S11.E16: The Live Playoffs

[Michel]

For the first time, the entire top twenty artists perform live for America's votes in a single night.  Viewers vote as the show airs to determine the top twelve.

[Jabu]

To remind you, here are the team rosters heading into the Lives:

Team Adam
Simone Gundy
Riley Elmore
Billy Gilman
Brendan Fletcher
Josh Gallagher

Team Miley
Ali Caldwell
Darby Walker
Sophia Urista
Aaron Gibson
Belle Jewel

Team Alicia
Kylie Rothfield
Wé McDonald
Christian Cuevas
Sa'Rayah
Josh Halverson

Team Blake
Sundance Head
Courtney Harrell
Austin Allsup
Dana Harper
Jason Warrior

[Valny]

Wow, I am loving this new one night performing and voting system. I did  not know they were doing this.

[jjjmoss]

I don't see why they didn't just have results on Wednesday. 

[Court]

Not a fan of real time voting. 

[Valny]

I like it, less time consuming. Although it's, probably harder on the judges... like Blake said, it's going so fast.

Alicia picked the correct three IMO. They were mine too.

Blake had a tough choice to cut.

[PepperMonkey]

I'm stuck at work!!!! Who's still left on the teams????

[DaisyFields500]

Ugh, I wanted Darby to go home.  Her singing style makes me cringe.  She sings the same way every time. I knew Miley was going to save her.  I wanted Sophia to make it so bad.

Edited November 8, 2016 by DaisyFields500

[Valny]

Billy was my fave of the night. "Crying" was awesome. I didn't know he could go there with his voice.

[Valny]

8 minutes ago, DaisyFields500 said:

Ugh, I wanted Darby to go home.  Her singing style makes me cringe.  She sings the same way every time. I knew Miley was going to save her.  I wanted Sophia to make it so bad.

Yeah,I knew Miley would pick her too and wanted Sophia also. When Aaron's name was called first, I yelled Noooooo! Because I knew Sophia would probably be along shot. 

[filmfan2480]

Literally just screamed when Adam picked Brendan over Riley. 

THANK YOU!!

I feel bad for Simone. She SO deserved a spot over, say, SaRayah (sorry, spelling).

Oh, and Darby??? That was horrid. Poor Belle.

[Noreaster]

Oh wow, that was a nutty episode.  Way too fast paced to truly enjoy any of the performances (and a lot of them were actually pretty bad) but surely entertaining! 

This was my first time doing any sort of real-time voting (I don't have twitter).  The app was surprisingly easy to use. Here was the way I voted:

-Team Alicia: Kylie and Sa'rayah.  Sa'rayah had by the far the best performance on this team so I had to vote for her.  Meanwhile, I liked Kylie coming into the live playoffs and thought she did a pretty good job tonight.  I'm disappointed that We got the public vote as I thought she was horrible.  She must have a decent-sized fan base.  

-Team Blake: I was bored in general with this team and was thinking of not voting at all.  However, I disliked Courtney's performance so much (she was the last to perform) that I immediately logged in votes for the other contestants just so I could vote against her.  Actually, I decided not to vote for Jason either because I didn't really like his performance (the song choice was ill-fitting).  So I voted for Austin, Sundance, and Dana.

-Team Miley: I voted for Ali only.  I thought the others either sucked or were boring.

-Team Adam: I voted for Brendan only.  I actually thought everyone on Team Adam did at least a decent job, which is more than I can say for so many other contestants tonight.  But I was losing interest by this point of the show so I just voted for the one that stood out the most to me and that was Brendan. 

Edited November 8, 2016 by Noreaster

[Valny]

24 minutes ago, PepperMonkey said:

I'm stuck at work!!!! Who's still left on the teams????

Miley- Darby, Ali and Aaron

Alicia- We, Christian, Sa'Rayah

Blake- Sundance, Austin, Courtney

Adam- Billy, Josh, Brendan

Did I get these correct?

[PepperMonkey]

Thank you, Valny! And, awww, Dana :(

And, AWWW, Josh! Did he do really badly? I thought I would like him so much more than Christian and even Sa'Rayah, who I can't seem to get behind.

I'll be interested to watch this tomorrow and see what I think of the format!

[Court]

Dang, I wanted Dana to stay.

I don't mind the performances being fast but how many people actually watch this live? I wonder if that may have affected the votes for Blake and Alicia's teams. What about the West Coast as well?,

I think it would have been better to leave the voting window open for all teams until the end of the show. 

Edited November 8, 2016 by Court

[Dots And Stripes]

I don't bother learning names until the live playoffs so tonight was rough for me. I had no idea who half those people were. 

The Twitter votes were interesting. Darby did well by that metric but must have gotten beaten on the app. I don't like Darby. She sounds like an affected version of Florence and the Machine.

Considering how much talent Aleshia and Miley attracted, they have surprisingly weak teams.

Blake tried to give non-country artists a chance but now he has a team that is 2/3 country (or country-ish). Both are poppy enough for me though. Courtney's last note was crazy good.

[TAG42481]

6 minutes ago, Court said:

I think it would have been better to leave the voting window open for all teams until the end of the show. 

I disagree.  That means that different teams would have very different windows for voting times.  The way they did it, every team had about the same amount of time to collect votes.  I understand that you're suggesting a bigger window overall, but I think the way they did it is the most balanced and fair for all of the contestants.

[pezgirl7]

I am SO bummed that Josh went home! He was probably my favorite. I think his song choice hurt him. A darker, edgier song probably would have been better. I could listen to him sing Whiskey and You all day long. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_SV8M7tm-_k

[Court]

16 minutes ago, TAG42481 said:

I disagree.  That means that different teams would have very different windows for voting times.  The way they did it, every team had about the same amount of time to collect votes.  I understand that you're suggesting a bigger window overall, but I think the way they did it is the most balanced and fair for all of the contestants.

I didn't think of that. Then I change my mind to saying it should have been done like the Twitter save? 

I guess I'm just not a fan any way they do it.

[Padma]

Miley's team isn't very competitive, imo.

And how did Adam wind up with my favorite team?  Seriously, I like all of them and think he will have Billy + 1 in the finals. How did that happen?

[kathyk24]

I thought tonight was too rushed. Carson didn't even announce which song Billy was singing. I agree that Darby is overrated. I think Blake will have a finalist between Austin and Sundance. I think he was struggling between Courtney and Dana.

[JunebugWA]

I am so happy (and surprised) that Adam saved Brendan. Brendan has the growly voice that I love!! I thought for sure Adam was going to save his pet, Riley. Blake disappointed me by saving Courtney - I liked Dana much better! 

[Moozer]

Never mind us on the West coast - we'll just sit here quietly with no say in anything :(

[Jabu]

Current team rosters/cheat sheets for the top twelve:

Team Adam
Billy GIlman (saved by America's vote)
Josh Gallagher (saved by America's vote)
Brendan Fletcher (saved by Adam)

Team Miley
Aaron Gibson (saved by America's vote)
Ali Caldwell (saved by America's vote)
Darby Walker (saved by Miley)

Team Alicia
Christian Cuevas (saved by America's vote)
Wé McDonald (saved by America's vote)
Sa'Rayah (saved by Alicia)

Team Blake
Sundance Head (saved by America's vote)
Austin Allsup (saved by America's vote)
Courtney Harrell (saved by Blake)

[Michel]

4 hours ago, Padma said:

And how did Adam wind up with my favorite team?  Seriously, I like all of them and think he will have Billy + 1 in the finals. How did that happen?

Don't know how you could like any of them.  Nothing special about any of them, @Padma.  Not a damn thing.

Edited November 8, 2016 by Michel

[Jolie]

My favorite part of this format is lack of time for extended judges' blathering about the greatness of each artist even when they weren't good.

Not many performances stood out as being very good to me which surprised me, but I guess those nerves set in. I did think that Simone was pretty great, but of course, she got eliminated. Darby was horrendous. I don't see what Miley sees. If she wanted someone quirky, then Belle would have been a better choice.

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Well I listened to the clips at my leisure, but mentally I felt the warp speed this must have been at for those who watched it live. I think having the Western time zones basically vote as a popularity contest (without having heard the performances) definitely hurt Belle who was by the far the least known so far, and probably someone like Simone who was montaged once and just never got much buzz throughout the rounds and blinds.

Team Adam, I wondered if the overall dearth of country singers might send some (undeserving?) votes Josh G.'s way. I'm pretty sure Adam wanted this to work out where Billy and Brendan got the votes, freeing him up to take his pet Riley (or maybe Josh if he just crushed a performance) with the save. Similar thing happened last season where I'm pretty sure Adam wanted to take the young ingenue Caroline through with his save...but then Laith got voted in and he had to use his save unexpectedly on Owen Danoff instead. Pretty sure everyone on this team conceded Billy could've sang the proverbial phone book and was going to get voted through. So the other 4 knew they were battling for just two spots.

Team Alicia, We and Christian. Well We has been one of the anointed ones so she was pretty much a given. Christian just has an intangible, likability factor that has to be helping him out. He also broke out as a HGWG (Hispanic guy w/ guitar) which must have been worth a few extra votes in the Voice-o-sphere. His rendition of Yesterday was fine but nothing wow worthy though. And really, in a save battle between someone who has so much vocal horsepower she wants to show you her tonsils at every opportunity,  an indie folk rock guy and a blues-rock girl.......who was Alicia picking? Of course she was going to go w/ Sa'Rayah.

Team Blake, Semi-grizzled country veterans are like catnip to wide swaths of America's Voice voting public. There was no way Austin and Sundance weren't getting voted through. After Dana's tragic miscalculation on Hall & Oates....Courtney getting the save was pretty much a foregone conclusion. Although someone with more musical chops than yours truly....was she wildly off-pitch on that huge final glory note she went for? Cause to my untrained ears, that was painful.

Team Miley, I just don't love Miley's team. Ali does nothing for me. She's the 37th copy of the same kind of singer that has showed up on AGT, AI, The Voice, and X Factor. She can sing sure. But I just don't care. Aaron gave us some Counting Crows (I'm still waiting for some Edwin McCain or DMB) so yay? Had a feeling that Darby/Belle wouldn't draw votes, and Sophia would struggle too. Of the three, I'd have given Belle one more shot. Her performance wasn't great and fell off in a bunch of spots....ymmv of course I just think there might be something there w/ her and she's miles less off-putting than the other two. Feel reasonably confident that Darby's stay on the Voice will be coming to a close next week.

As an aside, whoever thought a poodle-inspired hairdo for Courtney was a good idea...should be fired. Also feel like Halls or some other lozenge company should sponsor all of Brendan and Aaron's performances from here on... 

Edited November 8, 2016 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Noreaster]

10 hours ago, Court said:

Dang, I wanted Dana to stay.

I don't mind the performances being fast but how many people actually watch this live? I wonder if that may have affected the votes for Blake and Alicia's teams. What about the West Coast as well?,

I think it would have been better to leave the voting window open for all teams until the end of the show. 

People in the eastern and central time zones could watch it live...this accounts for roughly 80% of the US viewing public. People in the western and mountain time zones would have had to vote via the app or twitter without seeing the performances.  For me, I'm on the East Coast but usually watch the show on some type of delay.  Last night, I made sure to watch it live so I could vote if I wanted to.  

I definitely would not want to see this format repeated.  But I understand why the show tried it out this way.  Besides the election itself on Tuesday, NBC probably needed to keep its next few days free of live shows in the event of necessary additional coverage (it's been a rather unpredictable election year to say the least).  

Edited November 8, 2016 by Noreaster

[jjjmoss]

Voice highlights so far for iTunes:
15 Billy Gilman - When We Were Young (The Voice Performance) ADAM

51 Christian Cuevas  - Hello ALICIA. 
72 Aaron Gibson & Sa'Rayah - I’ll Take Care of You
MILEY. ALICIA after steal.
92  Billy Gilman - Man In the Mirror ADAM (II)

43 Sundance Head - The Climb BLAKE
44 Billy Gilman - Fight Song - ADAM (III)
70 Wé McDonald - No More Drama ALICIA
75 Brendan Fletcher - Soulshine ADAM
87 Christian Cuevas - Superstar - ALICIA (II)

so far
31    Billy Gilman    Crying ADAM (IV)
66    Brendan Fletcher    To Love Somebody ADAM (II)
92    Sundance Head    Blue Ain’t Your Color BLAKE (II)

Most notable elimination: 76 Josh Halverson - House of the Rising Sun (The Voice Performance)
19 Josh Halverson - Whiskey and You ALICIA (II)

Edited November 10, 2016 by jjjmoss

[Ketzel]

I mostly felt bad for the contestants. Nearly every one of them showed some issue with nerves (a whole lot of off-pitch singing from people who have not shown any tendency to wander off pitch before.) Also, the miking seemed off - We in particular spent a lot of her time apparently singing in a different key from the band. And the band drowned out a good number of the singers., especially as each song opened.  I couldn't tell if that was the fault of the sound techs, or the fault of the singers for not having breath enough to stand out over the music. Nerves again?

Edited November 8, 2016 by Ketzel

[adhoc]

Wé surprised me with how flat she was. I kept wondering if there was something wrong with her earpiece or the room acoustics, because she was just awful--it seemed to me that even Alicia was not too impressed, though she clapped supportively. Josh, following Wé, also had pitch problems. Sa'Rayah's pitch was fine, but I disliked the fact that her entire performance was an exercise in vocal gymnastics. I mean, I really hated that over-the-top performance. Can't she just once sing a strong straight, and maybe low key? Just trying to keep up with her song delivery is exhausting. I'll pass.

Of all the black female belters--because, come on, there are quite a few this year--I actually may like Ali the best. Her voice is not only excellent, it's got a clearness to it, as opposed to being "thick" and more operatic. And she enunciates. I could actually understand her words, whereas with some of the others, I couldn't. And I like Ali's delivery style. Neither subdued nor over the top. (I do like Courtney Harrell as well, but she did not bring it for me last night.)

What's with some of these singers exiting the stage all unsmiling and almost diva-looking? Whoa. 

I'd have preferred Kylie over Christian. She impressed me more than he did.

Darby's song choice was absurd. She's 18 and she's singing "Those Were the Days, My Friend"? That's like an 18 year old singing "Is That All There Is" or "The Party's Over" or "(I Did It) My Way"  IMHO, she is ridiculously overrated.

I felt bad that on Blake's team, Austin was voted in by America, while all three of the black contestants, IMHO, were better. 

Gotta say Billy knocked it out of the park for me last night. Now if he would just shave the sorry mustache, which, sitting atop that mouth, reminds me of Hitler, that would be great.

[saber5055]

Wow, I thought all the song choices were bad, but thought maybe they were told to choose from some era or something. So many singers were flat or pitchy (tm Randy Jackson) and not fun to listen to. So I didn't, I flipped to DWTS. I felt bad for people who couldn't vote, especially if they are invested in someone. But I was HUGELY grateful the judges blathering on yada yada and yada was cut short. The being-unable-to-vote thing was compensated for by that blessing.

[JMarie99]

I will miss Belle. I knew America wouldn't vote her in but I was really hoping Miley would save her. I can't stand Darby. 

I agree that We sounded very flat last night. I'm not a big fan of hers but she does have a good voice and I've never heard her sound so off-key. 

[mangosplums]

I watched them on YouTube. I don't like how you have to vote off two from each team. If all the talent is concentrated in one team, it kind of screws people over. For example Simone should have gone through over some of the other black female singers, but she didn't because she was on team Adam. 

I was dissapointed in We tonight. She was the only one I was excited about. Either she was having an extremely off night or she's not as amazing as I had thought. Billy Gilman will win the show, it's pretty obvious at this point. He rubs me the wrong way, so I'm not thrilled about that. No point in watching the rest of the show for me. 

[Adusk81]

Almost everyone was terrible. I think the pacing and weird format had a lot to do with that. No time to breathe. All of the belters stood out, of course. Simone got shafted but at least Riley didn't make it. His cheeseball act is tired. Billy can sing, sure, but he seems so fake and produced. I can't get on board. Brenden, however, I feel the opposite about. He seems so real and raw and sexy af. Josh G. Was obviously going through. He's handsome and he's country. No brainer. He was pretty good too. Courtney was painful. Dana was too so that was a toss up but I'd have chosen Dana as she probably had some rich, haunting performance coming up whereas Courtney will continue to scream at us and eventually go away. Austin and Sundance bore me. Aaron sucked bad tonight but I like him. Ali is cookie cutter. Darby is as fake as it gets. Your voice does not sound like that. Stop it. Christian was great. I don't really like him but that was good. We wasn't great tonight but she will most likely win this thing. She is pretty awesome. Sarayah is a thing to marvel at. Pure show. I kinda dig it.  She's like an action movie. Very entertaining and loud but not making anyone feel anything. 

 

Best for me were Brenden, Josh G., Simone. 

Final 4 prediction: We, Sundance, Billy, Josh G.

final 2: We, Billy with We winning.

Edited November 8, 2016 by Adusk81

[Gel]

Oh goodness yes a thousand times about people being off pitch! I thought it was just me, but a lot of them sure sounded flat. Riley sounded miserably off-key for at least half of the song, as did Josh G, as did even We at times, which was startling.

I'm not a fan of the hold-out-that-one-note-forever trick because it's perilously close to screaming, but you gotta admit it's pretty much the only way to drown out the band. Why is the band so loud?

[Nedsdag]

Gee, that was fast. Sorta like quickie sex (wham, bam, thank you, ma'am/man)!

• Song choice is crucial, which is why Dana and Josh are going home. If Dana was going to choose any Hall & Oates song that fits her singing style, it should've been One on One. As for Josh, naw, dawg, it didn't work for me (apologies to Randy Jackson).
• When all else fails, Blake gets out the cowboy hats and plops them on Sundance's and Austin's heads. TBTH, they didn't need the hats; they were going through regardless.
• Wé is my favorite, but I didn't like her song choice nor her voice. It's a good thing she has a strong fan base because she could've gone home. As for the other divas, Sa'Rayah totally gave the middle finger to her critics who didn't think Alicia should've chosen her over Michael last week with her performance. I didn't think Alicia was going to choose her before she sang, but after that performance, she left her with no choice. I liked Ali over Courtney in regards to their singing. I just hope America won't confuse all four big sounding women  in the upcoming weeks.
• Two revelations from Adam's team: Josh and Brendan. Josh has the country look and sound that Austin and Sundance are lacking on Blake's team. Also, I think Brendan may be a dark horse not only for Adam's team, but to win the whole thing. He has the full package: he's good looking, he's a WGWG, and he chooses decent songs. In fact, I would choose him to win over Burnett & Co.'s Chosen One Billy, who looks like he could play Marty McFly if they ever did a musical production of Back to the Future. Like Alisan last year, The Voice should not become a rebranding program for child prodigies who fizzled out.
• Dullby's "performance" made me cringe last night. I didn't like that song when I was a kid and I certainly do not like it as an adult. I mean, WTF was she attempting to do? She looked like someone forgot to tell her that Burning Man ended a few months ago. I know Miley likes "edgy", but even bad performance artists can see crap like this from miles away. 

[Padma]

I thought there were pitch issues, too.  And I don't understand why they can't mix the sound better so the band doesn't drown out the singing.  But there was another weird thing too.  I can't remember which singer--I think female, maybe from Alicia's team? Anyway, I don't know if it was her fault or the band's but either they were dragging or she was rushing--the tempo was bizarrely mismatched. Maybe I'll listen again--I was kind of in and out--but song selection was a problem for me for most of them so I don't think I'd want to listen to them all again.

I was glad Billy chose a song I like, Roy Orbison's "Crying". His voice has such a pure and pleasant tone and I appreciate that he wants to show his range because he has a good one.

However, I felt something was missing from that performance and, geeking out for a minute, here are two earlier well known versions (not including K.D. Lang's).  For me, they highlight a problem with Billy.

Roy Orbison's "Crying"

#1 Roy Orbison (you'll see Springsteen on guitar in the background)

Don McClean "Crying"

 #2 Don Mcclean -- a stripped down version with guitar.

Billy Gilman "Crying", The Voice

And finally, as a novelty, here's #4:  Billy singing this same song as a kid, thrilling the bubblegum set:

Billy Gilman, "Crying" performed as a boy

I think Billy may win, but I realize why I'm not sold on him yet. He has a lovely voice, but is -imo- too much "in his head" trying to be a "big pop star" when he sings and for me, I feel there's some emotional disconnect from the song.  Both Orbison and McClean really get the feeling across in a way that Billy does not.  Maybe he could unlearn habits and improve.  Or maybe he just learned too young that he could impress people with his voice and can't get out of his head to connect better with the song. If that's the case, maybe he should try fun, upbeat songs that don't require a lot of emotional connection.

(I'll try not to hold against him that clip from the past and how much I generally hate it when children sing songs about emotions they've never felt yet).

Edited November 8, 2016 by Padma

[bluepiano]

3 hours ago, JMarie99 said:

I will miss Belle. I knew America wouldn't vote her in but I was really hoping Miley would save her. I can't stand Darby. 

I agree that We sounded very flat last night. I'm not a big fan of hers but she does have a good voice and I've never heard her sound so off-key. 

But don't you know, Darby is mini-me of Miley, and Miley likes dressing her. Those are sure some great reasons to pick a singer. Yuck. At least Adam didn't save his "pet" Riley, who has a beautiful tone but took on a song that was beyond his abilities at this point in his development.

Apparently there's nothing beyond Billy's ability. Have not been a fan so far, but wow, he hits those notes so effortlessly.

In most seasons of this show I have not made it through to the end, because all the singers who interest me have been eliminated. This season is heading that way. I think half of the final 12 are r&b shouters. That's one style of singing. It's not the only style. I love Sam Cooke, and thought Josh did a really sweet version of "Cupid." But no way that kind of subtle singing wins on this show versus glory notes and shouting.

Alicia has disappointed me by going for the obvious soul divas over Michael Sanchez, Josh Halverson, and Kylie, three people who would've brought something different to the show. Add Belle to that list. All gone.

We is looking like inevitable final two, no matter how good or bad she sings each week.

It struck me that this is the first season I can remember where Blake didn't have a cute blonde girl country singer.

Josh Gallagher is this year's "country cockroach," who you just can't seem to get rid of.  I guess never underestimate the country voting bloc. (Fewer country fans on the west coast, but that coast didn't count). You knew Adam was surprised, and it kind of screwed up his plans. I think he figured either Brendan or Riley would get voted through and then he would save the other one.

To paraphrase an earlier poster, we're going to spend a lot of time this season looking at peoples' tonsils.

Edited November 8, 2016 by bluepiano

[hnygrl]

I'm going on record as saying I HATE this new way of voting.

I'm in Hawaii. Five or six hours earlier than east coast. While you guys are watching "live?" It's only one or two in the afternoon and I'm still at work. By the time I get to see the show the "live" voting has been over for HOURS!

I HATE THAT!!!! 

Why bother watching if I can't vote? And watching all of them sing in one big group? And I'm supposed to remember who sang what and how good? NO. Just. No.

I officially hate this. And i hope it was a one time thing because of the election.  If not, for me? It's just not worth watching. The best part of the lives is the voting for your favorites!!! If I can't even do that? Why bother? It's already a done deal by the time the theme song plays and that's just not freaking fair.

[Princess Lucky]

I decided to watch for the first time this season, and boy did 80% of the singers sound weak.

(I apologize for not knowing anyone's names)

I was disappointed to see the two country dudes advancing on Team Blake, but it was what I expected. At least I was happy with his save (she also sounded a little flaky, but I think it was nerves, because she had great moments mixed in), though I would have picked all 3 non-country contestants to advance. He had one of the best teams in terms of overall vocal skill.

Adam actually ended up with a solid team, though that one guy has an almost Randy Newman-like voice, and the other one is like Ryan Tedder's twin (I'm sure those comparisons have already been made in previous weeks). But the cute country guy especially had a sweet voice and a more current sound, and I was happy he advanced. I do wish Adam had saved the girl, though, she was one of the strongest singers on the competition overall.

On Miley's team I think the audience chose wisely. The guy had a great voice and a nice style, and the girl was a very solid singer. I totally disagree with Miley's predictable pick (ugh) but I wasn't particularly impressed by any of her remaining artists, so I didn't mind that much.

Alicia's team sounded kind of off, maybe because they performed first? Only Sa’Rayah (only name I remember, and only spelling I looked up) sounded good, and I'm glad she was saved (in fact, I can't believe the audience didn't save her).  Both of the singers the audience saved had tons of issues tonight, though from this thread I gather that's unusual, so maybe it was nerves.

Overall, I like Sa’Rayah, the country dude on team Adam, and the singer Blake saved the most. And Miley's two audience-saved contestants are solid. I don't know that I like any of them enough to keep watching, but I think I'll check out some of the blind auditions/previous appearances of the ones I did like.

[Guest]

11 hours ago, Noreaster said:

People in the eastern and central time zones could watch it live...this accounts for roughly 80% of the US viewing public.  

Wow, that surprises me.  I thought it must be wrong so I did some research and I think it's right.  

Edited November 9, 2016 by Guest

[ProudMary]

I was not at home last night and couldn't watch live which, of course, means I couldn't vote so I wasn't happy with the new voting format.  I hope it was only done this one time because of the election.  I did head over here last night after the show aired to see which singers had advanced and I caught up on the performances today.

It was pretty stunning how bad the majority of the performances were.  I still can't get over how many of the contestants were off key.  We' in particular was a shocker as she has so far been rock solid.  

Song choices last night were fairly awful across the board.  Was the theme of the show, "Songs that were popular decades before the singer was born?"  I'm a Baby Boomer so old songs should be in my wheelhouse but the truth is, about 80% of the music I listen to is new and current.  It's usually in the Alternative and harder Rock genres though so I enjoy listening to the current pop songs by artists I don't normally follow on "The Voice."  Last night was disappointing in that area, for sure:  The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Del Shannon, Etta James, Roy Orbison, Sam Cooke, Mary Hopkin.   Are you kidding me?

Team Alicia
Who I wanted to advance:  We' and Christian
Everyone on this team was flat except for Sa'Rayah.  I'm glad that America advanced Christian and We' despite poor performances and while I thought that Alicia might advance Josh, his performance was one of the worst of the night IMO so I can't fault her for rewarding Sa'Rayah who was the best Team Alicia performer of the night.

Team Blake
Who I wanted to advance:  Sundance, Dana and Jason
I would imagine that Blake would have preferred if America did not advance both of his country singers, but even though I wasn't pulling for him, I have to admit that Austin gave a very good performance of Rodney Crowell's "Ain't Livin' Long Like This."  I have always been a huge Waylon Jennings' fan, who had a major hit with the song so Austin did reel me in with this one.  I haven't been able to find the backing musicians for Waylon's version online, but I am almost certain that Austin's father, Tommy Allsup played guitar on that single as he often backed Waylon.  
Dana has been one of my favorites but that was not a very good performance.  Again, poor song choice.  
I thought Jason gave one of the night's better performances.  His vocals were good but the way he worked the stage showed real poise and was very entertaining.  I think Blake made a mistake in advancing Courtney over Jason.  He already knew that Alicia had advanced Sa'Rayah and had to assume that Ali Caldwell (yet to perform at that point) had a good chance of moving forward also.  So the female R&B belter track was going to be pretty full but there isn't anyone in the male R&B track at all.  Missed opportunity, I think.  What can I say?  I really liked Jason and I'm very sorry he went home. :(

Team Miley
Who I wanted to advance:  Aaron, Ali and Belle
Miley's team performed quite well IMO.  America chose the same two singers I would have voted for and I knew she'd pick Darby, whom I can't stand.  There is nothing genuine or original about her.  I don't get Miley's fascination with her at all.  To me, Belle was the more interesting indie singer but in truth, she wasn't going to win and would most likely have been eliminated quite quickly.  I hope Darby has the same fate but there's always the mute button!  I love both Aaron and Ali.  They're definitely two of my favorites this season.

Team Adam
Who I wanted to advance:  Brendan and Josh
I realize that Billy seems to be the chosen one this season but he really does nothing for me.  I can see why others like him though.  I was sweating out Adam's decision because I really like Brendan.  I know that Adam likes him too but as others have said, I thought he'd advance Riley.  I'm very glad he chose Brendan.  It'll be interesting to see which of Aaron or Brendan makes it further as they both have similar styles. 

Edited November 9, 2016 by ProudMary
Correcting a spelling error

[Ketzel]

8 hours ago, Padma said:

I was glad Billy chose a song I like, Roy Orbison's "Crying". His voice has such a pure and pleasant tone and I appreciate that he wants to show his range because he has a good one.

However, I felt something was missing from that performance and, geeking out for a minute, here are two earlier well known versions (not including K.D. Lang's).  For me, they highlight a problem with Billy.

Roy Orbison's "Crying"

#1 Roy Orbison (you'll see Springsteen on guitar in the background)

Don McClean "Crying"

 #2 Don Mcclean -- a stripped down version with guitar.

Billy Gilman "Crying", The Voice

And finally, as a novelty, here's #4:  Billy singing this same song as a kid, thrilling the bubblegum set:

Billy Gilman, "Crying" performed as a boy

I think Billy may win, but I realize why I'm not sold on him yet. He has a lovely voice, but is -imo- too much "in his head" trying to be a "big pop star" when he sings and for me, I feel there's some emotional disconnect from the song.  Both Orbison and McClean really get the feeling across in a way that Billy does not.  Maybe he could unlearn habits and improve.  Or maybe he just learned too young that he could impress people with his voice and can't get out of his head to connect better with the song. If that's the case, maybe he should try fun, upbeat songs that don't require a lot of emotional connection.

(I'll try not to hold against him that clip from the past and how much I generally hate it when children sing songs about emotions they've never felt yet).

You left out Raul Malo. This clip is just him doing the big finish of the song on the CMT special about great love songs of country music. Billy can't compare. (And here's Raul singing the whole thing.)

[TaraS1]

I don't know if I just happened to time my bathroom/snack breaks during every performance he's ever done on this show, but I'm pretty sure that was literally the first time I ever heard of or saw Aaron.  I didn't know he existed.

And I'd sometimes like to forget that Billy exists, because he's such an obvious winner that it takes the fun out of the show for me.  I'm in the camp that feels like he (and Curly Sue last year) has an unfair advantage due to his prior success.

[Noreaster]

13 hours ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

Wow, that surprises me.  I thought it must be wrong so I did some research and I think it's right.  

Yep, whenever it was that The Voice first introduced the twitter instant save (season 5?), I found that out.  It actually might have come directly from NBC or the show as they were marketing the new twist.  

15 hours ago, Princess Lucky said:

Alicia's team sounded kind of off, maybe because they performed first? Only Sa’Rayah (only name I remember, and only spelling I looked up) sounded good, and I'm glad she was saved (in fact, I can't believe the audience didn't save her).  Both of the singers the audience saved had tons of issues tonight, though from this thread I gather that's unusual, so maybe it was nerves.

Yeah, I was also surprised that Sa'rayah didn't get the public vote.  Her style/genre is not my favorite, but she so clearly outperformed the rest of the team (in my opinion).  Her future on the show doesn't look promising.  

22 hours ago, mangosplums said:

I watched them on YouTube. I don't like how you have to vote off two from each team. If all the talent is concentrated in one team, it kind of screws people over. For example Simone should have gone through over some of the other black female singers, but she didn't because she was on team Adam. 

I think at this stage we always lose a deserving person or two who unfortunately competed on a strong team. But it's just the way it goes.  Fortunately there are no more team quotas after this.  I agree on Simone.  I really liked her performance and probably preferred her to the other black female singers.  I also wouldn't have minded Riley advancing. He delivered a decent performance and does offer something different to the show (I wouldn't have wanted him to stick around very long though because he has limitations).

Looking at the top 12, there isn't much diversity.  A few R&B females, a few country guys, a couple of pop/rock dudes.  I wish there was more rock and indie, but unfortunately those contestants didn't deliver. 

Edited November 9, 2016 by Noreaster

[hnygrl]

Am I the only one NOT loving this season? Just me? Okay...*sinks back into the background*

[Wandering Snark]

3 hours ago, Noreaster said:

Looking at the top 12, there isn't much diversity.

I was kinda shocked at the Team Blake results in this aspect, as the 'Saved By America' twosome left Blake choosing from the three remaining minorities on his team many of whom I thought outpermormed Austin especially. The three standing up there were just such a stark example considering the Chosen Ones were two white guys (with guitars).

I will just say a big ole 'word' to people that thought this show was too fast and felt really rushed and hyper, leading to a LOT of the singers falling on their faces. It was also a day of so few recognizable songs especially that bizarre one Austin hauled out so I think song choice was, as always, key important.

Most pissed about: Darby (Miley's Mini Me) over Belle. Darby's performance was sooooo bad and her song choice made me question her taste level (to use a different show's words).

[realdancemom]

I also thought a lot of the singers were flat.  I like that we didn't hear a lot of useless judges' comments but I think they should have a results show on Wednesday so the votes weren't just tweets and the app.  However, I don't think the results would have been that much different.

Blake's team - I wished Dana made it.  I like her velvety smooth tone.  She has a nice lower register too.  I thought Courtney was good during knockouts.  She wasn't as good this round but a lot of people were flat.

Alicia's team -  I like Kylie during the knockouts but she wasn't as good this time.  I can't fault Alicia choosing Sa-Rayah since she performed the best on her team.  I don't like her vocal gymnastics but she is a good performer.   Like a lot of people, I was surprised that We hit a lot of flat notes.

Miley's team - I thought Maye should have beat Darby.  I like Belle's tone better than Darby but Belle also hit some flat notes this round. 

Adam's team - Of course, Billy was going to get picked.  He might even win.  Happy that Adam chose Brendan over Riley.  

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Wandering Snark said:

considering the Chosen Ones were two white guys (with guitars).

In a country where rock music and country music are by far the most popular genres I think you'd expect that result to occur as often as it does.  I don't think it helps that these singing shows pretty much exclude hip hop and rap and the edgier pop more likely to have non-white artists, and instead include this old R&B/soul/gospely/belter style.  Of the top 20 albums of 2016, only 3 are by black artists-- Beyonce, Drake and Rihanna-- and I can't picture them choosing the songs the black artists on The Voice choose.  Maybe, I don't know.