S11.E19: Live Top 11 Performances

[Noreaster]

The Top 11 perform.

[Noreaster]

My favorite performances of the night were Brendan, Sundance, and Christian.  

My least favorite by far was Darby.

I really liked the song choices by Aaron and Austin but felt the performances themselves didn't measure up.  

Everyone else was a blur.  

[Court]

I pretty much agree. I felt like Darby just yelled at us the entire time. 

[Dots And Stripes]

I actively dislike Darby as a performer on this show. I'm meh on most of these artists but she grates. I need a few of the gravely voice dudes to leave. I don't care what order they leave in. They all blend together.

We was good but I felt like the sound mix was off. She was too soft and I don't think that was her fault so much as it was a technology fail. Can she win this thing or does Billy have this sewn up? Speaking of Billy, I think he has a solid voice and he's a very polished performer, but I do think his voice is overrated. He's certainly good enough to be a pop singer though. I think Ali had a little of the same problem as We. Her voice got lost in the production. 

Courtney is great at full power but wobbly at all other times. Still hope she outlasts a few of the guys.

[TheGreenKnight]

My favorite performance from Billy tonight since the audition. I didn't like “The Show Must Go On” and “Man in the Mirror”; “Crying” was just alright. Adam must’ve listened to the criticisms because he gave him another Adele song. He should just sing Adele until the end, if Adam can’t think of anything better. lol 

I didn't like Christian's performance tonight anymore than last week's. Sundance got screwed again with song choices. Not that I really care because I’m not a fan, but first the gospel-y “My Church” and now Alicia’s “No One”? I wonder if Blake is deliberately trying to lose to pave the way for Adam or Alicia to win.

[Dots And Stripes]

1 minute ago, TheGreenKnight said:

I didn't like Christian's performance tonight anymore than last week's. Sundance got screwed again with song choices. Not that I really care because I’m not a fan, but first the gospel-y “My Church” and now Alicia’s “No One”? I wonder if Blake is deliberately trying to lose to pave the way for Adam or Alicia to win.

"No One" is doing very well on Itunes

[Court]

I think Sundance chose the Alicia song. Blake may have had input after Sundance chose it. I really enjoyed it.

Billy is so boring. 

[Bronzedog]

Do people actually like Darby?  Why does she sing with a German accent?  I usually love the song she slaughtered. That was awful!  Leslie Gore must be turning over in her grave.

[Kendall]

The only thing that Billy's performance did was confirm Courtney's performance. He was supposed to touch and spark an emotion, but proved that he simply isn't capable of it right now. Which makes sense to me since he always looks so suspicious on this show as if there is something else that he thinks will blow up his career and it's only a matter of time before it is revealed.

I can't even say that I was a fan of Courtney, but her performance easily ranks as one of the best that I've seen on The Voice and probably Idol, too. The song was great, she didn't oversing it and she actually looked and sounded like someone that belonged on a major stage receiving the usually over the top praise from The Voice coaches. That was impressive and if I actually had iTunes, I would buy it.

So baffled by Christian and Alicia thinking that "Rosanna" by Toto would be the way to show a "lighter" side of him. "Rosanna"? He would've done better with "Georgy Peorgy" by Toto.

As if the Toyota campaign with "You Don't Own Me" isn't tedious enough, Darby chooses to sing it on the show. That was so ridiculous, I couldn't even attempt to watch it as I lunge for my remote every time the commercial comes on.

Ali's song choice is probably one of the things that I hate most about The Voice: it's far too focused on the coach and whether they will win or not. Put aside Miley's mugging for the camera, but every time she talks about Ali, it's all about how she doesn't want her to be seen as just another R&B singer and she wants to see this or that from Ali.

This isn't about Miley's (or any coach's) vision, it's about a singer looking for some help as they prove themselves potentially worthy of a career beyond the show. Sure, the coaches can give advice and make suggestions, but Ali will have to establish herself in whatever it is that she would want to sing in her career or she won't sell much of anything when/if she releases music that is completely different from what keeps her on the show.

That's held true from the very beginning of Idol. No one has been successful releasing music that was the clear opposite of what they sang on the show. Blake will suggest different vocal techniques, but he won't pull somebody completely out of their genre.

Ali was pretty good, but I doubt that she'll want to release an album of country covers, so Miley needs to step aside and support, not dictate.

[Ketzel]

Ali was incredibly nervous and completely forgot the words to the second verse of "Nine to Five" and she still got a panel-wide tongue bath. Where is Simon Cowell when you need him? I get that the coaches don't want to criticize other teams' performers because the other coaches might retaliate, and they certainly don't want to criticize their own people. But it's so annoying to be in the audience and wonder if they think we're THAT stupid. (I also think Darby-The-Annoying-Teenager-Pretending-She's-A-70s-Era-Popstar forgot half the words to "You Don't Own Me." At least, she didn't sing them all. But maybe she just chose to sing one verse over and over and over again because she couldn't manage to sing a second verse AND dramatically drop her rainbow coat at the same time.)

Please someone, tell the stylists to stop emphasizing everybody's lower half. It's not a look that flatters anyone, really, although there are one or two perfectly proportioned women (no men) who can pull it off. And none of them are on the show.

[jjjmoss]

1 hour ago, TheGreenKnight said:

Sundance got screwed again with song choices. Not that I really care because I’m not a fan, but first the gospel-y “My Church” and now Alicia’s “No One”? I wonder if Blake is deliberately trying to lose to pave the way for Adam or Alicia to win.

He was 5th on iTunes last week and so far is 1st this week...

[Crs97]

I loved Sundance's version of "No One."  I also liked Billy's Adele cover and thought for the first time he did pull me in emotionally.  I thought Adam was spot on with his critiques during rehearsal.

 I found it interesting that Adam is helping Miley coach.  I don't like Aaron's voice or Nine Inch Nails, but that performance was emotional and well done.  Completely unexpected.

Ali sounded better in rehearsal than on stage.  She screwed up a lot of lyrics.  They kept making a big deal about her dress, which I didn't think matched the song  at all.

[kathyk24]

I loved everyone on Team Blake. I think Courtney might be in trouble because What I Did for Love isn't well known. I knew if from A Chorus Line which I love. I couldn't stand Darby.

[DebbieM4]

2 hours ago, Court said:

I pretty much agree. I felt like Darby just yelled at us the entire time. 

I so agree!  I DVR'ed, and just saw her.  That was painful to listen to.  Just all over the place, and yes - She was yelling most of the song.  It's always been one of my favorites too, and I hate the way she destroyed it.

[roguery]

A lot of out-of-tune/flat singing—yikes!—leading to a lot of fast-forwarding on my part....Courtney and Darby being particularly egregious. I loved Wé and liked Christian very much. I think Miley and Alicia are wildly talented, and I enjoy their animated affect and their investment in their singers. Alicia seems to be really in touch with the producer aspects of the job, with the backup musicians, and with the arrangements—both for her own material and her team's.

Edited November 22, 2016 by roguery

[Mystery Author]

I think Ali has a hell of a voice and was glad she went first because I turned the show off after Courtney mutilated "What I Did for Love." A Chorus Line is one of my favorite musicals. The really good news is that, by turning the show off, I missed Darby :)

[bluepiano]

I could only stand about the first two lines of Darby's "You Don't Own Me" before I grabbed the remote to fast forward. I was able to last through most of "Ruby Tuesday," though admittedly some of that was morbid curiosity. She needs to stop singing songs I like. Better yet, she needs to be off the show, but I don't think that will happen any time soon.  And while her singing is getting worse, so are her outfits. Who's dressing her? Last week a flower power hippie chick, this week a clown. 

I've not paid much attention to him previously, but my favorite performance of the night was probably Sundance's version of "No One." It's a song that's been done a lot, but usually by women who use it as a platform for a lot of over-the-top belting in which the words get mangled. I appreciated his understated approach, which actually enabled me to feel the emotions behind the words.

Aaron, Austin, and Brendan were all super intense this week, and I didn't enjoy any of them. I'd be shocked if Aaron isn't bottom two again. If there were any justice Darby would be joining him, but my guess is it will be Courtney. I think that was a difficult song for people to connect to.

Edited November 22, 2016 by bluepiano

[holly4755]

I generally don't watch this show because I always feel that certain people are sabotaged in the battle rounds and then by their song choices, and it just gives me a bad taste.  but nothing was on today, so I watched sort of. 

I was sort of shocked about the goatiness of so many singers at this level. I know some people like it, but please  no more goats.  Biggest offender Barby - and even though she was told how to sing this song, it was like she didn't listen, the key is punching the Don't. I know I heard Myly tell her something like that and she smiled and sang it wrong again. I guess I have another reason to avoid this, the tongue baths, do people ever get criticism that they can learn from. I am not big on mean for being mean, but appropriate advice could be valuable and it would not make me dismiss everyone because they all get praised when they do something anything, like giving the you participated award instead of a trophy.  Or I could just not watch again.  

[Michel]

Not the best night, but it looks like the band, for the most part, worked out a way to not ruin the balance between them and the artists.

My thoughts on the performances:

Ali: I didn't hear any allegedly forgotten words.  I think she nailed them all.  I loved her voice in this song and also didn't get any pitch issues.  In fact, I thought she was on pitch the whole way through, save for one small spot during the chorus.  I'm not as sure if that was the right outfit to go with the song, but she sure moved well in it.  She had me paying attention the entire time.  She also managed to beat the band and be heard.  I'm definitely gonna remember this one.  Great choice to start the night.

Sundance: That was a beautiful, country-style rendition of "No One."  It held my interest the entire way through.  His voice was so clear and clean and smooth the entire time, and he didn't rely on any power till near the end.  Just pure singing.  And he managed not to get drowned out by the band.

Aaron: I like that he kept the band at a minimum for this one.  And I was absolutely mesmerized by the performance.  I'm still waiting for him to do a song with less rasp, but that might not happen since that's his style.  Still, it was a nice performance that really did show off his rock voice.  He could be in the bottom again tomorrow, but the audience actually seemed to be loving him toward the end, so perhaps he'll skate by this week.

Courtney: Well, the audience was loving her, but I certainly wasn't.  I don't think she did as badly as was being mentioned here, but it definitely wasn't anything wowing.  Her voice was strong and solid, as usual, but I just felt nothing from the performance.  Agreed that she might be at risk for hitting the bottom tomorrow.

Josh: Thank God he didn't rely on his guitar this week.  This was probably the best I've heard from him.  I actually felt engaged by him, for once.  Country voters will likely carry him through once more.

Billy: Hmm.  Nope.  Still don't see his appeal.  His voice was good, as it always is, but I still felt next to nothing from him.  I appreciated the stripped-down approach, though, with just the piano.  The fangirls are gonna carry him through for a few more weeks.

Christian: Well, he wanted to go for fun, and he definitely got that with me!  I was smiling and bopping all the way through!  And it's very clear that the audience was having fun, too!  He had energy, he had great vocal skill and ability, and he had amazing stage presence!  I dare say he might be growing into Alicia's main contender, even over Wé.  I'll be surprised if he doesn't get voted through tomorrow.

Austin: His voice was good, as usual.  But like with Billy, I wasn't really grabbed by it.  Unlike Billy, however, he at least grabbed me during the second half.  Kind of a slow start, but a decent middle, and a very fair finish.  Country voters will carry the day for him.

Darby: Okay.  I'm just gonna say it.  I am very clearly the only one here not bothered by her in the slightest.  Well . . . maybe by the accent she uses in her singing, but that's it.  I didn't hate the performance in the slightest, and once again, if all of the screaming during, not after, the performance was any indication, neither did the audience.  I don't think she ruined or butchered anything.  I enjoyed it greatly and hope she's voted through tomorrow.

Brendan: Got bored after the first minute.  His voice is nice, but nothing to write home about.  I think a Bruce Springsteen song was not really the right choice for him.  Still, the fangirls (either his or Adam's) will save him a week or two longer.

Wé: A Rihanna song?  Smart choice!  She was the only one who had to fight with the band this week, but even then, not that much.  I just can't believe how well she did on this!  The vocals were awesome, and the physical performance was also gripping!  I really loved her dropping like she was exhausted near the end, and then falling down right after she finished!  And to chart the highest of everyone last week?  Whew!  I'd say she's picking up steam in this competition!  Great way to close out the show!  She'd better make this a real fight, because I think she, Christian, Sundance, and Ali are probably the best bets to fell Billy in the end.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Michel

[Crs97]

Ali started mixing and matching with the lyrics and at one point stopped singing with a look on her face that was clearly panic.  I think she repeated one line from the first verse instead of singing the correct one for the second (Didn't she sing "want to move ahead but the boss won't seem to let me; it's enough to drive you crazy if you let it"?  That isn't right).  It was also little things like "It's all taking and just giving" instead of "no giving."  That is the problem with singing an iconic song.  She recovered well, but it took me out of her performance for awhile.

[TaraS1]

8 hours ago, Ketzel said:

Ali was incredibly nervous and completely forgot the words to the second verse of "Nine to Five" and she still got a panel-wide tongue bath.

Right?  I like her, but I like that song more, and it took me out of the performance as soon as she screwed up the words in such a big way.  I thought Miley would at least say, "Hey, don't worry about it, that's a really fast, tough song to sing..."  But nope, just praise.

I really liked Sundance, had no interest in Billy or We whatsoever, and I think Aaron could be a serial killer.  (Okay, not really, but his performances are very...intense.)

[PhD-Purgatory15]

When I saw what songs Sundance and Austin were doing, I was really excited and intrigued. And then, Sundance was incredibly nasally and almost like his voice was pinched in an unpleasant way. Especially in the verses. Definitely not one of his better performances (yet, it's turning out to be an Itunes monster. Makes me wonder if Billy, and We may have to dodge the upcoming freight train of yet another win for Team Blake). As for Austin, Turn the Page is one of those songs that has a natural beat and build to how it progresses....and it just felt like Austin was off the beat a little. The phrases that should've soared, just didn't quite reach where they needed to reach. It was a workman like effort....but didn't reach the heights I thought it might for him.

Same kind of goes for Brendan, I thought this particular song exposed his voice and the lack of color-ation (I'm making up words, I know) that he's working with. I wanted to hear the lushness that Springsteen has....and Brendan seems to only have a few vocal gears to choose between. At this point, I'd almost like Darby to go back to being a 2nd rate knock off of Florence or Ryn Weaver. Her voice is at least a little interesting (and way easier to take) when she puts that modulated flutter in it. This was just dirge-like (sort of how I felt about every Madi Davis performance), hitting you over and over the head with a blunt object. She'll survive because of the Girl Meets World connections for at least one more week, but that was so bad.

My guess is the sing off will be between Aaron, Ali and Courtney. Josh probably did just enough w/ a pretty popular recent-ish country song to give himself one more week. Probably the saddest thing about this season is that if you made me bet money right now which one of these 11 would have tangible, mainstream success (not just in indie-land) after their time on the Voice is over, I'd probably bet on Josh. To me there's less of a gap between him and any number of current country singers like Cole Swindell, Chase Rice, Kip Moore, etc than there is any of the other 10 and whoever you think their closest viable "comp" artist would be. Billy could have some success on Broadway for sure, and maybe in her youth We will get some support from somewhere and release an album. But to me Josh G. is at least in the ballpark of what is successful right now in country music (for better or worse) and none of the other ten are even close...

[Ketzel]

 Aaron really has a thing for dirgey performances, doesn't he? Is it that his rasp makes everything he sings sound like he's trying to perform with a bad case of strep throat? But there's really no point in trying to out-suffer Johnny Cash - I didn't think "Hurt" was a good choice on that basis alone.  If he really wanted to "show a different side," I wish he had gone actually upbeat. Someone earlier suggested he sing a Tom Waits song, and I think he'd do well with some of the lighter stuff Waits has written. Aaron - try for "Ice Cream Man," and show us upbeat, and funny-sexy. Or maybe "Walk Away" which has darker lyrics but a strong backbeat.

And tell the cameraman that extreme close-ups don't do you any favors. Between the lighting and the camera practically up his nose, Aaron looked more like a serial killer than a potential pop star.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Ketzel

[Noreaster]

It's interesting to read all the comments on Ali and how she might have forgotten lyrics.  I'm pretty familiar with the song but don't know all the words...all I heard from Ali's performance was a string of nice sounds, not words.  I think the wordy nature of the song was not a good fit for her tone.  

12 hours ago, Dots And Stripes said:

Can she win this thing or does Billy have this sewn up? Speaking of Billy, I think he has a solid voice and he's a very polished performer, but I do think his voice is overrated. He's certainly good enough to be a pop singer though. 

I've seen this mentioned a number of times this season that Billy has this sewn up.  Why is that?  I admit that I skip over most of the non-performance stuff on this show (the promos, the back stories, Carson), so is he getting a lot of hype that way?  Because for the most part, he's not getting favorable performance slots.

12 hours ago, Kendall said:

The only thing that Billy's performance did was confirm Courtney's performance. He was supposed to touch and spark an emotion, but proved that he simply isn't capable of it right now. Which makes sense to me since he always looks so suspicious on this show as if there is something else that he thinks will blow up his career and it's only a matter of time before it is revealed.

I think your description of Billy is on point.  He just seems so tentative.  He's so good vocally but it's like he doesn't trust his own talent and is overthinking his performances.  I wish he could somehow just let go.  

49 minutes ago, Ketzel said:

 Aaron really has a thing for dirgey performances, doesn't he? Is it that his rasp makes everything he sings sound like he's trying to perform with a bad case of strep throat? But there's really no point in trying to out-suffer Johnny Cash - I didn't think "Hurt" was a good choice on that basis alone. 

I love the Johnny Cash cover of "Hurt" and I couldn't help but compare Aaron's version to that.  And unfortunately Aaron's fell short for me.  

Edited November 22, 2016 by Noreaster

[Court]

I wanted to tell Aaron it isn't necessary to practically eat the microphone.

I like Miley but I am so over the cameras panning to her during the peformances. We get it. She is so into every song that she is dancing and singing along. Keep the camera on the singer.

Ali definitely forgot the lyrics. We didn't impress me again. 

[BigBlueMastiff]

Quote

So baffled by Christian and Alicia thinking that "Rosanna" by Toto would be the way to show a "lighter" side of him. "Rosanna"? He would've done better with "Georgy Peorgy" by Toto.

As if the Toyota campaign with "You Don't Own Me" isn't tedious enough, Darby chooses to sing it on the show. That was so ridiculous, I couldn't even attempt to watch it as I lunge for my remote every time the commercial comes on.

The Rosanna choice was dreadful, Africa would have been so much better, and totally agree on Darby. She is working my last nerve.

Aaron's cover of Hurt (love NIN and the JC version) was terrible, it emoted nothing. He is so bland, and just does not have range, done with him.

Billy doesn't do it for me either, I don't feel anything when he performs. It's soulless.

Thought Brendan and We were the best tonight.

Edited November 22, 2016 by BigBlueMastiff
mistake

[sugarbaker design]

17 minutes ago, BigBlueMastiff said:

Aaron's cover of Closer (love NIN and the JC version) was terrible, it emoted nothing. He is so bland, and just does not have range, done with him.

Totally agree, but wasn't it Hurt that Aaron covered?

[BigBlueMastiff]

Quote

Totally agree, but wasn't it Hurt that Aaron covered?

Oops, you are correct, thanks.

[TheGreenKnight]

14 hours ago, jjjmoss said:

He was 5th on iTunes last week and so far is 1st this week...

Yuck. I hope this doesn't mean he's going to win if he can do that well sounding like trash....

[Nedsdag]

Note to Ali and Christian: there are other Dolly Parton and Toto songs you could've sang instead. Ali should've sung It's All Wrong, But It's Alright. Christian should've sung I Won't Hold You Back instead. Plus, Ali's outfit didn't go with the song. She was channeling the now departed Sharon Jones when she should've gone for something less flashy. Also, is Rosanna the name of Christian's fiancee's? If not, then the song choice totally didn't make any sense.

Billy, Billy, Billy, YAWN! They are making you into Mount Everest, when in actuality you are just a mound of dirt. He brought nothing to the Adele song, plus I have no idea where he fits in today's music. Heck, I don't even see him doing regional theater. Plus, he reminds me of something that I will not type for fear of being edited or worse locked out of here.

So Austin wears the cowboy hat in rehearsals to remind Blake's Barnyard Bunch to vote for him, but takes the hat off for the lives? Clever! He has a terrific stage presence. Speaking of clever, Sundance's No One was countryfied enough to get people to vote for him. Smart!

Brendan is this year's Hannah Huston: a stealth singer who makes it to the finals. I feared he was going to copy Bruce's singing tone completely, but still added a bit of himself in the song.

Talk about leaving the outhouse for the penthouse; I've only heard Johnny Cash's version of Hurt, but I liked Aaron's better (I know it's a Nine Inch Nails song). The lighting around him made it even more extreme.

TBTH, I think the bloodbath should be either tonight's show or next week's result show because it is slowly becoming a rout thanks to Wé. Her version of Love on the Brain was better than Rihanna's. 

Finally, Darby.... I, I, I mean, well, I meant so...., I mean the song...

You know what? Screw it, I have nothing to say. Once I found out she was singing "You Don't Own Me," I changed the channel to Monday Night Football instead. We're never getting rid of her, right?

Edited November 22, 2016 by Nedsdag

[Gel]

I like Aaron's cover of Hurt. I liked the emotional intensity he brought to the performance, and the studio recording I love, love, love.  That being said, I've resigned myself to the fact that no one I'm rooting for ever wins (sorry, Aaron), but it would be nice if he could stay at least a few more rounds, or at least longer than Josh, who always sounds like he drops off key to me, even if he does know how to work the crowd. 

13 hours ago, Kendall said:

 

The only thing that Billy's performance did was confirm Courtney's performance. He was supposed to touch and spark an emotion, but proved that he simply isn't capable of it right now. Which makes sense to me since he always looks so suspicious on this show as if there is something else that he thinks will blow up his career and it's only a matter of time before it is revealed.

 

This. So much this. I really wish there was a way to crack the shell of Billy singing in his head, but Adele's version has the emotion his lacks. Soaring notes and riffs are not emotion. That being said, this is the best cover he's done since the blinds. 

There must be something they can do to replace the useless post performance tongue baths. 

[adhoc]

Agree that Billy is too much in his head when singing. You can see the wheels turning. Excellent voice, but he needs to stop thinking and start feeling. I do think he should try (if he has not already) the musical theater route. (After losing that unattractive facial hair, I mean.)

Aaron - Is it that he doesn't try to project when he sings? Like, he's singing into his mouth or his throat, but not sending the air out of his mouth? Is that why I can't understand a word he says? 

Brendan - Boring. Once again, he channels his energy and attention into the guitar, except for about 5 seconds at the end of the song when he opens his eyes and looks out. He has an attractive intensity and a gritty voice, but it's not enough to hold my attention. He simply doesn't invite the audience in when he sings, IMHO, and that's a turn-off.

Wé had some wonderful moments last night. I admit I don't love her like I did at the start, but she's still very good.

Darby - I went from the den to the kitchen when she started singing, and suddenly there was this caterwauling coming from my TV. Just horrendous. 

[bluepiano]

8 hours ago, holly4755 said:

I guess I have another reason to avoid this, the tongue baths, do people ever get criticism that they can learn from. I am not big on mean for being mean, but appropriate advice could be valuable and it would not make me dismiss everyone because they all get praised when they do something anything, like giving the you participated award instead of a trophy.  Or I could just not watch again.  

No, don't expect to ever hear criticism of a performance. The harshest thing you will ever hear is "I don't know if that was your best performance." And then the audience starts booing so the coach has to quickly add, "but it was still great."

[AwesomO4000]

13 hours ago, bluepiano said:

She needs to stop singing songs I like.

I know. Last week I saw she was going to sing "Those Were the Days," a song which for some reason I started singing in the shower a few days earlier, though I couldn't say why since I hadn't heard it anywhere , so I thought "oh, cool," this is going to be interesting, and then it sort of was, but I couldn't figure out if it was just the novelty and nostalgia factors and that I liked the song or if I was really enjoying the performance as it was. And then this week, she sings another song I really like - unlike @Kendall I like those Toyota commercials - so again I can't tell if the song is influencing me or not or like @Michel, I just kind of enjoy her for what she is. Guess I'll have to wait until she sings a song I'm more meh on...

Speaking of which... WtH with "Rosanna?" I was so confused as to why anyone would pick that song for a competition like this.

On another note, I liked the countrified "No One" from Sundance. I actually liked it much better than the original from Alicia, mostly because I could understand the words better and felt the emotion more without all of the vocal up and down gymnastics and back beat of the original. When I first heard that Sundance was singing that song, I was saying "Eww," but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. Sadly, I couldn't say the same about the "Rosanna" pick. I was bored not even half way through Christian's performance.

I can't remember now who it was, but one of the performances - it was one of the ballad songs, maybe Courtney? - sounded much better in the rehearsal footage than the actual performance, to me anyway.

Edited November 22, 2016 by AwesomO4000

[BigBlueMastiff]

Quote

I can't remember now who it was, but one of the performances - it was one of the ballad songs, maybe Courtney? - sounded much better in the rehearsal footage than the actual performance, to me anyway.

Agreed, something seemed off about the actual performance.

[Noreaster]

2 hours ago, bluepiano said:

No, don't expect to ever hear criticism of a performance. The harshest thing you will ever hear is "I don't know if that was your best performance." And then the audience starts booing so the coach has to quickly add, "but it was still great."

As far as I remember, the audience never boos on The Voice.  I think that was an American Idol thing (one reason why I never got into that show).  

I think coach criticism on the air is really for the benefit of the viewers anyway.  I also prefer to hear it myself but it's probably worth noting that these contestants get a lot of advice behind the scenes.  On some of the other singing shows (like American Idol), it may have been more beneficial because the judges didn't interact with the contestants at all except for on-screen.

[Ketzel]

This may rank as TMI, but  . . .

Ali definitely lost her place in the song and scrambled the lyrics. You can tell, in the first place, because Dolly's lyrics rhyme. It's hard to blame Ali - Dolly's lyrics are very wordy and border on tongue twisting in places. I've sung "Nine To Five," and if you miss the first line of the verse, it's hard to catch up.

 At :47, after singing the first verse correctly, Ali  gets lost. Instead of singing the second verse, (which begins "Nine to five, for service and devotion, you would think that I would deserve a fat promotion,") she both jumps to the fourth verse and gets the opening line wrong. She sings "Nine to Five, they got you where you want to," instead of the lyric, "they got you where they want you," and she starts to look very anxious.  She then sings a mashed up version of the beginning of the next line, which in verse two would be "you would think that I" and in verse four would be "there's a better life" but which comes out as "You would bet your life." At this point they show Miley leaning forward, looking concerned,  and then Ali goes back to the fourth verse and sings: "And you think about it, don't you?" Ali  drops out and the backup singers can't or won't meet her in the fourth verse, so they sing the next correct line for the second verse, "Want to move ahead," instead of "It's a rich man's game."  Ali's next line in the second verse is: "but the boss won't seem to let me, I swear sometimes that man is out to get me," and the correct line in the fourth verse is: "No matter what you call it, and you spend your life putting money in his wallet,"  but she flubs both options and repeats "And they never give you credit," then  jumps to the ending lyric of the second verse, "I swear sometimes that man is out to get me."

She pulls it together and sings the third verse correctly, ("They let you dream, just to watch them shatter....") then sings the chorus where she switches "it's all taking and no giving" to "it's all taking and just giving." Then she sings the fourth verse completely and correctly, then sings the chorus  where she switches "they just use your mind" to "you could lose your mind." Then, instead of repeating the fourth verse again (as Dolly does) she sings the correct opening to the second "service and devotion" verse. However, she was obviously supposed to follow Dolly's version and the backup singers are, in fact,  on the fourth verse now, so rather than singing, "you would think that I," they come in with "there's a better life."  Ali's next line in the verse she started to sing would be "would deserve a fat promotion," and her next line in the verse the backup singers were singing would be "and you think about it, don't you?"

She opts for following the back up singers, repeats the ending to the fourth verse, (It's a rich man's game & etc.) and then marches back up her staircase and hits a few glory notes to end.

I obviously have too much time on my hands today. :-)

Edited November 23, 2016 by Ketzel

[Cementhead]

18 hours ago, Ketzel said:

Please someone, tell the stylists to stop emphasizing everybody's lower half. It's not a look that flatters anyone, really, although there are one or two perfectly proportioned women (no men) who can pull it off. And none of them are on the show.

Darby's silver (or white?) shiny bell bottom floods last night were possibly the worst thing I have seen anyone wear on this show.  I suppose she thought she could pull it off because she thinks she is such a special snowflake.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Cementhead

[mangosplums]

7 hours ago, Nedsdag said:

Plus, he reminds me of something that I will not type for fear of being edited or worse locked out of here.

 

Umm, is this a homophobic hint or what?  Oh seeing the banner on the top of the page, I see it must have been political. 

 

I love that "You Don't Own Me" song and I definitely could see a new surge in interest in that song given the climate right now. Miley really does choose cool songs. 

Edited November 23, 2016 by mangosplums

[Gel]

'Nine to Five' is a tough song to sell if you don't have the lyrics down. That's a hard, hard song. In this situation, a word heavy/word centric song is almost always a mistake because of the near inescapable enunciation issues. Which is a pity, because Ali did so well last week.

Song requests--Aaron, When a Man Loves a Woman. (I know, I know, it's been done to death, but I can't think of anything else suitably upbeat-ish that's different than what he usually does). And Billy, My Heart Will Go or any other Celine song with big, big distracting notes. 

[limecoke]

9 hours ago, Ketzel said:

And tell the cameraman that extreme close-ups don't do you any favors. Between the lighting and the camera practically up his nose, Aaron looked more like a serial killer than a potential pop star.

 

Yes, he did and It was rather terrifying.  Besides, for me, a growl does not equal a voice.  To each his own.

I like Ali but that was the wrong song paired with the wrong styling.  A shiny, shimmy dress with a song about working women? Really?  And yes, she totally screwed up the lyrics.

My best of the night-Courtney and Billy.

Please America, for the love, don't vote for Darby anymore.

[bluepiano]

3 hours ago, Noreaster said:

As far as I remember, the audience never boos on The Voice.  I think that was an American Idol thing (one reason why I never got into that show). 

Maybe "groan" would've been a more appropriate word than "boo." But they definitely start making some kind of noise to show their displeasure whenever a coach starts saying something that sounds like less than total approval.

[Dots And Stripes]

9 hours ago, Noreaster said:

I've seen this mentioned a number of times this season that Billy has this sewn up.  Why is that?  I admit that I skip over most of the non-performance stuff on this show (the promos, the back stories, Carson), so is he getting a lot of hype that way?  Because for the most part, he's not getting favorable performance slots.

We've only had a few weeks of lives so it's hard to go by performance spots yet. He's been towards the end of the show so far though, I think. I don't really keep track so I could be wrong.

I think Billy is the front runner based in part on a few recaps I've seen, the hype in the show, and itunes. I think his songs from prior weeks are still doing well. Last time I checked it looked like he and We were the two with old performances that were still going strong. 

[jjjmoss]

Looks like iTunes means even less than usual with the super poor sales this season. Aaron + Darby were 4th and 5th on iTunes, but at unimpressive 39th and 46th placements overall - Digitalsalesdata estimates around 2k downloads.

But, just for the sake of it, artists with multiple songs on iTunes t500:

Billy 214 Crying, 277 When We Were Young, 280 Show Must Go On, 382 Fight Song

Sundance 306 My Church, 357 Climb

We 147 Take Me to Church

Brendan 381 Whipping Post

[Noreaster]

14 hours ago, bluepiano said:

Maybe "groan" would've been a more appropriate word than "boo." But they definitely start making some kind of noise to show their displeasure whenever a coach starts saying something that sounds like less than total approval.

Okay, this is probably a more recent phenomenon.  After season 7, I've been skipping the coach commentary more often than not (many times I just watch the performances on Youtube).  The rare coach critiques I've seen have been more like Adam saying something negative, then immediately saying "what do I know, I'm stupid, you're great".  The audience usually keeps quiet throughout. (I actually remember reading a couple of years ago that people attending the tapings are specifically told to not boo because The Voice is a positive show.)

14 hours ago, Dots And Stripes said:

We've only had a few weeks of lives so it's hard to go by performance spots yet. He's been towards the end of the show so far though, I think. I don't really keep track so I could be wrong.

I think Billy is the front runner based in part on a few recaps I've seen, the hype in the show, and itunes. I think his songs from prior weeks are still doing well. Last time I checked it looked like he and We were the two with old performances that were still going strong. 

For two consecutive episodes (this week and last), Billy has performed in the first half of the show so it just doesn't seem like someone the show is pushing.  Not that I personally buy into the idea that the show purposely slots people earlier or later as part of a conspiracy (I think they usually base it on the strength of rehearsals), but other viewers have brought that up in the past.  

I think you're right about itunes and he did sell well compared to others, though it's nowhere like the Sawyer and Jordan seasons.  

[hincandenza]

Belated caught the performances on Hulu last night (still haven't seen the results show as I type this, but kind of hoping Darby or Christian is gone this week).  By and large, I'm starting to get Voice fatigue again; the performances are generally unremarkable and feel a little too "play acting at rock star" at times, with Darby being the worst offender (although I actually... didn't hate her performance this week), and Christian having a performance so laughable to me that I had to fast-forward out of discomfort.  The tired, dated song choices along the whole overdone stagings and predictable "big finish" long notes; it just seems too "processed" to be truly enjoyable, even if the performances are usually at least competent. 

It's not that they are bad, but for example there's a ton of pitchers who can throw 92, 93mph in the minor leagues who will still never be good enough for the Majors.  These people all have that decent fastball of a voice, but they don't have the training, the finesse, the repertoire of vocal styles and tricks, and as often as not the musicianship to be a great artist.  Leaving aside countless true professionals that are pumped out by top music schools around the country every year: unless they're going to perform an original song that happens to kick ass, how are they all not just like any another decent cover band lead singer of which I could find dozens equally as good in any major American city?  Hell, Billy has had platinum records and two grammy noms as a child, and yet I look at adult him and just think "You are the very definition of a modern major talent competition star"; he'll be great on the show with all the overwrought belting and maudlin performances, and none of that will translate to external success.

There are exceptions, of course.  As much as it surprises me, I think Austin has been so consistently solid, and has the whole package, I can see him making a lateral move right into a more successful country career; Blake has to be over the moon with him, because he has a decent chance of winning and of getting a following post-show in his genre.  He's been touring for ages, has a killer voice for his musical style, comes across as more mature and polished, and has that rugged photogenic quality that is relatable.  Even his name is like something out of a central casting dream! :) Guys like Josh, Brendan, and Sundance are very good, and could leverage this show to get a bump in fans, but don't seem to have that magic spark that makes you think "star".

And of course We, who simply blew me away with her "Love on the Brain" performance.  I'm not a Rihanna fan and didn't know the song, but she smashed that out of the building; I think I rewound and watched it three times before even getting to the judge comments.  Even if every dramatic losses of breath and moment of body language was planned to the millisecond by Alicia (and if they were, kudos: great artists can sell you on the carefully rehearsed version being fresh and spontaneous), it doesn't change the fact that it was an amazing performance.  Her vocals were on point, she was locked into the beat (a surprising problem with a lot of these singers), her stagecraft was professional yet loose and flowing, and she poured everything into that.  Plus, I think We has a chance at going past this show: her "quirky" style is I think far more interesting than Darby's retro-flower-child, and could be appealing to people of her age range that like her sort of "misfit" style and personality.  I remember Melanie Martinez, who I was not a fan of in her season mostly because of her affected singing style, made her niche post-show with that quirky personality- and I much prefer We's version of quirky that comes with a phenomenal voice.  

[hincandenza]

1 hour ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

I agree with so much of your post, but I wanted to mention that I think 'external success' for even the show's winners might mean a role on Broadway or something, or gigs at better casinos and bars than before the show.  I could see Billy on Broadway, living happily ever after.  

Oh agreed; I'm a believer in the "thousand true fans" idea- so long as you don't get stuck, like many of the internet's curmudgeons do, imaging exactly 1,000 true fans paying exactly $100/year indefinitely.  The real point of 1000 true fans wasn't just waiting for people to magically love you and give you free cash, it was about reaching out to them- creating dialogues, replying to fan emails, offering fun little bonuses and personalized fan service to your loyal followers- so they become more invested.  Then, when you go touring those fans will drag a few friends to your shows- friends who maybe have heard of you but wouldn't have given you a chance out without nudging- and now you're potentially getting into the 300-400+ venues instead of playing bars for 50-100.  For others, the little bit of fame can translate to non-touring opportunities such as musicals/session work, which is totally respectable as well; as much as crusty old Simon Cowell would disparage "broadway"... those people can sing better than most any AI/Voice contestant, and it is a steady good paying gig if you can work it right.

When The Voice first premiered it was a refreshing break from the teenagers of AI, consisting of mostly touring and professional musicians giving it a chance as a way of mostly getting their name out there, using the exposure of the show to make that jump to the next level.  Of course, the trick is you have to not suck, and be bringing something to the table both musically and in terms of fan service.  When I see people like Brendan perform, I don't love his work, but he's clearly competent and knows what sound he's going for, I can see him using this to draw a bigger crowd post-show on his existing and future tours.  There's actually a lot of success being had by non-finalists of these shows, it's just not the Taylor Swift level of fame.

With the casting of the too-young and the woefully inexperienced ("I currently work as a _____, but hope to some day do something professionally with music"), there is more a sense that people come on this show with unrealistic expectations and are hoping that a magical fairy godmother will swing down and hand them instant fame, riches, and success.  The wake up call for a lot of these people is remembering when the cameras turn off that no one is going to buy tickets for a cover band except as an idle curiosity.  I'd love for the show to go back to undiscovered gems in the minor leagues of touring musicians- people like Austin, for example- and even allowing them to periodically perform their own songs instead of covers.

That's why I think Austin is the best poised of this season's crop: he is a total pro with no real missteps on this show, has been a touring musician for years (as was his dad), so this show is giving him exposure to millions of potential new fans.  He may not win the show, and pretty likely is not going to be the next Blake Shelton in terms of financial success... but he's all set to go right back out and start booking much bigger venues.

[viajero]

9 hours ago, hincandenza said:

As much as it surprises me, I think Austin has been so consistently solid, and has the whole package, I can see him making a lateral move right into a more successful country career; Blake has to be over the moon with him, because he has a decent chance of winning and of getting a following post-show in his genre.  He's been touring for ages, has a killer voice for his musical style, comes across as more mature and polished, and has that rugged photogenic quality that is relatable.  Even his name is like something out of a central casting dream! :) Guys like Josh, Brendan, and Sundance are very good, and could leverage this show to get a bump in fans, but don't seem to have that magic spark that makes you think "star".

And of course We, who simply blew me away with her "Love on the Brain" performance.  I'm not a Rihanna fan and didn't know the song, but she smashed that out of the building; I think I rewound and watched it three times before even getting to the judge comments.  Even if every dramatic losses of breath and moment of body language was planned to the millisecond by Alicia (and if they were, kudos: great artists can sell you on the carefully rehearsed version being fresh and spontaneous), it doesn't change the fact that it was an amazing performance.  Her vocals were on point, she was locked into the beat (a surprising problem with a lot of these singers), her stagecraft was professional yet loose and flowing, and she poured everything into that.  Plus, I think We has a chance at going past this show: her "quirky" style is I think far more interesting than Darby's retro-flower-child, and could be appealing to people of her age range that like her sort of "misfit" style and personality.  I remember Melanie Martinez, who I was not a fan of in her season mostly because of her affected singing style, made her niche post-show with that quirky personality- and I much prefer We's version of quirky that comes with a phenomenal voice.  

I agree that We's performance was phenomenal for all the reasons you mention (and despite a poor sound mix).  For the first time I really liked Austin's performance and would probably rate that second best of the evening, followed by Brandon and Sundance.  But none of these three make me think "star".  

But then again, nor did Melanie Martinez back when she was on The Voice and she's well on her way to becoming a star, at least when it comes to alternative pop.  She's right up there with Halsey as one of the up and coming artists who are most talked about by fans and critics alike.  While I guess alt pop could be considered niche, I have trouble applying that term to someone with a gold album (not a minor thing in these days of digital downloads and streaming), who has had sold out headlining tours in mid-sized venues on three continents and has a large growing devoted fan-base of teenage girls worldwide.  There are a lot of accomplished well known musicians out there who would love it if their music videos regularly cracked 2 million views within 24 hours of being released and over 10 million views within a week (as 2 of Melanie's last 3 videos have).  All in all, Melanie has to already be easily one of maybe half a dozen most successful former Voice contestants and I suspect she'll climb even higher in this ranking when her already highly anticipated second album is released (next year?) and immediately shoots up to something like the top 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. 

I'd also point out that Melanie didn't achieve all this just by being quirky (though she certainly is that).  Melanie's success is because she has been extremely effective at translating her artistic vision (whatever you may think of it) through her song-writing and imaginative well produced music videos, over which she's been able to maintain complete artistic control.  Of course it probably helps that she's also become a much more effective singer since being on The Voice.  While she'll never be a belter with incredible range, she does seem to have learned to manifest her quirkiness more through her lyrics, musical arrangements and presentation than through an over reliance on vocal tricks and weird accents (Darby should take note).

[hincandenza]

16 hours ago, viajero said:

But then again, nor did Melanie Martinez back when she was on The Voice and she's well on her way to becoming a star, at least when it comes to alternative pop.  She's right up there with Halsey as one of the up and coming artists who are most talked about by fans and critics alike.  While I guess alt pop could be considered niche, I have trouble applying that term to someone with a gold album (not a minor thing in these days of digital downloads and streaming), who has had sold out headlining tours in mid-sized venues on three continents and has a large growing devoted fan-base of teenage girls worldwide.  

I'd also point out that Melanie didn't achieve all this just by being quirky (though she certainly is that).  Melanie's success is because she has been extremely effective at translating her artistic vision (whatever you may think of it) through her song-writing and imaginative well produced music videos, over which she's been able to maintain complete artistic control.  Of course it probably helps that she's also become a much more effective singer since being on The Voice.  While she'll never be a belter with incredible range, she does seem to have learned to manifest her quirkiness more through her lyrics, musical arrangements and presentation than through an over reliance on vocal tricks and weird accents (Darby should take note).

Oh, also agreed.  Please don't take my comments about Melanie finding a "niche" as in any way derogatory.  The woman should be proud of what she's built, even if during that season I wasn't myself very taken by her vocal skills/affectations or set designs!  I was speaking more in the sense that at best, this show is going to give you a bump- a little more exposure- and if you can seize it by aggressively building a fan base, crafting a persona, and most importantly, writing and releasing good songs... it will work for you!  Melanie, Christina Grimmie (RIP), and Haley from AI are perfect examples of that.

The contestants who've been around the block a few times, touring and making attempts, can more easily lateral from TV contestant to touring successful musician at the next level than can people who have never really tried to be successful- and have less of an illusion that winning The Voice somehow means you're now a "star" who will soon be booking sold-out arena shows on 5 continents. 

However, your post got me thinking: maybe that's starting to be backwards, because now that you mention it I think the most successful non-winners of these shows lately are younger.  People who grew up immersed in social media, and sharing youtube videos of your cover songs and originals from an early age, who instinctively know how to "grow the brand".  I suppose it keeps coming back, for me, to the idea that the show should encourage some original songs from these performers- both to prove they can actually have a solo career post-show, and to mix it up from boring 30-year-old retread songs.