S08.E12: The Knockouts, Part 3

[Tara Ariano]

The knockout round continues with team members selecting their own songs to perform individually. The key adviser is Nate Ruess, of the band Fun.

[Donny Ketchum]

Any previews to go on so we can see who's paired with whom and get a better idea of the end results?

[blueray]

I liked the performances. But I feel like Treeva and Jacob should have gone through. They did a better job then the ones that won.

[Donny Ketchum]

Final team rosters/cheat sheets for the Lives:

 

Team Adam

Nathan Hermida (defeated Clinton Washington)

Deanna Johnson (defeated Blaze Johnson)

Tonya Boyd-Cannon (defeated Barry Minniefield)

Joshua Davis (defeated Lexi Dávila)

Brian Johnson (stolen from Team Blake)

 

Team Pharrell

Sawyer Fredericks (defeated Paul Pfau and Anthony Riley**)

Mia Z (defeated Paul Pfau and Anthony Riley**)

Caitlin Caporale (defeated Hannah Kirby)

Lowell Oakley (defeated Jacob Rummell)

Koryn Hawthorne (stolen from Team Christina)

 

Team Christina

Sonic (defeated Ashley Morgan)

Kimberly Nichole (defeated Koryn Hawthorne)

India Carney (defeated Joe Tolo)

Rob Taylor (defeated Treeva Gibson)

Lexi Dávila (stolen from Team Adam)

 

Team Blake

Sarah Potenza (defeated Brian Johnson)

Meghan Linsey (defeated Travis Ewing)

Corey Kent White (defeated Cody Wickline)

Brooke Adee (defeated Kelsie May)

Hannah Kirby (stolen from Team Pharrell)

 

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.  Two asterisks mean that the contestant was defeated by way of withdrawal from the competition.

 

So the matchups:

 

As I thought last week, Barry would be easy fodder, and Tonya would beat anyone she went against.  I kinda expected Adam to put the two black contestants left on his team together, but I was more surprised that the strongest was paired with the weakest.  But Tonya might've made history.  First black woman Adam's ever taken to the Lives, perhaps?  (Only watched since season six, so I wouldn't know.)  Brooke and Kelsie's Knockout?  I kinda knew Brooke had the edge.  She blew me away while Kelsie was just okay.  I knew Joe was easy fodder on Christina's team as the only remaining person montaged through the Battles, and indeed, I was right.  But I kinda knew it was set in stone when I saw that his opponent was India.  No way was anyone on the team beating her.

 

For the second half, I was worried for Lowell, because Jacob really did blow him out of the water.  But even with that better performance, I think Pharrell knew that Jacob wasn't really ready for the Live Playoffs, while Lowell was, so his locked-in team was just what I had thought it would be.  Congrats to Lowell!  Glad to have our first crooner ever!  Rob vs. Treeva?  Well, I liked Treeva, but she was toast as soon as I saw she was facing him.  You ask me, Treeva and Joe's best chances were against each other.  But I think Christina wanted India and Rob to make it through and paired them with the ones she didn't think had a chance at the Lives.  Joshua and Lexi?  Well, Adam tends to stick with his bromances, so of course Joshua made it.  But glad for Lexi that she was stolen.  At the same time, I was enjoying seeing no one on Adam's team worth stealing.  Question is now whether Christina stole right or not?  I can see her getting cut at the Live Playoffs since the audience might prefer any of the four non-stolen contestants on her team a lot more.

 

Another time, I'll rank everyone based on team.  But for now, pretty good episode.  Everyone ended up where I thought they would.  All of the teams actually shook out the way I predicted.  Lexi being stolen was the only surprise, as, like someone else had predicted (who was it?  Please come forward!), I thought her steal would come from whomever lost between Kelsie and Brooke.

I liked the performances. But I feel like Treeva and Jacob should have gone through. They did a better job then the ones that won.

@blueray, I agree that based on just this one performance, Jacob probably should've advanced.  But as I said, Pharrell likely knew that he wasn't ready for the big times and Lowell was.  Plus, he'd probably already wanted Lowell to make the Lives from the get-go.  But as much as I liked Treeva, Rob kicked her ass up and down the street, no questions asked.

Edited March 31, 2015 by Donny Ketchum

[rollerblade]

Eww, what did Tim McGraw ever done to that girl? She made the song disgusting. I mean, Laura Moser's shipyard crime scene images are less disgusting that what she did to that song.

[yourpointis]

Well that was almost two hours of meh. The only performance I enjoyed tonight was Joshua's, and even that didn't have me jumping out of my seat. The show tonight was so dull that I didn't see The Voice trending on Twitter. Is that a first?

[Valny]

Think I'm liking Christina's team the best. She's got some solid people.   This season looks like her best shot to win probably. 

 

Sawyer seems to be the strongest for team Pharrell.  Joshua for team Adam, Sarah for team Blake. Brooke is pretty good too for Blake

[TrueBlue]

But Tonya might've made history.  First black woman Adam's ever taken to the Lives, perhaps?

 

Does your definition include bi-racial or multi-racial women?  Adam took Amanda Brown, Judith Hill, and Tessanne Chin to the lives.  All three were considered favorites at the beginning of their respective seasons with Tessanne winning.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Donny Ketchum, I think in an earlier post I hypothesized that the steal had to be Lexi or the loser of Brooke/Kelsey....especially knowing that Xtina had used "her" when referring to the steal in one of the previews. The only other option was Tonya and the only way that would have happened was if Adam paired up TBC w/ Joshua. Even Adam (who has made a number of curious decisions over the years) wasn't going to do that.

 

Lowell's cheese factor almost cost him that battle. He's lucky that despite a pretty tone, Jacob still comes of as somebody capable of finishing 2nd or 3rd in a large high school's talent show.

 

Man I wish Xtina would have went by gender tonight....because Joe has to be looking around and going "what do I have to do here?" India' is simply on another level, but a Joe/Rob battle might have actually been a battle he could have won at least on merit. But then again I'm unimpressed by Rob in general so YMMV...

 

So happy that Kelsey underwhelmed to the point where Blake picking her just to "keep it country" would have looked foolish. Had the two performances been more of a coin flip I think he might have went in her direction. Still really enjoying Brooke's performances and the two songs she's had some control over were Skinny Love and Electric Feel....major bonus need to be awarded for song choices alone.

 

My personal Team Adam rankings going into the live shows would go 1.) Joshua, 2.) Tonya, 3.) Deanna, 4.) Nathan, 5.) Brian

 

Team Blake: 1.) Meghan, 2.) Corey, 3.) Brooke (probably an unpopular opinion), 4.) Sarah, 5.) Hannah

 

Team Xtina: 1.) India, 2.) Kimberly, 3.) Lexi, 4.) Sonic, 5.) Rob

 

Team Pharrell: 1.) Koryn, 2.) Sawyer, 3.) Mia Z. 4.) Caitlyn, 5.) Lowell

 

For as weak of a team as Adam supposedly had going into the battles and KO's, he's ended up with 2 (and maybe even a 3rd w/ Deanna) pretty strong contenders...also if I'm Blake, I probably wouldn't mind losing either Sarah or Hannah next week because they are so similar sounding to each other.

Edited March 31, 2015 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Donny Ketchum]

For as weak of a team as Adam supposedly had going into the battles and KO's, he's ended up with 2 (and maybe even a 3rd w/ Deanna) pretty strong contenders...also if I'm Blake, I probably wouldn't mind losing either Sarah or Hannah next week because they are so similar sounding to each other.

Eh, I think his team still remains the weakest.  I actually don't see how you could put Joshua at the top.  Tonya easily beats him.  Easily.

[ProudMary]

Tonight's Knockouts should have a subtitle:  The Night of Awful Song Choices.  

 

Seriously, the only singers who chose good songs for themselves IMO were Brooke and poor Joe Tolo who had to go up against India.  The rest were anywhere from pathetic to mediocre.  That also includes Joshua, who is by far my favorite.  I love Amos Lee's music but something a bit more upbeat say, "The Man Who Wants You" would have been a better choice.  

 

There is still a lot of good talent going into the lives; several performers who are very enjoyable to watch.  My fingers are crossed that the coaches' song choices will showcase their voices better than tonight's did.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

DK, I suppose if we are purely talking vocal gymnastics and horsepower then I suppose Joshua wouldn't "win." But I'm a folk rock, Americana fan and I'd put Joshua's ability to tell a story up against any else still in the running this season. I could be wildly off target but I also don't think Tonya will beat him where it matters the most.....total votes. If it pleases the Voice court, I'd like to enter into evidence the name's of Judith Hill and Sissaundra Lewis....

Edited March 31, 2015 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Donny Ketchum]

DK, I suppose if we are purely talking vocal gymnastics and horsepower then I suppose Joshua wouldn't "win." But I'm a folk rock, Americana fan and I'd put Joshua's ability to tell a story up against any else still in the running this season. I could be wildly off target but I also don't think Tonya will beat him where it matters the most.....total votes. If it pleases the Voice court, I'd like to enter into evidence the name's of Judith Hill and Sissaundra Lewis....

I don't judge "telling a story."  I go by vocals, and Joshua is definitely pretty ordinary compared to Tonya.  Actually, save for her, most of Adam's team strikes me as pretty ordinary.  I'm not even gonna judge viewer votes until the Lives begin, because many who thought would be received well, weren't, and those not expected to be receive well, have been.

Does your definition include bi-racial or multi-racial women?

No.  Fully black.

[Sile]

Eww, what did Tim McGraw ever done to that girl? She made the song disgusting. I mean, Laura Moser's shipyard crime scene images are less disgusting that what she did to that song.

Laura Moser.  Gone but never forgotten...

 

Neither of my horses this year (Cody and Jacob) even made the lives so other than Joshua, in whom I have a mild interest, I'm not too invested for the rest of the season.  I'd really like to know the actual order of the matches because I think Adam might have stolen Jacob if he hadn't wasted it on Brian and Pharrell showed a lot of interest in Cody but had already been goaded by Christina into using his steal.

 

Speaking of which, I love that they showed part of the clip last week of Christina jumping up and down around Pharrell and Koryn and, when that didn't work, tried to go in for a group hug.  While during the entire time neither one of them even acknowledged her existence.

 

Besides it not being the last match of the night, I knew Christina wasn't going to steal Kelsey.  Brooke, yes, but Kelsey lost any chance she had when she crumbled like a soft bake cookie.  In that moment she looked like exactly what she is, a sheltered 15 year old from Kentucky who isn't ready for the pressure of competition.

Edited March 31, 2015 by Sile

[Donny Ketchum]

Speaking of which, I love that they showed part of the clip last week of Christina jumping up and down around Pharrell and Koryn and, when that didn't work, tried to go in for a group hug.  While during the entire time neither one of them even acknowledged her existence.

Wait, that happened?  I hope they're not on bad terms with her.

[burntheflaws]

For the first time in The Voice history, I think Team Blake is my favorite going into the live rounds. I love all the women, especially Meghan and Hannah. Brooke has a lovely voice and I enjoyed "Skinny Love" from her blinds, so I was wholeheartedly rooting for her. She had an easy victory in her knockout against Kelsie, who in my opinion suffered from nerves and let them get the best of her (surprising since she'd seemed so confident the rounds before). But Preston's "Electric Feel" still reigns supreme. My only worry is that Blake's team has three rock/bluesy/soul chicks and that might split the votes. It would've been great if they could've been split up among three coaches. But I'll hope for the best.

 

Team Christina and Team Pharrell are tied for me. Overall Pharrell's team has more potential to win. Koryn is my favorite on his team, but Sawyer seems like the biggest contender for this season. It's interesting that Pharrell has a very young team this time, since his contestants were a little older last season. Hopefully he'll change up his coaching style, move away from those dated songs and surprise me with some smart and interesting decisions. Lowell could totally pass as a young Liev Schreiber. I agree that his chuckle in "My Girl" was awkward, but I liked his arrangement and agreed with that win.

 

Christina has one of my absolute favorites, India. Plus I've warmed up to Sonic after her impressive knockout song. As for Lexi, I remember she had a lovely voice in the blinds, but she didn't really leave an impression until tonight. Great performance, and even though the song choice reminded me of Caroline Pennell (one of my all-time favorite contestants), I loved it. That one run was fantastic, and she was on point with her falsetto in the chorus. Adam coached her well in helping her control her nerves and draw out her strengths.

 

I continue to be stunned at how weak Team Adam is compared to the other coaches' teams. If he'd kept Clinton and Lexi, it could've been much more interesting, but I don't really care about any of his contestants right now.

Edited March 31, 2015 by burntheflaws

[Sile]

Wait, that happened?  I hope they're not on bad terms with her.

I don't think so.  It happened at the end of last week's show when she was running around like an idiot screaming for Pharrell or Blake to steal.  After Pharrell stole her, Koryn and P were hugging and, as is often the case, Christina tried to make it about Christina and they were having none of it.

 

The ignoring was really more of them not even being aware of her existence because it was their moment, not hers.  I don't think they were excluding her because of any personal dislike or attitude.

 

I, personally, would be much more about the coach that just saved me than the one that just dumped me, but I'm bitchy like that.

[Donny Ketchum]

I continue to be stunned at how weak Team Adam is compared to the other coaches' teams. If he'd kept Clinton and Lexi, it could've been much more interesting, but I don't really care about any of his contestants right now.

Not even Tonya or Nathan?

[rollerblade]

But Tonya might've made history.  First black woman Adam's ever taken to the Lives, perhaps?  (Only watched since season six, so I wouldn't know.)

 

First "older" woman Adam took to lives, I think.

[Noreaster]

A mixed night.  The Joshua/Lexi battle was probably the best.  I also liked India and Rob quite a bit.  All the others were boring or mediocre.  I wanted to like Brooke and she has a great voice, but her cover of Electric Feel lacked energy. I can't help but compare to Preston Pohl's stellar version in season 5.  

 

Regarding Adam and black contestants, I don't really know for sure who's mixed or "fully black", but he has brought black people to lives every season.  Kim Yarbrough was an older black woman in season 2 that Adam advanced to lives.  

[ToxicUnicorn]

Sorry to hear Lowell didn't have a good night; glad he was chosen to go on.

 

I agree the rest of the winners were pre-determined.  I don't feel much need to watch the show now, except I probably will look up the songs Lexi has done, because I have no memory of her at all.

 

Nice to be able to come here and read the remarks, though.

[Kcat1971]

Besides it not being the last match of the night, I knew Christina wasn't going to steal Kelsey.  Brooke, yes, but Kelsey lost any chance she had when she crumbled like a soft bake cookie.  In that moment she looked like exactly what she is, a sheltered 15 year old from Kentucky who isn't ready for the pressure of competition.

 

I agree!  We never know when the talking heads are filmed and they are usually vague enough that its hard to tell the context, but there was a talking head of Christina saying "She had her eye" on someone.  I think that someone *might* have been Brooke, if she had lost to Kelsie May, which was a really possibility prior to Kelsie Mae's blowing it.  Like someone else said above, if it had been closer between Kelsie Mae & Brooke I think there is a real chance that Blake would have advanced Kelsie Mae.  That said, I think Lexi was a good steal for Christina.   Its nice when someone has a surprise break-through and rises to the occasion for a battle or knock-out that they were not suppose to win.  I like the steal for this reason.

[Primetimer]

In which we say goodbye to Nate Ruess, and to Xtina's ugly red shirt.

Read the story

[kelnic86]

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Team Adam. Sure, put up against the other coaches, his team as a whole is the weakest. But it only takes one to win, and I can easily see Joshua taking it. Especially if he keeps the facial hair...Hee! His song sold the most on iTunes last night, although at this stage that doesn't really mean much. It mostly depends on how Adam coaches him from here on out.

 

I agree with others about Kelsie May. If she had done a better job, Blake probably would've picked her over Brooke if for no other reason than her being a country singer. But she blew it big time. Brooke totally outsang her. I think Brooke can be a darkhorse in this competition if Blake coaches her right. She has a lot of potential. She also appears to be pretty popular based on Youtube. Her blind audition has over 2.5 million views right behind Sawyer, which really surprised me.

 

Now that the live shows are about to start, it's a whole new ballgame. I don't want to call a winner yet because early frontrunners can fizzle out or crash and burn and someone who was overlooked can come out of nowhere and start blowing everyone away.

Edited March 31, 2015 by kelnic86

[waving feather]

I don't think Adam's team is that weak because he has very diverse singers, which increases his odds. But Blake, he has 3 very similar types of singers on his team (Sarah, Meghan and Hannah) and if the public isn't into what they do, they would fall in one big swoop. Hannah is probably my favorite among the three because I love her kooky stage presence. 2 of Adam's contestants are steals from Blake's team, Brian and Joshua, who were also paired together by Blake during battle rounds.

 

What's up with Adam acting like a kid wanting his parents' attention towards Blake? I mean, he's always been like that but stomping on Blake's chair for no good reason; not once but twice? My mind baffles.

Edited March 31, 2015 by waving feather

[MelsW]

Preston's "Electric Feel" still reigns supreme.

 

I felt the same way as soon as she started singing in rehearsals. Brooke was good but she was nowhere near as good as Preston Pohl's Electric Feel. I even prefer his to the original song!

 

I couldn't believe how cringeworthy Lowell's performance was. Granted, Jacob wasn't going to make it far in the competition but yikes...I found Lowell's performance embarassing to watch. Hopefully nerves just got the best of him and he can pull it together for the Lives.

[jjjmoss]

So iTunes T100 placements:

Auditions 1st Sawyer

2nd Deanna

Battles 1st Sawyer

2nd India

Knockouts 1st Sawyer

2nd Joshua

 

Will Sawyer take those fans through to the live rounds, or will he fall like Sarah Simmons who also dominated the pre-lives?

Among the 3 round runners-up, I like India the best though she could get boring depending on song choice. Wasn't really feeling the song last night.

[Amy Beth]

Despite his OTT performance, I like Lowell. I think Pharell does too. He seemed the most engaged in rehearsals with Lowell than with anyone else.

[Sharpie66]

Lowell could totally pass as a young Liev Schreiber.

That's who he was reminding me of!!  I couldn't place the resemblance, but it is really obvious now that I think about it.

[Ketzel]

I find Lowell kind of creepy. He seems so uncomfortable in his own skin, regardless of how confident he is of his voice.

[Donny Ketchum]

I don't think Adam's team is that weak because he has very diverse singers, which increases his odds.

So?  I don't see how it does.  His team was montaged to holy hell throughout this season.  Even the show thinks they're the weakest.  And if you paid attention to his final confessional last night, even Adam knows they are.

[Amy Beth]

So? I don't see how it does. His team was montaged to holy hell throughout this season. Even the show thinks they're the weakest. And if you paid attention to his final confessional last night, even Adam knows they are.

Deanna's battle was montaged, but her audition was a sneak preview. I call that a wash.

Brian and Joshua were both steals, so they were not montaged.

Tonya wasn't montaged.

Nathan's battle was montaged.

Given how weak his team was, that's not too bad.

[Donny Ketchum]

Brian and Joshua were both steals, so they were not montaged.

And whose team were they on when they were stolen?  Not Adam's.

 

So yeah.  Still going with pretty bad here.

[burntheflaws]

Not even Tonya or Nathan?

 

Tonya, like many other past Voice contestants, has a great, powerful voice, but I don't feel connected or interested enough to root for her. Not that invested in Nathan either, other than the fact that I always like seeing fellow Asians advance in these shows (or hell, appear in shows period). Of course, the lives could sway my opinion of both of them, or any of the other contestants I don't care about... but for now I can't see it.

[viajero]

I thought this was a decent episode, though perhaps only India came close to matching the best we saw the previous Monday night.  Despite this, I do think there were four very good performances (in order of preference):

 

1. India - For me that might just have been her best performance so far (which is saying something given how good she's been).  It helps that I love that song.

 

2. Brooke - I was worried during the rehearsal about how much she was rearranging this song.  But it really worked, even if it was not quite up to Preston’s version (though it feels a bit like comparing apples and oranges because Booke changed it up so much).  There's just something about her voice that gets to me and I can see why she gets so many YouTube views and ranks so high in many of the polls I’ve seen.

 

3. Lexi - I thought the last knockout was basically a tie, but give the slightest edged to Lexi for an imaginative rearrangement of a song that is very difficult for soloists without backup singers.  She took big risks and they paid off in a big way.  I was impressed by her voice in her audition, but she was so visibly overcome with nerves that I figured she wasn't up to lasting much in this competition.  Instead it turns out that unlike some others, she's been able to pull it together.  Maybe there is some inner steel beneath that shy soft exterior.

 

4. Joshua - A very smooth professional performance (as always with him), but it also just kind of sat there.  As the only guy over 30 left in the competition, he's bound to go far (at least Top 6).  But if he wants to really nail down the win, he’s going to have to pick more dynamic songs. 

 

I thought both Tonya and Barry were good, but both sang old songs in an old fashioned way.  There was no attempt to make their performances more contemporary.  I kind of felt like I was in one of those ritzy Palm Springs Country Clubs.

 

Rob, Jacob, Joe and Treeva all gave acceptable performances; perhaps good enough for this season’s Top 12 on AI, but completely outmatched here on The Voice.

 

Lowell and Kelsie were downright bad (the worst of the KO Round).

 

The people I’m rooting for from each team to make it through the next round:

 

Team Adam 1.) Joshua, 2.) Deanna, 3.) Brian

Team Blake: 1) Brooke, 2) Hannah, 3.) Sarah or Meghan

Team Christina: 1.) India, 2.) Kimberly, 3.) Lexi or Sonic

Team Pharrell: 1.) Koryn, 2.) Sawyer, 3.) Mia Z or Caitlin

 

Overall, I think Team Pharrell is the strongest, followed by Team Blake.  Team Xtina is also fairly strong, but Team Adam lags way behind.

 

At this point, I would be happy with India or any of my top 4 from either Pharrell or Blake’s teams winning. But if I had to put money down on who is actually going to win, I would probably bet on either Joshua or Corey.  Not only do those two best fit the demographics of those who have tended to be successful at getting a votes on this show (a somewhat bland 30 something family man and a good looking country singer), but I figure the women are going to knock each other out and Sawyer is in danger of fading the way most early favorites on The Voice tend to.

[Noreaster]

Taking a look at the coaches' lineups for lives:

 

-Adam's team is diverse.  A seasoned professional (Joshua), an older R&B/soul singer (Tonya), and a couple of pop/indie amateurs who need work (Deanna, Nathan).  Plus Brian who is maybe a younger inexperienced version of Joshua?  I think this lineup is a pretty typical one for Adam. Maybe a little younger and less experienced than normal since he didn't get as many 3- and 4-chair turns this season.

 

-Blake's team is also diverse.  Two seasoned professionals (Sarah, Meghan), a 16-year pop/indie female (Brooke), an amateur country guy (Corey), and an amateur pop/rock female (Hannah). I think this is a pretty typical lineup for Blake.  Lighter on country than average, but all types (actually maybe not Hannah) have appeared on Blake's team in the past with some frequency.

 

-Christina's team is very heavy on R&B/soul. A few in their early 20s with India, Sonic, Rob.  One seasoned R&B professional in Kimberly. Lexi is younger and more pop. I think fairly typical lineup for Christina. She generally favors the younger singers with big voices.

 

-Pharrell's team is super young.  Sawyer, Mia, and Koryn are 15-16 year olds.  Lowell is an amateur crooner.  Caitlin is the oldest (early 20s?) but she's relatively inexperienced.  Very different lineup compared to Pharrell's first season when he went with mostly older/seasoned folks.

 

Based on my personal tastes, I anticipate liking Adam's and Blake's teams the most this season.  I generally favor the seasoned professionals and enjoy most genres except for country.  Stylistically, I prefer the "less is more" approach and dislike numerous runs and oversinging.  Right now, my favorite is Meghan.  

Edited April 1, 2015 by Noreaster

[angelita100]

Rob is my favorite singer on The Voice since Michelle. The talent on the last 2 seasons have bored the hell out of me.  I don't think I even watched either finale. I just didn't care.  This boy can sang. 

 

India I love her.  But to me she is overrated.  Yes she can sing but IMO she doesn't have a pop voice and that vibrato hurts my ears.  But everyone is falling down in priase of her.  I take a wait to be impressed attitude.

 

I like Pharrel's team.  To me he is a better coach than he was last year.  Hope he picks good songs for his people.  Rob or Sawyer for the win.

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2015 by angelita100

[Steph619]

I think that Pharrell, Christina, and Blake all have strong teams whereas Adam probably has the weakest team.

I like Pharrell's team this season a lot better than last season's. He can do great things with all of them depending on whether or not he picks songs for them that are current and appeal to the audience. That was probably his biggest downfall last season, but I think he'll make better choices this time around.

Lowell's performance was definitely cringe worthy and even though Jacob had a better performance, Lowell seems like a better fit for Pharrell.

I haven't really been as impressed with India's last two performances like I was with her blind audition, but she does have a great voice and is definitely a contender for the win.

[ToxicUnicorn]

These knockouts were more interesting than I expected...always a nice surprise!

 

Team Adam: Tonya vs Barry - Barry did a great job - I always enjoy singers like him.  I agree with Adam that Tonya probably won that battle, but I think Barry gave her a really good (and better than expected) run for her money.  He should be very proud.  

 

Team Blake: Brooke vs Kelsie.  No contest.  Brooke's Electric Feel sounded a lot better than I expected - I think I like her version more than Preston's.  She is already so much more fun to watch than Danielle ever was.  

 

Team Christina: India vs. Joe.  I agree with angelita100 that India is overrated.  Her audition song (with New York State of Mind, which trod the line between good and cliche) was her best performance.  For me, the bloom is off the rose.  She has tons of potential, I suppose, but she has got to pull it together for me to care.  I think one issue I have is that she doesn't seem very relaxed or natural.  It all looks like so much effort.  I don't remember Joe too well - I think I was impressed with him.  I would have liked Christina to pair someone else against India, so that Joe had a chance.

 

Team Pharrell: Lowell vs Jacob.  Oh dear.  I agree with the consensus.  Jacob's performance was much better than Lowell's here.  Most of the time, I judge based on battles.  In thiis case, Lowell is so intriguing that I understand why Pharrell stuck with him.  Although why Pharrell let Lowell choose "My Girl" is a mystery to me.  That sounded like an ancient choice to me, and I'm pretty old myself!

 

Team Christina: Rob vs Treeva.  I thought this was a blow-out.  It was Treeva's worst song by far.  For the first round, I wasn't even sure she could land on a note.  All that sliding around (and up to) notes drives me a bit batty.  I'm not overly impressed with Rob, but he certainly deserved to move on.

 

Team Adam: Joshua vs. Lexi.  I straight up thought Lexi won.  I loved her "Anything Could Happen".  I also loved Caroline Pennell's version so much that I expected I would be hostile to a new version, but she did it so differently, they almost weren't the same song.  I am so glad Christina stole Lexi.  Lexi might well be my favorite person on Christina's team.  I was bored by Josh, I'm sorry to say.  I loved him in the blinds - not so much now. 

 

My favorites at the moment would be:  Sawyer (Team Pharrell)  and Lexi (Team Christina).  If Cody and Clinton were still in the race, I'd be rooting for them also.

 

People who intrigue me: Tonya and Nathan (Team Adam); Brooke, Corey, Hannah, and Sarah (Team Blake - everyone except Meghan, who I find way over the top), and Lowell (Team Pharrell). 
 

Edited April 2, 2015 by ToxicUnicorn

[mercfan3]

I would say Adam has the weakest team by far..when it comes to overall talent. But really, you only take 3 to the top 12 and you only win with one. So yes, comparing all five, Adam is the weakest by a mile..but then when you break it down to likely top 3..we have.. (For an example)

 

Adam: Joshua, DeAnna, Nathan

Blake: Brooke, Meghan, Sarah

Pharrell: Sawyer, Mia, Caitlin

Christina: India, Sonic, Kimberly.

 

And suddenly it looks a little more even..and it's arguable that he's got the strongest contender in Joshua. Pharrell's team is full of potential and talent..but it's all really young..Blake's most promising winner is really young, and Christina's full of a genre that doesn't do particularly well on this show..

 

Still, I think this season is full of amazing potential, and I hope it lives up to it. 

[angelita100]

Don't we have 2 R&B winners? 

[MaryPatShelby]

I didn't think Nate Ruess showed disdain for the show at all. But I'm probably biased, since I think he's a terrific singer/songwriter.

[mercfan3]

Don't we have 2 R&B winners? 

 

Tessanne was a diva/belter and probably the best singer the show has ever had.

 

Josh is a different artist than R&B female singers. Those types usually go out around sixth. (Sisaundra, Judith/Sasha, Amanda wasn't really R&B but she was the night she was eliminated. )

[viajero]

I would say Adam has the weakest team by far..when it comes to overall talent. But really, you only take 3 to the top 12 and you only win with one. So yes, comparing all five, Adam is the weakest by a mile..but then when you break it down to likely top 3..we have.. (For an example)

 

Adam: Joshua, DeAnna, Nathan

Blake: Brooke, Meghan, Sarah

Pharrell: Sawyer, Mia, Caitlin

Christina: India, Sonic, Kimberly.

 

And suddenly it looks a little more even..and it's arguable that he's got the strongest contender in Joshua. Pharrell's team is full of potential and talent..but it's all really young..Blake's most promising winner is really young, and Christina's full of a genre that doesn't do particularly well on this show..

 

Still, I think this season is full of amazing potential, and I hope it lives up to it. 

 

I still think Adam's team would be the weakest in this scenario.  I don't think either Deanna or Nathan is really up to the level of the 9 contestants you list for the other teams.  So it all comes down to Joshua.  He's a contender of sorts and he is the only guy left over 30, which should translate into a lot of votes.  But I still think the odds are against him winning it all.  At least I hope so, because I don't think it would do this show any good to have another dull boring go nowhere winner, particularly in a season with so many promising much more dynamic contestants. 

Don't we have 2 R&B winners? 

 

Javier and Jermaine were in the first two seasons and my impression is that the show has changed substantially since then.  Besides, they were also sympathetic mature fathers with cute kids who were fighting for a second chance.  This is exactly the demographic that works best on this show.  It does not mean that a younger single female R&B singer has much of a chance.

[Noreaster]

Conference call with this episode's contestants: http://starrymag.com/?p=5773

I think all this talk about who's strong, weak, boring, whatever is largely based on personal preference. There's still a lot more to go with this competition. We've seen at most 3 performances from these contestants.  The whole montage talk doesn't mean much either, in my opinion.  Blake's team was montaged a ton last season and he ended up with the winning contestant.  Steals came mainly from Usher and Pharrell/Gwen in the last couple of seasons, yet those coaches ended up losing most of their teams early.  One might argue that these coaches aren't as good at keeping the "better" contestants during the battles/knockouts.  

[Donny Ketchum]

The whole montage talk doesn't mean much either, in my opinion.  Blake's team was montaged a ton last season and he ended up with the winning contestant.

. . . Who was never montaged at any time.

[Noreaster]

Montaged contestants have gone far on this show before. Off the top of my head...Cassadee won. Michelle Chamuel and Christina Grimmie were finalists. People like Cole and Kristen Merlin went far. Matt McAndrew, the sole knockout montage last season, placed 2nd.

Point is it's not that big a deal. The performances from here on out matter.

Edited April 4, 2015 by Noreaster

[mercfan3]

I'm okay with montages too. I mean, I know I would have loved to have seen Michelle's performance of Titanium..but I have a feeling she kicked the other girl's butt. And the show is the nice show..you don't want to show a butt kicking or an overall terrible battle/audition. 

[rollerblade]

And the show is the nice show..you don't want to show a butt kicking or an overall terrible battle/audition. 

 

In that case, they should have montage Kelsie May's knockout. That was 50 shades of terrible.

[realdancemom]

In that case, they should have montage Kelsie May's knockout. That was 50 shades of terrible.

Kelsie May may have psyched herself out.  She had bags under her eyes and looked like she didn't get any sleep.  She's a pretty young girl but looked terrible during the knockouts.