S09.E09: The Battles, Part 3

[Tara Ariano]

The battle round continues. The advisers are Brad Paisley, John Fogerty, Missy Elliott and Selena Gomez.

[Diana Berry]

Surprised that Adam kept the double mint twins. Just because they won't be as versatile. Blake really got a keeper with the kid they sang with,though. He was really good.

[blueray]

I still don't get how it's fair to have people compete together.

[lgprimes]

It's beyond me that Cassandra wasn't stolen tonight, compared to some that were.

And in no way do I think Braiden won that battle.

[Dots And Stripes]

Surprised that Adam kept the double mint twins. Just because they won't be as versatile. Blake really got a keeper with the kid they sang with,though. He was really good.

I like the twins in theory and they seem like very likable people, but their singing drives me up a wall. I think song choice is playing into it, because there were moments I could appreciate their voices. I jdidn't like how their sound worked on this song. 

 

I still don't get how it's fair to have people compete together.

If they did well, maybe it would be a different story. I think the Swons are the only duo to make the finale and they were hugely helped by personality and fitting in so well with Team Blake that year. 

 

It's beyond me that Cassandra wasn't stolen tonight, compared to some that were.

And in no way do I think Braiden won that battle.

Braiden won with his little quip. I felt bad on that one. Lyndsey was better in that performance. Gwen self sabotaging there. Even she knows Braiden may not be ready.

 

I was also mad at Gwen for sticking Chace with Sampson. It didn't fit his voice and it fit the girl's (can't remember her name) voice to a tee. IMO, he didn't have a real shot at that one. I was hoping to see more of him.

[ProudMary]

I was shocked and very disappointed that no one stole Lyndsey.  She was one of my favorites.  While I like Braiden, Gwen made the wrong choice IMO.  

[Wings]

It's beyond me that Cassandra wasn't stolen tonight, compared to some that were.

And in no way do I think Braiden won that battle.

 

I knew he wouldn't choose her.  He cannot work with her style of singing.  Stellar voice but she does not have that current edge he looks for.  Those white pants were fabulous as was her hair.  

[MaryM47]

Love Korin's voice but she needs to stop taking hairstyling advice from Scarlett on Nashville. 

[Wings]

I was shocked and very disappointed that no one stole Lyndsey.  She was one of my favorites.  While I like Braiden, Gwen made the wrong choice IMO.  

 

 

I agree!  I was sure Blake was going to steal her.  Gwen made her choice based on what Blake said about his voice, that was clear.  Gwen is not thinking hard about who she wants and what to do to groom a winner.  She stole Regina for cryin' out loud.  How is she going to coach a Supreme wanna be stuck in the 60's?  It was the very first battle and she got caught up in the emotion some how.   She even looked surprised that she hit her button. 

[Padma]

When Gwen stole Regina I really gave up on her. She has talent as a coach and seems like a nice person but as a judge she really doesn't seem to learn have learned much from the past. When you have two steals, why in the world--for what possible reason--would you make one of them Regina, especially now that you know all the singers who could become available on other teams? It makes zero sense to me.

[bluepiano]

When Gwen stole Regina I really gave up on her.

 

This is the first Gwen season I've watched. Don't know if she was better in the past, but this year she's been pitiful. Her "valley girl" character tonight wasn't any different from how she's acted the rest of the time. Her major pitch to contestants is "hang out with me, we'll have fun," and I really do think that's how she judges, based on who she wants to hang with. Braiden and Regina? Wow.

 

I thought Cassandra was really good, but it's been proven over the last few shows that the older singers may get chair turns, but once the judges know their age, they do not get stolen.

 

I don't think I've ever seen a contestant get jobbed by song choice the way that Chase did against Korin. That song was in her range, her key, her emotional wheelhouse. And I swear it seemed that she had about 80% of the lines. For his valiant effort in the face of a stacked deck he should've gotten stolen. From what I remember of his audition he had a good voice, and deserved better (fair) treatment.

 

In the last battle of the night there was a steal. What a shocker!!

Edited October 20, 2015 by bluepiano

[Primetimer]

The Voice's promo department really needs an overhaul.

Read the story

[Wings]

I was shocked and very disappointed that no one stole Lyndsey.  She was one of my favorites.  While I like Braiden, Gwen made the wrong choice IMO.  

 

I totally agree.  Lyndsey has the makings of a winner.  Her voice and style are superior.  Adorable woman.  Braiden is young and needs more time to develop stage presence. This comp is much more than just singing voice.   I wonder if Blake would have stolen him.  

[Wings]

 

This is the first Gwen season I've watched. Don't know if she was better in the past,

 

Nope!

[waving feather]

The funny thing is, Gwen is the absolute worst at making pitches during blinds and battles/ knockouts decisions (I still can't forgive her for letting Troy Ritchie go), but she's a better coach than Adam and Blake in getting a good performance out of her team. Of all the battles so far, the only ones I really liked are from her team. Ellie/Tim and Korin/Chase. Both of them are exquisite in a non talent singing show way.

Pharrell's battles song choices sucked the most. Followed closely by Blake.

Edited October 20, 2015 by waving feather

[Wings]

Older contestants never make it far.  Cassandra is 48 and I am sure Regina is older as well.  The handsome bald man who was excellent in every way didn't make the cut either and it had to be his age.  

 

I have a question for those who have a better ear than I.  Is Blind Joe really that good?  I could not hear that he was.  

[waving feather]

Blind Joe is good but nothing special. I doubt he will make past the knockouts.

[jjjmoss]

The twins seem to have won two rounds based on iTunes. I mean, in theory someone could beat that tonight, but #16 is incredibly high.

 

Others who won multiple pre-live rounds in the past: Melanie Martinez, Sarah Simmons, Sawyer Fredericks. Sawyer's the most dominant contestant from the show, Melanie seems to be one of the few who became an actual artist post-show.

Edited October 20, 2015 by jjjmoss

[Adusk81]

And again pharrell chooses boring, played out, predictable, uninspired karaoke. How does he think this will work? Sawyer was gonna win the second he stepped on stage so I don't really count that as a win for pharrell. Dude has got to stop with the Motown crap. Millions of songs to choose from and he picks another one that's been done to death on reality shows. At least Gwen is trying to keep it interesting. Adam thinks he's being interesting and he isn't. Blake knows that country fans are morons who only like country so there's no rocket science there but pharrell has a chance to be interesting and unique and stand out but instead lets do higher ground again. Lame.

[Wings]

The twins seem to have won two rounds based on iTunes. I mean, in theory someone could beat that tonight, but #16 is incredibly high.

 

Others who won multiple pre-live rounds in the past: Melanie Martinez, Sarah Simmons, Sawyer Fredericks. Sawyer's the most dominant contestant from the show, Melanie seems to be one of the few who became an actual artist post-show.

 

I am surprised about the twins.  Maybe they have a big family!   Melanie and Sawyer don't surprise me at all.  

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Count me as another who've liked 2 of the 3 battles we've seen from Gwen. Korrine and Chase sounded beautiful to the point I wished they could of continued as a duo. I really don't need vocal fireworks turned up to 11 for the entirety of the song (I'm looking at you, Adam). And really, Lyndsey and Braiden's battle was pretty good too. Braiden proved that he at least belonged on the show....however he did not "win" that battle. Maybe Lindsey doesn't have the most distinct voice, but she absolutely was one of the more "put together" artists in the whole competition. To me she could've had a Melanie Martinez-like stay on the Voice, which might have led to a similar level of post-show success. Oh well.

 

I had a bit of a feeling from the 4 seconds of montage that we got from Riley B., that she might not be there to simply make up the numbers on Team Pharrell. Even though he picked another played out reality show song (didn't Stevie Jo and someone sing this as a battle in a previous season?) I still enjoyed what Riley and Evan did w/ it.

 

Blaine probably didn't deserve a steal when voices like Krista and Celeste got bupkis.....but I'm kind of glad he got one. The logistics of that battle with Blind Joe could not of been easy for him and it sounded like he went out of his way to make sure Blind Joe could perform as well as he could.

 

Viktor: Meh, Cassondra was dead oldster walking from the jump on that. Teen Tiger Beat: Really Blake? The only thing that has to mean is that Adam isn't going to screw over his one teen female country singer. There's no way Blake would've let her leave if Adam decided to act all crazy.

 

I think this means that Pharrell's final steal must come from one of Team Blake's last two battles. Stylistically Nadjah makes the most sense, but he might go for the losing country blonde just to give his team a little more diversity....

Edited October 20, 2015 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Padma]

I have to say something nice about Gwen's coaching, too. (Her judging, not so much). I was thinking, "Wasn't there a season where it was one belter after another and I got so sick of all the power glory notes Every. Single. Time? Who was that?"  Well, yes, it was Christina's team(s). She took several singers whose auditions I really liked and--one after another--turned them into clones of her own style. I really hated her approach to this show as a coach and it came back to me last night.

 

I really appreciated Gwen's song choices and obvious idea that "good singing" doesn't mean "power through everything at full volume". A couple of her battles had a vocal delicacy and subtlety, and not cookie-cutter song choices--that was so refreshing.  (Pharrell, on the other hand,..... Are these guys on a budget re: song approval and he doesn't want to blow it all in the battlerounds?  Maybe he's saving the good stuff for the lives to give iTunes boosts to his team. I really don't get it.)

[limecoke]

Blaine probably didn't deserve a steal when voices like Krista and Celeste got bupkis.....but I'm kind of glad he got one. The logistics of that battle with Blind Joe could not of been easy for him and it sounded like he went out of his way to make sure Blind Joe could perform as well as he could.

Totally agree.  Blaine might not have merited a steal but I'm glad he got one.  He was in an impossible situation and to complicate things, Blind Joe took most of Blaine's singing moments away by shouting between and over each line.  It annoyed me greatly.   Shoot, even Blake mentioned it.

 

Blake knows that country fans are morons who only like country

Oh really?   

Edited October 20, 2015 by limecoke

[ProudMary]

One other comment, and take it as you will coming from a woman who has ProudMary as her UserID and a CCR album cover as her avatar, but I've been very impressed with John Fogerty as a guest coach.  His notes to the performers have been spot on.  I honestly wasn't expecting him to be this engaged.  I'll be sorry when the Battle Rounds end and he won't be around any more.

Totally agree.  Blaine might not have merited a steal but I'm glad he got one.  He was in an impossible situation and to complicate things, Blind Joe took most of Blaine's singing moments away by shouting between and over each line.  It annoyed me greatly.   Shoot, even Blake mentioned it.

I thought that was truly arrogant.  He even stepped on Blaine's money note.  Definitely not cool.

[viajero]

I think that Gwen is actually a decent coach, but it was never more apparent that her decision making is downright horrible.  She´s basically sabotaged her own team.  It's bad enough that neither of her two steals has a chance of going anywhere and that in choosing them, she's letting some real talent go home.  But what really sealed it for me was when she picked Braiden over Lindsey.  I already liked Lindsey coming out of the blinds and I thought she gave the best performance of the evening.  It was pretty much perfect in every way.  She could have been a serious contender.

 

My other favorite performance came from the twins.  That was just sublime.  I'm not at all surprised that its top download on iTunes.  I'm just crossing my fingers that Adam doesn't screw them in the KO Round.  At least they get to pick their own song.

 

After Lindsey and the twins, I also liked what we got from Evan, Korin and Chance (in that order) and am glad that at least those three are going through. 

[Quickbeam]

I thought Blind Joe knew exactly what he was doing. I was glad Blaine got the steal. He was in a no-win situation with a stage hog. Blaine did the best he could to highlight his own performance while being gracious. I hope Blind Joe gets an early elimination.

[Noreaster]

I think the Swons are the only duo to make the finale and they were hugely helped by personality and fitting in so well with Team Blake that year.

It's hard to say how duos might do in the live shows. I'm pretty sure the Swons were the only duo brought to lives period and they even needed Blake's save in the playoffs. It's probably worth noting that towards the end of their tenure on the show, it really ended up being older Swon as lead with younger Swon as backup.

[Dots And Stripes]

It's hard to say how duos might do in the live shows. I'm pretty sure the Swons were the only duo brought to lives period and they even needed Blake's save in the playoffs. It's probably worth noting that towards the end of their tenure on the show, it really ended up being older Swon as lead with younger Swon as backup.

I think you might be right about the duos, however, I don't think that changes my point that duos don't really have an advantage on this show. We have yet to have a duo really dominate any season. Adam's twins may do well, but even if they win I don't think it will change the game.

[Noreaster]

I wasn't trying to refute your point. Just adding supplemental info :)

I think duos are at a disadvantage in the battle rounds. And simply question marks in subsequent rounds since there's not much data available. The fact that all duos (except for the Swons) have been eliminated before the live rounds suggest that the coaches themselves may not like the duos' chances in this game's format.

[Amy Beth]

I think the twins have a different dynamic in that they don't trade lines or verses. They sing simultaneously 95% of the time. I think they may have sung separately for a bit in the Blinds to emphasize the "ooh, there's 2 of them" moment.

Many duos always sound like they are singing a duet. The twins sing with a single blended voice. It's very striking.

[Bryce Smith]

Five days late, but catching up:

 

Team rosters/cheat sheets:

 

Team Adam

Jordan Smith (defeated Regina Love)

James Dupré (defeated Dustin Monk)

Keith Semple (defeated Manny Cabo)

Viktor Király (defeated Cassandra Robertson)

Andi & Alex (defeated Chance Peña)

Dustin Christensen (stolen from Team Blake)

Blaine Mitchell (stolen from Team Blake)

 

(Still Waiting)

Amanda Ayala

Shelby Brown

 

Team Gwen

Ellie Lawrence (defeated Tim Atlas)

Kota Wade (defeated Alex Kandel)*

Jeffery Austin (defeated Noah Jackson)*

Korin Bukowski (defeated Chase Kerby)

Braiden Sunshine (defeated Lyndsey Elm)

Regina Love (stolen from Team Adam)

Riley Biederer (stolen from Team Pharrell)

 

(Still Waiting)

Hanna Ashbrook

Summer Schappell

 

Team Pharrell

Mark Hood (defeated Celeste Betton)

Madi Davis (defeated Sydney Rhame)*

Siahna Im (defeated Ivonne Acero)

Evan McKeel (defeated Riley Biederer)

Tim Atlas (stolen from Team Gwen)

 

(Still Waiting)

Daria Jazmin

Jubal & Amanda

Darius Scott

Amy Vachal

 

Team Blake

Zach Seabaugh (defeated Tyler Dickerson)

Barrett Baber (defeated Dustin Christensen)

Chris Crump (defeated Krista Hughes)

Blind Joe (defeated Blaine Mitchell)

Ivonne Acero (stolen from Team Pharrell)

Chance Peña (stolen from Team Adam)

 

(Still Waiting)

Nadjah Nicole

Emily Ann Roberts

Morgan Frazier

Cole Criske

 

Names in bold indicate someone who has newly won a battle and stayed on his or her team, or has been freshly stolen.  An asterisk indicates that this contestant was montaged.

 

So the battles:

 

Blaine vs. Blind Joe: That wasn't bad!  Straight-up, I think that Blind Joe very easily won that one!  Not only was his voice very good, but he had the performance aspect nailed that Blaine didn't.  You could tell from the comments he threw in during the battle that he really got what it meant to perform.  As for Blaine, I'm thinking Adam is seriously obsessed with beating Blake with a country singer.  He's already snatched his third one with this steal.

 

Cassandra vs. Viktor: Come on.  Cassandra was montaged in the Blinds.  Viktor was shown.  Obviously, Viktor was making it through.  And since the other coaches hadn't turned for Cassandra, of course no one was going to extend a hand to steal her.  Poor woman looked heartbroken, though.

 

Chase vs. Korin: Eesh.  I see what you all meant about Chase being jobbed.  He did a good job with what he had, but that song had Korin's name all over it.  Korin does have a uniqueness to her voice you don't hear in many others.  So I can sort of see why Gwen went with her.

 

Evan vs. Riley: I don't care how "karaoke" that song is.  Both of them did excellently with it.  But Evan probably won that battle, even though Riley kept up with him extremely well.  But I kind of had a feeling that Evan would win, anyway, since he was shown in the Blinds, while Riley was montaged.  I also don't get why you're all down on Gwen for stealing her.  Riley has an amazing voice of which I certainly would like to hear more.

 

Braiden vs. Lyndsey: I'd actually heard about Gwen's choice on a YouTube video.  There was a comment from someone who'd been at the Battles and Knockouts and knew of the choices made by all of the coaches, and he mentioned Gwen's choice here.  I honestly can't believe that he was telling the truth about this.  What the fuck was Gwen thinking, giving up her ONLY four-chair turn for this teenager?!  And then, no one steals Lyndsey, who very clearly won that battle?!  Apparently, many people at the Battles and Knockouts commented in the audience at how dumb Gwen's choices throughout those rounds were, so I fear what she's going to do in the next round.  That said, I did like that Lyndsey had met someone from whom her brother had taped a message.

 

Andi & Alex vs. Chance: Andi & Alex straight-up won this one.  Amazing how two voices can meld into one so easily and overpower a competing solo voice.  I'm not a huge Adam fan, but he definitely chose correctly here.  I'm actually surprised everyone's happy about Chance being stolen.  Didn't think he was that special.  Blake basically wasted a spot.

 

I don't know.  Anyone else think this season is pushing an Adam vs. Blake ending?  So far, none of their battles have been montaged, while Gwen and Pharrell each have had at least one.

 

Dots And Stripes, on 19 Oct 2015 - 10:45 PM, said:Dots And Stripes, on 19 Oct 2015 - 10:45 PM, said:Dots And Stripes, on 19 Oct 2015 - 10:45 PM, said:Dots And Stripes, on 19 Oct 2015 - 10:45 PM, said:

Braiden won with his little quip. I felt bad on that one. Lyndsey was better in that performance. Gwen self sabotaging there. Even she knows Braiden may not be ready.

 

wings707, on 20 Oct 2015 - 09:27 AM, said:wings707, on 20 Oct 2015 - 09:27 AM, said:wings707, on 20 Oct 2015 - 09:27 AM, said:wings707, on 20 Oct 2015 - 09:27 AM, said:

Braiden is young and needs more time to develop stage presence. This comp is much more than just singing voice.   I wonder if Blake would have stolen him.

I think Gwen choosing Braiden comes down to one major thing.  She probably wants to make Braiden her Ryan Sill of this season.  In season seven, Ryan was another teenager like Braiden to whom Gwen got greatly attached, even to the point where she advanced him over much better artists, much to her detriment.  She probably thinks he'll court the teen vote if he reaches the Lives.  But it didn't work with Ryan, so why would she think it'll work with Braiden?

Edited October 31, 2015 by Bryce Smith

[Kromm]

Letting Lyndsey go was a HUGE mistake by Gwen.  Huge. Vocal control that good is virtually never on these shows. Plus she's cute enough to appeal  that way without being over the top with it.

 

Nobody STEALING Lyndsey made it even worse. I didn't get that at all. IMO she was one of the best in the whole season. Two other coaches still had steals at that point, right? (Blake and Pharell).

 

Maybe Gwen saw some essential "quirky girl with quirky voice" similarity between Lyndsay and Korin and only wanted one of them perhaps? I dunno. I like Korin and thought she deserved her win, but she didn't have the ridiculous level of vocal control that Lyndsay has.  But that does little to explain why neither Blake nor Pharell stole Lyndsay. It could only be because they had specific plans for their steals, I suppose.

Edited October 25, 2015 by Kromm