S11.E12: The Knockouts Premiere

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

The knockout round kicks off with the artists selecting their own song to perform. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill serve as key advisers.

[Jabu]

To remind everyone, here are the team rosters/cheat sheets going into the Knockouts:

Team Adam
Riley Elmore
Billy Gilman
Ponciano Seoane
Nolan Neal
Simone Gundy
Brendan Fletcher
Jason Warrior
Dave Moisan

Team Miley
Ali Caldwell
Sophia Urista
Josette Diaz
Maye Thomas
Darby Walker
Aaron Gibson
Lauren Diaz
Josh Halverson

Team Alicia
Christian Cuevas
Wé McDonald
Michael Sanchez
Belle Jewel
Kylie Rothfield
Whitney & Shannon
Courtnie Ramirez
Sa'Rayah

Team Blake
Sundance Head
Courtney Harrell
Josh Gallagher
Dana Harper
Gabe Broussard
Austin Allsup
Karlee Metzger
Bindi Liebowitz

[mangosplums]

Honestly I'm finding the song choices/performances this year lacking inspiration or creativity. Nobody has chosen something unique, or put an interesting spin on anything. Any female who has anything unique or interesting about her gets eliminated in favor of generic, white men. The performances tonight that had the most competent singing were Ali and We. I quite liked Courtnie and Sundance, their song choice were slightly more interesting than the rest, and Whitney/Shannon are interesting because they very pretty to hear when they harmonize. It's too bad that they're gone.  And is it me or was Riley completely out of tune the whole time?

Edited October 25, 2016 by mangosplums

[kathyk24]

I disagreed with most of the judges tonight. I liked Courtnie more than We and Jason was better than Riley. I thought Kiley gave the best performance of the night. I think Blake's team isn't getting enough publicity he had one battle and his singers haven't gotten the prime spots throughout the series.

[JunebugWA]

3 hours ago, mangosplums said:

 And is it me or was Riley completely out of tune the whole time?

I thought the same thing. He was very flat his entire performance. My hubby thought Adam would pick Jason but knowing Adam I predicted he would pick his pet, Riley and he proved me right. Glad Blake took Jason. 

[vb68]

Riley also  was just awkward as hell in moving around the stage.  He looked like a deer in the headlights.

Tim Mcgraw's face when he heard We sing was everything. 

Edited October 25, 2016 by vb68

[bluepiano]

It's been commented on in this forum how usually the judges know who they're going to pick, and the actual performances (whether in the knock-outs or battle) don't really matter. I thought Courtnie vs We was an example of that. We is clearly one of the chosen ones, and short of a total crash and burn there's no way she wasn't getting to the lives. And Riley is very much Adam's pet, so his nervous, shaky vocal didn't matter.

For me it was a pretty blah night, and I think every winner was predictable. Also too many songs we've heard done too many times. (Like "Midnight Train to Georgia). Kylie and her guitar were about the only thing that livened up the night. And that shows how you beat a duo, by doing something that's a complete 180 from the duo's style. When the sisters came on they sounded "pretty," as usual, but suddenly "pretty" was kind of dull.

I did notice that in We's sound bite after she won she spoke in a normal voice that matched her singing voice. I guess she was so excited she forgot that she was supposed to have that breathy, little girl speaking voice. But I bet in the lives she goes back to it.

Edited October 25, 2016 by bluepiano

[Padma]

I figured Josh was a goner against Sundance, so I was glad (and surprised) when Adam saved him. If he'd like to keep doing Brooks and Dunn covers, I'm fine with that. I thought he did very well with "My Maria" (and, yes, I know it's a cover, but everyone thinks of it as B&D).

I missed about half of them but no one really stood out. I thought Riley's song choice and performance were pretty "meh", but I don't mind him advancing (glad Blake stole Jason, making his team more interesting). There's some nice variety stylistically, so I'm fine with the way the season's going so far. I really have no one yet that I feel strongly about rooting for.

[bluepiano]

9 minutes ago, Padma said:

I figured Josh was a goner against Sundance, so I was glad (and surprised) when Adam saved him. If he'd like to keep doing Brooks and Dunn covers, I'm fine with that. I thought he did very well with "My Maria" (and, yes, I know it's a cover, but everyone thinks of it as B&D).

Wow, I know nothing about contemporary country, because the only version of that song I know is the original by B.W. Stevenson, which I always loved. (I just looked B.W. Stevenson up on Wikipedia and was sad to learn he died during heart surgery at only 38).

I thought Josh did a very nice job with the song, and it made me feel that maybe he's more than just a generic country singer, which is what I called him last week. I'm glad that he was stolen, even if Adam's main motivation was to try to show up Blake.

Edited October 25, 2016 by bluepiano

[Jabu]

Team rosters/cheat sheets thus far:

Team Adam
Simone Gundy (defeated Dave Moisan)
Riley Elmore (defeated Jason Warrior)
Josh Gallagher (stolen from Team Blake)

(Still Waiting)
Billy Gilman
Ponciano Seoane
Nolan Neal
Brendan Fletcher

Team Miley
Ali Caldwell (defeated Lauren Diaz)

(Still Waiting)
Sophia Urista
Josette Diaz
Maye Thomas
Darby Walker
Aaron Gibson
Josh Halverson

Team Alicia
Kylie Rothfield (defeated Whitney & Shannon)
Wé McDonald (defeated Courtnie Ramirez)

(Still Waiting)
Christian Cuevas
Michael Sanchez
Belle Jewel
Sa'Rayah

Team Blake
Sundance Head (defeated Josh Gallagher)
Jason Warrior (stolen from Team Adam)

(Still Waiting)
Courtney Harrell
Dana Harper
Gabe Broussard
Austin Allsup
Karlee Metzger
Bindi Liebowitz

Names in bold indicate artists who have newly performed and stayed on their teams or been stolen by another coach.  An asterisk indicates that this artist's Knockout was montaged.

Edited October 26, 2016 by Jabu

[Michel]

Tim and Faith were surprisingly good advisors.  If Blake ever does want to take a season or two off (not that I think he will unless he absolutely wants to), I wouldn't be against one of them taking the country seat.

Anyway, on to the matchups:

Josh vs. Sundance: I frankly thought Sundance owned that matchup.  I don't know what everyone's thinking by saying Josh was better.  I paid attention to Sundance the whole time through.  And the fact that he did so with such a stripped-down performance with just his guitar made me root for him to win even more!  So he earned the win.  Absolutely.  Josh pretty much bored me.  I was not impressed with "My Maria."  So in a lot of ways, if this turned out to be a wasted steal on Adam's part, I'll be happy that he wasted it.

Kylie vs. Whitney & Shannon: I have to agree with @bluepiano.  At first, when I learned that Alicia was dumping her pair, and giving up her chance to take her first pair to the Lives, I was wondering how the hell she could be so stupid.  And then . . . the performances aired.  Kylie absolutely owned her performance and worked the stage like no tomorrow.  Whitney & Shannon had good harmonies once more, and even their solo parts were lovely.  But they didn't do much to actually perform like Kylie did.  So as sad as I was to see the sisters go, Kylie earned the win here.

Ali vs. Lauren: This was another predictable win.  Ali totally owned the performance and had a great, big voice, to boot.  Lauren did an excellent job, as well, but there was just no beating Ali.  I thought Alicia might steal her back, but she pretty much made a good point as to why she didn't.  She does have voices like hers on her team.

Dave vs. Simone: For the second time, Dave, a four-chair-turn, lost to someone who turned fewer chairs.  I liked Simone's performance very much, despite "Midnight Train to Georgia" being seemingly overdone (though I thought Regina Love did it better back in season nine).  She had a good mix of power and control, and she was believable about the performance.  Dave, like Adam said, clearly let nerves get to him, and it showed.  I was actually shocked that Alicia didn't steal him back.  She might've been able to use someone like him on her team.

Courtnie vs. Wé: Courtnie definitely did the best she could, but there was absolutely no way anyone was beating Wé.  And choosing a Mary J. Blige song and performing it well definitely guaranteed that Wé was getting through.  I'm kind of shocked Miley didn't try to steal Courtnie back.  I liked Courtnie a lot, thought she was interesting, and will greatly miss her.

Jason vs. Riley: Honestly, based on performances, I'd have chosen Jason.  I straight-up thought he won that.  But as has been said above, Riley is very clearly Adam's pet, or one of them.  Plus, I think he's too desperate to get a crooner to the Lives.  I thought he was boring and off-key, really, and Jason was owning his vocals and his performances.  He should've won that.  Glad Blake recognized that and stole him.

While I agree that a lot of the song choices were uninspired, I still think the performances were basically ranging from good to great.  So I'm still liking this season's talent.  I just hope the coaches put some good teams together for the Lives.

Well, if the previews tomorrow are accurate and Adam, Alicia, and Blake all have pairs performing, then that means Miley will go into next Monday's final Knockout show with three pairs.  Which means that she'll be getting the dreaded montage for one of her pairs.  That's an odd choice, since I figured they'd show all five matches of their new coaches and just montage one of Adam or Blake's pairs instead.

Edited October 25, 2016 by Michel

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Internet gremlins have stopped this post twice. Maybe the internet is trying to tell me something...

I think Blake just employed a bit of strategery for the second season in a row. Last year he made the curious steal decision of Joe Maye in the KOs. At the time, I thought it made very little sense unless you believed that he was lessening the pain of a judges save decision by choosing someone who he had to have been 99% sure was not going to pull enough votes to finish top 2, and barring an unfortunate case of stage fright and/or measles....is not going to be his judge saves choice. I believe this is happening again with Jason. Who despite our shared NIU ties, is an extremely derivative R&B/Soul singer who is completely off-putting to watch perform.

The other steal, Josh is just the latest version of The Voice's long running subplot....can Adam win with or at least take a country singer farther than Blake? Courtnie, Lauren, or even the Sisters were more deserving of steals than either of the two that happened this episode. Courtnie in particular must of screamed fodder for some reason cause she had to deal with two of the seasons inexplicable anointed ones in Ali and We. So now she's going home despite being more talented than probably all but 6 or 8 of the singers (not counting any bring backs) singing next week.

Riley is Adam's pet. Check. Dave's bromance with Adam is over before it started...consider me a little surprised, Simone seems destined to be eliminated or in need of Adam's save next week, whereas I thought Dave might draw his fair share of votes once we got to America.

I would love for one season if the Voice said all songs performed by the contestants had to been released (not just covered) in past 5 years. I mean, Midnight Train to Georgia? Hounddog? Seriously, part of why no non-country, non-Blake supported artist has ever truly emerged (Melanie has to a small degree and Jordan is off on his own profitable for now planet of inspirational/vaguely Contemporary Christian-ish songs) from this show is because they aren't taken seriously as current artists because even the new songs picked like Rise Up and If I were a Boy have that older feel divorced from what's actually happening in pop music at the moment.

[Crs97]

I thought Riley let his nerves get the best of him; he sounded much better at practice.  However, I also have the minority opinion of being underwhelmed by Jason.  I thought his falsetto notes were out of tune and borderline painful.  At least Riley brings a little novelty for those of us who are tired of people confusing yelling with singing.  Riley, you got a second chance here so get control of those nerves.

[TaraS1]

5 hours ago, bluepiano said:

I did notice that in We's sound bite after she won she spoke in a normal voice that matched her singing voice. I guess she was so excited she forgot that she was supposed to have that breathy, little girl speaking voice. But I bet in the lives she goes back to it.

That's why I can't get excited about her singing voice, because the speaking one is so fake.  I don't know if it's the show telling her to keep doing it, if it's her mom, if it's her, whoever - it's phony and I hate it.

"Oh We, you are so amazing!"

*little girl giggle* "Thinkyou."  

Blech.

[Primetimer]

A new round starts, but doesn't exactly sparkle.

View the full article

[Noreaster]

I watched the performances on youtube.  I enjoyed Kylie's "Hound Dog" the most.  The two country guys were not bad. Riley's performance was problematic but at least kind of interesting.  For the rest, I thought the males hit some pretty bad notes while the females were just boring.  

[Keekski]

8 hours ago, bluepiano said:

I did notice that in We's sound bite after she won she spoke in a normal voice that matched her singing voice. I guess she was so excited she forgot that she was supposed to have that breathy, little girl speaking voice. But I bet in the lives she goes back to it.

Yup, totally noticed that, too. Faker.

[Padma]

5 hours ago, Keekski said:

Yup, totally noticed that, too. Faker.

I was so glad she dropped the act for a minute. Because I said her voice seemed fake in the blinds and am glad I wasn't just being overly suspicious and negative.  That high little voice is a thing girls do now, maybe from anime or because it's so popular with teens on Youtube.  In Asia, it's called a doll voice.

I wish they'd stop. Music needs to feel sincere in emotions expressed.  I don't know how anyone who thinks its fine to mislead people about her speaking voice--to lie to us about something so basic--has the requisite sincerity and respect for her audience to be a musical artist.

And as annoying as it is to see faked on the show, it's 10xs worse in person--and so embarrassing to see people being taken in by it.  There's a level of talent that would compensate for being fake and lying, but she doesn't have it. Wé can leave any time as far as I'm concerned.   

Edited October 25, 2016 by Padma

[Keekski]

Remember when Tessanne dropped her accent act? Which is not really at all the same because she was just trying to be more American. And really, it is unusual to see somebody Asian with a Jamaican accent. 

[tpplay]

My main takeaway is that I think it would be both ironic and hilarious if Jason won.

[Michel]

8 hours ago, Padma said:

I was so glad she dropped the act for a minute. Because I said her voice seemed fake in the blinds and am glad I wasn't just being overly suspicious and negative.  That high little voice is a thing girls do now, maybe from anime or because it's so popular with teens on Youtube.  In Asia, it's called a doll voice.

I wish they'd stop. Music needs to feel sincere in emotions expressed.  I don't know how anyone who thinks its fine to mislead people about her speaking voice--to lie to us about something so basic--has the requisite sincerity and respect for her audience to be a musical artist.

And as annoying as it is to see faked on the show, it's 10xs worse in person--and so embarrassing to see people being taken in by it.  There's a level of talent that would compensate for being fake and lying, but she doesn't have it. Wé can leave any time as far as I'm concerned.   

I don't believe she's faking for one second.  I have a fairly high speaking voice myself and can sometimes slip into a lower speaking register under the right circumstances without even meaning to.  Wé is probably the same.  Lots of high-voiced people, men or women, are like that.

And I have seen no hint that anyone there has questioned her voice.  So she slips into a deeper speaking register every so often.  Big deal.  Until I see proof that someone has questioned her, I will continue to believe that she is the genuine article.

Edited October 26, 2016 by Michel

[Jal]

On 10/25/2016 at 2:10 PM, Padma said:

Music needs to feel sincere in emotions expressed.  I don't know how anyone who thinks its fine to mislead people about her speaking voice--to lie to us about something so basic--has the requisite sincerity and respect for her audience to be a musical artist.

And as annoying as it is to see faked on the show, it's 10xs worse in person--and so embarrassing to see people being taken in by it.  There's a level of talent that would compensate for being fake and lying, but she doesn't have it. Wé can leave any time as far as I'm concerned.   

haha

Wé doesn't owe you or anyone else anything. Plenty of people have different registers in their voices, and sometimes they'll slip into the lower one without realizing it, or depending on their mood. It's more likely that she trained her singing voice to be the way it is, rather than her speaking voice. Also, she's young. If she is faking, she'll outgrow it.

Sorry to say, but she does have the singing talent to overcome any type of negative rumours about her speaking voice.

Edit: also a fan of Kylie and Courtney

Edited October 27, 2016 by Jal

[viajero]

I mostly enjoyed this episode.  For me the highlights were Wé and Ali's vocals, Kylie's overall performance, what Sundance did with The Climb, and Courtney's energetic intensity. 

The lowlights were Adam's two boneheaded decisions.  (1) Using his only steal on the overly generic Josh and his weak uneven falsetto over the much more deserving and interesting Courtney or Lauren, and (2) Picking Riley as the winner of the last knockout after he had been thoroughly out-sung by Jason.

Other than Riley, I can't really argue with the remaining winners.

My ranking of the performances:

1. Wé

2. Kylie

3. Ali

4. Sundance

5. Courtney

6. Jason

7. Simone

8. Lauren

9. Josh

10. Whitney & Shannon

11. Riley

12. Dave

I really hope that this isn't the last we've seen of Courtney (or Lauren) if they do bring back contestants for the live playoffs.

Finally, I also don't believe Wé is faking at all.  She seems like a normal somewhat ditzy teenager (at least when she's not singing).

[PepperMonkey]

Don't really care if We's speaking voice is an affectation. I like her singing voice and that's why she's there. She's also interesting, her mom is interesting and she's got a cool KD Lang wardrobe vibe that I like.

I'm often wondering if things sound differently there than they do for me at home. But then "y'all" will say, for example, that Riley was good, just nervous, and I'm thinking I've lost my mind. I knew Adam would pick him though. Jason was not perfect, but I much prefer him to Riley. Was surprised he sent Moistness (cannot remember his name) home because he and Adam look they are made for each other. His voice - once again: maybe my living room? - was just not good to me at all.

I thought Faith and Tim were fun. And I love seeing Miley in this setting: she's always "seemed" so grown up and jaded to me but she's very earnest and her face just glows with excitement through this process. I'll be excited to see her come back season after next.

Finally, can they MAKE Blake and Adam take a break? 

Edited October 26, 2016 by PepperMonkey

[Michel]

9 hours ago, PepperMonkey said:

Finally, can they MAKE Blake and Adam take a break? 

Technically, they can make them.  But they're likely too afraid of losing ratings if they do, especially with Blake making it very clear he'll be gone for good if they do make him.  It's suspected that Adam has made the same threat, as well.

Really, though, they should just call their bluff and pull the trigger, already.  Despite what either one of them or their fans think, they are not irreplaceable.

Edited October 26, 2016 by Michel

[Crs97]

I thought that Faith was the best last night.  I thought her comments were always on point.  Tim was okay; sometimes it just felt like he was agreeing with Faith's comment or giving a general comment while Faith was very specific with her suggestions.  She definitely impressed me.

[Guest]

I don't know if We's speaking voice is an affectation but I have wondered... if you have so much range and control over your voice, why would you NOT change that speaking voice?   It was so "Minnie on helium" in auditions.  

I also don't mind her menswear look but I really hope they give her somewhat of a make=under because those Groucho Marx eyebrows kill me.  In a bad way.  

Is Bindi gone?  I think wearing a bindi is cool and I think taking the stage name Bindi is cool, but both is too much.

[Michel]

1 hour ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

Is Bindi gone?  I think wearing a bindi is cool and I think taking the stage name Bindi is cool, but both is too much.

Yes.  She was eliminated in the episode after this one after losing to Courtney Harrell.