S09.E16: The Live Playoffs, Night 2

[HighQueenEB]

That was such a clever choice, too, fooling us into thinking it was a ballad, then going all out for fun--something the show desperately needs.

That's how the song starts.  He had some good tone and vocal inflections that aren't on the original and which I enjoyed.  Overall, he was, by far, the best performance of the night and of the first week of live rounds.  Probably the best country male performance I've seen on the show, though I was never a fan of either the Swon Brothers or CWB, and I'm definitely no fan of Barrett

[limecoke]

I think I enjoyed this group more than the last night.  I do agree that Madi was a stand-out but I'm forever spoiled by Eva Cassidy's incomparable cover of "Songbird", so Madi, with her strange pronunciation of words, fell a tad short.  Still, she's talented and will not be eliminated.  

 

I just can't with "Overjoyed" anymore.  For me, it should be added to the list of "Retired Singing Competition Songs."  That is getting to be a long list.  

 

Nadjah deserved to come back and I'm happy that was part of Blake's strategy all along.  

 

Gwen's hair looks good.  Adam's hair looks really good.  He must never, ever shave it off again because the head shape is not good.

Edited November 11, 2015 by limecoke

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

It's Going Down
Stephanie Cangro's yelling 'tim-beeerrrrrr' as Teams Pharrell and Blake underwhelm, and Gwen's too disappointed to even flirt.

[Kromm]

Sigh. Why do I get the sense that neither Yvonne nor Blake really understands what "One of Us" is really about?

[Kromm]

I fear Morgan is going to get lost in the shuffle.....I'm also not a fan of genderbending the lyrics (if Little Big Town could win big at the CMA's w/ Girl Crush, Morgan could've left Lips of an Angel as it was) as IMO it gives the song and the listener an unnecessary awkwardness. Clearly the show is all about a Jordan/Barrett duel to the end so I think he's probably safe as well.

I thought she was horribly out of tune, even on a "country scale" (where it doesn't always seem to matter as much).

[Padma]

That's how the song starts.  He had some good tone and vocal inflections that aren't on the original and which I enjoyed.  Overall, he was, by far, the best performance of the night and of the first week of live rounds.  Probably the best country male performance I've seen on the show, though I was never a fan of either the Swon Brothers or CWB, and I'm definitely no fan of Barrett

Yes, I know he didn't arrange it to be a ballad style then change it up. Probably I wasn't clear that I was praising his choice--that he may have chosen the song to play with the audience a bit before going full out entertainer.

 

I agree with you about it being the best country male performance  (not best vocal, although I like his singing better than CWB, and he won, so....), as well as, for me, most memorable/enjoyable one of the first week.  For a change, someone benefitted from following a lot of others, esp after the first night where Adam and Gwen's teams seemed a bit uptight. Great to see someone thoroughly relaxed, in control and having fun--plus the shock factor that we got to share with the judges as, "Where did THIS come from?"

 

I'm counting on Blake to keep him around if America doesn't. And if America doesn't put Barrett through, is it too much to expect Blake to choose someone else? I'd prefer anyone on his team to Barrett, including Nadia. He's very strategic, though, and--who knows?--may genuinely like the guy, so it's hard to tell.

 

Other than Zach and Amy, I won't be too disappointed if anyone else is bumped.

[viajero]

Clearly I disagree with the people downloading songs since I though Team Pharrell were the clear winners this episode.  Not only do they have my overall favorite performance of the evening (Madi), but I thought all 6 of them made at least some merits for moving on to the next round.  It helps that I thought Celeste clearly won both the battle of religious songs (vs. Emily Ann) and the battle of the bring-back artists (vs. Nadjah).

 

Not that the rest of Team Blake (other than Emily Ann and Nadjah) were bad.  I liked all four and am saddened to think that Emily Ann will almost certainly take the place of one of them after giving the most cringe-worthy vocal performance of the week. It was like nails on chalkboard.  When I saw that she led the night in iTunes downloads, I went and watched her again on YouTube.  It didn't change my mind at all.  That was just plain bad.

 

My ranking for each team:

 

Team Pharrell

1. Madi

2. Riley

3. Celeste

4. Darius

5. Mark

6. Evan

 

Team Blake

1. Zack

2. Barrett

3. Morgan

4. Ivonne

5. Nadjah

6. Emily Ann

 

As for who I predict will actually get through:

 

Team Pharrell:  Madi, Celeste, Mark

Team Blake: Emily Ann, Zach, Barrett

[HighQueenEB]

I thought she was horribly out of tune, even on a "country scale" (where it doesn't always seem to matter as much).

 

Same here as far as her being out of tune. 

But, to be fair, I think country gets a bad rap with respect to the notion that one can be successful in the genre while being out of tune or pitchy.  There's a difference between being twangy and being out of tune.  Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks is a perfect example of what I'm talking about - she's as twangy as they come but her pitch is almost always spot on.  Dolly Parton & Allison Krauss have those amazing, sweet bluegrass tones and inflections in their voices but no one would ever accuse them of being out of tune.

 

Yes, I know he didn't arrange it to be a ballad style then change it up. Probably I wasn't clear that I was praising his choice--that he may have chosen the song to play with the audience a bit before going full out entertainer.

 

I agree with you about it being the best country male performance  (not best vocal, although I like his singing better than CWB, and he won, so....), as well as, for me, most memorable/enjoyable one of the first week.  For a change, someone benefitted from following a lot of others, esp after the first night where Adam and Gwen's teams seemed a bit uptight. Great to see someone thoroughly relaxed, in control and having fun--plus the shock factor that we got to share with the judges as, "Where did THIS come from?"

 

I'm counting on Blake to keep him around if America doesn't. And if America doesn't put Barrett through, is it too much to expect Blake to choose someone else? I'd prefer anyone on his team to Barrett, including Nadia. He's very strategic, though, and--who knows?--may genuinely like the guy, so it's hard to tell.

 

Other than Zach and Amy, I won't be too disappointed if anyone else is bumped.

Gotcha!  I think I enjoyed, most, Blake's reaction.  It was as though, all of a sudden, the lights went on in his head and he realized he might have a true break-out winner on his hands with Zach.  You could see his utter shock and yet those wheels were turning in his head as you know he was thinking to himself "I might just win this thing again, after all!"

With respect to Barrett...  He does nothing for me.  At all.  I hate his tone.  I think he'd get lost on country radio, along with all the other boring guys that dominate those airwaves these days.  The sooner he is gone, the better.  Unfortunately, I doubt that will be tonight, lol.

[Kromm]

Same here as far as her being out of tune. 

But, to be fair, I think country gets a bad rap with respect to the notion that one can be successful in the genre while being out of tune or pitchy.  There's a difference between being twangy and being out of tune.  Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks is a perfect example of what I'm talking about - she's as twangy as they come but her pitch is almost always spot on.  Dolly Parton & Allison Krauss have those amazing, sweet bluegrass tones and inflections in their voices but no one would ever accuse them of being out of tune.

Right. But those people unfortunately seem to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other country artists where the audience doesn't seem to give a crap about singing in tune.

[HighQueenEB]

Right. But those people unfortunately seem to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other country artists where the audience doesn't seem to give a crap about singing in tune.

The same can be said of pop music though.  There's plenty of auto-tune used across musical genres. 

[DarkRaichu]

With respect to Barrett...  He does nothing for me.  At all.  I hate his tone.  I think he'd get lost on country radio, along with all the other boring guys that dominate those airwaves these days.  The sooner he is gone, the better.  Unfortunately, I doubt that will be tonight, lol.

 

He sings fine, but he has this underlying smugness that turns me off

[ToxicUnicorn]

Barrett strikes me as doing really, really well for a school teacher, and I have a soft spot for school teachers.  I don't begrudge him his moment in the sun.  However, I don't for one second think he has commercial potential.  I think he's a very good karaoke singer.

 

I just can't with "Overjoyed" anymore.  For me, it should be added to the list of "Retired Singing Competition Songs."  That is getting to be a long list.

This.  I wasn't even all too hot on Overjoyed in the first place.