S10.E26: Live Semi-Final Results

[Ketzel]

On ‎5‎/‎18‎/‎2016 at 4:13 AM, bluepiano said:

I think Laith won the save based on overall performance, which mostly means his guitar playing. He did not one but TWO solos, which I've never seen by any other contestant playing an instrument. My guess is that Adam pushed for that, knowing the guitar was Laith's ace in the hole.

In a way it's really unfair to the other competitors, who are not playing an instrument. Backing your vocal on guitar or piano is one thing, but the guitar being that out front is an unfair advantage. If he were on "America's Got Talent" I would say that he should be judged on the whole talent package, but on The Voice it should be 90% about the singing, not 50% - 50% voice and instrument.

Additionally, I agree with Infinite Mystery that his version of "All Along the Watchtower" was a straight copy of Hendrix, and no better than what I could hear an average guitarist/singer do at my local blues bar.

Every contestant has their individual ace-in-the-hole. Whether it's faith, or sex appeal or genre or youth or physical appearance or the particular bond with the coach, every singer is competing with everything they've got. If this were really solely about the vocals, they'd be singing a capella behind a curtain with no identified coaches until the winner was declared. But who'd watch that?  (Well, I would, but I'm a little odd.) :-)

I've spent a lot of my time in bars listening to the blues (my old man was a blues guitarist.) I think you must have been coming across some very, very fine guitarist/singers at your local blues bar if they could re-create Hendrix solos note for note.  Even that is quite a technical achievement.  Laith was definitely doing a rock styling of the song (not often heard, not often welcome in a hardcore blues setting) but he was not mimicking Hendrix, imo. He's a master with that guitar and a very instinctive player. I'm guessing he might actually find it difficult to do a note-for-note cover, especially if he was feeling the song.

I really hope he wins.

[roamyn]

Spoiler

 

Yeah, that turned me off Adam.  And I havs been voting for him  (& others, including Laith) all season.

He lost my vote in the finale.

 

In other news, Maroon 5 have cancelled their 2 NC performances in Charlotte & Raleigh.

Edited May 20, 2016 by roamyn

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

The Voice Finds Its Finalists

America gets half the vote right, as four semi-talented semi-finalists get sent home, and four marginally more talented finalists luck out.

[bluepiano]

7 hours ago, Ketzel said:

I've spent a lot of my time in bars listening to the blues (my old man was a blues guitarist.) I think you must have been coming across some very, very fine guitarist/singers at your local blues bar if they could re-create Hendrix solos note for note. 

I'm actually a working blues musician myself (keyboards), and have been fortunate to play with some amazing guitarists, including a couple of national touring artists. But I did not mean to denigrate Laith. He's a fine guitarist, and I'd love to hear him live in a more relaxed setting, where he can stretch out musically. But my feeling is that because he's doing something no one has ever done before on The Voice, he may be getting "extra credit" because of that. Whereas in the context of other professional guitarist/singers, what he's doing might be considered good but not jaw dropping spectacular, which is how the judges have been responding.

I would also contrast what Laith did on Watchtower and in a couple of other performances with the approach of Adam Wakefield, who's also a fine instrumentalist, but has kept his playing more low key in order to feature his singing. Which seems to me the right approach, since the show is called "The Voice" and it's not an all-around talent competition.

Edited May 20, 2016 by bluepiano

[Minim]

I am not a professional musician, but have been around enough of them to feel that Laith is a far above average bar guitarist. I agree with bluepiano though that he is not that incredible among his semi-pro blues-playing peers. While far and away better than most Voice contestants as a musician, I also don’t think he deserves the best-musician-evah tongue bath he’s been getting on the show. Cole Vosbury is at least as good of a guitarist (in my non-expert opinion, better – Cole covering Hendrix, rather note-for-note, but think he is only about 20 here, so I cut him a lot of slack on the originality/lack thereof front https://youtu.be/t2y983DQxTw and he's shown his skills elsewhere). Nicholas David, Judith Hill and this season’s Adam are all also skilled musicians (I’m sure there have been more I can’t remember).

Laith is the only one with his musicianship consistently on display though and I think it’s because his voice is mediocre and uninteresting (to me anyway – e.g. growls are used with no subtlety/way too much regularity and sound more like gurgles). Nicholas' voice had a fresh sort of 70s funk-meets-blues-meets-folk thing going on and made top 3 without having to resort to the guitar or piano. Judith had a stunning voice, although may not have gone any further even playing her musical skills cards since she was apparently deemed ‘unlikeable’, but think Cole could’ve really used his skills to go further on the show. Just as Ketzel says, many other contestants play the non-vocal cards they’re holding to get ahead; I can’t blame Laith for doing the same.

[Noreaster]

To be fair, if we're comparing what these contestants are doing relative to "real-life" musicians, they are probably constrained as to what they can display on the show...partly due to time, partly due to competition strategy (voters may be more likely to reward familiarity over originality).  

[Ketzel]

On ‎5‎/‎20‎/‎2016 at 6:01 PM, bluepiano said:

I'm actually a working blues musician myself (keyboards), and have been fortunate to play with some amazing guitarists, including a couple of national touring artists. But I did not mean to denigrate Laith. He's a fine guitarist, and I'd love to hear him live in a more relaxed setting, where he can stretch out musically. But my feeling is that because he's doing something no one has ever done before on The Voice, he may be getting "extra credit" because of that. Whereas in the context of other professional guitarist/singers, what he's doing might be considered good but not jaw dropping spectacular, which is how the judges have been responding.

I would also contrast what Laith did on Watchtower and in a couple of other performances with the approach of Adam Wakefield, who's also a fine instrumentalist, but has kept his playing more low key in order to feature his singing. Which seems to me the right approach, since the show is called "The Voice" and it's not an all-around talent competition.

Leaving aside relative skill levels on their instruments, I'd say both Adam and Laith have developed the right approach to this competition. But that's defining the right approach as the one that keeps you on the show from week to week, all the way to the finale, so you get the maximum amount of exposure. I'm skeptical that Adam has been tailoring his approach out of a pure desire to honor the underlying concept of The Voice, as opposed to tailoring it to what he and his coach think is most likely to get him votes. When Adam thinks pushing the instrument forward will work for him, he doesn't hesitate to do it. (For example his piano playing on "I've Got A Woman.")

It won't break my heart if Adam wins. He's doing a good job. But I love the idea, unlikely as it is, that an older guy, portly, bespectacled, bearded and balding, someone whose been singing his heart out on the blues circuit for years and is a damn fine guitarist to boot, could win The Voice. Come on, 'Merica! Vote for him! :)

Edited May 23, 2016 by Ketzel

[Sammich]

17 hours ago, Minim said:

I am not a professional musician, but have been around enough of them to feel that Laith is a far above average bar guitarist. I agree with bluepiano though that he is not that incredible among his semi-pro blues-playing peers. While far and away better than most Voice contestants as a musician, I also don’t think he deserves the best-musician-evah tongue bath he’s been getting on the show. Cole Vosbury is at least as good of a guitarist (in my non-expert opinion, better – Cole covering Hendrix, rather note-for-note, but think he is only about 20 here, so I cut him a lot of slack on the originality/lack thereof front https://youtu.be/t2y983DQxTw and he's shown his skills elsewhere). Nicholas David, Judith Hill and this season’s Adam are all also skilled musicians (I’m sure there have been more I can’t remember).

Laith is the only one with his musicianship consistently on display though and I think it’s because his voice is mediocre and uninteresting (to me anyway – e.g. growls are used with no subtlety/way too much regularity and sound more like gurgles). Nicholas' voice had a fresh sort of 70s funk-meets-blues-meets-folk thing going on and made top 3 without having to resort to the guitar or piano. Judith had a stunning voice, although may not have gone any further even playing her musical skills cards since she was apparently deemed ‘unlikeable’, but think Cole could’ve really used his skills to go further on the show. Just as Ketzel says, many other contestants play the non-vocal cards they’re holding to get ahead; I can’t blame Laith for doing the same.

Thanks for bringing up Cole's musicianship on The Voice. He was able to show more of his guitar skills during a group performance on the finale.