S10.E25: Live Semi-Final Performances

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

The Top 8 artists perform in the semifinal round.

[jjjmoss]

iTunes right now:

3. Adam
7. Alisan
22. Mary
24. Bryan
27. Hannah
30. Laith
47. Shalyah
127. Paxton

I've cynically predicted Alison + 3 guys in the finals for weeks. I could certainly see Bryan's apparent excelling this week and Laith's previous consistency crowding out Mary and Hannah.

[filmfan2480]

The top 4 on iTunes are my favorite 4. Wonder if that will be the 4 tomorrow. All 8 are so talented. Great season.

[Valny]

My four would be...Alisan and Adam for sure.... then I'd go with Mary Sarah and either Shalyah or Bryan. Laith might sneak in there.

Liked Alison's Desperado... It was good to go to a quieter song for a change, I think that's her strength and not the yelly stuff. And even when she did get louder, it wasn't overdone.

Mary Sarah was good  and I thought it was a strong performance from Bryan too.

I love Pink, but she was pretty generous with the compliments to some of them. Or maybe she was trying to be extra nice to everyone.

[InfiniteMystery]

If I had to predict, I would say Adam, Alisan and Mary Sarah with Hannah, Bryan and Laith going for the save. Paxton and Shalyah out. But, surely I could be wrong! My favorite tonight was Adam. Liked that Curly toned it down! Still not a fan, but so much better than last week which should get her to the finals easily. 

If there is a save, I hope Hannah gets it unless she's voted in.

I was hoping to hear "Angel from Montgomery" - tweeted it ages ago this season. John Prine is a genius and that song is beauty. 

I'd love to see Chris Stapleton on the Voice with Adam, but, not sure if that would work well. 

Pink didn't seem to do much. Maybe I missed it as I did order Thai food and was distracted.

I love Blake as a coach because he doesn't throw his ego in there like Christina and possibly Adam L. He will gladly give a contestant one of his songs and say right out that they did it better. Also, when singing duets, he always lets the other person shine.

Edited May 17, 2016 by InfiniteMystery

[kathyk24]

I loved Desperado and Alison's and Adam's duet. I hated Shaylah's And I am Telling You I don't think she understands what that song means. It's also been done to death on American Idol. I thought Pink stunk as a mentor Miley was much better.

[Ketzel]

I thought it was one of the more interesting performance nights of this season. I pretty much enjoyed everyone but Shaylah. To me, she simply sounds like she's tearing her throat to pieces every time she sings, and I find myself muting her halfway through just to spare my own throat from the sympathetic pain. Oh, and the duets were pretty much a waste of time.

Some of what I enjoyed, however, was probably not what the show intended. Watching Mary Sarah get buried in nylon draperies for the first third of her solo song was pretty amusing. Watching Paxton try to outrun the pyrotechnics behind him (not to mention that strobing laser box, which I took to be a metaphor for how outside-the-box he was supposed to be performing) was also funny. I don't think Meat Loaf's classic was a good song choice for him. Watching Hannah crouching on the floor at the climax of When A Man Loves A Woman, also comedy gold.

I was glad to see Alison return to the Linda Ronstadt oeuvre. Nice job with Desperado. Laith doing Adele was surprisingly good - it made me realize how much traditional blues had influenced the song.  Mary Sarah going back to a Randy Travis hit was a good move for her. I don't think she has a particularly strong voice, but it's tuneful, and matching her with a beautiful, well-known but not done-to-death melodic song was wise.  Adam and Bryan were both fine, although I think Bryan may have overdone the emoting.

My prediction for final four: Adam, Alison, Laith, Mary Sarah

[InfiniteMystery]

iTunes currently:

3 I'm Sorry - Adam W

4 Desperado - Alisan P

10 I Told You So - Mary Sarah

12 When a Man Loves a Woman - Hannah H

14 Hurt - Bryan B

22 One and Only - Laith A

36 And I'm Telling You - Shalyah F

93 I'd Do Anything For Love - Paxton

Tomorrow's going to be brutal.

Edited May 17, 2016 by InfiniteMystery

[ennui]

93 I'd Do Anything For Love - Paxton

It's not a song that can be abbreviated for commercial television. I listened, and felt like Paxton had no connection to the lyric (as often happens with these younger artists).

I had to find Meatloaf's original. The original video is over seven minutes, and there are four(?) things he "won't do for love." 

Sigh.

[Dots And Stripes]

How many people will be up for the save? I assume at least 2 go through automatically. I feel like Laith is going to need the save, based on those numbers, and I think his used cars salesman will push him through. I know Laith has a fan base, but apparently Adam has a stellar track record in saves. How about they try something novel and go in reverse order (Adam's artists first, Blakes last)?

Hated those duets. The pairings mostly didn't make sense and the songs tended to suit netiher artist.

Looooooved Christina's look tonight. In my mind, she was responding to all of the online criticism over her breasts from last week. Fashion is subjective and no one has to like every look, but I definitely saw some comments that felt like they were based on gender. JMO and obviously that doesn't apply to everyone who didn't like her outfit.

[ennui]

8 minutes ago, Dots And Stripes said:

Looooooved Christina's look tonight. 

She reminded me of Rocky Horror Picture Show (Columbia?). So maybe it's just all part of the teasers.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Desperado and Angel from Montgomery. It's almost like they tailor made those song choices to crumble my defenses against never listening to Alisan. But my resolve to avoid the anointed winner from Episode 1 of the Blinds held strong. It did waver a tiny bit though.

Adam and Laith basically gave "composite" performances of all their hits so far this season.

Bryan wavered between sounding great and rough. I think the cumulative effect of singing on a reality show was really evident in him tonight

Didn't love Hannah's song. Liked Mary Sarah's although I got distracted by thinking of watching clips from various Voice (and Voice Kids) shows from Europe and the Blind auditions where they keep the contestant in a box or behind some sheets until after the song is over....so the choosing coaches don't see them until the entire blind audition is over. Paxton is Paxton....adding Meatloaf to his unique list of song covers this season. I suffered through weeks of Shalyah torture jobs, but "And I'm Telling You" is just a bridge I won't cross. Sorry. She's going home tomorrow anyway.

Do we end up with 3 safe, and then 3 singing for one twitter save? If we do it will be Alisan, Adam and Mary Sarah or Laith safe. Hannah and Brian will sing for the save along with either Mary Sarah or Laith.

Edited May 17, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Padma]

Overall, it was enjoyable. Alisan was fine this week, but made me miss Linda Ronstadt's stylings. Mary Sarah did well enough to make it to F4. Along with her, probably Adam and Alisan. I'd be surprised if Paxton and Shalyah weren't easy eliminations, also Hannah.  Though she or Bryan could compete with Laith for the save. Or, if the country vote isn't that strong for Mary Sarah, it might be Bryan v. her and Laith in F3.

In any case, I'll be surprised if the ones moving on aren't Alisan, Adam, Laith and Mary Sarah. Which is a perfectly fine grouping to me. Not a big Mary Sarah fan--she's perfectly fine but just seems mediocre for a new country artist--but I'd be fine with a win by any of the others. Nice they gave Hannah the pimp spot, but I'll be surprised if she makes it further.

[pivot]

Christina looked much better tonight. Her exposing 75% of her boobs just makes her look tacky and heavier than she actually is. 

Sad to see Mary Sarah make the top 10. She is the weakest of the interchangeable blonde country singers Blake has on his team each year. 

I don't see any way around a top 4 of Laith, Allisan, Adam and Mary Sarah. Another finale of white only contestants. Can't say I am surprised. 

[InfiniteMystery]

Songs are flying up the charts without the Beyonce block.

2 Adam

4  Alisan

8 Mary Sarah

9 Bryan

10 Hannah

Close!

17 Laith

32 Shalyah

87 Paxton

[anonymiss]

Pink was encouraging but the hyperbole of saying everyone is a special snowflake is not something I care for. Other than that, I enjoyed her.

It's so rare for a contestant on these shows to sound good with a Christina Aguilera song so they should just stop. It exposes all the weaknesses in otherwise good singers.

People were giving Christina flack about her outfits? Sigh. Ridiculous. She's on an evening entertainment show. Breasts are harmless and nothing to be ashamed of. I disagree with women projecting their insecurities or imposing their morality onto others.

[Nedsdag]

Damn! Mary Sarah (Gross) is going to be the third save by America? This girl could sing B-I-N-G-O and she'll still be voted through. Damn her Twitter following! She'll be back to singing in bars in Nashville after the show.

Mama Screech NEARLY had me with her duet with Adam and her version of Desperado, but of course she had to add a glory note towards the end. Let it be, Alisan, let it be!

Say what you want about Adam, but he's been consistent throughout and his part of the duet enhanced Alisan's style. I still say he's the favorite to win it all.

Could someone please get into Pharrell's ear to suggest that Hannah sing anything by Florence Welch (Florence + the Machine) or Grace Potter if and only if she sings next week? The tone of these ladies's voices fit perfectly with Hannah's style. Heck, even a Juice Newton song would work with Hannah. 

The good Christina: Her power suit fit perfectly. The girls were covered tonight.

The bad Christina: Suggesting Bryan sing her song. He didn't have the range to hit the notes and he knew it.

Laith's guitar licks were exquisite, but his singing was lacking.

Shalyah and Paxton's duet was good, but their solo stuff was both forgettable and thrown under the bus obvious when they sang early. Bye, guys!

[Cramps]

Could someone remind me if Alison is a mother and if she is in recovery? The show didn't highlight it enough this week.

Curly Sue. Annoys. Me.

[Shades of Scarlet]

4 hours ago, anonymiss said:

People were giving Christina flack about her outfits? Sigh. Ridiculous. She's on an evening entertainment show. Breasts are harmless and nothing to be ashamed of. I disagree with women projecting their insecurities or imposing their morality onto others.

My watching partner is a woman.  She has no insecurities about breasts, nor do I.  Additionally, each of us is utterly opposed to imposing our moral judgments on to other people in just about any instance short of involving the infliction of harm on others. 

Our snickering dismay over Aguilera's preposterous cleavage has nothing to do with insecurity or an imposition of morality.  We simply find the display of ridiculously fake, unattractive boobs in unflattering, in-your-face outfits to be laughable and absurd.   

[anonymiss]

12 minutes ago, Shades of Scarlet said:

My watching partner is a woman.  She has no insecurities about breasts, nor do I.  Additionally, each of us is utterly opposed to imposing our moral judgments on to other people in just about any instance short of involving the infliction of harm on others. 

Our snickering dismay over Aguilera's preposterous cleavage has nothing to do with insecurity or an imposition of morality.  We simply find the display of ridiculously fake, unattractive boobs in unflattering, in-your-face outfits to be laughable and absurd.   

I get that. It's like if anyone was wearing their hair or an outfit that looked ridiculous--you'd mock it. But why do people go to the official social media channels for the show just to shame and/or rebuke her for it? That seems motivated from something personal like that I mentioned.

Edited May 17, 2016 by anonymiss

[Shades of Scarlet]

6 minutes ago, anonymiss said:

I get that. It's like if anyone was wearing their hair or an outfit that looked ridiculous--you'd mock it. But why do people go to the official social media channels for the show just to shame and/or rebuke her for it? That seems motivated from something personal like that I mentioned.

If the issue you have with our view is one of the degree to which it is expressed, then you're right: we're not conducting an online campaign to call attention to Aguilera's boobs.  They've received plenty of exposure as it is. 

[MaryPatShelby]

6 hours ago, Dots And Stripes said:

 I feel like Laith is going to need the save, based on those numbers, and I think his used cars salesman will push him through. .

Can you explain the used car salesman reference?  I fast forward through a lot of this show, my bad I know, so I miss a lot of fluff, er, background.  Is this what he does for work, then sings in bars at night?

[anonymiss]

37 minutes ago, Shades of Scarlet said:

If the issue you have with our view is one of the degree to which it is expressed, then you're right: we're not conducting an online campaign to call attention to Aguilera's boobs.  They've received plenty of exposure as it is. 

I disagree with not just the degree but also the tone of the subject matter. It feels misogynist for people to vehemently pressure and shame a woman to dress the way they see fit when she's not violating any dress codes for the entertainment show she's on and her own provocative brand she was selected to represent. But...hey, I respect anyone's right to disapprove of it--just like how I respect her right to dress the way she wants.

Edited May 17, 2016 by anonymiss

[Shades of Scarlet]

Another meh episode, I'm afraid, although there were a couple of good performances. 

Shalyah - I had no idea why she chose such a difficult song to sing, but she sang it very well considering its difficulty and defied the death slot.   It looked like she received the only standing O from all four coaches.  However, voters are clearly over her.

Paxton - I didn't get the song choice here either.  It's a goofy, overwrought rock anthem that makes no sense lyrically.  Paxton gave it his all.  I liked when Blake pointed out to Pink that he is always smiling. 

Laith - bizarre song choice here as well, but he performed it well.  As a Team Adam fan I hope the finale is not Adam-less, but I suppose it might be.  Laith is deserving of a final four slot no matter what team he's on, but he picked a bad time for a weird/offbeat week. 

Alisan - was fine until the end, when she defied Aguilera 2.0's advice not to embellish and . . . yeah, went crazy all over the place with runs and shrieking.  Ugh.  She seems like such a nice person.  I have no idea why she feels the need to do this.  "Desperado" is just fine as it is. 

Adam - great job.  His best performance on the entire show.  I loved that he was equally capable of accompanying himself on piano or guitar, and at Blake's urging, chose the keyboard.  He's the obvious favorite to win with Blake's Army behind him, particularly if he delivers another showstopper like this next week. 

Bryan - awful.  His worst performance yet.  His coach seriously gave him one of her songs to sing when there was no way it was in his range?  It's possible he chose it - but I sure doubt it. 

Mary Sarah - I really liked her take on the Randy Travis song.  (Boy, there was a ton of gender-bending tonight, and all season long, really.)  This may have been her best turn since her audition.

Hannah - boring selection from Coach PlantHat, whom you'd never know was a fabulously successful producer from his rapidly waning time on this show, but she really delivered a powerful performance.   

If Carson said how they're doing it tomorrow, I missed it, but I assume the top three vote-getters are safe, the bottom two are eliminated, and the remaining three do the TwitSave.  If that's right, I expect Adam and Alisan to be locks to be voted in, and then the third person to come from the Laith/Hannah/Mary Sarah/Bryan grouping, with the remaining three singing for their supper.  If there's a recency bias the third safe slot should go to Mary Sarah or Hannah, but if it's on body of work it should go to Laith or Bryan.  Should be interesting and not entirely predictable.  Paxton and Shalyah are done. 

Oh, and none of the duets made much sense (including two where the key was nicely wrong for each of the singers) so I didn't bother to include them.  Let's not do that again, Voice Folks.  Total waste of time. 

[Shades of Scarlet]

5 minutes ago, anonymiss said:

I disagree with not just the degree but also the tone of the subject matter. It feels misogynist for people to vehemently pressure and shame a woman to dress the way they see fit when she's not violating any dress codes for the entertainment show she's on and her own provocative brand she was selected to represent. But...hey, I respect anyone's right to disapprove of it--just like how I respect her right to dress the way she wants.

So we've gone from insecure and/or imposing our morality on others to woman-haters.  Got it.  I don't think we're making much headway here, sadly.  I will try one more time, though.  She looked ridiculous.  It's that simple.  I'd say the same if Adam Levine was flaunting his package.  Not misogyny.  Not a moral lecture.  Not driven by jealousy. 

We didn't even post any comments about Aguilera's ludicrous boobs here, incidentally, but whenever I see someone ascribing sinister motives to critics, I have to speak out.  Particularly when the person attacking the critics seems to be doing the same thing of which s/he is accusing the critics.  And with that, I'm done on that topic.  Thanks.       

[InfiniteMystery]

35 minutes ago, MaryPatShelby said:

Can you explain the used car salesman reference?  I fast forward through a lot of this show, my bad I know, so I miss a lot of fluff, er, background.  Is this what he does for work, then sings in bars at night?

I'm not Dots and Stripes, but I'm pretty sure that "used car salesman" refers to Adam Levine.

[anonymiss]

1 hour ago, Shades of Scarlet said:

So we've gone from insecure and/or imposing our morality on others to woman-haters.  Got it.  I don't think we're making much headway here, sadly.  I will try one more time, though.  She looked ridiculous.  It's that simple.  I'd say the same if Adam Levine was flaunting his package.  Not misogyny.  Not a moral lecture.  Not driven by jealousy. 

We didn't even post any comments about Aguilera's ludicrous boobs here, incidentally, but whenever I see someone ascribing sinister motives to critics, I have to speak out.  Particularly when the person attacking the critics seems to be doing the same thing of which s/he is accusing the critics.  And with that, I'm done on that topic.  Thanks.       

How would Adam Levine be "flaunting his package?" It's impossible because the censors would never allow that. She's just showing cleavage, which is permitted, so it's an issue of personal sensibilities. We all have them and they are sacrosanct. No issue there. But I read here she received an influx of criticism and is now covering up. It recalls the earlier seasons when there actually was something akin to an "online campaign" to have her removed from the show carried out on their official FB page. That's extreme and not the benign stuff of snark that we all participate in. I think those vehement comments stem from the motivations I listed and that's often confirmed in the comments themselves and the names they call her for "flaunting" cleavage.

Edited May 17, 2016 by anonymiss

[Primetimer]

The semi-finals (and Pink!) are here, but we're still no closer to finding out the meaning of Pharrell's plant hat.

View the full article

[ChicksDigScars]

10:30 AM Tuesday on I-Tunes:

2. I'm Sorry: Adam Wakefield

3. Desperado: Alisan Porter

5. I Told You So: Mary Sarah

6. When A Man Loves a Woman: Hannah Huston

7. Hurt: Bryan Bautista

11. One and Only: Laith Al-Saadi

28. And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going: Shalyah Fearing

72. I'd Do Anything for Love; Paxton Ingram

Damn, Laith. Just out of the Top Ten. I was hoping for an Adam-Laith vs.Screech Finale. I also think that "And I Am Telling You" needs to be one of those songs that should be retired from singing competitions. Especially at the end of said competition when a poor girl's vocal cords are probably shredding. And yeah, Shalyah is just too young to connect with the meaning behind song. And Bryan? In the Top Ten I Tunes bonus? Really? 

Edited May 17, 2016 by ChicksDigScars

[Court]

I do not get the appeal of Bryan at all. I'd be thrilled to see him go.

[kj4ever]

3 hours ago, Shades of Scarlet said:

So we've gone from insecure and/or imposing our morality on others to woman-haters.  Got it.  I don't think we're making much headway here, sadly.  I will try one more time, though.  She looked ridiculous.  It's that simple.  I'd say the same if Adam Levine was flaunting his package.  Not misogyny.  Not a moral lecture.  Not driven by jealousy. 

We didn't even post any comments about Aguilera's ludicrous boobs here, incidentally, but whenever I see someone ascribing sinister motives to critics, I have to speak out.  Particularly when the person attacking the critics seems to be doing the same thing of which s/he is accusing the critics.  And with that, I'm done on that topic.  Thanks.       

I agree she looks ridiculous.  Have you ever watched The Ellen Show and one of the people that comes on when she does game shows wears these big ridiculous plastic fake boobs?  She looks like that.  She has every right in the world to dress exactly how she wants, and people have every right in the world to say they don't want to see it.  I don't think the vendetta is against cleavage per say, but fake ass looking boobs that are obviously on display for attention.  Don't bitch if that attention isn't what you want.

[Bookworm13]

I-Tunes 11:50 am EST

2 Adam -I'm Sorry

3 Alisan- Desperado

5 Hannah - When a Man Loves a Woman

6 Mary Sarah - I Told You So

7 Bryan - Hurt

10 Laith - One and Only

27 Shalyah - And I'm Telling You

71 Paxton - I'd Do Anything For Love

Previous Songs

102 Laith - We've Got Tonight

112 Adam - Love Has No Pride

119 Laith - The Thrill Is Gone

125 Alisan - Let Him Fly

I wasn't paying attention to how tonight is going to work, but it's going to be close no matter how they do it. I'm slightly surprised that Laith has the most songs on I-Tunes, as I'd assumed some of the others' fans would have bought everything in hopes of getting them to the finals. Still bummed we didn't get No More Drama from Shalyah, but Adam always seems to say things and then forget about it by the next week. 

[JenFromCincy]

Anyone else have the urge to throw something at the TV when an artist sings the wrong word in the lyric of one of your favorite songs? No? Just me? Yeah, I probably have issues. But when Allisan sang, "Your prison is walking DOWN this world all alone," I got massively annoyed.

[simplyme]

Re: Xtina and people criticizing her fashion choices.  I think no matter what she wears people are more likely to comment negatively on Xtina's look than on any of the guys. (Our recapper seems to be one of the exceptions.  She comments on everyone's fashion.)  Adam can dye his hair or shave it off.  Pharrell can wear stupid hats and ugly sweaters.  Blake... looks like Blake always does.  They barely get mentioned.  Xtina will get pilloried by somebody no matter what she wears, so I figure she might as well wear what she wants to wear.

[bluepiano]

14 hours ago, kathyk24 said:

I loved Desperado and Alison's and Adam's duet. I hated Shaylah's And I am Telling You I don't think she understands what that song means. It's also been done to death on American Idol.

I'm with you on the duet, a great version of a great song, and Adam and Alisan's voices paired nicely. She was thankfully restrained. But on Desperado, she started nicely but towards the end couldn't resist the shouting and melodramatic hand gestures, which always seem fake to me. It's like she started out singing country and ended up on Broadway.

Agree with you also on Shalyah. I hate that song. In fact, I'm not even sure it's actually a song. It's more like a vocal exercise for screaming. Bad song choice for her, because it brought out her worst tendencies to oversing. And totally age inappropriate. At least with Jennifer Hudson you could believe she was feeling those emotions. Coming from a 16 year old it just seems silly.

It was probably good strategy for Laith to do a ballad rather than a blues or rock number, but I don't think it will save him. And not that it counts for anything, but in his duet with Hannah it was like he didn't even realize there was another person on the stage. He completely sang over her. Big contrast with the teamwork of Adam and Alisan.

I think that Adam and Alisan are locks for the final four, and Mary Sarah too. Hard to beat a pretty blonde country singer on Team Blake. My guess for the fourth would be Bryan, but personally I don't get him. I think he's never been more than average the whole season. My preference would be Hannah, but I just don't see three out of four spots going to women, given how America usually votes.

Edited May 17, 2016 by bluepiano

[DarkRaichu]

During Alisan & Adam duet, I thought "here goes #1 & #2 this season".  Then Laith sang.  Hot damn he gave those 2 the run for their money.  Too bad I-tunes do not agree with me :(

Hannah had good performance but she was lost in the duet.

My choice was Alisan, Adam, Laith, Hannah.  However, I agree Mary Sarah would be hard to beat, even though that duet with Bryan was not good.

Bryan chose / was given the wrong song.

 

13 hours ago, ennui said:

93 I'd Do Anything For Love - Paxton

It's not a song that can be abbreviated for commercial television. I listened, and felt like Paxton had no connection to the lyric (as often happens with these younger artists).

I had to find Meatloaf's original. The original video is over seven minutes, and there are four(?) things he "won't do for love." 

Sigh.

Agreed.  Ok performance but the arrangement was off.  

There is a video where Meat Loaf drew a diagram to show which part of the lyrics correspond to each "won't do for love" LOL

Edited May 17, 2016 by DarkRaichu

[adhoc]

Random thoughts, many of which others have already mentioned...

• Shalyah - What was that!? I had to change the station to DWTS, it was so bad. And yeah, totally inappropriate for a child to sing. Would not surprise me, though, if she magically gets through.
• Alisan - earth mother with a great voice, but Desperado needed some texture--like, start closer to acapella and soft, then build up as the song's message grows more urgent. So, no, did not care for the arrangement.
• Mary Sarah - maybe her best performance to date, but yeah, hilarious watching the sheer draperies get the better of her
• Laith - suffering from Chris Daughtry syndrome. I always thought Chris was booted off AI because he took every song and "Daughtry-ized" it, so they began to sound the same. Ditto Laith. It bugged me that he never held a note very long. That's also part of the reason, I believe, why Hannah had a hard time singing with him. She couldn't linger over the words (which she had every right to do) because he wouldn't. Yet I believe he has a voice totally capable of holding a note for longer than 2 seconds. The growl + "no-note-held-over-2-or-3-seconds" = I'm over him.
• Hannah - See, it *is* possible to enunciate, people! When Shalyah and Paxton were dueting, I kept wondering if it was my hearing, because they sounded partly unintelligible. But then comes Hannah, and I realize that some of these other contestants just don't feel that enunciation is necessary. Good performance, though it ended up way over the top. 
• This show needs a "people's choice" winner and a "judge's choice" winner. The people's choice winner would be the WGWG or the Country artist (who might be a subset of WGWG) or darling young teen with potential, etc. The judge's choice winner would be the artist that the judges felt actually had "the voice" and most deserved a shot at the big time. (Hopefully the judges could actually decide this despite the competitive nature of the show. In fact, this prize would be separate from the competitive aspect. And if 2 contestants were tied at the end--since there are 4 judges--there would be a sing-off.)  Both contestants should win the same prize.

[MaryPatShelby]

Remember in past seasons when they had, for example, going home eps where everyone had something cool going in their home town, and team-building eps where each team did something fun together (like Usher taking his team to the gym) or did some good works? Where did all that time go that we don't see those scenes any more? What is the show doing instead? Is it because of the Twitter Save and sing-for-your-life?

[roamyn]

To me the ability to hold a note doesn't mean you SHOULD.  I consider it oversinging.

Laith owned that duet.  Hannah was too soft. But it was an odd pairing.

If Laith is in a Twitter-off, he's probably done.  Most people in our generation don't Tweet, myself included.

[ChicksDigScars]

Quote

During Alisan & Adam duet, I thought "here goes #1 & #2 this season".  Then Laith sang.  Hot damn he gave those 2 the run for their money.  Too bad I-tunes do not agree with me :(

 

Laith's ITunes recording is really good. It's a nice spin on Adele. I usually cringe when anyone attempts one of her tunes. "Oh no. Here it goes...." But having a guy do one, with a soulful, raspy blues take, really worked. I generally don't download Levine's singers until after the competition is over, if it's something that I like, but this was a must. I've been voting for Adam W. and Laith all season. I downloaded both of them this afternoon. Probably too late to help them, but Adam doesn't look like he needs it, as he's still entrenched at #2 behind Timberlake, and Laith seems to have snuck into the #10 spot. I hope he did it by the deadline so he gets the bonus. 

Edited May 17, 2016 by ChicksDigScars

[Padma]

1 hour ago, adhoc said:

• . . . This show needs a "people's choice" winner and a "judge's choice" winner. The people's choice winner would be the WGWG or the Country artist (who might be a subset of WGWG) or darling young teen with potential, etc. The judge's choice winner would be the artist that the judges felt actually had "the voice" and most deserved a shot at the big time. (Hopefully the judges could actually decide this despite the competitive nature of the show. In fact, this prize would be separate from the competitive aspect. And if 2 contestants were tied at the end--since there are 4 judges--there would be a sing-off.)  Both contestants should win the same prize.

Interesting idea, but I'm not sure they'd be different people this season. For "Judge's Choice" I think it would be Alisan. All of them have indicated at one time or another they felt she was the one to beat. I think she's stood out to the judges as likely F1 from the beginning and even what I see as OTT performances, haven't dissuaded them from that. They know she can "do anything" and I think would give her the win without question.

I think the "People's Choice" would -probably- also be Alisan, too. However, a lot could depend on song selection. If she sticks to another great song from the Linda Ronstadt Songbook, like the last three, she should be fine. If she ventures into some weird OTT excessive vocal showpiece, she may be edged out by Adam, Laith or even, remotely possible, by Hannah if she chose a good song. She's a solid performer, but with all the songs she has to choose from, some of her selections baffle me. If I were Pharrell, I would have discouraged her from doing "When A Man Loves A Woman", but while making a mild protest by observing "it's from a man's point of view" he let her do her thing then and surely will for the final.

Personally, I like it that the singers seem to have been doing most of the song choices this season as, were I competing, I'd rather lose on my own choice of song than being forced into something because my coach wanted it. That said, Hannah--not Mary Sarah--is someone who could possibly upset an Alisan win, based on both women's song choices.  And Adam's a possibility for a "People's Choice" upset, too,of course. I'm surprised how well he's doing on iTunes this week.

Basically, though, I think "judges" and "voters" will both be choosing Alisan.

[limecoke]

Two of my favorite songs were performed last night so I listened with a very critical ear.  Mary Sarah won with her sensitive, emotional, note-perfect version of "I Told You So."  Alisan came in second when she took "Desparado" to shriek levels at the end.  I loved "Blue Bayou" but Christina likes to turn everyone into herself and it isn't good. Having said that, Alisan will still probably win.

 

Then there was one of my most hated songs.  Love Shalyah, hate, hate, hate "And I Am Telling You."  Still, I liked the way Shalyah sang it over the JH version.  I know, it's just me.  Take care of that voice, Shalyah, that gravelly thing can wreak havoc on the vocal cords and you are Only! Sixteen!

 

Fast-forwarded through Hannah, Laith, Adam, Bryan.  All talented, all bore me.  I am 100% sure Paxton will go home but I love that kid and he always entertains me.

Edited May 17, 2016 by limecoke

[PepperMonkey]

I love Paxton, too, and hate to see him go, but I believe he will. And everyone does seem to be over Shalyah. I think I am, too. I loved her at first, but she's very diva-esque for a 16 year old who's had a hard life. Also, why does she dress and style her hair like Aunt Viv from Fresh Prince?

I fast forwarded through most of the performances. I loved Adam's, even though his lazy diction STILL bugs the hell out of me. And I love Laith. I can't help it. I just like him. I'm good with Alisan also, BUT, as someone above said, it drove me crazy when she sang down this world all alone. AND, she did not need to vocally gymnasticize at the end. The best parts of the song were when she just honestly sang, without any flourish. AND (part 3) she didn't wear shorts!! Woo.

Re: Christina. People have been "hating" on her for years. When the Voice first premiered, "everyone" banged on her for being fat. Then she lost the weight, and people said, oh she's on drugs, OR she's too skinny. She filled out a little bit cause she just had her daughter recently, and now people are saying she's getting fat again. Now it's "Boobgate."  And for the record, I'm not actually referring to anyone HERE on our forums. Regardless of all that, I like her and always have. She used to be pretty much the only one on this show that would give honest critiques, although she's tried to tone that down a bit since everyone called her hateful. I say, she paid for those boobs and if she wants to showcase them, why not? I think it's a little extreme sometimes, but it's entertainment. Look how Gwen dresses:  in leather, feathers and sequins. I, for one, will be sorry, if she is leaving the show for good. (Christina, not Gwen; idc if Gwen never comes back).

A break from Xtina is nice, but I hope she'll come back next season, or the next, because the show won't be the same without her. I'm actually looking forward to Miley, but Alicia Keys bores me. Not talent-wise, but "personality-wise."