S10.E15: The Live Playoffs, Night 2

[Tara Ariano]

The playoff round continues with the remaining Top 20 performing.

[simplyme]

Are they using some new definition of "stripped down"? What exactly is stripped down about these performances?

[Quickbeam]

Loved Daniel and Owen.

[roamyn]

Better night tonight, but Hall & Oates, Pat Benetar & Adele should sue for having their songs massacred.

For the first time I liked Owen and didn't like Hannah.

Laith, Owen, Brian N, and especially Shaylah killed it & electrified that stage.

ETA: Somewhere a cruise ship is missing a singer (Nate).

Edited April 13, 2016 by roamyn

[jjjmoss]

I was bored except for Shalyah's Listen which is the best knockout performance of the season. She did great with the belting, but she also showed strong range and control. 

 

37 - Shalyah Fearing - Listen
48 - Owen Danoff - Hero
57 - Laith Al-Saadi - With a Little Help From My Friends
77 - Daniel Passino - When I Was Your Man
100 - Hannah Huston - Ain't No Way
101 - Emily Keener - Still Crazy After All These Years
142 - Caroline Burns - All I Want
168 - Brian Nhira - Alive

[nichelle]

I don't think that song (Ain't No Way) was meant for Hannah. I actually went and played Aretha singing it just to reset my brain.

[Snarkette]

"Stripped down"? Don't get it. Only one that really caught me was Laith. There was some decent singing (Shalyah) and a lot of over-praised out-of-tune singing. And a lot of fast forwarding.

[yourpointis]

The night started off good and ended with - a word that I don't think has even been invented yet. I voted for four people tonight versus only two last night. Maybe tonight's performances were better or I just settled for less. I don't remember many names except for the ones that I did not like. That is sad on my part not the performer(s). Shaylah, Hannah, Laith, Nate and Emily were H.A.M.es imho. Well Emily and Nate weren't a mess but just flat out dull. How do you suck all of the blue-eyed soul out of Rich Girl? I can appreciate a subtle performance and rich smooth vocal just as much as the next person. No matter the genre nor the time period. I can listen to Karen Carpenter for hours and just get lost in her voice, but Emily almost had me slipping into a coma. Shaylah and Hannah were screaming and frantically searching for the sharpest note in their repertoire all throughout their performances. Laith's performance I will just chalk up to preferring the original recording I heard as a child. 

 

ETA: I prefer bitchy backhanded compliments/shade Christina than fake forced nice with the backhanded compliments/shade Christina. I'm just being honest. 

Edited April 13, 2016 by yourpointis

[simplyme]

Well, I liked tonight's performances a lot better than last night's. If it's just me, I admit I ate a chocolate doughnut, so that may have influenced my mood. :)

I particularly liked the performances by Adam's team. Shalyah is going through on votes. She sang the hell out of that song. I felt bad for Nate, who I think had a case of the nerves so he didn't have as much breath support as usual AND who followed that so he really suffered in comparison, imo. There are times I really like the sound of Nate's voice, but I would definitely rate him as the weakest on Adam's team.

Caroline did well, but I'm really having trouble with my knee jerk reaction to her song choice. Someone sang it in the blinds this season and I'm pretty sure it was used the previous two seasons. Give it a rest. (I also wouldn't call it folk and country, Pharrell, nor do I see how this is so different from what she was singing.) It seemed like a song pretty close to her wheelhouse to me, so I didn't understand the whole "outside her comfort zone" thing.

I loved Laith and Owen. Laith can really deliver certain classic rock songs. That's a nice change from pretty much everyone else. Owen has possibly the most emotive voice on here, imo. It's just gorgeous.

And then there was Brian. Brian's performance had some pitch issues (not that others didn't), but it also struck me as being particularly difficult to sing compared to some others (and more obvious when he was off pitch). Overall, I liked it despite the problems.

Pharrell's team was more of a mixed bag for me, which might have been related to song choice.

Emily has a beautiful, unusual voice, but her performance didn't really move me. I don't know if it was the song (not my favorite Simon song) or the fact that she was playing keyboard at the same time... or maybe that it was keyboard instead of piano or something else.

Lacy is no Pat Benatar. Just no. Caity sang an Adele song pretty well, but unless you're phenomenal, you ARE Adele, or you change the song to make it more yours, you're going to suffer a bit in comparison to Adele. Moushumi sang a Bieber song I despise, but somehow made me kind of like it in parts and almost snooze in others. In my head, I can hear her do these songs just a bit differently and they're SO good, but the missed potential is starting to drive me batty.

Hannah. I love Hannah, but wow, she seemed out of control and screamy tonight. I still hope she goes through.

So my favorite performance from Pharrell's team came from Daniel doing the overdone (but very well done) Bruno Mars song. I am slightly disturbed by this.

[Ketzel]

One of my pet singing competition peeves got triggered tonight - I despise very young singers singing songs that require life experience that they do not have for a credible performance. Emily singing "Still Crazy After All These Years" at the age of 17 was just silly to me. She met an old lover on the street? I'm thinking "way too kind a description for a statutory rapist." They talked about some old times and drank themselves some beers? "Uh-oh, some liquor-serving establishment is going to get in trouble for serving underage patrons." And what are "all these years" of which she sings? How far back do "old times" go when you're 17? I don't care if she has an "old soul," Pharrell, her young face was enough to pull me right out of that beautiful melancholy song.

[jjjmoss]

One big problem with this season is that after 4 rounds, no one's impressed me multiple times. 

[simplyme]

"Stripped down"? Don't get it.

Yeah. I mean, Carson kept saying the performances tonight were "stripped down" for us. In what way? I mean, there were clearly back up musicians and singers. WTF would the NOT stripped down versions have been? Firing actual cannons during Shalyah's song with an entire choir onstage with her?

Or was I misunderstanding something? (Was he referring to Xtina only having half gloves? :P Fashion is dumb. I laughed every time they showed her.)

[rollerblade]

Hey Hannah, if you are gonna go the screamy route, at least do it with conviction like Sisaundra Lewis. Oh right, you don't have the chops for that.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

So FWIW, I was both more excited on the whole to see tonight's lineup of singers and preparing for the worst since I followed along with the increasingly bleak twitter feeds of Slezak, Parker and MJ's BigBlog (I couldn't watch live for various reasons). Expectations were summarily lowered, but even after that I still wasn't too mad....although there definitely wasn't a knock it out of the park performance to be found. Which might actually bring some suspense into tomorrow night.

 

Adam and Pharrell both decided to bring back cheesy af crooners instead of Mike Schiavo. Yippee.

 

Team Adam:

 

Laith does the bar band bombast thing really well. Although they cranked up bandzilla and even his big voice couldn't compete in a couple of sections.

Brian is incapable of singing without moving his head from side to side. His desperation felt forced, especially towards the end.

Caroline got a questionable song in terms of lyric content, and the fact that probably everyone with a computer has seen Stevie McCrorie absolutely slay this song for his The Voice UK blind audition a couple seasons ago. She was pretty game though, it only got away from her in a couple parts.

Owen Mr folk did his thing on a pretty cool semi-current song. I feel like he's going to be voted through, but he's someone (like Katie Basden) who probably has more talent than personality.....so it'll be interesting to see how it shakes out.

Mike....what's that? Some rando from a cruise ship took this bring back spot? That's just terrible.

Shalyah Stop me if you've heard the one about the little girl with a giant voice, I know, I know but why don't we pump the brakes on annointing her the second coming of Whitney or Beyonce for a bit.

 

If you went by placement order you'd almost think the show wants both Caroline and Brian in Adam's top 3. I have a hard time seeing that play out though. I'll say Shalyah and Owen get the votes, and Adam's save comes down between Laith and Caroline. It wouldn't shock me if he went for Caroline.

 

Team Pharrell:

 

Caity Wow was this disappointing. She was unintelligible for the first 1/3 of the song, and then just about any part that wasn't the chorus after that.

Hannah Eh, they obviously thought she'd bring the house down as the closer....but this was kind of rough. The shriller parts of her voice seemed to dominate long stretches of this song. Why couldn't have Pharrell tried a Joss Stone song?

Daniel Well clearly going 1st lets you know that Daniel is supposed to be back for a "cameo" comeback appearance.

Emily It just felt like the wrong song. I do still love listening to the sound and tone of her voice.

Lacy It definitely felt bar band-y or karaoke-ish. And one of the vocal tricks seemed strange. Would be very surprised if she's voted through or saved.

Moushumi First off, serious props for continuing to do current music. I wish she wouldn't have waited until the very, very end to switch to her full voice. It felt like their was a missed opportunity to make the song more dynamic. But I will say I love her ability to deliver verse lyrics in a wonderfully conversational manner (even with her vocal affects), that's a skill a few other contestants could use this season.

 

Man with Pharrell team's.....I have no idea really. I'll say getting to go last helps Hannah and she still gets voted through. If Itunes is right and Daniel is voted through, that will be a travesty. It should Emily and Moushumi. One getting the votes and the other ending up with his save. Don't have a lot of confidence in that happening though...

Edited April 13, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[rollerblade]

Team Adam:

 

Mike....what's that? Some rando from a cruise ship took this bring back spot? That's just terrible.

 

Haha. His name is Nate, but no probs, we'll call him Mike. :P

[tripsy]

Lacy is no Pat Benatar. Just no. Caity sang an Adele song pretty well, but unless you're phenomenal, you ARE Adele, or you change the song to make it more yours, you're going to suffer a bit in comparison to Adele.

 

I echo your sentiments about Adele and expand them to include Pat Benatar, who has a hell of a voice.  Besides, I don't understand why contestants who want to show how "rock" they are tend to go for the more "Pop" Benatar songs.  I don't care how badly they butchered it, I'd break my rule and vote if anyone had the balls to go for something like "Hell is For Children."

[simplyme]

I echo your sentiments about Adele and expand them to include Pat Benatar, who has a hell of a voice.  Besides, I don't understand why contestants who want to show how "rock" they are tend to go for the more "Pop" Benatar songs.  I don't care how badly they butchered it, I'd break my rule and vote if anyone had the balls to go for something like "Hell is For Children."

I'd love to see that. I've said before that I hate how they tend to censor Martina McBride's "Independence Day" and Demi Lovato's "Warrior" on the show so that all the truly meaningful parts are removed. What's the point? As soon as someone completely guts all meaning from a song like that, I refuse to vote for them that week. Conversely, I was happy Moushumi didn't try to dodge the marijuana lyric in "New Americana" in the KOs. Were some people offended? Yes. But it meant a lot to me.

I'm pretty sure SimplyMom agrees with you about Pat Benatar having a hell of a voice, btw. As soon as we realized Lacy would be doing a PB song, my elderly mom muttered, "Oh, God. Where are my Cheetos?"

[le bordel chaud]

I like Pharrell sometimes, but he is awful at picking songs for female contestants. Hannah is amazing and my favorite, but that song was all wrong for her. She should be a contender for the win, but I'm very worried for her being on Pharrell's team.

Christina remains the best thing about this show for me. I hope she brings back some of her famous constructive criticism, because it's annoying how no one else will say anything negative towards performances that are not good. I did enjoy the shade she employed when she said Adam had never worked with anyone up to the caliber of Shalyah.

Edited April 13, 2016 by delicatecutter

[MaryPatShelby]

Are they using some new definition of "stripped down"? What exactly is stripped down about these performances?

They say this every year at some point during the lives, and I never ever understand what they mean.  There's a band, sometimes covering up the singer (Laith), there are backup singers, there's a light show, and there's belting/screaming.  How is this remotely "stripped down"??

 

I liked Monday night much better than last night; the only one I voted for is Shaylah.  I usually hate the young kids but she doesn't sing like a young kid and had total control when she belted.

[portergirl99]

For whatever reason this season, not one judge can string together an coherent sentence with any semblance of construction criticism.  "You seemed really, ughhhh, like, I don't know, happy up there....like your voice was blending with the ethos...........ughhh, like, you know, I'm so glad you are on __________'s team now because he/she really understands what makes YOU do YOU so well"

 

Blech.  The synergy between the judges just seems so very off/strained this season -- they all seem to be phoning it in just to cash a paycheck. I'm not feeling any true excitement around any of their team choices.

 

My ALL-TIME favorite moment from the night was when Christina spoke about how much she was in favor of "innovation" and "changing it up" and "growth" ...............as she sat there in her 1996 clothes, hair and makeup........wearing the (half) gloves she stole from Madonna after Sex hit the bookstands.

[Primetimer]

Teams Adam and Pharrell remind us how great the Blinds were, and how hard Wednesday's cuts are going to be.

Read the story

[PepperMonkey]

I have liked Hannah, but I thought that performance was pretty bad. She was pitchy and I just do NOT feel any real emotion from her. I don't care how good the voice is; if I can't feel that you're feeling it, you lose me.

 

Laith probably won't go through, even though he deserves it. I'm also hoping enough people appreciate Owen to help move him forward.

 

Ketzel, I co-sign your entire post about teenage singers singing world-weary songs. I'm impressed they like the music, because Paul Simon is nothing if not deep. But it just comes off as insincere, no matter how good the performance.

 

Brian and Shalyah were my favourites, which may not jive with everyone else's opinions. I have loved Shalyah from the blinds and my opinion of her hasn't changed.

 

I have no idea who's going through and who's going to get cut. I thought this was a better night than last night, and yet, disappointment in some of my previous picks for finalists.

 

And finally: Pharrell. Sigh. I'm trepidatious about Alicia Keys filling your role/spot, but I need a break from you.

[Nedsdag]

Rough night indeed!

 

• Lacy sounded like a drunken sorority girl after a few brewskis at a Friday night frat party. Please go home.
• The three performances that I did "like" were Starland Vocal Boy (this season's Matt McAndrew), Laith, and wait for it, Daniel, who I thought should've been stolen by someone. Yes, he sounded a bit cheesy, but technically it was good.
• Of the females, Hannah was trying to compete with Alisan, but she truly didn't reach the peaks that she should have. I still like her better than Curly Sue. Adam's teen girls were a mixed bag: Shalyah went a bit over the top for me and did not truly deserve that overwhelming standing ovation, and New Hampshire girl sang the song beautifully, but does she know the lyrics to that song?
• Of all the contestants to bring back, Adam brought back the Bobby Moynahan lookalike who cheesed up "Sarah Smile"? What a waste! I'm assuming Mike Schiavo did something to piss off Adam or TPTB which is why he wasn't called back.
• Speaking of Adam, now that he's a father-to-be, why is he dressing like a gated community dad coming home from the office?

 

Everyone else doesn't deserve commentary. A lousy two nights for The Voice and I didn't even comment on Monday's monstrosity.

 

Edited due to lack of proofreading.

Edited April 13, 2016 by Nedsdag

[teapot100]

Aw, I loved Hannah's performance! She has a lot of passion and talent. I find her kind of quirky - like you don't expect her to sing the way she does, but then she does and wow.

 

Shalyah - really impressive BUT...no more Beyonces or JHuds or MCareys, please! Boring.

 

Owen - he really feels the songs he sings. Would sit and watch him sing. Might even pay a little bit.

 

Caroline - I like her voice and phrasing, etc, I just can't watch her sing because - cognitive dissonance...the lyrics were just too mature for the way she looks and even then, her age.

 

What I would really like to see someday onThe Voice is a season where the coaches don't get to meet their singers AT ALL until the very end. Even the audience has no clue. Would love to see the contestants shrouded in mystery a la undercover-cops-on-true-crime-shows-hiding-their-identities. Now that would truly be all about The Voice...

 

 

 

[MaryPatShelby]

Months ago I listened to a podcast (OK, it was Pop Culture Happy Hour) on which the panel was talking about American Idol, and something was said that really hit home to me in terms of The Voice, especially in the live rounds.  Stephen Thompson said that "most creative enterprises need a 'no' man - somebody to say 'no, that wasn't good.' 

 

Not that I would ever, ever want The Voice to be as mean-spirited as Idol was, but I do think it's a problem in the lives that every single singer is wonderful and amazing and a true artist and definitely deserves a singing career.  Any criticism is hidden or "shaded" and, it could be just me, but until I come here and read other comments I don't even know if the coach is being critical most of the time.  What's wrong with saying "you were flat on the bridge" or "one thing to work on is what you're going to do with the arm that's not holding the mic" or "I could tell you were having breath problems near the end".  There is a nice way to say "no, that wasn't good" and The Voice needs to get on board with constructively doing that.

[jjjmoss]

What I would really like to see someday onThe Voice is a season where the coaches don't get to meet their singers AT ALL until the very end. Even the audience has no clue. Would love to see the contestants shrouded in mystery a la undercover-cops-on-true-crime-shows-hiding-their-identities. Now that would truly be all about The Voice...

Sounds like a recipe for a flop and people getting mass firings.

[Mreid]

Wow  Shaylah passed Alisan on Itunes I wasnt expecting that.  I really am enjoying this season a lot! I dont want anyone to go home tonight. But I still say its Christinas year to lose I think she has the best team, I expect Alisan Ryan and Bryan to be the ones to move on from her team, 

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Not sure what the numbers were at the voting window closing, but right now Itunes has it this way.

 

Adam

Shalyah (11)

Owen (19)

Laith (28)

Caroline (57)

Brian (66)

Nate (outside Top 100)

 

Blake

Adam (30)

Katie B. (65)

Joe (70)

Mary Sarah (74)

Justin/Paxton (Outside Top 100)

 

Christina

Alisan (10)

Nick (24) Apparently, awful falsetto is "in" in 2016.

Bryan (32)

Ryan (54)

Kata (78)

Tamar (Outside Top 100)

 

Pharrell

Daniel (37) WTF, America?

Hannah (38) Generous....having the "pimp" spot certainly had to help matters

Emily (49)

Lacy/Moushumi/Caity (all outside of the Top 100) Yikes, for Team Pharrell.

[simplyme]

I'm hoping that Bryan B. passed Nick in the non-iTunes voting. Someone mentioned that Bryan's performance spurred a spike in sales for the original version moreso than his version. I have no idea if that's true or not, but it gives me hope that Bryan may have intrigued people who voted for him via other means en masse but didn't shell out on iTunes. I'm just hoping that Nick did not.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Me too. If Nick has to advance, I hope it's because Christina must pick him as her save. Eliminating Kata, Ryan and Tamar in the process.

 

I also hope Emily can pass Daniel on the non-Itunes voting, because I don't think Pharrell would automatically take Daniel as his save. I think he'd be tempted to take Moushumi (who he seems to have a kinship with) or Caity, who has been a rollercoaster of great blind...terrible battle....impressive KO....really bad last night. She still seems like she has higher upside (to borrow an NFL/Draft term) than Daniel or just about anyone on his team outside of Hannah.

 

I think Adam has a rough decision between Laith and Caroline awaiting him. He probably feels more a musical kinship with Laith, but Laith is kind of a finished product already. Caroline still has that tempting potential for a coach to continue to grow and improve during this season.

 

Blake's decision may rest on whether he wants to go into top 12 with three country artists or if he wants to take Joe (I'm guessing he won't get voted through) to have a little musical diversity and cynically not split votes with Adam or Katie/Mary Sarah moving forward.

Edited April 13, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Padma]

I've been saying Adam had one of the weakest teams, so I was surprised to realize how many are -actually- some of my favorites that I'm hoping will stay.

 

I've been a fan of Brian's since the blind audition, but I don't see him making it through after struggling with Sia. Three I -will- be disappointed to not see advance, in order, are:  Owen, Laith and Shaliyah.   So, different order, but the iTunes top 3 for him.

 

For Team Pharrell the only one I'll be disappointed to not see go forward is Emily. Of the others, personally, I'd advance Moushumi with her pretty voice and interesting contemporary song selections over the others. Hannah struggled last night, but I'm sure she's a lock on advancing.  I don't understand why Daniel is doing so well for Team Pharrell on iTunes, though. If F2 are him and Hannah, I hope Pharrell saves Emily.  Her take on songs is refreshing, especially when we already will probably have Alisan, Hannah and Shaliyah going forward.

 

For Blake, I'm fine with the top 3 Ph-D Purgatory15 lists from iTunes sales: Adam, Katie and Joe.

 

As for Christina, hopefully "America" will vote through Alisan and Bryan and that Christina will save Ryan over Nate. (ITA with the person who said Nate would be so much better to use his falsetto much more sparingly, more like Adam does.)

 

These would be pretty good teams, with some nice variety of rock, indie, pop, soul and country--and close to an even split men/women advancing,.

[ProudMary]

Maybe, just maybe, Alisan doesn't have this season all locked up. Shalyah has had two consecutive weeks where she has been awesome. I'd go as far as to say that in its 10th season, "The Voice" may finally have a breakout star in Shalyah Fearing.

My favorite this season has actually been Paxton but as he'll be heading home tonight, my favorites are now Owen, Shalyah and Moushumi. I hope she'll be able to advance tonight.

[Adusk81]

"Im really drawn to indie and alternative music." So here's some Justin Bieber..... I'm starting to think Moushumi isn't that bright. That's two terrible song choices in a row. At this point I just want her to go away.

[Noreaster]

Tuned into the show this week for the first time this season.  I usually love playoffs week.  A lot of performances jammed into the episodes, less coach commentary and fluff than normal,and a lot of dead weight cut.  

 

Random thoughts:

 

-I'm burned out from the show.  Only performance I really enjoyed was Laith.  True musician, true professional.  Something that was more common in the earlier seasons.  The other contestants just blend together to me.  Not that Laith is a great vocalist or would be my favorite in any other season, but he stood out to me this week.    

 

-Shalyah was decent but four-chair standing ovation worthy? Her performance had some issues. Man, standards have dropped on this show. Also for Ryan Quinn? He was okay, but that wasn't the most dynamic performance.  

 

-The coach commentary was much more effusive than I remember.  Holy crap.  There was usually some reading between the lines in the past, but this season it seemed like all the coaches were directed to be as positive as possible.  Even devolved into talking about how great the show is when they can't find anything else to say.  We used to be able to rely on Adam to give some constructive criticism somewhere, but there was barely any this week (I guess maybe he did to the Indian woman who sang the Justin Bieber song).

 

-The coach comeback twist is even more stupid this season.  So the coaches can bring back anyone from any team?  It just goes to show that the coaches aren't really involved that much in the taped rounds.  Why would they pick someone from outside their team who they barely know?  Also, it wouldn't surprise me if these were really producer picks.  

[PhD-Purgatory15]

By that logic, anytime an artist in one genre does a song from another genre they are stupid.

Two of the best performances in Voice history was Dia Frampton doing Kanye's Heartless and Cole Vosbury doing Adorn by Miguel. An indie folk singer and a Southern rock soul guy doing hip hop and Urban R&B respectively.

Moushumi tried to spin a pop song indie/alternative and judging by Itunes..it didn't work. IMO I'd still listen to her over cheesy sad Daniel times a thousand. YMMV of course.

[Adusk81]

It was the way she said it. She implied that Justin bieber IS indie or alternative. She said by her song choice she hoped people would be able to tell what kind of artist she wants to be. I suppose maybe she meant that based on her version of the song but who knows. I think my main complaint with her is that I still can't tell if she's a good singer. Two weeks in a row she's chosen a song the doesn't showcase ability. They have both been pretty monotone and boring. I don't think those songs would have stuck if she had any other coach. Pharrell is just useless. I'm glad he's gone next season. And yes, I agree with you that Daniel would be much worse to move on. He is just about as bland as it gets.

[adhoc]

Ah, it's lonely where I sit. Overall, I did not like Shalyah's performance. Maybe it was just my TV, but I heard serious pitch problems. She kind of let the song get away from her at times. I was shocked when everyone stood up and then folks kept applauding. 

 

On the other hand, I despised Owen's knock-out performance, but last night he redeemed himself for me. Great song choice.

 

The acoustics in the actual venue must be way different from what gets transmitted across the airwaves to my TV, because I could barely hear some of those folks because the band was so loud. Some of you already complained about it. And I complain about it every season. I wish they would lose all the backup singers and full band and actually let us hear the actual voices.

Edited April 13, 2016 by adhoc

[simplyme]

I certainly hope Blake takes Adam, Katie, and Joe, but I'm worried that Blake will choose Mary Sarah because he seems so invested in her. I'm sure Adam will get the vote. Not sure about anyone else on this team. iTunes isn't always a good predicter for how the country bloc will vote.

Hoping Xtina takes Alisan, Bryan, and anyone but Nick, but I'm not counting on that either.

Hannah will go through for Pharrell, I think, despite a bad performance. Other than that I'm not sure I can justify cheering for one person over another. As bland as Daniel is, he chose the right song and the rest didn't. I wouldn't be surprised if he got rewarded for it in the voting. If so, Pharrell probably takes Emily over Moushumi or Caity.

I wish more from Adam's team could go on, despite how "weak" it supposedly is. I agree with PhD-Purgatory15 that Shalyah and Owen probably get the votes and Adam has a tough choice between Caroline and Laith. Adam does seem to like Caroline a lot, and she has more to work on than Laith, but on the other hand she might compete for some of the same voting demographics as Shalyah and Owen. Laith is more clearly unique. I'd go for Laith, but I have no clue what Adam will do. I'm going to seriously miss Brian N.

(Edited for typos. Oops.)

Edited April 13, 2016 by simplyme

[Chyromaniac]

They say this every year at some point during the lives, and I never ever understand what they mean.  There's a band, sometimes covering up the singer (Laith), there are backup singers, there's a light show, and there's belting/screaming.  How is this remotely "stripped down"??

 

Well, no one has had to sing while descending a staircase yet - so there's that.

[viajero]

That was pretty bad.  Everyone under-performed compared to their previous outings, with the possible exception of Caroline, who didn't have much to improve on. The only performance that stood out from me was Shalyah's and it was a little too over the top to be considered all that great.

 

Song selection sunk most of the rest of the women. I certainly hope that they never give Hannah Motown again as she clearly could not connect with that song.  Having said that, I would still rate her as the second best female performance of the night because everyone else was so off.  I guess at least Emily and Caroline didn't make any obvious mistakes.  Emily's raw talent kind of pulled her through, while Caroline was one of the few who actually got a song that probably is suited to her.

 

Of the guys, I still find Daniel to be incredibly cheesy and unconvincing, but at least he picked a good song for him.  Owen was just a little too sleepy for my tastes. Even sing-songwritter types need a least a little dynamics.  Laith and Nate did straight up covers of their songs, which only highlighted how deficient they are compared to the originals. Laith needed to be told that growling a lot does not make him Joe Cocker.   I thought Brian was a complete disaster and one of my biggest disappointments of the night.  The way he strained to hit those high notes actually hurt my ears and he was continuously behind on those wordy verses.

 

In any case, my ranking of the performances by team:

 

Team Adam

1. Shalyah

2. Owen

3. Caroline

4. Laith

5. Nate

6. Brian

 

Team Pharrell

1. Hannah

2. Emily

3. Daniel

4. Lacy

5. Caity

6. Moushumi

[ToxicUnicorn]

I ate my own post, so here's the short version:

 

I loved Owen and completely agreed with the comments: I felt every moment of that song and thought it was beautiful.  I am going to call him Uber Owen because he transported me tonight.

 

Still Crazy ... is my very favorite Paul Simon song, and I did not appreciate Emily's version.  I also don't really like her voice.  However, I do hope she finds a supporting role in the music business somewhere, because I am happy to acknowledge that she shows a lot of creativity.  Just don't touch Paul Simon again.

 

I feel similarly about Laith.  Clearly has good instincts.  I loved that he was articulate in the intro package.  I just don't think he's got star quality.  Close, but not quite.

 

Daniel's version of When I Was Your Man made me miss Will Champlin.  I adored Will's version.  Daniel's voice sounded surprisingly thin to me for the first half of the song.  

 

Shalyah's standing ovation was over the top based on her vocals alone.  However, she put every fiber of her being into that song (Listen) and I respect that a lot.

 

Caroline did a beautiful job with a song I hate.  

 

I think I hate Sia songs.  Terrible choice for Brian N.

Edited April 14, 2016 by ToxicUnicorn

[Nedsdag]

Delete

Edited April 14, 2016 by Nedsdag

[bluepiano]

Yeah. I mean, Carson kept saying the performances tonight were "stripped down" for us. In what way? I mean, there were clearly back up musicians and singers. WTF would the NOT stripped down versions have been? Firing actual cannons during Shalyah's song with an entire choir onstage with her?

 

Laith had the full gospel back-up chorus in addition to the band blasting away on "Friends." I guess that was "stripped down" because he didn't have the New York Philharmonic and Mormon Tabernacle Choir backing him.

 

I'm sympathetic to Laith because I like the people who have paid their dues, but this was the second time he's done the Joe Cocker version of a classic rock song (after "The Letter") and I'm not hearing any originality at all. He's doing them pretty much exactly like the Cocker versions. it's like high level karaoke. His performance on "Friends" was as overwrought as Alisan's on the Janis song the other night.

 

Wow, Shalyah was being pimped as much if not more than Alisan. Adam was beaming like a proud papa. Another WTF comment from Pharrell. "All you saints and sinners, vote for her." Huh?

 

I'm conflicted on Emily, because I love Paul Simon, but that performance did not connect with the song. I hope she continues though, because of all the teenagers that are populating the singing contest shows these days, she seems to me one of the most genuinely talented.

 

Moushimi has a nice tone to her voice, and it was a change of pace to hear restraint, especially from a female contestant. But I thought the performance would've had more impact if it was just her voice, not backing singers. Again, where's the "stripped down." What's the deal about the "international impact" the coaches were talking about? I assume she's become a celebrity in India? Can people there vote on The Voice, because that could be a game changer.

Edited April 14, 2016 by bluepiano

[Kromm]

Shalya SO oversang. 

 

I hate that this show rewards that kind of crap. It's just manipulative garbage where blowing your pipes out gets rewarded just because it SOUNDS like you are trying hard.

[Mreid]

I was happy with all of the results except I dont think Nick should have advanced over Kata and Ryan Quinn they were much better vocalists than he was. I still say Alisan Porter has this in the bag.

[Noreaster]

Shalya SO oversang. 

 

I hate that this show rewards that kind of crap. It's just manipulative garbage where blowing your pipes out gets rewarded just because it SOUNDS like you are trying hard.

Don't know if I would call it manipulative.  Some voters just like this style of singing. They're not being tricked into liking it.  

[viajero]

Don't know if I would call it manipulative.  Some voters just like this style of singing. They're not being tricked into liking it.  

 

Very true.  Besides which, Listen is meant to be sung that way.  Its not a song that requires much subtlety.

[ToxicUnicorn]

Wow, Shalyah was being pimped as much if not more than Alisan. Adam was beaming like a proud papa. Another WTF comment from Pharrell. "All you saints and sinners, vote for her." Huh?

I heard, "all you saints and seculars", vote for her.  Your version makes more sense.

[dizzyizzy01]

I heard, "all you saints and seculars", vote for her.  Your version makes more sense.

I heard secular too.  It was strange.  I don't understand what Pharrell is saying half the time.

[backformore]

Months ago I listened to a podcast (OK, it was Pop Culture Happy Hour) on which the panel was talking about American Idol, and something was said that really hit home to me in terms of The Voice, especially in the live rounds.  Stephen Thompson said that "most creative enterprises need a 'no' man - somebody to say 'no, that wasn't good.' 

 

Not that I would ever, ever want The Voice to be as mean-spirited as Idol was, but I do think it's a problem in the lives that every single singer is wonderful and amazing and a true artist and definitely deserves a singing career.  Any criticism is hidden or "shaded" and, it could be just me, but until I come here and read other comments I don't even know if the coach is being critical most of the time.  What's wrong with saying "you were flat on the bridge" or "one thing to work on is what you're going to do with the arm that's not holding the mic" or "I could tell you were having breath problems near the end".  There is a nice way to say "no, that wasn't good" and The Voice needs to get on board with constructively doing that.

Yes, every performance is the best ever, the most original, awesome never-been-done-before WOW performance.

If this was Idol, I'd say they have 4 paulas and no SImon.