S09.E10: The Battles, Part 4

[Tara Ariano]

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

[PhD-Purgatory15]

And as always, the battle rounds go out with a whimper rather than a bang.

 

We learned that 3 of the 6 montaged battles belonged to Team Gwen (Blake had 1, Pharrell had 2, and Adam had a big fat Zero).

 

With Pharrell's steal of Morgan, every non-Blake team has at least one country artist. Gwen's platinum-purple haired Summer survived, and Adam has both Shelby and James Dupre. I'd look no farther than these four artists to come up w/ Blake's KO round steal. Unless Pharrell would inexplicably cut Amy lose...or if Adam would axe the twins. Speaking of Amy, yes. Yes and more yes. She is captivating whether or not she has a passing likeness to Pocahontas.

 

Anyone else give a side eye to Emily Ann singing about one night stands? I figured they'd work that so Morgan took that line each time, but that didn't happen. Emily Ann got the "Xenia" choice based on potential one round sooner than Xenia got it. Blake will almost certainly pair her up w/ Chance....and probably give them a puppy love song to boot.

Edited October 21, 2015 by PhD-Purgatory15

[waving feather]

I'm glad Blake went with Emily. Morgan sounds awesome as well but Emily made that performance so much fun and elevated it, imo. Her voice is really sweet too.

Morgan will be just fine on Team Pharrell.

[vb68]

 

We learned that 3 of the 6 montaged battles belonged to Team Gwen (Blake had 1, Pharrell had 2, and Adam had a big fat Zero).

 

So is it fair to conclude the show feels Adam has the strongest overall team (and Gwen has the weakest, but duh)?

 

 

I did not like that version of "Edge of Seventeen" by either contestant.   I'm a huge Stevie fan, but that just didn't do it for me.

 

I'll miss John Fogerty and Missy Elliott.  I think both were good mentors in their own ways but also good personalities on the show.  I think Missy was having a blast, and John really come off as a sage guru.

[bluepiano]

Anyone else give a side eye to Emily Ann singing about one night stands?

 

Yes. Me. Every time she sang the line. And she sounded young and cute in a song that was not calling for young cute.

 

It seems to me that Blake has often given his young (and I mean really young) female singers inappropriate songs. I understand that in contemporary country music, the women frequently match the men when it comes to songs of, shall we say, "experience." But since Blake referred to both Emily Ann and Morgan as having throwback styles, why not give them a classic country song? Something like "Walking After Midnight" by Patsy Cline. I think that would've been really fun to hear. Emily Ann could've been sweet and perky and Morgan could've given it a little more of an edge. And there would have been no skeeviness factor.

Edited October 21, 2015 by bluepiano

[Sammich63]

And as always, the battle rounds go out with a whimper rather than a bang.

 

We learned that 3 of the 6 montaged battles belonged to Team Gwen (Blake had 1, Pharrell had 2, and Adam had a big fat Zero).

 

With Pharrell's steal of Morgan, every non-Blake team has at least one country artist. Gwen's platinum-purple haired Summer survived, and Adam has both Shelby and James Dupre. I'd look no farther than these four artists to come up w/ Blake's KO round steal. Unless Pharrell would inexplicably cut Amy lose...or if Adam would axe the twins. Speaking of Amy, yes. Yes and more yes. She is captivating whether or not she has a passing likeness to Pocahontas.

 

 

I agree that one of these four artists could come up as Blake's KO round steal.  I also think he has his eye on the twins and especially Amy.  I think he sees a bit of Dia Frampton in her, and I could easily see him wanting her if she's up for a steal.  

[Primetimer]

Remember when we all thought Pharrell was magic?

Read the story

[PepperMonkey]

I HATED Edge of Seventeen; at the end, I was thinking, does he HAVE to choose one of them?

I'm glad Jubal and Amanda are gone. BUT, before everyone in Oklahoma gets furious with me (and hey, I lived in Oklahoma for 12 years), I think their harmonies are mostly beautiful. I sort of knew they were toast when Pharrell teamed them with Amy, who I mostly love. I'm kind of surprised Amanda and the guy don't have a music career already. As someone else said earlier, they really seem almost made for Branson, and it's hard to scoff at that when so many people love it.

Am I the only one "offended" when Gwen keeps calling Amy Pocahontas? It just seems ridiculous. She's a lovely girl but is she even American Indian? Gwen just seems to boil everything down to looks, which, yes, I know are important, but sheesh.

I'm ready for the knockouts, I guess, although I forgot how they actually work. I guess people will be leaving each week until they have the final, what, 10? Bring it on.

[waving feather]

I hated Edge of Seventeen too. They destroyed that song and not in a good way. Shelby showed some weakness in her singing. She's good at loud but subtlety is not her strong suit. In Adam's team, Jordan is far superior to her. Both Amanda and Shelby were bad. I wonder why it was not montaged. I'd rather hear many of Gwen's team montaged performances than that.

What terrible rounds of battles this season. The past few seasons weren't this bad. Pharrell man, you need to stop with your song choices!

[Padma]

Am I the only one "offended" when Gwen keeps calling Amy Pocahontas? It just seems ridiculous. She's a lovely girl but is she even American Indian? Gwen just seems to boil everything down to looks, which, yes, I know are important, but sheesh.

No, not the only one! I hated it when she did it during the blinds and she apparently won't stop. So, "dark haired, tannish-skinned 20-something woman in a white dress" has to be stereotyped as "Pocahontas" to Gwen?  A big part of this show is about branding and that is not only "anti-branding", it's just rude.  Amy has a very special quality to her singing, but between Gwen's unwelcome caricature of her and Pharrell's horrible battle choice (not that she was bad, but why pair her delicate, sincere style, with two "big voice", aggressive singers like Jubal and Amanda on a song which didn't emphasize what she does? You could almost -see- her struggling to "keep up" while staying true to her softer, authentic way of interpreting a song. Not that they were bad, but I thought they really amped up the "Us v. You" thing throughout the song. I felt bad for her.  Then she got to hear Gwen's unwelcome, unhelpful comment about Pocahontas....again.

 

I was glad Blake was there, to be bowled over by Amy anew and to say something nice and heartfelt, "I don't see you going forward without her."

 

That said, Amy's one of my favorites, but so far this show doesn't seem to be doing her any favors. Maybe because she curled her hair and changed makeup (false eyelashes?) since the blinds, but imo she looked a lot less pretty yesterday. "Pocahontas" or not (shut up, Gwen), I think should go back to the look she auditioned with. Whatever they did to her, imo, it didn't work. I'm almost hoping she gets stolen by Blake in the KO--Pharrell seemed like a good choice, but I'm not sure he doesn't just "talk a good game".

[beaker73]

I HATED Edge of Seventeen; at the end, I was thinking, does he HAVE to choose one of them?

 

Oh, God - me too.  I was actually offended by it.  Was the girl that got booted the one who sang "Mississippi Queen" because I remember I hated that as well. 

 

Last night was not very good.  I couldn't even tell the difference between the two blonde country singers at the end.  I felt that Blake could've just flipped a coin for who moved on.

 

Speaking of the last battle, why would the show remind us right before it that both Adam and Gwen's teams were full, Blake had one spot and Pharrell had one steal?  I mean, there was absolutely zero suspense - you knew that both were going through. It's not a big deal - it's just stupid. 

Edited October 21, 2015 by beaker73

[MaryPatShelby]

Anyone but me shallowly notice that Amanda needed more, um, support? Her girls were bounding all over that stage!

[Noreaster]

I'm ready for the knockouts, I guess, although I forgot how they actually work. I guess people will be leaving each week until they have the final, what, 10? Bring it on.

In the knockouts, the contestants are paired up to battle each other. Each contestant sings a song of his/her own "choosing" (some contestants in the past have indicated they don't really choose or are given a short list from which to choose). The knockout winner advances to the live playoffs. The loser is eliminated unless he/she is saved by another coach. Each coach had one knockout steal available.

Both Amanda and Shelby were bad. I wonder why it was not montaged. I'd rather hear many of Gwen's team montaged performances than that.

If I were to guess based on the show's history, the montaged winners are likely to get eliminated next round while Shelby will advance. The show prefers to give more air time to contestants who are still in the competition by the time lives come around.

Or the Team Gwen battles were even worse than the Shelby/Amanda one.

[Dots And Stripes]

 

 

Anyone else give a side eye to Emily Ann singing about one night stands? I figured they'd work that so Morgan took that line each time, but that didn't happen. Emily Ann got the "Xenia" choice based on potential one round sooner than Xenia got it. Blake will almost certainly pair her up w/ Chance....and probably give them a puppy love song to boot.

When would Blake have the opportunity to pair Emily and Chance in a duet? Next round everyone has their own song and it's artist's choice.

 

So is it fair to conclude the show feels Adam has the strongest overall team (and Gwen has the weakest, but duh)?

 

I don't agree with that making that conclusion based on montages alone. Each coach still has to drastically cut into their team next round. It's very possible Blake's and Pharrell's montaged winners get cut before any voting happens. 

[PhD-Purgatory15]

You got me Dots and Stripes :-) I had Madelyn and Tanner's battle round from Team Usher a couple years back on the brain.

 

I do think Blake's 4 knockout round pairings are relatively straightforward and I can absolutely see Emily Ann and Chance being one of those match ups. I'd say Yvonne and Nadjah, Chris and Zach, and Barrett and Blind Joe all make a lot sense in my mind. Pharrell's pairings feel pretty pre-ordained as well, while Adam and Gwen's could go in a lot more different directions.

[Noreaster]

The beauty of a montage is that the viewers will never know what went down. Maybe the montaged battles were very one-sided (and therefore less entertaining) or the coach decisions were highly questionable. It also could be that the mentoring sessions were more entertaining for Adam's team and less so for Gwen's.

[dcinmb]

Am I the only one "offended" when Gwen keeps calling Amy Pocahontas? It just seems ridiculous. She's a lovely girl but is she even American Indian?

Pretty sure she's Eurasian as her mom looks Asian. I was surprised the first time Gwen said it and even more so last night as I had assumed she would've received a "talking to" after the first time she stuck her foot in her mouth.

I'm Asian with long straight black hair and I've been compared to Pocahontas once, but he was a three-year-old boy and it was just after the Disney film was released. Don't know what Gwen's excuse is, particularly since she grew up in Southern California where there are a lot of Asian people.

[realdancemom]

This article states that Amy is Fil-Am.  So I'm guessing she's half Filipina.

 

http://www.mb.com.ph/fil-am-the-voice-u-s-contestant-all-fired-up/

[viajero]

I actually enjoyed this episode.  It helped that for the first time in the battles, I think everyone who got through deserved to do so.

 

Yes, Edge of Seventeen wasn't good, but mainly because it was just too far out of Shelby's wheelhouse.  She is definitely not a rocker.  But her voice still shown through enough that I think she's remains a possible contender.

 

My favorite of the evening was Amy.  She may have been drowned out in the choruses, but her solos gave me chills.  This girl is magic.  I just wish she hadn't had to show it on that particular song.  Pharrell's song choices during this battle round were really lame.  I also thought Amy looked really gorgeous and have no complaints about the long eyelashes or whatever else the stylists did to her.

 

My second favorite of the evening was Morgan.  I liked what she did with that Cheap Trick song in her audition and in this battle she confirmed that she's one to watch.  I just hope Pharrell does her justice or that Blake is able to steal her back.

 

I do think Adam has the strongest team top to bottom, while Gwen's is extremely weak.  While they all have potential contenders, I see Gwen's (Ellie and Korin) as long-shots to make the final.

[bluepiano]

Am I the only one "offended" when Gwen keeps calling Amy Pocahontas? It just seems ridiculous. She's a lovely girl but is she even American Indian? Gwen just seems to boil everything down to looks, which, yes, I know are important, but sheesh.

For me, the most pathetic part is that Gwen acts like this is some huge compliment. And poor Amy can't do anything but nod and smile through her teeth. Note to Gwen. This woman listens to Billie Holiday. I don't think that essentially being called a Disney princess is going to be a thrill.

 

She's not nine years old.

Edited October 22, 2015 by bluepiano

[DownTheShore]

I don't know, other than Blind Joe and Victor, I can't tie names to faces yet. Usually I know more of them by now. There seem to be a lot of generic types this year.

[burntheflaws]

Amy's father is Walter White. I can't unsee it.

[ToxicUnicorn]

Nothing stood out to me about the singing in this episode, but I did wonder why Christina Grimmie was dressed up like Holly Hobbie. 

 

The Voice stylists strike out again.

[Bryce Smith]

Final team rosters/cheat sheets for the Battles:

 

Team Adam

Jordan Smith (defeated Regina Love)

James Dupré (defeated Dustin Monk)

Keith Semple (defeated Manny Cabo)

Viktor Király (defeated Cassandra Robertson)

Shelby Brown (defeated Amanda Ayala)

Andi & Alex (defeated Chance Peña)

Dustin Christensen (stolen from Team Blake)

Blaine Mitchell (stolen from Team Blake)

 

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)

Summer Schappell (defeated Hanna Ashbrook)*

Regina Love (stolen from Team Adam)

Riley Biederer (stolen from Team Pharrell)

 

Team Pharrell

Mark Hood (defeated Celeste Betton)

Madi Davis (defeated Sydney Rhame)*

Siahna Im (defeated Ivonne Acero)

Evan McKeel (defeated Riley Biederer)

Amy Vachal (defeated Jubal & Amanda)

Darius Scott (defeated Daria Jazmin)*

Tim Atlas (stolen from Team Gwen)

Morgan Frazier (stolen from Team Blake)

 

Team Blake

Zach Seabaugh (defeated Tyler Dickerson)

Barrett Baber (defeated Dustin Christensen)

Chris Crump (defeated Krista Hughes)

Blind Joe (defeated Blaine Mitchell)

Nadjah Nicole (defeated Cole Criske)*

Emily Ann Roberts (defeated Morgan Frazier)

Ivonne Acero (stolen from Team Pharrell)

Chance Peña (stolen from Team Adam)

 

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:

 

Amanda vs. Shelby: Eesh.  I don't think this battle was as terrible as you all made it out to be, but it wasn't very good, either.  They just kept repeating the chorus.  Hannah Kirby did that song much better last season.  But Shelby was a four-chair turn against a three-chair turn.  No contest that Adam would pick her.  Also, Adam still wants to beat Blake with a country singer, so . . . easy choice for him.

 

Amy vs. Jubal & Amanda: I actually appreciated that unlike Adam with Andi & Alex, Pharrell saw fit to give Jubal & Amanda separate parts to sing as well as parts to sing together.  But on the whole, even with that accommodation, it was clear that Amy's solo voice was far superior to Jubal & Amanda's pair of voices.  Likely because I don't think Amanda got enough solo parts on her own while Jubal got a fair amount.

 

Emily Ann vs. Morgan: You're all surprised that these two sang a song about one-night stands?  Blake had Brenna Yaeger and Kelsie May sing a Reba song, "Fancy," about a mother turning out her daughter, who became a high-priced call girl as a result.  Not surprised Blake would give his female singers songs like these.  That said, this was probably the best battle of the three shown ones.  Both did an amazing job, but I agree that Emily Ann was definitely superior.  Glad for Morgan, though, that she got Pharrell's steal.  Hope he does her justice, though.

 

As for the montaged battles . . . bah!  I was so looking forward to Nadjah's battle!  I can't believe the editors montaged her!  At least she beat Cole.  Darius, who had a shown audition, went against Daria, who had a montaged one.  No contest.  Of course Darius won.  And Summer was also shown, while Hanna wasn't.  Summer obviously had that one.

 

All right episode.

Edited October 27, 2015 by Bryce Smith

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Well, to be fair to Daria (who I really would've liked to hear more than two seconds of) she was the rare 3-chair turn montaged contestant.

Still not quite as bad as the triple whammy girl from a couple seasons ago (montaged audition, montaged winning her battle w/ zero seconds of singing shown, and then again losing her knockout)...

[Bryce Smith]

PhD-Purgatory15, on 24 Oct 2015 - 9:27 PM, said:

Still not quite as bad as the triple whammy girl from a couple seasons ago (montaged audition, montaged winning her battle w/ zero seconds of singing shown, and then again losing her knockout)...

Rebekah Samarin, and that was some real bullshit was there, since she was the only one whose Knockout was completely montaged that season.