S10.E17: Live Top 12 Performances

[Tara Ariano]

The Top 12 artists perform.

[InfiniteMystery]

For me, it's all about Adam and Shalyah. No one else made me look up from work.

I feel that Emily has a beautiful voice but everything she sings sounds like a dirge.

Edited April 19, 2016 by InfiniteMystery

[jjjmoss]

Emily peaked with the audition. I'm not sure what other songs would make her vocal stylings pleasing to listen to.

 

I feel weird that Adam was my favorite given how I feel about male country singers, but...no one else was impressive. I preferred Shalyah's Listen by far to her song this week.

Edited April 19, 2016 by jjjmoss

[roamyn]

Mary Sarah  She picks songs that she can’t vocally attain.  And she slows her weakness in understanding music because she doesn’t know how to make arrangements that would work for her voice.  She picks songs because she thinks they represent what she’s been through, vs. picking songs that are good for her voice.

Laith  Not one of our favorite songs, but he killed it and really showed his bluesy side.

Daniel  Did a decent job with Michael, and showed more personality onstage.  Was more middle of the road for us.

Nick  PLEASE VOTE HIM OFF THE STAGE/ISLAND. REALLY REALLY WEAK.  DAMN TEENY BOPPERS.

Adam Really enjoyed him tonight.  It was a great song for him, he was confident and he articulated better.

Emily  Beautiful song, gorgeously sung.  Her best performance.

Brian B.  Worst of the night.  He was breathless, the arrangement was all over the place, and he was pitchy.

Owen  Started off really weak and shy, but definitely picked it up mid-way through.  We could see his confidence gaining throughout the song.

Alison  It's apparent how far ahead and above she is when compared to the other 11.  No one comes close to touching her. 

Paxton  Better than last week, but still middle of the road.  At least’s infectious to watch.

Hannah  NO ONE SHOULD EVER ATTEMPT ETTA JAMES UNLESS YOU’RE JENNIFER HUDSON (or Jahmene from X Factor UK).  This was horrible!  All screaming.  We are so over Hannah.

Shaylah  Not one of her better performances.  We thought she was pitchy in several places, and she screamed far too much for this song.  At 15 she could strain her voice too much trying to constantly yell like that.

 

Our favorites in order were:
Alisan
Adam
Emily
Laith
Shaylah
Owen

 

 

American Idol may have gotten stagnant, but at least they knew how to give criticism, instead of commenting on their outfit or blathering platitudes.

[Primetimer]

The Top 12 perform, and Carson tries to get us hyped for what's yet to come.

Read the story

[kathyk24]

Emily peaked with the audition. I'm not sure what other songs would make her vocal stylings pleasing to listen to.

 

I feel weird that Adam was my favorite given how I feel about male country singers, but...no one else was impressive. I preferred Shalyah's Listen by far to her song this week.

I like Emily but I thought that song stunk. I loved everyone on Team Blake Laith and Alisan.

[Morgan of Hed]

Nice to hear a Buckley cover (of a cover) that's not Cohen. One of my favourites off of Grace, chokes me up when I hear it. She was getting pretty worked up singing it.

Most everybody else is subscribing to the motto "if it's worth singing, it's worth oversinging".

[Muffyn]

On first glance I thought those were glowing dildoes surrounding Owen. That added a level of interest that had been missing.

[rollerblade]

Emily peaked with the audition. I'm not sure what other songs would make her vocal stylings pleasing to listen to.

 

Evanescence - My Immortal

Annie Lennox - Dark Road

 

Sadly those are the only 2 songs I can think of. Incidentally, both songs have similar structure, start out somber and haunting, into a more "rock-out" climax.... which probably works well for a competition.

Edited April 19, 2016 by rollerblade

[Padma]

Good thing? I didn't know a lot of the songs. Bad thing? Most of them didn't seem to go anywhere vocally. (And those that could have--like Mary Sarah's or Hannah's weren't sung well).

 

Maybe I'm getting old. I was disappointed by nearly everyone, even my usual favorites like Owen and ones who could break out at any week imo, like Emily.  Alisan was better than the rest, and I'd keep Laith and Adam, too, just because they've been among my favorites and weren't awful (though I wish the band was quieter, especially when Laith was singing. The mix was very uneven.)

 

Disappointing night, but I think it was mostly from the poor song choices rather than the singing.

[anonymiss]

Christina has great critiques but with her own team she just goes into kind of desperate salesgirl mode. She gets so pleading to get us to vote for them but instead of telling us to, show us why we should with your own passion for the performance (not just for keeping this person around b/c of your anecdotes of how much you like them). This was very evident in Bryan's critique when you compare Pharrell's comments to hers. 

 

Maybe the others do this too but I notice it from her a lot. I think it's much more effective to let the audience think it's their idea based on evidence you give them like a technical critique rather than outright emotional appeals.

Edited April 19, 2016 by anonymiss

[Morgan of Hed]

I can't parse a critique out of what they are saying. The comments range from effusive praise to embarrassingly over the top fawning. I guess getting a mere "you were great" is the new code for "pitchy, Dawg".

[TheGreenKnight]

The only contestant I like is Adam. He has that Travis Tritt sound that I love. With Stapleton being pretty big right now, I could see him winning.

 

From what I've read in several places, Alisan has a lot of hype, but I don't get it. I don't care for anyone on Christina's team, unfortunately.

[bluepiano]

The only contestant I like is Adam. He has that Travis Tritt sound that I love. With Stapleton being pretty big right now, I could see him winning.

 

From what I've read in several places, Alisan has a lot of hype, but I don't get it. I don't care for anyone on Christina's team, unfortunately.

 

I'm not into country, at least contemporary country, but I relate to Adam as a performer in the southern blues rock tradition. Greg Allman is a favorite singer of mine (and very underrated, IMO), and I'd love to hear Adam sing "Sweet Melissa." I also did not know he played keys. I loved the little organ intro. Funny how we hear things through our own filters. Pharrell heard it as gospel. I flashed on Ray Charles. (not that Ray didn't have gospel influences).

 

Alisan has crazy vocal chops for sure, but since "Blue Bayou" everything she sings is overwrought and over-the-top. Tonight I thought she was having convulsions. She should listen to early Barbara Streisand to hear a singer who also had incredible range but knew how to use it selectively. (But of course Christina is not one to encourage restraint.)

 

I didn't like Owen's song choice, but it was probably a smart decision to do something completely out of the coffee house folk singer box.

 

I understand why some people may be getting bored and/or frustrated with Emily, but for me she has an indefinable special quality that makes me want to see her stick around. I think there may be a truly magical performance down the road.

 

I hope that we can say goodbye to Nick. Again. But the director seemed to be working overtime to keep him around. Last week it was the shots of the cute son. Tonight we get the beaming beautiful wife as he sings her a love song. There's definitely a voting bloc that's fueled by warm fuzzy sentiment. If they save Nick, then I think Paxton becomes the most likely to go.

 

American Idol may have gotten stagnant, but at least they knew how to give criticism, instead of commenting on their outfit or blathering platitudes.

 

Tonight the coaches made even less sense than usual. WTF was that stuff about aliens that Adam was babbling? Even Hannah couldn't keep from rolling her eyes. And Pharrell..."improvisional" is not a word. And please stop acting like a singer coming from Nebraska is the most astonishing, amazing thing ever. And that its poor, downtrodden inhabitants have been desperately waiting for a Voice contestant to inspire them to do something besides pick corn.

Edited April 19, 2016 by bluepiano

[viajero]

While not a great night, I do think it was a step up from the live playoffs.  At least we got 5 performances that I thought were quite good, even if none of them were truly outstanding.  Taking them in order:

 

Mary Sarah - She doesn't really have the vocal chops for that song and it came off a bit bland, but it was still a significant improvement over last week. (C )

 

Laith Al-Saadi - A decent blues bar rendition a classic, but he really needs to commit as much to his vocals as he does his guitar.  It kind of takes me out the song when he sometimes lets his voice trail off as he focuses on playing. It's obvious where his heart is. (B-)

 

Daniel Passino - Back to being his cheesy self on stage.  He started okay vocally, but it went downhill quickly ending in that very weak extended falsetto. (C-)

 

Emily Keener - By far my favorite performance of hers so far.  I liked the out of left field song choice and the emotion she put into her performance, even if this meant it wasn't vocally perfect.  Overall, I found this performance to be a refreshing change from what we usually get on this show.  I now want to see her doing something more contemporary. (B+)

 

Nick Hagelin -  He has decent stage presence, but he also demonstrated that he has the weakest vocals of the Top 12.   That was a total mess and it made me all the more bitter that he took the place of Ryan (or even Kata for that matter).  Unfortunately I suspect he's going to ride that cute wife and kid for several more weeks. (D)

 

Adam Wakefield -  I thought this was his best performance yet.  He's a very good vocalist.  But I also don't find him to be all that unique or exceptional.  This of course means that he will probably win (and then promptly disappear). (B+)

 

Bryan Bautista - This was disappointing after his last two very good performances.  I put it down to poor song selection.  But I still think he may have the most commercial potential of the Top 12.  He just needs to get back to doing songs that have some groove to them. (C+)

 

Owen Danoff - I liked that he tried to give a more lively performance.  But I did not like that song for him.  He was straining too much towards the end and lost a bit of vocal control. (B-)

 

Alisan Porter -  Probably the best of the night.  I wanted to see if she could pull off something more contemporary and she did.  She clearly connected with the song and was technically perfect as usual.  But I also find her upper register to be a bit reedy (particularly compared to Hannah and Shalyah). (A-)

 

Paxton Ingram - A bad song sung badly.  The worst of the night. (D-)

 

Hannah Huston -  A significant improvement over last week.  I really like her voice, the intensity with which she performs and what she tried to do with the song.  But she needs to get away from doing the Kimberly Nichole song list. (B+) (I gave Kimberly an A- for the same song back in Season 8)

 

Shalyah Feering - I really enjoyed this performance.  Though she still has room for improvement, her natural talent is undeniable. (B+)

 

Overall, I think that Alisan, Hannah, Adam, and Shalyah confirmed their position at the top of the pack, with Emily, Laith, Owen and Bryan somewhere behind and within a couple of good performances of joining them.  The rest can go home tomorrow as far as I'm concerned.

 

Should be Bottom 3:  Paxton, Nick and Daniel

Will be Bottom 3: Paxton, Daniel and Bryan

Edited April 19, 2016 by viajero

[MaryPatShelby]

American Idol may have gotten stagnant, but at least they knew how to give criticism, instead of commenting on their outfit or blathering platitudes.

So much this.  There is just no way these 12 singers are perfect in every way, yet that's what comes across listening to the coaches. The lives should be one of the best parts of the show, but the lack of any constructive criticism or recognition of a not-great performance just ruins it.

[Jextella]

The judges' comments are so boring now-a-days.  They eat into the show far too much.  Something needs to change there.  Maybe show us more practice time with the judges and less commentary after the performances.

 

Adam and Alisan are in leagues of their own, though I'm not sure I want to wish winning on them, 'cause it's seems to be a bit of a curse. 

[Ketzel]

American Idol may have gotten stagnant, but at least they knew how to give criticism, instead of commenting on their outfit or blathering platitudes.

They may have known how to give criticism, but they often didn't. I think that's why they started the whole idea of having a "mentor" to give performance feedback. Of course, the model "mentor" was Randy Jackson, so the comments weren't actually helpful. (And you always knew with both Paula and J-Lo that if they started their comments with how great the contestants looked, or how well they were dressed, that they HATED the singing!)

I think the real problem The Voice has is caused by the team structure. No one wants to give a real critique to their own singer for fear that the audience will hear it as a reason not to vote for him/her. "Hey, if even Pharrell thought she didn't quite get into the pocket of the groove and should have warmed up her lower register more, she must have been really bad!" No one wants to give a real critique to another team's singer for fear that it will start a war of nasty comments aimed at their own team. "Hey, you thought my singer was off-key in the intro? Well, at least he got back on pitch within a few bars and it was obviously just a little nervousness, not a fatal flaw. YOUR singer couldn't hit the note with a baseball bat. Which is funny because he claims to have played semi-pro baseball in Europe, or something?"

Other than Alisan and Adam, this week's recordings aren't exactly setting the iTunes chart on fire.

Edited April 19, 2016 by Ketzel

[PamelaMaeSnap]

I am in the super-tiny minority here so I will share my unpopular opinion and take my lumps ...

 

I thought Emily was absolutely dreadful.  Before hearing any of the judges' comments, before reading the generally anywhere from lukewarm-to-glowing responses, I thought she was extremely uncomfortable, close to being off key, singing WAY too hard and just cringeworthy. 

 

I get it that she is a special unicorn and I think she is quite lovely to look at but I have never thought she was a very good singer or, more specifically, a good musician.  I don't think she has any real feel for the rhythms or musicality of anything.  And I think she's been going downhill fast.  I'll be surprised at this rate (since she will keep getting voted through) if she still has a voice in 3 weeks. Maybe I feel this way because my daughter is/was a singer-songwriter and is friends with so many beautiful young women who do what Emily does but a million times better. (Not referring to my kid in comps to Emily but rather her female friends who could be up there in that slot instead.)

 

Also, I suspect of everyone in the Top 12, Laith is probably the best AT WHAT HE DOES but I can't stand listening to him/his style/his songs so I actually mute the TV when he's on.  I am sure he's a great guy and in a way I hope he goes pretty far because at least it is a not overdone genre and I respect it, I just don't like it. 

 

I thought pretty much everyone had a rough night.  I don't really expect any of the performances to either shake someone into voting for someone they hadn't voted for before, or turning them off of their favorites.

[Morgan of Hed]

I think in Emily's case I may be blinded by my love of the song and admiration for her being ballsy enough to pick something that 99% of viewers won't recognize.  It's from 1950 and been covered by a lot of famous singers including Nina Simone, but she was pretty much doing the Jeff Buckley version note for note.  He's not exactly the classic accurate singer, either.

[Noreaster]

Had the show on as background so not completely paying attention but some things that stood out:

 

-I think it's hilarious how Pharrell, for the second week in a row, is pushing so hard for people to vote for Laith. I personally like Laith and that he brings something different to the show but he's not really that amazing to me.  Pharrell's pitches make Adam's commentary afterwards kind of lackluster.  

 

-Emily's performance reminded me of Madi Davis.  I really appreciate their artistry when I watch although I have no desire to see their performances a second time.

 

-Owen is interesting.  I first only listened to his performance of the overplayed (on the radio) "7 Years" song and didn't think it was that great.  But then I rewatched because I was confused why Adam was so excited about it.  Found it so much more compelling to watch how Owen really does seem to feel the song and was throwing himself into the performance.  

 

-Like another poster mentioned, I did notice how Christina is reverting back to her pitches (dating back to seasons 3-5) where she goes on and on about her contestants but not about the performances themselves.  Not really compelling.  

 

-I cracked up at Hannah mouthing "crazy" when Adam was commenting on her performance and describing her "alien" moves.  

Edited April 19, 2016 by Noreaster

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Comments based on listening to the youtube clips alphabetically (minus Alisan, of course).

 

Adam, only one with a remote chance to knock off Alisan. At some point though, the working musician thing might be a knock against him. He's just so zoned into the neo-Chris Stapleton style of country. I'd still love for Blake to throw us a curveball and have him do a completely out of left field song choice. Even if only it was a current "poppier" country song by a female country artist like Kelsea Ballerini or someone similar.

 

Bryan, Except for one high set of power notes it didn't have the bombast or grandeur needed for KFAR. Wish he could have spun it in a more stripped down, urban (Weekend-ish) feel.

 

Daniel, Oh god, enough with the cheesy paint-by-numbers dance moves and pointy arms at the audience. Thanks for bringing this guy back over Emily, Caity and Moushumi, America. Although if you locked him in a recording studio, and just had him sing over a random electro/dance/dubstep track and we never actually had to see him....it might not be terrible if you produced it to high hell.

 

Emily, Well I can see why this one is one of the more polarizing performances of the night. I like Emily's voice except at the very top of her range and when she tries belt in full voice. Then it gets all kinds of unpleasant. I thought 75% of this was really solid (and she was digging as deep as she could emotionally), but the remaining 25% wasn't great and why she would be a "developmental" project of an artist in every sense of the word.

 

Hannah, I really hate Pharrell's (I'm assuming he picked it not her) song choices most of the time. She's devolving too much into a caricature of female soul singer. I thought her blind of Unaware was great because it seemed authentic to her and a little unassuming. Now she's just too forced and too manifactured. Her styling didn't help matters. I'll think she's got a few more weeks before she'd end up in the danger zone, I'd really love to have her tackle something fun and winsome where she didn't feel the need to crank the "soul" up to 11.

 

Laith, He and Adam share a lot of similarities. They've both been doing this for so long that their stage performance personas are pretty locked in. As someone upthread mentioned it was a little distracting to see Laith pull his face off the mic at the end of each phrase to really hit those ending guitar licks. I enjoy his music so he's a little better than middle of the road for me....I think he will get to the death semifinal week or whenever it is they cut from 8 down to 4.

 

Mary Sarah, Hey...she got a song released in the last 20 years. Whoot. Hmm...I thought this was alright. Not a home run or a strikeout....just a solid single or double. She can make her voice sound contemporary country which is definitely a good thing for her moving forward. She also didn't seem particularly comfortable riffing or vocal ad-libbing to fill in some of the space that song has...

 

Nick, Getting a very 2nd rate boyband balladeer (like O-Town or LFO) vibe from Nick here. Mostly there's just no "there" there. I'd say he's a candidate to go, but the guy pulled the 2nd most votes on Xtina's team which makes that seem unlikely.

 

Owen, Well this was a very different style song for him. Not familiar with the original, but it had the feeling of some of these indie-pop songs that borrow heavily from rap or hip hop cadences throughout the song (like Halsey's Ghost or Alessia Cara's Here). Pretty impressed with Owen's take on it. Not having the guitar gave him a different presence, maybe not a great one for the first thirty seconds or so. He was in it by the end though.

 

Paxton, Does anyone remember Moses, the actual rapper that Christina had on her team in maybe S2? Paxton made me think of him, because I'm not sure you can judge Paxton by any of the same metrics you might be able to judge the other 11 singers. He has almost no range to speak of, but yet he has different vocal inflections and embellishments to keep his songs from sounding completely one track. He's a breath of fresh air compared to the oversingers...and I respect that his vision of what he wants to be as an artist may not exactly jive with what the Voice asks of it's contestants.....but he's going to ride the wave as long as he can.

 

Shalyah, Oh look....a gospel spiritual song at the Top 12 week. Yay. And speaking of oversinging, her's officially kicked in at the 1:10 second mark. Not a fan, but am resigning myself to her making the finale.

 

I'll say Paxton goes, but would gladly keep him around for a couple more weeks to get rid of each of the two Coach comeback singers. Also would desperately love to see the Voice bring in one or two independent voices each week starting at the Top 24 to provide the contestants constructive criticism along with the cheerleading they get from everyone except Christina (and Adam on rare occassions)...

Edited April 19, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Adusk81]

Not really sure why there isn't more coach intervention with some of these song choices. Mary and Hannah both should have been told "no. That song is not for you." Mary doesn't have the voice to take on Carrie underwood and Hannah came off cheesy and amateurish. They are both good singers and could have benefited from some better song choice guidance. I'd say the same about Paxton and Bryan but they bore me to death so I don't care. Alisan is amazing but if she could tone it down just a tad I feel like she would be even better. Shalya had a killer voice and really has the koryn Hawthorne arc going but she also needs to tone it down. The way Kelly does that song is so moving and it just didn't come across even close to that here. It's like Adam is telling her to compete with Alisan by over singing everything and Christina is telling Alisan to counter attack, thus losing some of the more tender moments of these songs. They're both great tho and I fully expect them and Wakefield to be in finale with the fourth being either Hannah or Mary if they can get their shit together. Also, Nick needs to bounce like yesterday. His white boy thug shtick is so beyond tired. Almost as bad as Daniel and his cheese whiz all over the stage act.

[viajero]

The iTunes chart for this week:

 

#7 Adam Wakefield - Soulshine
#9 Alisan Porter - Stone Cold
#27 Emily Keener - Lilac Wine
#40 Nick Hagelin - Mine Would Be You
#41 Hannah Huston - Something’s Got a Hold On Me
#45 Laith Al-Saadi - Born Under a Bad Sign
#46 Owen Danoff - 7 Years
#47 Shalyah Fearing - Up To the Mountain
#71 Bryan Bautista - Kiss From a Rose
#79 Daniel Passino - Human Nature
#87 Mary Sarah - So Small

 

Adam and Alisan clearly dominated, with Emily in a solid 3rd place.  Then you have a bunch of people grouped together in the 40's (though I still can't figure out who is buying Nick's songs).  Bryan, Daniel, Mary and Paxton (who didn't even make the Top 100) are bringing up the rear.  One would suppose that the bottom 3 will come from among these last 4 artists.  I'd really like to see Daniel go home, but it's probably going to come down to their save performances.

 

As is often the case on The Voice, the pros have an edge over the amateurs.  Adam and Alison (as well as Laith) know what they are about, while most of the rest are just figuring it out.  I think Emily is the classic example of this last.  She has great range and I like the way she sounds when she hits those sustained high and low notes.  Her problem is that her transitions can be pretty rough and she doesn't always make the right choices. It makes me wish she had a more hands on coach.  Pharrell doesn't seem to be helping her much.  I also wish Hannah had a different coach.  She doesn't need as much help with structuring her vocal performances, but she does need better advice on what types of songs she should be doing.

[Padma]

If they have to make drastic cuts I wish they'd do it this week rather than later on. If Daniel, Nick, and Paxton left, I'd never notice they were gone. The "bring back artists" idea was really a failure this season.

 

I would have so much preferred that they kept some of the decent singers longer (Ryan, Kata, Joe, and Katie, for example). They are all so much better in every way than Daniel, Nick and Paxton.

[Padma]

The iTunes chart for this week:

 

#7 Adam Wakefield - Soulshine

#9 Alisan Porter - Stone Cold

#27 Emily Keener - Lilac Wine

#40 Nick Hagelin - Mine Would Be You

#41 Hannah Huston - Something’s Got a Hold On Me

#45 Laith Al-Saadi - Born Under a Bad Sign

#46 Owen Danoff - 7 Years

#47 Shalyah Fearing - Up To the Mountain

#71 Bryan Bautista - Kiss From a Rose

#79 Daniel Passino - Human Nature

#87 Mary Sarah - So Small

 

Adam and Alisan clearly dominated, with Emily in a solid 3rd place.  Then you have a bunch of people grouped together in the 40's (though I still can't figure out who is buying Nick's songs).  Bryan, Daniel, Mary and Paxton (who didn't even make the Top 100) are bringing up the rear.  One would suppose that the bottom 3 will come from among these last 4 artists.  I'd really like to see Daniel go home, but it's probably going to come down to their save performances.

Thank you for this list. I'm fine with the four at the bottom, although Mary Sarah isn't going anywhere and I think she still does have the potential to do something really good.  Bryan, too.  Seems like Paxton will be gone, but I wouldn't mind if Daniel, the bring back singer, went first instead and gave Paxton another week.

 

I can't help wondering if Nick might have chosen Blake's song to try to save himself with country voters, knowing Blake would never say, "That s*cked, dude." He's got a loyal following and people might have bought that song more because they like Blake Shelton than because they liked Nick's version of it.

[bluepiano]

Laith Al-Saadi - A decent blues bar rendition a classic, but he really needs to commit as much to his vocals as he does his guitar.  It kind of takes me out the song when he sometimes lets his voice trail off as he focuses on playing. It's obvious where his heart is. (B-)

 

Daniel Passino - Back to being his cheesy self on stage.  He started okay vocally, but it went downhill quickly ending in that very weak extended falsetto. (C-)

 

I'm a piano player who started singing as well later in life, and learning to transition from singing to playing and back (the blues has that "call and response" structure) was a challenge.  But i would think that by this time Laith should have it down better. My theory is that he's not used to playing with that kind of large back-up back, which included another guitarist also playing some solo runs, and that threw off his timing.

 

"Born under a Bad Sign" is  a song I do, so I was struck by Laith's deviation from the standard lyrics. Instead of "whiskey and women, all I crave" Laith sang "hard luck and trouble, all I crave." Did they think that craving whiskey and women was inappropriate for a family show? In any event, saying that you crave hard luck and trouble makes no sense. I would find it hard to believe that he actually forget the lyric and threw in the first thing that came into his head, since I'm sure it's a song he's sung hundreds of times. (There is also a version by Homer on the old "Simpsons Sing the Blues" album, in which he sings "big bag of pork rinds going to carry me to my crave.")

 

Agree about Daniel and the cheese factor. He comes across as very amateurish compared to most of the other contestants. He's like the young, inexperienced singers they have on American Idol, who often seem like kids play acting being a grown-up singer.

 

Since I DVR the show, I generally fast forward through the worthless, repetitive coach comments. I know that Pharrell is going to tell America that they need to vote for everyone.

Edited April 19, 2016 by bluepiano

[pivot]

Last season, I voted and downloaded songs. All of my favorites got knocked out, and Barret Baber went to the finale. Over it . . .

Man, I forgot about Barret. I still can't believe how bad that guy sucked.

I am over Pharrell trying to push singers into doing gospel songs on the show. I still contend that is what sent Koryn (sp?) home.

I really only liked Allisan, Owen and Shaylah.

I have a feeling Adam is going to win the show and I just can't with him. He bores the crap out of me, but so does most country music and we've been stuck with Blake's country contestants way too long for the past 6 seasons.

Nick and Daniel were horrible but will get the white guy benefit of the doubt from voters.

I'd love to see Laith, Adam and Mary Sarah in the bottom three.

What will actually happen is Bryan, Paxton, Shaylah in the bottom 3.

[Nedsdag]

I thought pretty much everyone had a rough night.  I don't really expect any of the performances to either shake someone into voting for someone they hadn't voted for before, or turning them off of their favorites.

My thoughts exactly! The only singers that got my attention were Adam and Hannah and even she nearly blew it. Lord knows I am trying to like Alisan, but she is not connecting with me. I know that Demi Lovato song is emotional, but Alisan brought too much drama for me in the song. Maybe it's all the years in front of a camera or on stage or the pent up anger from rehab. Daniel was my dark horse, but what a disappointment. He did more preening than singing and his falsetto at the end sounded like a prisoner being water boarded in Guantanamo Bay.

 

Watching these performances showed the errors the coaches made in choosing their teams this year. I know Christina's team was loaded this season, but I wonder if she could go back in her Delorean and switch Shalyah and Joe for Tamar and Kata, how would that have worked out? I know Pharrell had Shalyah as well, but Christina gets my wrath for this one. Or when Joe fell into Blake's lap, perhaps loyalty goes out the window and he chooses him instead of Paxton who shit the bed tonight in his performance.

 

Adam, please put a guitar back in Starland Vocal Owen's hands. He's no Bieber. And the gasps he made during 7 Years made him sound like he forgot the words.

Edited April 19, 2016 by Nedsdag

[basiltherat]

I have always been inordinately fond of "Afternoon Delight" so I threw all my votes to Owen. I don't know if he'll be able to survive here in Oversinging Hell, but maybe the exposure will get him better gigs. And I've always held out that "winning" The Voice is not the best gig of all, but the exposure could be (see the Swon Brothers as the best example).

[PamelaMaeSnap]

1) He did more preening than singing and his falsetto at the end sounded like a prisoner being water boarded in Guantanamo Bay.

 

2)  Adam, please put a guitar back in Starland Vocal Owen's hands. 

 

 

1) *** THANK YOU FOR THE BAI ALL OVER MY KEYBOARD!

 

2) *** OR A BASS.  HE'S A FANTASTIC BASSIST.

 

And re: Basiltherat's post above this, I'm just happy that Owen has made it this far ... feeling very optimistic that this will nail him a good deal and get his own music out into the gen-pop.  He's a great songwriter and multi-instrumentalist and this is just fantastic exposure for him.

Edited April 19, 2016 by PamelaMaeSnap

[ChicksDigScars]

Ugh...Starland Vocal Band...Afternoon Delight. One of the horrors of my childhood. I may have been a kid, but whenever that song (or Seasons in the Sun) came on, I would race for the tuner (or car radio button) so fast that I actually broke my clock radio by knocking it on the floor. NOOOOOOO. COVERS EARS WITH HANDS. 

 

Even mentioning them makes that ear worm come flooding into my head.  MAKE. IT. STOP.

 

Oh, content. GO ADAM (not Levine). 

[tpplay]

 

I threw all my votes to Owen. I don't know if he'll be able to survive here in Oversinging Hell, but maybe the exposure will get him better gigs.

 

Oversinging in Hell indeed.  

 

I'm a relatively forgiving listener, but last night I was flabbergasted at how little I liked pretty much everyone. Several performances bored me starting with Mary's right off the top.  And Owen's.  Eeek.  And I love folk music - I came of age in the 60s.  Adam too.  So boring. Nice voice though and at least he wasn't singing about angels or sisters or whatever. 

 

Emily was - I don't know what - she sounded like a musical instrument as opposed to a singer, demonstrating that she could (or could not) correctly reproduce a note.  

 

Hannah was frustrating for me.  She sings beautifully quirkily - she does not need to oversing. From what I can tell through the reedy shrieking, neither does Allison.  Use the hell of an instrument you are lucky to have had bestowed on you.  And Shaylah is always oversinging I think - but I do like her passion and genuine emotion. (THAT I find unusual in a girl her age.)

 

Paxton was cute in his way but I've heard him full out sing, so why doesn't he do that?  

 

Nick, to be honest, I actually liked last week but this week, I listened with my mouth gaping open.  That may have been the worst

performance I've seen on this show.  

 

I like Daniel's voice but I've not liked any of his performances.

 

So.  Leith.  Just like him a lot all the time, although I was a bit underwhelmed tonight.  I would buy an album of his so I supposed it wouldn't kill me to download one of his songs.  Tonight notwithstanding, he and Owen and Hannah are my favorites.  At this point, the judges are my least favorites.

 

In conclusion:

 

Shout out to VIAJERO and PHD PURGATORY 15 - loved your posts, such well-articulated takes - they didn't agree with each other (or with me) particularly but I really enjoyed reading them and am inspired by them to go back and re-listen to a few things.  Thanks, fellow posters.

 

Bryan?  Bafflingly - very nearly flat out bad.  Nerves?  

[Morgan of Hed]

One would hope there are some real critiques happening behind the scenes.

[Ketzel]

"Born under a Bad Sign" is  a song I do, so I was struck by Laith's deviation from the standard lyrics. Instead of "whiskey and women, all I crave" Laith sang "hard luck and trouble, all I crave." Did they think that craving whiskey and women was inappropriate for a family show? In any event, saying that you crave hard luck and trouble makes no sense. I would find it hard to believe that he actually forget the lyric and threw in the first thing that came into his head, since I'm sure it's a song he's sung hundreds of times.

I think he did get lost in the lyrics for a moment. You can see in his face (at 1:35 in the video) that something went a little off and then he picks up the lyric at "all I crave." There's an off-rhythm pause just before he sings "hard luck and trouble." He rushes the tempo and then gets back to the correct lyric and timing a second later.

[JenFromCincy]

I downloaded Adam, because I'm a Southern rock junkie.  Outside of him, I've liked Alisan up to this point as well, but didn't like last night's performance from her.  Laith I assumed changed the words purposefully due to religious reasons, but you know what they say about assuming and I may just be an a...

 

I liked Owen better singing folk music.  His voice is better suited for it than contemporary songs, in my opinion.  I think Hannah has a good voice, but I tire of being screamed at.  It makes me feel nothing in the end.  I don't get the Shalyah fascination.  She's young and sounds it to me, and there's a weird sibilance in her pronunciation that's not quite a lisp, but throws me off every time she says a word with an "s", which was rather often last night. 

[bluepiano]

I think he did get lost in the lyrics for a moment. You can see in his face (at 1:35 in the video) that something went a little off and then he picks up the lyric at "all I crave." There's an off-rhythm pause just before he sings "hard luck and trouble." He rushes the tempo and then gets back to the correct lyric and timing a second later.

 

There were a few times when he got behind the beat and had to rush to catch up. Really surprising coming from such an experienced musician, so maybe he's feeling some nerves, or like I conjectured earlier, the band was throwing him off.

 

Hard to believe that someone with religious beliefs that prevent singing about booze or sex would choose blues as their genre. :)

 

I'm glad to see that a lot of other people are not on the Alisan bandwagon. I actually prefer Hannah. I like her tone more, and she doesn't strain her voice to hit the glory notes. But the Etta James cover was only so-so. Her voice didn't have enough grit, so it sounded a little loungey. And dare I say it, white.

Edited April 19, 2016 by bluepiano

[Ketzel]

I downloaded Adam, because I'm a Southern rock junkie.  Outside of him, I've liked Alisan up to this point as well, but didn't like last night's performance from her.  Laith I assumed changed the words purposefully due to religious reasons, but you know what they say about assuming and I may just be an a...

.

Well, there is a great youtube video of him singing it with the original BB King lyrics intact, so I don't think it was a religious edit.

[JenFromCincy]

Well, there is a great youtube video of him singing it with the original BB King lyrics intact, so I don't think it was a religious edit.

Like I said, I'd probably wind up looking like an "a"...and in record time no less. ;) 

[PamelaMaeSnap]

Like I said, I'd probably wind up looking like an "a"...and in record time no less. ;) 

 

LM "a" O ... but I think it was a legit "a"ssumption and one that, while I hadn't thought of it (figuring it was a network call), made potential sense as well.

 

Laith seems like an extremely cool guy ... I wish I liked his music.

[saber5055]

Whomever coined "Oversinging Hell" pegged this show and what it promotes, 120 percent. I admire someone who can stand and sing a clear and clean song without going through histrionics and contortions, screaming lyrics, and showing us they can sing way down here and way, way up there. That's why I'm rooting for Owen, although I don't see him lasting much longer since this show is all about Oversinging Hell, not a clear-voiced talent.

 

As for "Afternoon Delight," I have my own college memories of that song. And I don't see where it has anything to do with Owen, as long as (please, gods, no) he isn't forced to sing it. Let's leave it as his dad's starburst.

 

After watching all the shooting flames, over emoting, screaming/dancing singers and over produced numbers on this show, it was strangely refreshing to watch a PBS rerun of Simon and Garfunkel's Concert in the Park. You know: Just two guys who stood and sang, clear-voiced, talented. Made me miss the good old days (Afternoon Delight not withstanding).

Edited April 19, 2016 by saber5055

[jjjmoss]

What makes the Swon Brothers the best example to show that not winning is great? I mean, a #28 album and one Hot 100 charting song is not...terrible, but not something, say, Cassadee or Danielle would be jealous of. Or a couple of contestants who had mild chart success at that level before the show.

 

If any loser would be someone whose success would be cool to have, maybe Melanie Martinez? She has the best Youtube success, fwiw, plus a #6 album.

[roamyn]

I'd love to hear Owen sing 'Wildfire' by Michael Murphy.

[MaryPatShelby]

Whomever coined "Oversinging Hell" pegged this show and what it promotes, 120 percent. I admire someone who can stand and sing a clear and clean song without going through histrionics and contortions, screaming lyrics, and showing us they can sing way down here and way, way up there.

"Showing us".....that's what almost every singer says in their package. "I want to show America/my coach that I can sing way down here/way way up there/without dancing/with dancing/something out of my comfort zone/blah blah blah." NO. Sing something within your wheelhouse that showcases your singing and your talent, and stop worrying about what you need to show America. America wants you to sound good; it doesn't care to be shown stuff you can't do.

Rant over.

[viajero]

Whomever coined "Oversinging Hell" pegged this show and what it promotes, 120 percent. I admire someone who can stand and sing a clear and clean song without going through histrionics and contortions, screaming lyrics, and showing us they can sing way down here and way, way up there. That's why I'm rooting for Owen, although I don't see him lasting much longer since this show is all about Oversinging Hell, not a clear-voiced talent.

 

As for "Afternoon Delight," I have my own college memories of that song. And I don't see where it has anything to do with Owen, as long as (please, gods, no) he isn't forced to sing it. Let's leave it as his dad's starburst.

 

After watching all the shooting flames, over emoting, screaming/dancing singers and over produced numbers on this show, it was strangely refreshing to watch a PBS rerun of Simon and Garfunkel's Concert in the Park. You know: Just two guys who stood and sang, clear-voiced, talented. Made me miss the good old days (Afternoon Delight not withstanding).

 

I guess I've come to expect the oversinging.  It's the nature of the show. Its what gets the contestants the standing ovations. As Adam told Leith, subtle doesn't work well.  Owen is a good example.  He was going along doing nice understated performances and ended up having to be saved by his coach.  So this week Adam tried to get him to open up.  The net result was that he tried to go for notes that were not quite in his reach and sounded strained.  Few if any contestants on a show like this one are going to have the vocal talent of an Art Garfunkel, who can be captivating while just standing behind the mike singing.

 

Given the general prevalence of oversinging, what I look for are contestants who (1) don't sound strained when reaching for notes or (2) show an ability to reign it in and show some dynamics during the performance rather than go all out 100% from beginning to end, and (3) show some connection to what they are singing. 

[PamelaMaeSnap]

Especially since if they are signed (win or no win), they're going to be making an album (do people even still use that word or am I showing my age?) that will highlight everything they do best ... 

 

I understand that the history of American Idol has made a habit of making contestants jump through hoops and have theme nights etc. (which has caused some of the most cringeworthy moments in reality TV history crocodile rock), but while I have not been a regular watcher of The Voice (only tuned in this season because i knew a contestant and now I'm hooked), it seems like they just want singers who are GOOD AT WHAT THEY DO.  Whatever that may be.  

[bluepiano]

I guess I've come to expect the oversinging.  It's the nature of the show. Its what gets the contestants the standing ovations. As Adam told Leith, subtle doesn't work well. 

 

I found Sawyer Fredericks rather boring, but he did at least manage to cruise to victory being true to his personal style, which was the opposite of oversinging. But in general, the coaches/judges on all the singing competition shows encourage contestants to treat singing as if it were an Olympic sport. You win by holding a note the longest, hitting the highest note, throwing in the most runs in a single line of lyrics etc.

 

This season I keep waiting for one of the coaches to encourage some restraint, or extol the virtue of staying on the melody, but apparently it ain't gonna happen. In fact, at some of the worst examples of oversinging the camera cuts to the judges, nodding in delight or even jumping out of their chairs. Yesterday, at one of the points where Alisan shrieked and completely lost the melody, they cut to Christina looking like she was having an orgasm.

[simplyme]

I didn't watch the show live.  I was in the middle of a good book, and it was more important to me to find out who lived and died in the literary world than who slaughtered a song or soared to new heights.  I ended up just watching the performances on YouTube sans coach commentary or any filler, and my comments are based on that.

Alphabetical order:

Adam-  Good song choice, good performance.  He's definitely hauling in both pure country and southern rock fan votes.  Nice to see him play piano.  That deep, a little bit gritty voice just really works.

Alisan- Stone Cold is very much an over-the-top emotional song.  Alisan may actually have shown more restraint in that area than Demi herself does, and I found myself impressed because the song could easily have sounded like an uncontrolled mess.  (I'm sure some people thought it did, but the way the song is written, I'm not sure how to dodge that completely.)  I could have done with a few less embellishments, but, eh, Team Xtina.  It would be nice to see her do a quiet ballad for a change.

Bryan- Oh.  This song.  A letdown from the previous two weeks.

Daniel- I'm still laughing at the Love Boat Captain outfit and whatever those moves were.  I barely noticed the song, except that it was boring, clear, and inoffensive, which is what's gotten him this far.

Emily- This may have been my favorite performance of the night, which surprised me since she's bored me to tears except for her blind audition.  It was creative and gorgeous.

Hannah- I had trouble with this performance because I'm very familiar with Xtina's version.  This one was a lower key and a different melody (presumably because Hannah lacks XTina's range). So I'm not sure if she really was flat or if I was simply expecting different notes and couldn't adjust.  I'll have to depend on others' opinions. 

Laith- Did his thing.  Big, deep voice. Better guitar skills.

Mary Sarah- Well, I liked her outfit and the song was recent.  Unfortunately it was also Carrie Underwood, and that comparison didn't do MS any favors. Wince.

Nick- To me this was clearly the best Nick has sung.  I don't know if that's Xtina's influence or not, but he was in his full voice instead of his falsetto for most of the song and he clearly had fewer pitch problems.  He's still the weakest singer of the Top 12 to me, but there was obvious improvement in a number of ways.

Owen- I love the tone of Owen's voice.  I hate this stupid song.  Parts of it were okay, and parts of it just went to hell.  It was nice to see Owen without his comfort guitar, but I don't think the dancing around/working the stage helped that performance out.  I think he needs to be a more gentle mover, at least at this point (though maybe not to the point of Statue Sawyer).

Paxton- I view Paxton as more of a whole-package entertainer than a singer.  He exudes life and charisma.  His vocals aren't as strong as others, but he certainly is in a completely different niche in what he's doing, and I like it.  This may be somewhat generational, as SimplyMom seems to think he's a neat person but she doesn't really appreciate his performances.

Shalyah- Koryn 2.0 at the moment.