S10.E19: Live Top 11 Performances

[Tara Ariano]

The Top 11 artists perform.

[roamyn]

I think I found a song I would download from The Voice.

Laith - hands down the best of the night. Far & away above everyone else tonight.

[jjjmoss]

Paxton was by far the bottom song on iTunes last week. So far he's on top tonight. The power of gospel I suppose.

 

Though Beyoncé hogging the T10 will make all the Voice contestants notably lower than they might be otherwise.

[Snarkette]

Normally I'm not drawn to rockers but I love Laith. Alisan is fantastic but Laith has something I'm enjoying more this season. I know I should be objectively rooting for her but Laith has my non-existent vote.

[Ketzel]

Poor Owen. He looked and sounded so nervous tonight. And while I think him singing James Taylor was a good choice, I wish he had gone with "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight." It's a sexier song, probably of more interest to the iTunes downloaders, and not as depressing as "Fire and Rain." But it would have needed a more confident performance than the one he delivered tonight. I'm still a fan of his voice, but I think this competition may be the wrong setting for him.

[Primetimer]

Welcome to America! The Top 11 is as mediocre as Kim Kardashian's dance moves.

Read the story

[pivot]

Ugh, Laith butchered that song. All growl, no soul. Just awful.

Bummed that Pharrell pushed another contestant into Jesusing up The Voice. And bummed that the general public falls for the blatant vote grab every time.

I voted for Owen and Mary Sarah. Everyone else was mediocre or just bad in part due to the Voice band turning everything into elevator music.

[Nedsdag]

A part of me wanted to reach through my television, take Adam by his Prince tribute, suburban gated community dad tie and strangle him after he declared Alisan the "winner" after her screechy, melodramatic performance. He did all this BEFORE LAITH SANG!!!!!! And when Laith did sing, he dropped the mike, the hammer, the sickle, the guitar, and every overused cliché regarding dropping things tonight after his performance. Yes, this song has been sung in three consecutive seasons, but Laith truly gave it the soul both recorded versions have done. Best of the night. Period.

 

As for Mama Screech, Christina still hasn't learned her lesson from Jacquie Lee. The song has soul, but Alisan screamed all of the soul out of it and Christina failed to coach her out of this. 

 

Biggest surprise of the night: Paxton, who sees himself as BeBe Winans instead of Michael Jackson and did a decent job with his gospel song. Kudos to Pharrell and Blake for collaborating. Also, did they also collaborate with Hannah, whose version of I Can't Make You Love Me was stunning and less pageantry than her usual performances? I wish they would pimp her more than Alisan. Also, another surprise was, wait for it, Nick who trimmed down his falsetto and gave a semi-sexy version of the John Mayer song. But please grow your hair back ASAP!

 

Biggest disappointment of the night: Shalyah and the over played and overwrought Miley Cyrus song. I don't think she's going home yet. Starland Vocal Spawn Owen may beat her to the door along with Mr. Preening Daniel.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Nedsdag

[jjjmoss]

I don't think they'll let up on their campaign to crown Alisan unless she melts down. They want to end the male winners streak, and even more they want to finally have a female coach win especially when there will be 2 simultaneous female coaches soon.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Same as last week. Judging purely based on youtube clips minus Alisan and viewed alphabetically.

 

Adam, I spent most of this song wishing it had been Ellie Goulding's Lights for something different. Strategically Adam can't go wrong trying to consolidate country, southern rock, and classic rock fans (a la Terry McDermott) in his column to try and slay the dragon that is Alisan. B+ effort...

 

Bryan, A little cruise-shippy. And kind of strained at the top of his register multiple places throughout the song. The strong finish salvaged it to some degree.

 

Daniel, Ugh. I'm predisposed to loving that song so I can't hate on Daniel as much as I'd like to. I will say there have been at least two performances of TaT on the UK version of the Voice that would absolutely blow his version out of the water. Probably just good enough to scrape through one more week at least.

 

Hannah, Again Pharrell with two minimally inspired song choices this week. This sounds "prettier" and feels so much less forced and put on for Hannah. Maybe a touch low energy in some spots.....but this feels more authentic to the type of artist that Hannah could be versus the last couple performances. Good recovery.

 

Laith, Well this is first week I'm allowing myself to believe that Laith could actually make the finale. Really nice hearing him on something recorded in the 21st century too. The only thing I'd say is his performances are starting to feel a little bit predictable because he seems to have one dominant "way" to hit his big or huge notes. They still sound fine, but they maybe don't grab you by the end of the song because you sort of get used to them throughout the song. YMMV of course.

 

Mary Sarah, Okay. She's still got a pulse. Probably the first time since her Blind Audition of Where the Boys Are that I felt like she recaptured some of the distinctness in her tone. Pretty solid performance.

 

Nick, Is he trying to be a falsetto heavy Timberlake knock off, or a coffeeshop Jack Johnson knock off? Make up your mind dude. Preferably after your eliminated.

 

Owen, Hmm......this might have been the song to keep him out of the Bottom 2 (it might still be), but it might not have been the performance. I didn't love what the arrangement tried to do at the end. Seemed like it tried to force a big crescendo ending into a song that's not really built for that and a singer that doesn't necessarily have a voice built for that either. I'll be worried for him again this week. He may need another twitter save.

 

Paxton, Welp, another gospel song. Probably can pencil in Paxton for another week regardless of what his Itunes number ends up being. And he's at least floating the option out there to continue in a Gospel/CCM direction after his time on the Voice comes to an end. Strategically that's definitely a win. He stretched his voice on this one too. Still not much range, but he's got a bigger voice than I had previously assumed...

 

Shalyah, Awww....shout out to Thia Megia from AI. This is one of the go to teen songs on most singing competitions for sure. She's seems out of tune on some of the lower notes. Generally, I don't love the tone of her voice although there is a sweet spot somewhere in the middle of her range (and when's she's not over the top belting). She reigned herself (or she's already burning herself out vocally) a little bit this week so I guess that's a step in the right direction.

Edited April 26, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[pivot]

Out of curious it's, has Christina announced a pregnancy by chance? Her boobs are so much bigger than earlier in the season when the show was taped. This is the first time this season that she has been full on pissy all night. I wonder if she was upset that her contestants were singing so much earlier in the show or if something else was going on.

[Muffyn]

With the way they lit Owen and how close he holds the mic, it looked like he had no mouth. It was like the world's strangest ventriloquist act.

[Padma]

I agree they want Christina to win, and win with Alisan. But, the way she coaches everything to excess and so much screeching, she deserves to lose. It's so predictable. This always happens to her  singers so it has to be her coaching. She just thinks all of that is good. We will never again hear a song from Alisan with the subtle beauty and phrasing of Blue Bayou. Alisan has enough talent to  deserve to win, but she made a mistake choosing Christina.

 

Of the women, tonight I'll give my (hypothetical) vote to Hannah. Alisan and Shaliyah (whom I often like) are just too OOT. Mary Sarah was completely unremarkable. I thought Hannah was actually very good. If they want a woman to win, I'd say "Shaliyah or Hannah" at this point rather than Alisan or Mary Sarah.

 

Other than Mary Sarah, I think the tomorrow's elimination should be from the men. Not Owen. He was nervous, but James Taylor cleared the song for him! (And ITA I wish he'd done "I Don't Want...Lonely Tonight" instead but JT was a perfect choice). He clearly felt pressure to "break out" with it, but his effort just made me want to hear a note-for-note JT cover. Oh well. I still like him  and his style. I want him to stay. 

 

I hope Adam and Laith stay, too. And although I find Pharrell's pushing gospel music very contrived and manipulative, I hope Paxton stays over Daniel and Nick--with either one going home.

[viajero]

Overall, I thought that was a fairly poor performance show.  Neither of the two big favorites had a particularly good night and no one else stepped up and had a truly memorable performance.  Alisan started well, but was straining her upper register the entire second half of the song.  Adam just plain picked the wrong song.

 

While I do think Laith was easily the best of the night, his version of Make it Rain did not even come close to the previous versions of that song we've heard on this show.  It lacked the soul, passion and nuance of Koryn's version (which remains one of my all time favorite Voice performances) or the vocal dynamics and precision of Jeffery Austin's version.  The one thing Laith did have going for him was the good use of his guitar rifts (something that hasn't always been the case with his performances).

 

I guess my second favorite performance of the night came from Hannah, who somehow managed to not to go off key despite seemingly being overcome with emotion throughout the song.  You can sure tell that she is a bit of a perfectionist as she was obviously down on herself at the end.  But never fear Hannah, you are still a standout among this mediocre bunch.

 

The most pleasant surprise was Paxton, who I think gave his best performance yet, managing to overcome his limited range.  Mary Sarah and Bryan also improved on last week.  Shalyah showed her inexperience and was a bit uneven.  But at least the good parts were very good.

 

The worst performance of the night came once again from Nick, who was off key almost the entire song.  Daniel was at least mostly on key, but what a listless boring cliched version of Time After Time.  Pink might be able to pull off a toned down version of that song, but Daniel is way too bland to do the same. Also not good was Owen, who seemed nervous and struggled at times.

 

Finally, I wish Adam Levine would make up his mind.  One week he's saying that Adam W. is going to win and then the next week he's saying the same about Alisan.  Better yet, maybe he shouldn't be making predictions at all.  He still has two people on his team in Shalyah and Laith who have an outside shot at this. Or perhaps they would if he wasn't pimping the two A's so much.

 

Should be bottom 2:  Daniel and Nick (with Nick going home)

Will be bottom 2: Owen and Bryan (with Owen going home)

 

I just wish that Owen was as charismatic and likable as Nick (and his kid), because based on their actual performances, he's easily the better of the two.

Edited April 26, 2016 by viajero

[Kendall]

Bummed that Pharrell pushed another contestant into Jesusing up The Voice. And bummed that the general public falls for the blatant vote grab every time.

 

 

 I hope Adam and Laith stay, too. And although I find Pharrell's pushing gospel music very contrived and manipulative, I hope Paxton stays over Daniel and Nick--with either one going home.

 

 

I see this complaint season after season anytime someone sings a gospel/CCM/or close to inspirational song and I have to wonder why the same thing isn't said when a country, R&B, pop or rock song is sung. Why wouldn't an artist want to sing in a genre that is pretty much booming and they could have a significant career in?

 

And, why or how is the audience always a sucker for "falling for it," as if the only time they get to hear a song about Jesus is on The Voice and it's not something that they listen to on a regular basis and might want to see a potential new artist heading into it through this show.

 

It's a very viable genre of music being sung on a show that is supposed to be a singing competition.

[le bordel chaud]

I feel like some of Alisan's performances haven't been worthy of the excessive tongue baths she has received. But this week? SPECTACULAR!

[le bordel chaud]

deleted dup post

Edited April 27, 2016 by delicatecutter

[Guest]

Alisan's performances do nothing for me.  I see a woman acting like she's singing like Celine Dion but my ears just don't hear it.  

[simplyme]

I don't mind Paxton performing one gospel song.  I like seeing contestants do a range of styles, and given his background this was a natural one for him.  Now if he were to suddenly switch to doing gospel every week, that would be a blatant vote grab.

On 4/26/2016 at 0:43 AM, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

Mary Sarah, Okay. She's still got a pulse. Probably the first time since her Blind Audition of Where the Boys Are that I felt like she recaptured some of the distinctness in her tone. Pretty solid performance.

Nick, Is he trying to be a falsetto heavy Timberlake knock off, or a coffeeshop Jack Johnson knock off? Make up your mind dude. Preferably after your eliminated.

Made me laugh out loud.  Completely agree.

[MaryPatShelby]

If my understanding is correct, Paxton leads songs at his church and has done so for along time. Gospel might be a huge part of his repertoire, but we're all still going to think it's coldly calculated to "grab" votes? 

[Primetimer]

Season 10 primaries and caucuses for a while, but ultimately announces a brand-new Top 10.

View the full article

[kj4ever]

On 4/26/2016 at 2:47 AM, viajero said:

Overall, I thought that was a fairly poor performance show.  Neither of the two big favorites had a particularly good night and no one else stepped up and had a truly memorable performance.  Alisan started well, but was straining her upper register the entire second half of the song.  Adam just plain picked the wrong song.

 

While I do think Laith was easily the best of the night, his version of Make it Rain did not even come close to the previous versions of that song we've heard on this show.  It lacked the soul, passion and nuance of Koryn's version (which remains one of my all time favorite Voice performances) or the vocal dynamics and precision of Jeffery Austin's version.  The one thing Laith did have going for him was the good use of his guitar rifts (something that hasn't always been the case with his performances).

 

I guess my second favorite performance of the night came from Hannah, who somehow managed to not to go off key despite seemingly being overcome with emotion throughout the song.  You can sure tell that she is a bit of a perfectionist as she was obviously down on herself at the end.  But never fear Hannah, you are still a standout among this mediocre bunch.

 

The most pleasant surprise was Paxton, who I think gave his best performance yet, managing to overcome his limited range.  Mary Sarah and Bryan also improved on last week.  Shalyah showed her inexperience and was a bit uneven.  But at least the good parts were very good.

 

The worst performance of the night came once again from Nick, who was off key almost the entire song.  Daniel was at least mostly on key, but what a listless boring cliched version of Time After Time.  Pink might be able to pull off a toned down version of that song, but Daniel is way too bland to do the same. Also not good was Owen, who seemed nervous and struggled at times.

 

Finally, I wish Adam Levine would make up his mind.  One week he's saying that Adam W. is going to win and then the next week he's saying the same about Alisan.  Better yet, maybe he shouldn't be making predictions at all.  He still has two people on his team in Shalyah and Laith who have an outside shot at this. Or perhaps they would if he wasn't pimping the two A's so much.

 

Should be bottom 2:  Daniel and Nick (with Nick going home)

Will be bottom 2: Owen and Bryan (with Owen going home)

 

I just wish that Owen was as charismatic and likable as Nick (and his kid), because based on their actual performances, he's easily the better of the two.

I think Adam is taking a page out of Blake's playbook.  I remember when all were hailing Judith as the best. thing. ever.  Blake always said "You've won, you've won" to her because Blake knows people get tired of the pimped out person quick like and start rooting for the underdogs.

[Cramps]

Every time Laith gets put through, Adam seems like he's trying to hide the fact that he's a little disappointed. It's obviously not his vision of who America should like. It's pretty funny. Go Laith! 

[viajero]

5 hours ago, Cramps said:

Every time Laith gets put through, Adam seems like he's trying to hide the fact that he's a little disappointed. It's obviously not his vision of who America should like. It's pretty funny. Go Laith! 

I haven't noticed this.  At least not since the Live Playoffs when Adam did seem surprised Laith was voted through by viewers. To me Adam has seemed quite supportive of Laith.  From what we've seen, Adam has also given him some fairly good advice in the coaching sessions.

[Kromm]

On 4/26/2016 at 0:31 AM, jjjmoss said:

I don't think they'll let up on their campaign to crown Alisan unless she melts down. They want to end the male winners streak, and even more they want to finally have a female coach win especially when there will be 2 simultaneous female coaches soon.

They're even worse with their pimping of Shalyah. I mean honestly... she stinks.  But she sings loud and with attitude, and the audience claps a lot, so they're championing her.

[Kromm]

14 hours ago, kj4ever said:

I think Adam is taking a page out of Blake's playbook.  I remember when all were hailing Judith as the best. thing. ever.  Blake always said "You've won, you've won" to her because Blake knows people get tired of the pimped out person quick like and start rooting for the underdogs.

Bingo. And it's one of thing that angers/disappoints me most about these shows. It's the very clearest illustration that people are voting for a sales pitch/"story" rather than the actual talents of the contestants... that actually mentioning someone's talent "too early" on the show typically dooms them. Especially female contestants (not exclusively, but I think the problem is worse with them both on Idol and on this show).

[Noreaster]

I don't think Adam is saying those things for strategic reasons. I think he really means it. He does it with his own team all the time, saying how certain contestants should make it to the finals or win. 

As for Blake, I don't know.  I'd like to think he doesn't say those things out of strategy, but he seems to be well aware of how he should market his own team.  So maybe he is being sneaky.  

Edited April 29, 2016 by Noreaster
too wordy

[ToxicUnicorn]

That was painful.  I only liked Hannah and Laith.  I don't know how this season has gone from a group of blind auditions I was pretty happy with to a group who I practically dread hearing.  Part of the problem for me is that I can't recall hearing so many nasty out of tune notes.  Nearly everyone is inconsistent, except maybe Laith and Adam.  I think Hannah does better in this respect than the other women.  Alisan and Mary Sarah, who were my early favorites from the blinds, have had a lot of trouble, and Shalyah, Owen, Daniel and Nick have lit-er-ally made me recoil in pain in various weeks.  Which is too bad, because it just makes it hard for me to root for any of them to graduate to becoming a professional musician, as lovely as they might otherwise be.

Quote

I voted for Owen and Mary Sarah. Everyone else was mediocre or just bad in part due to the Voice band turning everything into elevator music.

pivot, we're on the same page.  I thought all night that the arrangements all sounded like Modern Muzak.  (And Daniel's Time After Time nearly put me to sleep, which felt downright disrespectful to Cyndi Lauper.)

Edited May 4, 2016 by ToxicUnicorn

[Nedsdag]

delete

Edited May 4, 2016 by Nedsdag

[Snarkette]

27 minutes ago, ToxicUnicorn said:

 I don't know how this season has gone from a group of blind auditions I was pretty happy with to a group who I practically dread hearing.

This happens every year. The show is great until the lives. And then it sucks. They should have one-on-one battles until the final 4. "Two voice enter. One voice leave."