S08.E20: Live Top 10 Eliminations

[blueray]

I honestly feel with time Deanna will get over her stage fright. Shes a teenage right? Or at least young, she has time to get over her nerves. While I feel that it was right that she went home, I honestly thought Monday was her best performance. And seriously making it the top 10 on a show like the voice is pretty good.

[pivot]

So am I and I take none of the comments personally. The stylists on The Voice are consistently terrible from season to season. It does not shock me at all that they put a gorgeous girl in an unflattering white lace bell bottomed jumpsuit. No matter how smoking hot you are, clothes exists that will be unflattering on your body. If unflattering clothes are within a 20 mile radius of a contestant, The Voice stylists will find them. Do you remember what those stylists did to poor DaNica Shirey? They can make good looking people look downright matronly.

Poor DaNica. They made her look about 10 years older than she is. Same with Tessanne. In every post-show appearance, Tessanne has looked younger and cooler than what they did to her on The Voice.

I have to give The Voice wardrobe/fashion team credit for Meghan though. She looks a decade younger than her audition. Her clothes, hairstyling and make-up are so much trendier and make her look relevant. Her audition outfit and styling was seriously unfortunate.

For next week, I think Koryn, Sawyer and Meghan sail through leaving Hannah, India, Kimberly and Corey fighting for the last two slots. I think Joshua is a goner no matter what. Though if India could only manage to tie Hannah's iTunes placement with the full Whitney Houston finale slot, I am not sure she has the fan base to push her through another week. I could see her, Hannah and Joshua hitting the bottom 3 with Hannah getting the twitter save. Adam has a built-in advantage in that his team also sings last in the twitter saves, but he has the weakest voice of the 3, while India has the best voice but she gives off a cold, technical vibe on stage. If Corey hits the bottom 3, he is going home. But, he might have enough of a fanbase to keep him from hitting that bottom 3.

[tpplay]

Frankly, if someone from Christina's team had to go, I wish it had been India instead of Rob.  Or that Clinton  could come back and sing every song with her.

Edited April 22, 2015 by tpplay

[Padma]

ITA about India and Clinton. For me, she was at her best in that battle (and I'm still sorry he wasn't stolen). India seemed like the frontrunner to me in her audition, but has faded into the background. I attribute it to Christina's coaching because she takes anyone with a tendency toward over-embellishment and pushes them to do more of it. I really can't stand that style of singing most of the time and think all of her team would have been improved by more restraint, not more runs and "adlibs".

 

I wonder if Deanna would have been better on Team Blake. For one thing, he might have helped with the nerves. For another, I agree with the poster upthread that she seems more suited for country than pop. Well, at least she had the choice and had the opportunity she wanted with Adam. Somehow, after her audition, she just wasn't that good.

[Princess Lucky]

The results were pretty much expected. The person who was Twitter-saved last is eliminated. That said, Joshua might buck that trend because I think that most of the people who are left are in a pretty similar predicament and song choice will determine the bottom 3 contestants (the exceptions being Sawyer, Meghan and Kimberly who seem to be doing a little better). All the others could go based on a bad performance (like Joshua almost did) or do well based on a good performance (like Koryn this week).

 

As for Deanna, I think it's crazy to consider her anything other than gorgeous. I'm 5'3" and my frame is medium-small (though my Mediterranean hips and ass would beg to differ) and I'm always envious of tall, proportionate girls. Maybe because I can relate more to their shape as opposed to tall model-looking girls with a small frame that looks foreign to me (as I said, I'm Mediterranean, and slender hips on a woman is a relative rarity for us). I look at Deanna, with her height and her long legs and her hips and her shoulders and all I can think of is "damn, that's a whole lot of woman". "Amazonian" is right.

 

That said, she was not ready for this competition. Not vocally and not emotionally. Which is not to say she's untalented, this was just too soon for her. I wish her well.

 

As for poor Rob, he paid for his vocal acrobatics. He is a great vocalist and an entertaining performer, and he could have lasted at least one more week (though I don't think he would have lasted beyond that), but this song did him in.

 

Lastly, I am thrilled that Hanna is holding strong. She's the only one of my faves that I worry about each week (Meghan and Kimberly seem like they'll at least get to the top 5 for sure). I had only skimmed Monday's show (just the performances) and when I went back to watch the rehearsal bits of my favorites I saw that Hannah chose Shout herself. I love that girl. And so does Blake, it's cute to see.

Edited April 22, 2015 by Princess Lucky

[Donny Ketchum]

For next week, I think Koryn, Sawyer and Meghan sail through leaving Hannah, India, Kimberly and Corey fighting for the last two slots. I think Joshua is a goner no matter what. Though if India could only manage to tie Hannah's iTunes placement with the full Whitney Houston finale slot, I am not sure she has the fan base to push her through another week. I could see her, Hannah and Joshua hitting the bottom 3 with Hannah getting the twitter save. Adam has a built-in advantage in that his team also sings last in the twitter saves, but he has the weakest voice of the 3, while India has the best voice but she gives off a cold, technical vibe on stage. If Corey hits the bottom 3, he is going home. But, he might have enough of a fanbase to keep him from hitting that bottom 3.

Next week is a bottom four, so four names will be called as safe, while the remaining four fight it out through a sing-off.  I expect Sawyer to make it through, no matter what, as well as Meghan.  Koryn might, as well, with a great song choice, and I think Kimberly or India will take the last spot.  If Corey's in the bottom group, I think, sadly, his 45,000-plus Twitter followers will save him.  Only one who could beat him is Joshua, and even I'm skeptical about that.

Edited April 22, 2015 by Donny Ketchum

[pivot]

Wait, so next week is a bottom 4 and they save 2 for a top 6 or they save 1 for a top 5?

[Donny Ketchum]

Wait, so next week is a bottom 4 and they save 2 for a top 6 or they save 1 for a top 5?

One for a top five.

[hks]

Frankly, if someone from Christina's team had to go, I wish it had been India instead of Rob.  Or that Clinton  could come back and sing every song with her.

 

ITA about India and Clinton. For me, she was at her best in that battle (and I'm still sorry he wasn't stolen). India seemed like the frontrunner to me in her audition, but has faded into the background.

 

I also totally agree about India and Clinton.  However, he WAS stolen after that battle, but - in my opinion - made a terrible song choice the next week and got eliminated. He could have been great.  OR it could be they are only good together and should tour together after this is done.  But I hope it's not true.  I'm still rooting for her and I think she can be as good as she was in that one battle. She's got all the skill and talent, it's just a matter of song choice and production.

[Noreaster]

The show's website has the voting rules. Says next week (4/28), viewers can instant-save one of the bottom three. Then the following two weeks (5/5, 5/12), viewers can instant-save one of the bottom two.

So it looks like Top 8, then Top 6, then Top 5, then a final of 4 contestants. No mention of a wildcard.

[Ketzel]

If we're talking fashion, all the females seem to be in really high-waisted pants this season....is this the trend right now?  I try to dress flatteringly but don't really follow fashion; I thought the high waist went out a looong time ago.

It did. So long ago that it's coming back again. :) Edited April 22, 2015 by Ketzel

[Muffyn]

So am I and I take none of the comments personally. The stylists on The Voice are consistently terrible from season to season. It does not shock me at all that they put a gorgeous girl in an unflattering white lace bell bottomed jumpsuit. No matter how smoking hot you are, clothes exists that will be unflattering on your body. If unflattering clothes are within a 20 mile radius of a contestant, The Voice stylists will find them. Do you remember what those stylists did to poor DaNica Shirey? They can make good looking people look downright matronly.

That's it exactly. Deanna is an attractive women with a beautiful body.  She is taller and larger than many of the people with whom she is on stage.  Corey, Joshua and Sawyer are all short and/or slight.  I am 5'11" with broad shoulders,  I am larger than the average man in the US.  So if you put me in a white jumpsuit under stage lights next to smaller men who are in dark clothing I would look very large.  It is just really bad styling, something The Voice team excels at.  DaNica was a great example.  The things they did to such a lovely woman.   

 

If Deanna was standing on her own and performing in that jumpsuit it was a bold choice that accented her curves.  However, when they lined her up with the other contestants, they did her a disservice.  At least this season we are not seeing the Kohl's ads where the stylists explain their insane decisions when putting together outfits.  

 

I wonder if Deanna would have been better on Team Blake. For one thing, he might have helped with the nerves. For another, I agree with the poster upthread that she seems more suited for country than pop. Well, at least she had the choice and had the opportunity she wanted with Adam. Somehow, after her audition, she just wasn't that good.

Deanna needed a coach that could really help her with breath control and maintaining tone.  Blake might have steered her toward songs that better suited her voice.  Adam really doesn't seem to coach his people that much.  

 

Rob was a king of runs, putting them in wherever he could whether they fit or not.  However, he also had problems with breath control in the unembellished  parts of his songs.  Maybe he found them too boring to care about?  

[waving feather]

Deanna mentioned in an after show interview that she chose Jolene and sang it to Adam but he didn't like it and gave her Somebody to Love. I'd love to hear Jolene from her. Because Deanna has breath control issues, she's more suited to slower songs with less production. Like her knock out song or the playoff song. Jolene would be great with her unique voice. She also does well with songs that has the old country flavor so she should have gone with Blake initially. Corey is still surviving for goodness sake. Anyway, Deanna is a wasted potential on the shoW but she just isn't ready yet. With her looks and voice, she can be a star in a few years time.

[Donny Ketchum]

Deanna mentioned in an after show interview that she chose Jolene and sang it to Adam but he didn't like it and gave her Somebody to Love. I'd love to hear Jolene from her.

Ah, so a bad song choice we really can blame on the coach.  Shame on Adam, then, since it looks like it cost him another member.

[DownTheShore]

I agree that Deanna would have been better off with Blake. He would have dug up a comparison to some old-timey female country singer, and would have given her songs more suited to her style.

I've always thought that she would be happiest singing in a church choir, up in the choir loft.

I don't know what those stylists were thinking. You don't put someone who doesn't know how to work their body in a catsuit type of outfit. As one of the "big boned club" myself, I think that she is a beautiful woman with a great body. But she doesn't have the personality to strut it, and I bet she was uncomfortable wearing it while she towered over the munchkins.

[Donny Ketchum]

I agree that Deanna would have been better off with Blake. He would have dug up a comparison to some old-timey female country singer, and would have given her songs more suited to her style.

I agree that Blake would've been a far better coach for her.  But that's Deanna's own fault.  She's very clearly a country girl, yet for some inexplicable reason, she chose Adam, apparently to her detriment.  That's her own fault.

[Biggie B]

So Rob, Joshua, and DeAnna got to pick the songs they sang for the Twitter save, right? I wonder if, for those "save" songs, the contestants get any coaching or advice? Because I noticed (I think) that Rob didn't use his falsetto while singing that last song. It jumped out at me because that was such a major part of just about all of his performances. Perhaps that made no difference at all, but it's just an observation.

 

 

[Happyfatchick]

I think Deanna is absolute beautiful.  Lovely, beautiful girl.  I also hope that this experience doesn't squash her spirit if she truly wants to make a career with her voice.  I see her being someone completely different in a couple years.  I never realized how tall she was until they hit eliminations and I saw her towering above everybody else.  I love her voice.  It's unusual.  Unusual in a good, throaty way.  She didn't have the chutzpa to make it to the top, but I liked her.

 

and basiltherat, I too had a hahahaha moment that Josh sang Won't Back Down.  This just cracked me up.  I still thought he needed to go home, but it was a good song choice.  I found his performance Monday absolutely painful to hear, and I'm amazed he got saved.  Didn't see that one coming.

[Keekski]

I feel like I'm over this show once we get to the live shows. It happened last season and it's happening again. 

[Noreaster]

I don't think Deanna would have fared better with any other coach.  I guess if country turned out to be a better fit, then sure, Blake would have been a better coach. But Deanna had a lot of technique issues.  None of these coaches really help with that aspect. Their jobs are more about picking suitable songs and offering advice on how to make the performances impactful. Deanna is just not good enough vocally to compete, and she needs a lot of work that really can't be done within the reality TV schedule. 

Edited April 23, 2015 by Noreaster

[waving feather]

I agree. I was much more engaged during the blind auditions and battle rounds. Once it hits live, it's kind of stale. The coaches commentary especially. They try to be too nice all the time so the competition aspect is gone. The opposite is true for me for American Idol. I become more invested in the contestants when they hit live. The problem is the Voice doesn't allow us to follow "the journey" of the contestants since they are cut so fast.

[Noreaster]

Problem with lives is no editing!  Can't montage the boring and bad performances. And the coaches are too nice in their live TV feedback. This season I've been mainly watching the performances via Youtube and skipping the episodes.  I think I'm less grumbly.  

[Kromm]

Ugh.  I hate that we're stuck with Yet Another Country Crooner and Kid Stupid Hat.

 

Also, such a big yuck that Blake is probably going to win yet ANOTHER season--and this time arguably with the worst team.

Edited April 23, 2015 by Kromm

[Kromm]

Would've been great to see Adam get completely wiped out, but oh, well.

 

Damn it!  Why does Blake's whole team have to still be intact after two weeks?  If any team deserved it, it was Christina's!  Hannah and Meghan, I'm happy for.  Corey doesn't deserve surviving for shit!

Maybe having Cee-Lo as his advisor will backfire on Blake and he'll lose some support?

 

Nah.  Team Blake, especially the Country Arm of it, gets tons of auto-support.  It sucks so hard that he's likely to win yet another season--and with a team that really doesn't merit it.

 

As for Adam?  It's always nice to see him humbled, but at least the right one from that team is still in it.

[ToxicUnicorn]

The coaches commentary especially. They try to be too nice all the time so the competition aspect is gone.

 

I'm very ambivalent about this.  I agree they've gotten too nice, in the sense that nothing they say gives us any hint of how to distinguish between performances anymore.  I especially used to enjoy Christina's fumbling around for something to say that would be tactful yet honest.  I think Usher and Adam used to do this, too - and even Blake would sometimes point out how there'd be some pitch issues or a tiny problem here or there.  (I can't recall CeeLo, Shakira, or Pharrell saying anything useful at all, ever.)

 

On the other hand, I always felt sorry that people seemed to hate Christina so much for not being nice (especially when Shakira, Queen of Sweetness and Light, came on).  So, for Christina's sake, I'm sort of relieved to see her evolution into a more savvy, more popular, and nicer coach.

 

It does get boring, though.  Also, this is the first time I've skipped the results shows entirely.  It's the twitter save.  I don't connect with that format, it repulses me.

 

Also, such a big yuck that Blake is probably going to win yet ANOTHER season--and this time arguably with the worst team.

 

I don't see this happening at all.  That's what makes a horse race!

[waving feather]

I think Usher and Adam used to do this, too - and even Blake would sometimes point out how there'd be some pitch issues or a tiny problem here or there.  (I can't recall CeeLo, Shakira, or Pharrell saying anything useful at all, ever.)

 

Of the current coaches, Pharrell is the worst at this. And overall, he's my least favorite coach. He is a really nice guy, but not entertaining to watch on television at all. He will just go on about some "deep" personal commentary on the contestants, which I'm not interested at all. They don't need to be mean, but nothing wrong with calling out things to improve on. Keith Urban on American Idol juggle this well, IMO. He knows how to critique without seeming like an asshole. Adam, Blake and Christina (ABC, heh) has the capability and willingness to do so but I can see them biting their tongues a lot. And the reason people get mad at them for sometimes critiquing a performance is not because of the critique itself but because they don't do it impartially. They will just choose ONE contestant to pick on (like poor Brooke) while blowing rainbows at the rest. So that upsets people and in turn they are afraid to say anything negative at all.

[Kcat1971]

I agree that Blake would've been a far better coach for her.  But that's Deanna's own fault.  She's very clearly a country girl, yet for some inexplicable reason, she chose Adam, apparently to her detriment.  That's her own fault.

 

Nope.  Sorry, I can't agree with this.  Deanna would never have made it to the lives on Team Blake.  And Team Blake through the seasons is getting to be a large group.  Blake won't be able to keep helping everyone  who has ever been on Team Blake.  He even mentioned recently in an interview that his "Voice Family" was getting to be very large.  Team Adam was definitely the best place for Deanna if she wanted to get as far as possible in THIS competition.  Personally, I don't think we tend to see a lot of improvement with Team Blake contestants.  What we do see is more keeping them in the lane that they want to be in and more post-show help.  But I don't think that extends to contestants that don't make the live shows.

[DeLurker]

and basiltherat, I too had a hahhaha moment that Josh sang Won't Back Down.  This just cracked me up.

 

Why is this funny?  I meant to ask when I saw the original comment.

[Padma]

I thought Blake got CeeLo because he (Blake) is such a nice guy. His comments confirmed it. He really sold me on him looking forward to CeeLo's return...really missing him, etc. Honestly, from what I've read, CeeLo was a trainwreck the last two seasons and the publicity post-show has off course been bad. He was far and away the worst judge.

 

But  I still miss his sense of staging and costume. Hopefully---really, I hope for this--Blake will bring some of CeeLos creativity (and musical knowledge) to next week's performance. This show needs more of that.

[kelnic86]

 

It does get boring, though.  Also, this is the first time I've skipped the results shows entirely.  It's the twitter save.  I don't connect with that format, it repulses me.

The thing I don't like about the twitter save is that it casts a big shadow of doom over the person who is saved. Like it doesn't matter if they have a good performance next week, they'll be in the bottom again anyway so why should I vote for them. It's different from the Judges Save on American Idol (which I hate too, btw). Usually the person who gets the save won't be in the bottom the following week (no matter if they give a good or mediocre performance) and sometimes lasts a while longer on the show. The twitter save on this show just seems rather pointless to me. I liked it just fine when the show just announced the bottom 2 and eliminated them promptly. We never knew who was third from the bottom.

[mercfan3]

Yea, my guess..given the outside of the show issues, Xtina doesn't really want to work with him. (I don't blame her.) Heck, Adam might not want to either. Blake likely just took one for the team. 

 

Gwen probably prefers Pharrell outside of that. 

 

I'm a little surprised they didn't pair Xtina and Usher though. Give Usher more than one person to coach..and perhaps see how Usher and Xtina would work, chemistry wise..for future seasons. 

[Noreaster]

Adam, Blake and Christina (ABC, heh) has the capability and willingness to do so but I can see them biting their tongues a lot. And the reason people get mad at them for sometimes critiquing a performance is not because of the critique itself but because they don't do it impartially. They will just choose ONE contestant to pick on (like poor Brooke) while blowing rainbows at the rest. So that upsets people and in turn they are afraid to say anything negative at all.

I agree with the coaches on Brooke.  She was great in her blind audition and kind of mediocre ever since.  

 

I think it's unrealistic to expect coaches to be impartial.  Putting aside the fact that this is still a competition and the coach's main job is to support his/her team, everything is subjective. Tastes vary. It may seem that the coaches are selectively critiquing, but maybe they just find problems with one or two contestants.  Or maybe they reserve their critiques to times when they can actually be constructive rather than just saying something sucks.  

 

I think Adam comes the closest to providing constructive criticisms. But I always read viewers slamming that. It's either he's being strategic by criticizing someone not on his team or he's throwing his own team member under the bus. Take this week's performances for example. A bunch of posts saying that Adam threw his own team under the bus even though many seem to agree that his team did indeed do a poor job. So what do people want really? Genuine reactions or blowing smoke up the contestants' butts?  Or genuine only if the coach says something the viewer agrees with and it's not about his/her own team?  Or do people prefer the Blake (and now also the Pharrell) way of giving a standing ovation to practically everyone on their teams regardless of how the performances went?

[ToxicUnicorn]

the reason people get mad at them for sometimes critiquing a performance is not because of the critique itself but because they don't do it impartially. They will just choose ONE contestant to pick on (like poor Brooke) while blowing rainbows at the rest. So that upsets people and in turn they are afraid to say anything negative at all.

 

That rings true to me, waving feather.  Good points.

 

Taking the rest of my post to a general coaches' thread.

[pivot]

Yea, my guess..given the outside of the show issues, Xtina doesn't really want to work with him. (I don't blame her.) Heck, Adam might not want to either. Blake likely just took one for the team. 

 

Gwen probably prefers Pharrell outside of that. 

 

I'm a little surprised they didn't pair Xtina and Usher though. Give Usher more than one person to coach..and perhaps see how Usher and Xtina would work, chemistry wise..for future seasons.

Usher has said in the past that he and Shakira are a package deal and he only comes back with her.

[mercfan3]

I honestly think Adam is the best at giving honest feedback..mostly because I don't think he hides his feelings too well. It's usually like "You sucked at the technical parts of singing, but don't listen to me I'm stupid." Like he's afraid to say "dude..that was flat the whole way through.." which is unfortunate because it's damned if you do or damned if you don't on this show. 

 

I think Blake is more strategic in his feedback. And I think Usher and Xtina visibly bite their tongues sometimes. Although both try and be strategic. 

 

But I actually liked the way the panel was in the Shakira/Usher seasons..were they didn't concentrate on constructive feedback (as I don't believe that is for the benefit of the contestants) but rather were entertaining/cute/funny and that was their role during the live shows. 

 

edit: Usher might change his mind though. I don't think Shakira is going to come back. (Unfortunately, she's easily my favorite personality on this show..even if it doesn't make sense for contestants to pick her.) On the other hand, it's a good way for Usher to stay visible, make a lot of money..and have some down time with his kids (because the time involved isn't that much.) I'm sure the show would love to have him back. 

Edited April 24, 2015 by mercfan3

[Kromm]

Yea, my guess..given the outside of the show issues, Xtina doesn't really want to work with him. (I don't blame her.) Heck, Adam might not want to either. Blake likely just took one for the team. 

Yeah, I doubt Christina wants to work with Rapey McRaperson.

[viajero]

The singer who sings before the commercial break is consistently at a disadvantage!! I tweeted to save Rob , so I'm sad. He should be there instead of Corey!

 

Not just the singer who sings before the commercial break.  The singer going second has also never been saved.  Those going first and second are now a whopping combined 0 for 18 since the show introduced the save me sing offs.  This has me a bit worried going into next week, as Joshua is almost certain to sing last again.  I personally think the only person left who is less deserving of making the final than Joshua is Corey.

 

Unfortunately, I think Corey does have a decent chance of going through.  Blake seems to be following the exact same strategy with Corey that he followed with Jake Worthington, saving up a song that he knew Jake could kill for the Top 8.

 

My personal opinion is that the four contestants who definitely deserve to make the semifinals are Kimberly, Koryn, Meghan and Sawyer.  I'd like to see the fifth position decided by a showdown between India (technically great) and Hannah (the most entertaining to watch).

 

 

I don’t know if it was just on my television, but there were either audio issues during Pharell’s group sing or either Sawyer or Koryn botched part of that song. I will have to rewatch online and see if it was just on my end. It sounded like maybe Sawyer was supposed to come in but didn’t and Koryn ended up covering the line for him.

 

I noticed the same thing.  I think Sawyer missed his cue and Koryn scrambled to cover for him.  But despite the obvious need for them to have rehearsed this performance a bit more, I did enjoy it.

 

I really want to see what we get when they mix Hannah's spunkiness with Cee Lo's insanity.  It could be epic!

 

This is what I'm most looking forward to next week.  I suspect Hannah is going to need something epic to get through.

[mercfan3]

Apparently Corey has never heard of the song he's singing this week. So I'm not quite sure it's going to be a great moment for him.