S11.E11: The Battles, Part 4

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

The battle round continues. The advisers are Joan Jett, Sammy Hagar, Bette Midler and Charlie Puth.

[Jabu]

Final team rosters/cheat sheets going into the Knockouts:

Team Adam
Riley Elmore (defeated Natasha Bure)
Billy Gilman (defeated Andrew DeMuro)
Ponciano Seoane (defeated Elia Esparza)*
Nolan Neal (defeated Johnny Rez)
Simone Gundy (defeated JSOUL)*
Brendan Fletcher (defeated Bindi Liebowitz)
Jason Warrior (stolen from Team Alicia)
Dave Moisan (stolen from Team Alicia)

Team Miley
Ali Caldwell (defeated Courtnie Ramirez)
Sophia Urista (defeated Lane Mack)
Josette Diaz (defeated Charity Bowden)*
Maye Thomas (defeated Khaliya Kimberlie)*
Darby Walker (defeated Karlee Metzger)
Aaron Gibson (defeated Sa'Rayah)
Lauren Diaz (stolen from Team Alicia)
Josh Halverson (stolen from Team Alicia)

Team Alicia
Christian Cuevas (defeated Jason Warrior)
Wé McDonald (defeated Lauren Diaz)
Michael Sanchez (defeated Dave Moisan)
Belle Jewel (defeated Halle Tomlinson)*
Kylie Rothfield (defeated Josh Halverson)
Whitney & Shannon (defeated Gabriel Violett)
Courtnie Ramirez (stolen from Team Miley)
Sa'Rayah (stolen from Team Miley)

Team Blake
Sundance Head (defeated Dan Shafer)
Courtney Harrell (defeated Ethan Tucker)
Josh Gallagher (defeated Blaine Long)
Dana Harper (defeated Tarra Layne)*
Gabe Broussard (defeated Christian Fermin)
Austin Allsup (defeated Preston James)
Karlee Metzger (stolen from Team Miley)
Bindi Liebowitz (stolen from Team Adam)

Names in bold indicate an artist who has either newly Battled and stayed on his or her team or has been stolen by another coach.  An asterisk indicates that this artist's Battle was montaged.

[Michel]

It's a really sad sight that Adam only has one girl on his team heading into the Knockouts, and she was montaged.  He really values his bromances too much.  Meanwhile, Miley and Alicia go on with female-heavy teams, while Blake breaks even with each gender.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Michel

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Called how this episode would play out, exactly. Go me lol....or a sign I watch way too many reality competition shows...

This is how I think the coaches rank their own teams going into KOs (aka who I they will advance, minus their last steal and any bring backs that may or may not be coming):

Adam: 1) Nolan 2) Billy 3) Dave 4) Riley (I don't get it but I really think Adam would rather take him to the lives over Brendan or Simone)

Alicia: 1) We (personally can't stand her, but she appears to be one of the anointed ones this season) 2) Michael 3) Kylie 4) a toss up between Christian and the two sisters

Blake: Three way tie for first with Sundance, Austin and Josh...then 4)??? Hopefully not Gabe, maybe one of his steals in Karlee/Bindi

Miley: Easily has the most confusing team left. Throw out Sophia and Josette who I think are toast...and I could see her taking any combination of four out of the remaining six through to the lives..

Edited October 19, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Michel]

Okay.  Thoughts on the final matches:

Austin vs. Preston: Despite being one-chair turns, this was probably one of Blake's better country Battles between two male artists.  Not wholly interesting, but they both still came out evenly-matched to me.  I think Austin had the edge for the simple reason that his Blind was shown while Preston's was montaged.  But I'm a bit surprised that Blake didn't choose the younger, moldable Preston since he normally prefers those who need to be taught over those who are already there.

Gabriel vs. Whitney & Shannon: Being a solo act going against a pair is never easy, but a few have managed to win against them.  Jubal & Amanda were felled by Amy Vachal in season nine, after all, and Alaska & Madi were felled by a girl whose name I've forgotten in season six.  Unfortunately, I could tell from the performance that Gabriel would not be one of the ones to defeat a pair.  His voice was clear and strong, and it melded with Whitney & Shannon's extremely well.  But compared to the sisters' individual voices and their harmonies, he didn't stand a chance.  Seriously.  Those girls' harmonies are so tight, clean, and just gorgeous.  Just beautiful, clear, unforced tones from both of them.  Gabriel's only hope was going to be Blake's steal.  But he wasn't getting it, so goodbye, Gabriel.

Bindi vs. Brendan: Oh, come on.  Brendan, a rocker, on a rock song?  He was going to beat Bindi no matter what.  You're not fooling me, Adam.  Someone has another agenda.  That said, Brendan did sound very good.  But while Bindi also did a good job, she wasn't touching Brendan, not least because he was another Adam bromance he clearly wanted to keep around.  But hopefully, Bindi will find more of a home on Team Blake.  At least she won't have to worry about any Blake bromances.  That said, I'm a little disappointed.  I was enjoying no steals coming Adam's team.  Still, it says something about the quality of the teams when seven out of the eight steals came from Alicia and Miley's teams -- four from Team Alicia, three from Team Miley.

Well, that does it for the Battles.  On to the Knockouts next week!

Edited October 20, 2016 by Michel

[Michel]

43 minutes ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

Alicia: 1) Wé (personally can't stand her, but she appears to be one of the anointed ones this season) 2) Michael 3) Kylie 4) a toss up between Christian and the two sisters

Blake: Three way tie for first with Sundance, Austin and Josh...then 4)??? Hopefully not Gabe, maybe one of his steals in Karlee/Bindi

First of all, I have no idea what your beef with Wé is.  But it's obvious Alicia's not letting her go.  That long hug she gave her at the Blinds after she chose her, coupled with what she whispered to her, tells me that she definitely plans on taking her to the Lives no matter the opponent.  But I don't think Christian is lower than Michael or Kylie.  I think he's easily her second-best artist, and then Michael and Kylie.

I also don't think Karlee or Bindi will go much farther.  I think Blake wants to take Dana or Courtney through to the Lives over both of them.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

I would've agreed with you on Dana before they montaged her battle....which should alway throw a little doubt on whether someone succeeds in their following KO. The end of episode previews seemed to hold Bindi in pretty good stead, maybe not on Blake's team...but she's at least in play for a steal now.

I've been very forward about feeling like We's speaking voice and whole personality feels incredibly put on and contrived (to possibly help her win a singing contest?).

Totally fine if that's a YMMV for you (for me) in the extreme. I also don't particularly enjoy 16 year olds (bullying or no bullying) ape-ing 80 percent of the Alabama Shakes's lead singer's style with barely any of the life experience to pair with it. Couldn't stand Sawyer's teenage bluesman act on his season either. Probably my favorite teen on this show was Jacquie because she registered as an authentic teen girl who happened to have a big voice. I just got annoyed as her season went on because Xtina kept giving her super old songs...one of her best performances was Stompa (oh look, actually a current song at the time) which she crushed in her KO round...

Edited October 19, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Primetimer]

Teams Adam, Blake, and Alicia all make cases for us not to care.

View the full article

[bluepiano]

10 hours ago, Michel said:

Gabriel vs. Whitney & Shannon: Being a solo act going against a pair is never easy, but a few have managed to win against them.  Jubal & Amanda were felled by Amy Vachal in season nine, after all, and Alaska & Madi were felled by a girl whose name I've forgotten in season six.  Unfortunately, I could tell from the performance that Gabriel would not be one of the ones to defeat a pair.  His voice was clear and strong, and his voice melded with Whitney & Shannon's extremely well.  But compared to the sisters' individual voices and their harmonies, he didn't stand a chance. 

I think you nailed it. Because Gabriel's voice was in the same general range as that of the sisters, there was no way he could stand out. So it was one vs. two, and they had the advantage of being able to harmonize, which they do very well. To add to that, they are sisters, which is a good "hook," and both quite pretty. We all know that though it's called "The Voice," once you get past the blinds external factors like looks and age matter.

I do feel bad for Gabriel, because I think he's a more talented singer than some of the people going on to the next round, and I appreciate that he's not a shouter. For my taste there are generally way too many "big voices" advancing to the later rounds, especially on the female side. But I don't blame the singers, because if they've watched this show in the past they know that's what the coaches respond to.

Even Alicia, who based on her own music I thought might have more appreciation for subtlety. But like other coaches, her eyes light up when someone hits a big note or throws in a "look at me" run. I'm kind of disappointed in her, because I was expecting at least some technical musical feedback. Instead, she's becoming the female Pharrell, saying things like "your voice is a gift to the world" and "you have a beautiful, shining spirit." (At least she doesn't talk about G-d all the time, so that's an improvement).

Edited October 19, 2016 by bluepiano

[huahaha]

14 hours ago, Michel said:

It's a really sad sight that Adam only has one girl on his team heading into the Knockouts, and she was montaged.  He really values his bromances too much.  Meanwhile, Miley and Alicia go on with female-heavy teams, while Blake breaks even with each gender.

I don't know. Blake just had a female singer (don't remember which one, a few episodes back) singing too low until Bette Midler suggested changing the key. He looked surprised that it would even be an issue. There's real value in having a same-gender mentor, which is why having only one woman on the judging panel was a bad idea in the past.

[bluepiano]

Does anyone else think that Austin Allsup looks like a young Billy Bob Thornton?

Edited October 20, 2016 by bluepiano

[limecoke]

The duo was great but I'm sad Blake didn't see the potential in Gabriel instead of going for the more predictable Bindi for his last steal.  Subtle rarely works on this show.  The coaches will always go for loud, shouty, melisma-ridden singers.  They think it's "something special" when it's just more of the same. 

I thought Charlie and Joan were worthless.  Poor Joan was at a disadvantage as The Mouthy One was never going to let anyone else talk much.  Sammy was ok but I loved Bette's approach - far more helpful and practical.

Edited October 20, 2016 by limecoke

[blueray]

There were defiantly things that still annoy me about this show. Duets should not be allowed to compete. It is unfair to compare them to a signal artist. And what annoys me more is that NBC spoils everything. I try my best to skip through it, but I do miss stuff. I wish they would cut that out and let me be surprised who gets the "steal" and obviously don't always save them for last to air ;).

Edited October 20, 2016 by blueray

[MaryPatShelby]

So much this.^^^^ I absolutely hate how they spoil what's going to happen after the commercial.

[hincandenza]

On 10/19/2016 at 6:00 PM, bluepiano said:

Does anyone else think that Austin Allsup looks like a young Billy Bob Thornton?

Absolutely! I've been meaning to post that but I watch on time delay so don't comment too much.  But yeah, everytime he's on screen- much less, whenever he talks- I get BBT vibes, big time.

[viajero]

Overall I thought this was the weakest of the battle round episodes.  Wasn't really all that impressed with any the contestants or battles.  Not that they were bad.  Just meh.  The little bits we saw of some of the montages looked better or at least more interesting.

10 hours ago, limecoke said:

I thought Charlie and Joan were worthless.  Poor Joan was at a disadvantage as The Mouthy One was never going to let anyone else talk much.  Sammy was ok but I loved Bette's approach - far more helpful and practical.

I thought Charlie was surprisingly one of the better mentors.  He gave mostly spot-on useful advice to most of the contestants.

[bluepiano]

3 hours ago, hincandenza said:

Absolutely! I've been meaning to post that but I watch on time delay so don't comment too much.  But yeah, everytime he's on screen- much less, whenever he talks- I get BBT vibes, big time.

What made it extra weird was that on Austin's first appearance, he and Blake Shelton talked about how they met a few years ago at a club called "Billy Bob's."

[JMarie99]

I agree 100% with blueray that duets should not be allowed to compete with single artists. Those two sisters' harmonies were absolutely gorgeous, and while Gabriel has a very good voice, he sort of got lost with them. I'm disappointed that Blake didn't steal him. He said some very nice things about him and pointed out that his transitioning to falsetto was awesome. This impressed me also - in fact I thought he did a better job with this than the guys who originally did the song. I recall the one guy on the original song would practically shout one line and then transition into the weakest falsetto ever. Anyway I liked Gabriel and I think he deserved a chance. Nothing against Bindi but the show already has enough big-voiced female singers. 

Oh, and I just have to add that I LOVE Charlie Puth. I know others have said they never heard of him but his song "One Call Away" is all over the place. And I recently returned from a trip to Italy and the only current American pop song I heard was "We Don't Talk Anymore", his duet with Selena Gomez. I like his voice and I knew he was a songwriter but I had no idea he was a producer as well. I thought he offered some good advice as a mentor. With the other mentors being older, I thought bringing in someone fresh and new was a brilliant idea. And by the way, in case you were wondering, I am an old person writing this. :)

[bluepiano]

21 minutes ago, JMarie99 said:

Anyway I liked Gabriel and I think he deserved a chance. Nothing against Bindi but the show already has enough big-voiced female singers. 

Oh, and I just have to add that I LOVE Charlie Puth.

I think it goes back to what several people have written on this forum. The steals almost always go to the "belters." The coaches often praise people who do more subtle things, like that falsetto transition, but it doesn't seem to be what motivates them to steal. I also think that while Gabriel is a pleasant looking guy there's nothing about his appearance or performance mannerisms that scream "star," and that also factors in to the decision. Like when two singers are more or less even in a battle, usually the younger and/or better looking one gets chosen.

Charlie is a graduate of the Berklee School of Music, so we know he's had some serious musical training. I liked when he recognized one of this former classmates. That was a nice moment. (the woman who played electric guitar.)

Edited October 21, 2016 by bluepiano

[Michel]

On Friday, October 21, 2016 at 10:54 AM, JMarie99 said:

I agree 100% with blueray that duets should not be allowed to compete with single artists. Those two sisters' harmonies were absolutely gorgeous, and while Gabriel has a very good voice, he sort of got lost with them. I'm disappointed that Blake didn't steal him. He said some very nice things about him and pointed out that his transitioning to falsetto was awesome. This impressed me also - in fact I thought he did a better job with this than the guys who originally did the song. I recall the one guy on the original song would practically shout one line and then transition into the weakest falsetto ever. Anyway I liked Gabriel and I think he deserved a chance. Nothing against Bindi but the show already has enough big-voiced female singers. 

Oh, and I just have to add that I LOVE Charlie Puth. I know others have said they never heard of him but his song "One Call Away" is all over the place. And I recently returned from a trip to Italy and the only current American pop song I heard was "We Don't Talk Anymore", his duet with Selena Gomez. I like his voice and I knew he was a songwriter but I had no idea he was a producer as well. I thought he offered some good advice as a mentor. With the other mentors being older, I thought bringing in someone fresh and new was a brilliant idea. And by the way, in case you were wondering, I am an old person writing this. :)

The thing is, as I said above, singles going against duos is difficult, but it's not impossible to defeat them.  Ask Audra McLaughlin, who took down Alaska & Madi in season six, and those girls had amazing harmonies.  Ask Amy Vachal, who defeated Jubal & Amanda in season nine, and Blaine Mitchell, who took down Andi & Alex in that same season.  So given that it is possible for a duo to lose to a single, I'm okay with them being on the show.  That said, I, too, wish that Gabriel had gotten the steal over Bindi.  I think Blake could've done more for him than he could've done for her.

As for Charlie Puth, he's also done "Marvin Gaye" with Meghan Trainor.  Just as she is the female retro '50s/'60s throwback, he is the male equivalent.

On Friday, October 21, 2016 at 11:14 AM, bluepiano said:

Charlie is a graduate of the Berklee School of Music, so we know he's had some serious musical training. I liked when he recognized one of this former classmates. That was a nice moment. (the woman who played electric guitar.)

Actually, they cut something out that you can see in Team Alicia's pre-battle video on the show's YouTube channel.  Kylie actually pointed it out to him that they were Berklee graduates first.  It was only then that Charlie recognized her.

Edited October 22, 2016 by Michel

[gik910]

I think "More than Words" was built for the sisters to win the battle.  Despite his performance background- I don't see how he was supposed to overcome those harmonies and create the mood that song calls for with two girls.  I am bummed. Maybe they will have the bring back again this year- I'd like to see him again.

[hincandenza]

On 10/22/2016 at 1:27 PM, gik910 said:

I think "More than Words" was built for the sisters to win the battle.  Despite his performance background- I don't see how he was supposed to overcome those harmonies and create the mood that song calls for with two girls.  I am bummed. Maybe they will have the bring back again this year- I'd like to see him again.

Yeah, after the blinds the show becomes kind of generic talent competition, because the mentor shenanigans become so obvious .  "Here's a song that is probably one of the best known examples of pop song vocal harmonies since the heyday of ABBA, with the rare singing sisters act... but Mr. Thirdwheel, you totally have an equal shot to move on here!".  We see that a lot in this round, where one singer will get something right in their vocal range and stylistic wheelhouse while the other is told "I totally believe in you miraculously gaining the ability to sing an octave higher than you ever have before sometime in the next 24 hours!".  It'd be laughable if it wasn't kind of cruel, but then these people know by now what they are getting into when they first audition.

Am I misremembering, or didn't they experiment in a couple of past seasons where during this battle round the two singers would get a short list of 3 different songs and get to pick which one they wanted- allowing them to discuss and pick a song that worked well for both of them in terms of style/vocals/taste?  I miss that, as I seem to recall the song choices ended up being smarter, and the performances better.

[Michel]

17 hours ago, hincandenza said:

Yeah, after the blinds the show becomes kind of generic talent competition, because the mentor shenanigans become so obvious .  "Here's a song that is probably one of the best known examples of pop song vocal harmonies since the heyday of ABBA, with the rare singing sisters act... but Mr. Thirdwheel, you totally have an equal shot to move on here!".  We see that a lot in this round, where one singer will get something right in their vocal range and stylistic wheelhouse while the other is told "I totally believe in you miraculously gaining the ability to sing an octave higher than you ever have before sometime in the next 24 hours!".  It'd be laughable if it wasn't kind of cruel, but then these people know by now what they are getting into when they first audition.

Am I misremembering, or didn't they experiment in a couple of past seasons where during this battle round the two singers would get a short list of 3 different songs and get to pick which one they wanted- allowing them to discuss and pick a song that worked well for both of them in terms of style/vocals/taste?  I miss that, as I seem to recall the song choices ended up being smarter, and the performances better.

I actually think Miley and Alicia have done a good job of putting together pairs of people who are mostly on even footing.  Only a few seemed obvious as to who wanted whom to move on.  (I'm pretty sure Miley was definitely passing Sophia through over Lane, and I'm reasonably sure she was always going to take Ali over Courtnie and Darby over Karlee, but I do think Aaron and Sa'Rayah were a tossup, as were Maye and Khaliya and Josette and Charity.  Alicia's only sure things for me were Wé over Lauren and perhaps Whitney & Shannon over Gabriel.  Christian and Jason, Kylie and Josh, Michael and Dave, and Belle and Halle all seemed evenly-matched to me.)  Adam and Blake, though?  Almost always obvious as to whom they're moving along.

As for your other statement, in season six, rather than having a Battle round and a Knockout round, they instead had two Battle rounds -- one in which the coaches chose the songs for the pairs, and one in which the pairs got to choose one song from among three.  Ever since then, it hasn't been done.

Edited October 24, 2016 by Michel