S06.E17: The Playoffs (part 1)

[Lisin]

Playoffs

Original Air Date 2014-04-08

[Joystickenvy]

Agreed with Blake's selections. Sisandra & Jake seemed like no brainers. Could have gone either way with the two blondies. Audra has much more power and polish but Mady was more interesting.

Prior to Tessanne, it seemed like every Sisandra type singer ended up a "shock" mid-season boot, but I think she should contend and Jake should do well with the country demo. I don't see Audra getting all that far, but there's probably some weaklings on team Shakira/Usher she'll outlast.

[pivot]

Tessanne wasn't like the Judith, Sasha, etc. artists that get booted mid-season. She was pop and not R&B and she sang some reggae songs that made her seem somewhat cool. Judith got booted because she had very little charisma and her song choices were awful. Sasha lasted all the way to top 5/6 so I am not sure that is a "shock" boot. I think Sisaundra will do better than Judith because Blake will really encourage her to stop the oversinging and she has charisma in spades. But, if Blake saddles her with a bunch of stale, old songs she could be in trouble.

Audra is most likely to be the first Blake contestant sent home IMO. She is just dull and forgettable. Good singer but she is going to get lost in the sea of Bria, Christina, Tess, etc. on the show and Kristen and Jake W. are better and more interesting country singers than her IMO.

[picklesprite]

I agree with Blake's choices, too, although I think that if Maddy had another couple of years under her belt, she might have stayed a lot longer. I found it painful to watch such a young'n battle her nerves, and I wished she had waited at least another year to try out. Much admiration to her, though, for being brave and for doing as well as she did do.

 

[MizArk]

I called Blake's team before the show even aired, but I don't disagree with his choices. I don't see Sisandra winning because that big, over-emoted style is not necessarily relatable to voters. But the way the judges carried on every time she sang, I knew she was a shoe-in for the finals. Ryan I thought was good, but forgettable and little Madi just wasn't ready - I would actually have liked to see more of the young man she battled in the first round, though I've already forgotten his name. If Jake continues to improve, and with his sweet, aw-shucks personality, I could see him going farthest on Blake's team, though I'm not ready to call a winner yet. Looking forward to next week, since I've already forgotten half the people we're going to see again. As brutal as the cuts are, it will be so much easier to remember them when they're down to a dozen.

[leighdear]

I kept waiting for Chris Martin to show up....but he didn't....*sigh*....I miss the cute.

I think Sisaundra has a great voice, but is simply too mature for this competion.  I'm not ageist, but I just can't see her on a stadium tour and cranking out singles for radio play.  The type of performer that's wonderful to hear live at an intimate musical venue after a nice dinner.  

[kj4ever]

I kept waiting for Chris Martin to show up....but he didn't....*sigh*....I miss the cute.

I think Sisaundra has a great voice, but is simply too mature for this competion.  I'm not ageist, but I just can't see her on a stadium tour and cranking out singles for radio play.  The type of performer that's wonderful to hear live at an intimate musical venue after a nice dinner.  

I'm so hoping that Chris got his foot in the door and could possibly replace Adam for a season or two.  That would be AWESOME!

ITA about Sisaundra.  It sucks but it's true - the business belongs to the youth, unless you are already famous when you get of a certain age.

I really love Jake, and I can't stand country music.  He's just so earnest, you can't help but root for him.  I was rooting for Maddy too, but like others have said she just wasn't ready.  Aubrey? I think her name is.  Bleh.  She's got pipes on her but a return to that Tricia Yearwood type of music sounds more painful than shoving bamboo under my fingernaiils.

[SnarkGhost]

I think I could put up an argument for any combination of three finalists from Blake's team.   I think they are all good, but none of them really stood apart, except for maybe Sisaundra.

I was surprised to see Maddy go, just because Blake generally seems to like the soft/shy/quirky girls.  

I was sad to see Ryan go because I liked a lot of the songs that he chose for himself.  I'd like to see more rock music on the show.  But that's just personal taste, and its certainly not a robbery.

Sisaundra's age doesn't bug me.  I see this show as less of a star making enterprise and more of a musical entertainment show that just gives unknowns a chance to get more exposure.  I don't watch the show with an eye towards star potential.  I did watch the Rock Star seasons with that mindset for sure, but for some reason it doesn't happen with the Voice (for me).

[mjforty]

I think Sisaundra has a great voice, but is simply too mature for this competion.  I'm not ageist, but I just can't see her on a stadium tour and cranking out singles for radio play.  The type of performer that's wonderful to hear live at an intimate musical venue after a nice dinner.

I'm not so sure that Sisaundra couldn't have a very good career.  Youth may fuel the music industry but today's youth doesn't exactly buy the music.  The 45+ age group is actually the largest music buying demographic according to Consumer Trends (which I googled to make sure the facts I remembered from an article I had read a while ago was true).  Sisaundra is perfect for that age group.  And I like her (and admit to being over 45 so that probably helps).  I think she's a great performer.  She has the experience under her belt and she knows how to work a crowd.  While she may not be played on radio stations that play rap and/or Justin Bieber, she would definitely get played on adult contemporary radio stations.

Edited April 9, 2014 by mjforty

[daughtersofanarchy]

I would have chosen Ryan over Audra, but I knew Blake would pick Audra.  Really, I guess it doesn't matter anyway because I don't think either one of them would be likely to win this competition.

[viajero]

I can see what people are saying about Audra not standing out, but I actually liked her performance the best of the five.  She has a great voice.  On the other hand, I would have ranked Jake's performance at the bottom.  It wasn't bad, but their was nothing at all interesting about it either.  I think he sounds much better doing ballads.  In any case, he's so likable that I wouldn't be surprised if he makes it far.

[ToxicUnicorn]

I was all set to dislike Sisaundra, but she surprised the heck out of me by what she did with that last note.  It was interesting.  (Is there anyone with enough music background to tell me what she did?)  I also loved Blake reigning her in.  They are an odd contestant-coach couple that might possibly make good tv.  I think they have more potential to entertain than Adam with Javier, Judith, and Tessanne combined.

Damn if Jake didn't get me with his little speech about how his father raised him.  He also seemed convinced he was going home.  I loved how he took his hat off at the news that he was safe.

I know the song "Broken WIng" reasonably well, and I still couldn't understand Audra.  If I cared at all about her, I would want her to enunciate, but I don't - she bores me.  Also ... Martina McBride is considered classic country?  That did not compute.

I sort of loved that Adam tried to give some constructive criticism to Sisaundra.

I'm perfectly happy with Blake's choices.

[aradia22]

For once, I agreed with Blake completely. He had a strong team going into the playoffs but he chose the perfect people. Sisaundra was a no brainer. Jake still has a few performance issues to work through but as a country artist, there was no question that Blake would be able to sell him. I enjoyed Audra's performance though it wasn't perfect. I find Ryan to be a good singer but I've never wanted to look up his performances after they're over and for me, it was kind of a boring song choice that really only came alive with the high notes. And Madilyn wouldn't have been able to pull it together quickly enough to compete for the lives. Those kind of nerves might have cut it in earlier seasons but this version of The Voice has no patience for that.