.  That's the kind of music she should be doing.  Hopefully she can get back to that in the KO Round, though I still don't give her a high chance of success given that she has tough competition on Christina's team.

[hks]

True to my word, I have now watched India and Clinton's battle maybe 9 times now, and I really, truly love it. But a funny thing happened: I started to favor Clinton to India after re-listening so many times. Clinton did some interesting things with his performance, where he'd cut off the line instead of going into a run, which I really liked. I still really like India, but now I'm also hoping Clinton goes far as well. I'm just curious to see him perform on his own, without the setting of a gorgeous duet.  Since he was montaged (?), we never got to see just him on his own. I'm looking forward to it. 

 

 

 

Nick Jonas seems smarmy.

I don't know. He seems to be the coach/advisor with the best advice right now, which is a pleasant surprise. I mean, he and his brothers were pros at a very early age, so i guess I shouldn't be surprised that he has a lot of technical knowledge. But still. I was.  I guess I didn't expect much from a guy who rhymes "jealous" with "hellish."  Shame on me.

[Athena]

I think Blake chose it because it was so hard and he wanted to see if either of them could pull it off. If it worked than he might take them to the lives but if they couldn't he would drop them. I'm betting that the winner of that round is going to be fodder for one of his stronger singer in the KO.

 

Yeah, I can see him playing the long game that way, but it was still weird to see. Both the girls really struggled with it and most pros would with that song. He basically highlighted their weaknesses with their song.

 

I don't know. He seems to be the coach/advisor with the best advice right now, which is a pleasant surprise. I mean, he and his brothers were pros at a very early age, so i guess I shouldn't be surprised that he has a lot of technical knowledge. But still. I was.  I guess I didn't expect much from a guy who rhymes "jealous" with "hellish."  Shame on me.

 

Hehe. He didn't say that much to impress me this episode, but he can give good advice and still be smarmy. Not really mutually exclusive. I'm not surprised by the technical aspect since he has been in the business, but whenever I see him, I get the sense he's a tad too ingratiating.

[Noreaster]

Watched the videos on Hulu.

 

For me, the only good battle this episode was Lowell/Kimberly. The Treeva/Katelyn and India/Clinton battles were actually painful to listen to.  I skipped a lot of backstories in the blinds but India seems like she has Broadway/musical theater training?  Overdoes things like Sasha Allen, but India is nowhere as good.  The other battles were unmemorable. 

[ToxicUnicorn]

Thank you for putting the rosters/cheat sheets together, Donny Ketchum.

 

I could have done without all 3 of the young girls' battles.  Two were forgettable and the less said about the horror that was the Fancy duet, the better.

 

Clinton versus India singing "Stay"?  That was incredible.  It nearly brought me to tears.  India was great, as expected, but I was blown away with Clinton.  I loved his singing, and he definitely was the one who got to me the most emotionally.  He deserves to go far and I hope Christina gets him back, because I think he must have improved tremendously from her coaching.  I am nervous that he chose Adam.  I hope Adam does well by him.  As it stands, India is the strongest person left on Christina's team but maybe I will have to root for Team Adam, now,

 

I say this every season,  I love it when Christina sings . I am glad they are showing her sing more than ever.  She is so much happier and at ease in the judges' chair!  Keep it up, Christina!.

 

I really, really enjoyed Lowell versus Kimberly Nichole.  Lowell amazed me.  I liked his audition, and I Loved his performance in the battle.  hHatever Pharrrell is doing differently this season, I hope he keeps it up.  Kimberly Nichole, whose blind audition wasn't my cup of tea, was also fantastic.  I'm very happy Lowell is going to continue working with Pharrell - I think they're a great match.  As disappointed as Kimberly looked, I think she will benefit more from what Christina has to teach her.  

 

When their song was announced, I cringed.  Hound Dog?  However, the battle itself was a blast  - maybe the most fun battle ever, and so much fun to see the coaches enjoy themselves.  I loved all the footage of Pharrell taking so long to decide.  That was a hard one and I'm glad he was taking it so seriously.  I thought all the coaches' and Carson's comments were great.  It's the camaraderie that makes this show different.

 

Team Adam's Barry versus Jack battle was a step down, but I still liked it.  I don't have as strong opinions because I thought they were very evenly matched.  The first battle of the night was pretty even, too.  I mostly preferred Briar, but admit Caitlin had some strong moments.  (As an aside, I loved Briar's outfit.  She looked great.  And I kept thinking that Caitlin must be scarily skinny in person to look that skinny on camera.)

 

Seems to me the song choices and arrangements for the battles have been strong all season long.  It finally clicked when Christina was coaching India and Clinton simply to create a world.  I think the show's goals have evolved in a good way from the earlier seasons.  Now, it is more about making an incredible duet, and let the chips fall where they may as the coach decides.  I like that much better than the previous mindset of : let them take turns or try to show off against one another.  I am sure it makes for harder decisions for the coaches, however, I think it is worth it.  The battles are more memorable.

 

Good job, show.  Thank goodness for the steals.  I am a happy camper because of them.