S06.E18: Live Top 12 Eliminations 2014.04.22

[photo fox]

Two vocalists are eliminated in a results edition.

[leighdear]

Was it just me, or was Shakira lip synching?

SO glad my faves Josh, Kristen and Sissaundra are safe.  I was worried about Siss for a few minutes there.

But I agree with those thinking there's a setup and Shakira or Usher is gonna have the winner: Kristen or Josh. And I'd be perfectly happy to see either one win.

[kj4ever]

If Shakira comes back for season 4,568 she is going to be in even more trouble when it comes to getting people picked for her team.  As endearing as she is, she just really sucks at this show.

leighdear, I was thinking the same thing.  She sure looked like she was lip synching through most of that song, and that is just lame for a show called The Voice.  I know when they do all their computer tricks on songs it's impossible to duplicate live, but come on!

I'm bummed Dani went home.  I was totally expecting TJ to leave, but I really felt like Devlin? or Bria should have went with him.  I would have loved to have seen Christina and Bria in the bottom three.

Edited April 23, 2014 by kj4ever

[no1skittishkitten]

There is just something about Christina Grimmie that bugs me. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I'm startng to get Taylor Swift vibes from her, like when she acts OMG so shocked she got a good review or was chosen to move on. It just doesn't seem genuine. Can the theatrics, Grimmie.

[dbell1]

There is just something about Christina Grimmie that bugs me. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I'm startng to get Taylor Swift vibes from her, like when she acts OMG so shocked she got a good review or was chosen to move on. It just doesn't seem genuine. Can the theatrics, Grimmie.

Yep. I see it too.  And Sisaundra's 'humble' act is getting to me too.

I've watched every season of the show and this group is the weakest they've ever had. NBC is going to kill this show if they keep doing back to back seasons.  Give it a rest and get better talent that's not shrieking at me or holding prop guitars.

[Lily Adler]

Please America, I beseech you. Please get rid of Christina Grimmie and her incessant need to add extra long and exact same belts and runs to songs that didn't feature powerhouse vocals and the prop guitar wielding Bria. I want them off my television screen. Please and thank you. =-)

Edited April 23, 2014 by Lily Adler

[awkward1penguin]

Tess was way, way flat on "Dark Side", and TJ was unmemorable. Dani greatly improved her performance from last night with "Turning Tables", though i was off-put by her constant smiling. 

I wanted either Tess or Dani, though it doesn't really matter that much, since either one probably won't last next week. 

Shakira *sounded* like she was lip-synching, but it didn't look like it. Not sure what to think.

[pivot]

Shakira lipped half the song and sang half live. She can't duplicate the oohs due the effects in the song, so she lips them which is excusable I guess. There is no reason for her lipping the bridge though. There is normally another verse she sings live that must have gotten cut for time. I am a huge Shakira fan but she tends to lip parts of songs here and there. Her tours are 90% live though with the 10% during her belly dancing.

She got slammed for lipping part of the song on The Voice UK and I expect she'll get criticism here as well, but I don't think she'll care. She's the opposite of Christina, in that she doesn't seem to pay any attention to critcism of her performances or music at all. Kind of frustrating for a fan of hers.

I expect Kristen and Tess to both hit the bottom 3 and go home next week regardless of how well they do. Adam and Blake play the game better than she does and Usher has more fans who watch the show than she does. Plus, Shakira's contestants got the shaft last night and I expect them to get shafted again next week.

Edited April 23, 2014 by pivot

[kj4ever]

Please America, I beseech you. Please get rid of Christina Grimmie and her incessant need to add extra long and exact same belts and runs to songs that didn't feature powerhouse vocals and the prop guitar wielding Bria. I want them off my television screen. Please and thank you. =-)

Someone over at TWoP said Bria could use the guitar as a necklace and her "thing", like Flavor Flav wore the clock necklace.

 

I hope everyone from over there comes here.  I will miss things like that horribly if this site doesn't pick up...

 

I thought Team Adam's performance was cringe-worthy.  Christina was just plain awful, and the others just seemed uncomfortable.  Whenever Adam does a team performance he just seems to do a song with a bunch of background singers, with him as the star.

 

Team Blake on the other hand are always some of my favorite performances.  Blake really lets his people shine.  I was a little worried for Sissaundra when I heard it was going to be a country song, but I liked her better in that group performance than I have in anything else she's done on the show so far.  Blake really does have his stuff down when it comes to this show.  He knows how to get people to care about his people.

Edited April 23, 2014 by kj4ever

[beaker73]

TWoPer here--I figure I had better start getting acclimated to my new home!

 

I felt terrible for Shakira last night.  She really brought a strong team to the lives and she/they are really going to get screwed.  I've watched this show since S1 and do not want another Adam or Blake win. 

 

I agree wholeheartedly that Bria and Grimmie need to go. Stat.  When Grim started singing on "Sledgehammer"  my head jerked up to see who the hell was singing so badly. She just isn't good.  Unfortunately, she'll be around awhile.  AND...if I hear one more coach say, "How does a voice that big come out of someone so tiny?"  I'm going to throw something at the tv. 

 

One  more thing--if Bria is going to trot that guitar out then she needs to play it.  She looked stupid and fake standing there with it.

[cosmic1]

I was glad that Shakira didn't lose both her folks. I could never see the attraction of Dani so I won't miss her.

I wondered about Shakira lip syncing at the end of her song. She sounds like at least 3 different singers to me in the same song. It is kind of jarring to watch.

Adam is really trying to be less of a dick this season. I don't buy it though; a leopard doesn't change his spots.

[picklesprite]

Does anyone know if they're "saved" in the order of their votes? It seems as if the apparent leader is picked first, but I'm never sure about the rest. Because of iTunes, I was surprised to see Kat get the second save ahead of Kristin and to see Jake and Grimmie saved so late.

Grimmie looked as if she was suddenly facing the possibility that her internet fans aren't enough to save her, or she was pissed that the show was making her look unpopular by making her wait so long. Or, possibly, indigestion.

[LoneHaranguer]

Less than a minute left, the screen has gone from showing the voting results to flashing the credits, and Carson grabs still more camera time with another lengthy pause. What a douche.

[Lily Adler]

I pray Adam or Blake doesn't win again. I really dislike them already with their constant reminders that they won the previous seasons and for it to happen again would make me no longer want to watch the show. I mean unless the talent is good, unlike this current season, I will probably catch up on Hulu or YouTube and read posts here if I am ever interested. In fact, I wouldn't have minded Jacquie Lee winning last season as it would break the only Blake and Adam win trend and a FEMALE coach can finally win on one of these shows. =-/

Edited April 23, 2014 by Lily Adler

[pivot]

I loved Tess and was thrilled she won the show, but The Voice has to be worried about Adam or Blake winning again. It kind of makes the other two coaches's teams irrelevant and it's kind of depressing to watch those teams with better talent getting eliminated while lesser talent on Blake or Adam's team slides through.

[kj4ever]

Does anyone know if they're "saved" in the order of their votes? It seems as if the apparent leader is picked first, but I'm never sure about the rest. Because of iTunes, I was surprised to see Kat get the second save ahead of Kristin and to see Jake and Grimmie saved so late.

Grimmie looked as if she was suddenly facing the possibility that her internet fans aren't enough to save her, or she was pissed that the show was making her look unpopular by making her wait so long. Or, possibly, indigestion.

I thought she looked like she was sucking on something sour.  Bria just had plain old bitch face going for most of the eliminations.  They are both so damn unlikable.  I really want to like Bria, but she just seems like such a tool.

 

In all my years of watching The Voice I've never got a straight answer to that question.  Usher did say "This means you are number 1" to Josh, so at least that's confirmed.

 

Is it me or are the coaches (Usher especially) putting more time in patting each other on their backs for shaping these artists?  With what we had going into the live shows I'm not sure I would want credit for them.  Just sayin.

Edited April 23, 2014 by kj4ever

[constantknot]

Didn't really enjoy Shakira's performance. I understand that the song she chose to sing is heavy on the 'effects' or whatever you want to call them, but couldn't she have just performed it without them this one time on a show called 'The VOICE'? Doesn't help that I don't like that song at all. 

Also turned off by Bria's over the top celebration at being safe. Shhh, be gracious and exit like the others. 

[pivot]

Bria is really unlikable IMO. She radidates smug much more than Christina. It's surprising because she isn't even in the top artists by vocal ability. Not sure where this smugness is coming from.

 

Carson has tweeted in the past that the contestants aren't announced in any particular order.

 

Does anyone have suggestions for what the contestants should sing next week? I thought Shakira's song choice for Kristen and Dani were perfect for them, but Dani ended up going home so clearly I don't get what appeals to the general public.

[photo fox]

Does anyone know if they're "saved" in the order of their votes? It seems as if the apparent leader is picked first, but I'm never sure about the rest. Because of iTunes, I was surprised to see Kat get the second save ahead of Kristin and to see Jake and Grimmie saved so late.

Confirmation from Carson... the results are read in random order.  Of course, I assume that means "in an order which will bring the most drama".

[Padma]

I like Shakira as a person (from the show that is), but every time she sings (including demonstrating during coaching) she just, imo, isn't very good. She's beautiful, and may be a great entertainer, but vocally she's well below par. Imo, all of her team sings far better than she does (and they perform live when she, apparently, has to lip sync. Embarrassing.)

I enjoy it when the others (and, of course, Xtina) demonstrate their phrasing on a lyric. But Shakira? Just..no.

Blake really does have his stuff down when it comes to this show.  He knows how to get people to care about his people.

He's amazing with it and his team performances (and duets with them) are always the highlight of the season for me. I think he's doing wonders with Sisaundra (who seems very ego-free and "coachable" to me) and I hope they'll keep having her show the restraint she had with DLTSGDOM. I don't want Team Blake or Adam to win again, but I hope she makes T3.

For some reason I was thinking of Dawn and Hawkes. I imagine they're looking at the lives and can't understand why they aren't there when Adam promised to take them to the end and told them they were his favorite "Voice" singers of all-time.

Come to think of it, I'm wondering about that, too.

Someone over at TWoP said Bria could use the guitar as a necklace and her "thing", like Flavor Flav wore the clock necklace.

That was hilarious and put me in a better mood about the guitar. (Seeing more TWOPers coming over here also puts me in a better mood. That "Flava Flav clock" comment was a classic--and made me more amused by Bria doing it than irritated. :) )

[pivot]

Shakira's voice is definitely not one for everyone. They wouldn't even let her on the church choir as a kid because her voice was too goaty. Personally, I love it. She's quite capable of singing live and beautifully (see her MTV Unplugged show for example). She does it in concerts and other performances, but she also inexplicably decides to lip-sync on some TV appearances. She's done it her whole career so as a fan I am not surprised when she does it now. It doesn't seem to be as big of a deal in Latin America and lots of Europe where almost all TV shows have the musical guests lip-sync. Maybe that's why she doesn't care? Who knows.

 

I am not really a fan of Usher's voice, but I've been falling love with Adam's this season. I've never been impressed with his vocals on his own songs, but when he is demostrating how to sing a song to his contestants I've been really impressed. I might have actually enjoyed his Unchained Melody.

[MelsW]

 

When Grim started singing on "Sledgehammer"  my head jerked up to see who the hell was singing so badly.

 

So did I! It was actually jarring to hear that first line she sang in "Sledgehammer." I also feel like Adam always makes his group songs about him, hogging the spotlight, while Blake seems to let his team shine instead of making it all about him.

 

 

Also turned off by Bria's over the top celebration at being safe. Shhh, be gracious and exit like the others.

 

Oh that was awful. She shrieked her way off the stage, shrieked into Usher's mic. Ugh. Show some class, Bria. I was praying she'd be in the bottom 3.

 

I knew TJ was toast (deservedly, IMO) but I couldn't guess who else would be in the bottom 3. If Shakira's team tanks early again this year, I don't think she will ever be able to do well in the blinds. She will be picking up scraps of Blake and Adam's sloppy seconds.

 

[pivot]

It sounds like this might be Shakira's last season anyway. Gwen is rumored for next season and then Christina is planning on coming back for season 8. Unless Christina is willing to give her chair up in the future, Shakira doesn't have a slot on the show.

[Lily Adler]

I'm actually hoping a dark horse causes a major upset for this season. At least ANYONE other than Bria and Christina. I'm personally rooting for Kristen since she's the only person I truly enjoy on Team Shakira. Tess is just too generic for my taste and doesn't feel special when on stage, but she does have a good singing voice.

Edited April 23, 2014 by Lily Adler

[daughtersofanarchy]

Team Adam's group song was so badly done.  There was no cohesion there at all.

 

Going strictly by the three last-chance performances, I think the voters saved the right person even though I'm not a fan of Tess.

 

This season has such a weird, unpleasant vibe to it.  There's so much free-floating desperation about it, and so much trying-too-hardedness, and straining, straining, straining.  I agree with the poster who said the show should go back to one season a year and take the time to round up better talent.  Give us all some breathing space, please.

[Lily Adler]

Sad that NBC is doing so poorly that they need this show twice a year to get decent ratings for the rest of their line-up.

[Delofran]

I don't agree with those who say that Shakira is due to lose her entire team.  Although Dani went home and Tess may repeat her trip to the Bottom 3 next week (if last year's contest is a predictor) but I think Kristen has a great chance to go as far as the finals.  She's survived two montages and a microphone flub; she has a great voice and IMO a lot more talent than many of the other contestants.  I predict Adam's team will be emptied, first.

[pivot]

Adam's team did really well on iTunes though. Christina and Kat ended up in the top 100 and Delvin was just behind Sisaundra even with singing Unchained Melody.

[Ohwell]

It was interesting to see Sisaundra do country, and I thought she did well.  However, there were some parts where she held on to some notes too long, imo, and you could tell that she wanted to wail but she restrained herself.

 

I love to listen to Josh's voice but I don't like looking at him.

 

I think Shakira is adorable, and I love her voice.  However, I just don't think she's suited for this show and it makes me sad to watch her losing out on contestants.

[jhlipton]

Only the real-time viewers on the East Coast get to vote on the bottom 3?  That doesn't seem fair at all!

But then, "America" (or the small subset that votes on this show) saves a LOT of crappy singers, at the expense of good (or at least descent) ones.  TJ sang a hella better than half the saved ones.

Ugh.

[ToxicUnicorn]

Count me in as another who enjoyed Team Blake's performance and thought Sisaundra's part in it was the most appealing she's been.  I also thought she looked beautiful tonight.  I'm glad all of Team Blake was safe.

Based on Monday night, Dani definitely deserved to go.  Glad she got to give a better performance on her way out.  Ugly dress and jewelry, though.  I was wondering whether her outfit alone was going to cost her votes.

Tess shouldn't have been in the bottom this week and I'm glad she got saved.  Grimmie needs to work on not making lips that look like an anus while she is waiting.  I'm sorry TJ left, but was glad Shakira didn't lose two.  So sad Adam's team isn't down at least one.

Too many family reaction shots, but they are a vast improvement over past attempts at filler.  

For some reason, I really hated the real time Twitter save stats.  I can understand that people might want that information in theory, but it just didn't come off well.

I'm still trying to find words to describe my reaction to Delvin's pants.

[MaryPatShelby]

For some reason I was thinking of Dawn and Hawkes. I imagine they're looking at the lives and can't understand why they aren't there when Adam promised to take them to the end and told them they were his favorite "Voice" singers of all-time.

Come to think of it, I'm wondering about that, too.

 

I've said this before, but I'll repeat that I think the coaches should be more careful with hyperbole. Granted, the contestants should be aware of it, but when standing up there listening to all the applause, and a coach says "You can win this thing", I would think it'd be hard to ignore. It especially struck me this season with Cierra, when Shakira rushed up to the stage after her blind audition, whispered sweet nothings in her ear, and dumped her the first chance she got.

[beaker73]

Only the real-time viewers on the East Coast get to vote on the bottom 3?  That doesn't seem fair at all!

 

Anyone can vote during the Twitter Save.  The problem with it is that those who aren't on the East Coast (and thus not watching the show live) have to monitor twitter to see who's in the bottom if they want to vote. 

[coloradoqt]

Is it just me or does "the voice" sound more like "The Coach's Voice"?  I'm betting we heard the coach's voices more than the contestants, and to say one coach steals another's vocalist and the coach tries to pretend he doesn't like it, is so silly when that  coach has given  up that vocalist.

[treebyleaf]

 

I think the coaches should be more careful with hyperbole

In a perfect world, this would be great, but I imagine that, like most 'glamorous' occupations, being a professional musician means you hear a LOT of hyperbole without much follow-through. I mean, look what happens every year when such-and-such new ingenue graces the covers of US Weekly and then is quickly forgotten.

So possibly having Adam Levine promise the moon to you, and then send you packing, is a lesson in how show business works that the semi-pro contestants already know and the young contestants should probably figure out. It's a hard business to break into and even when you've "made it" there are no guarantees (see Sisaundra, who's toured the world with Celine Dion and is now battling it out against teenagers wearing guitars as props!)

[Dots And Stripes]

Anyone can vote during the Twitter Save.  The problem with it is that those who aren't on the East Coast (and thus not watching the show live) have to monitor twitter to see who's in the bottom if they want to vote. 

The Voice's twitter account did a really great job of presenting the instructions. They tweeted a pic with detailed voting instructions along with a list of what time the voting would be in each time zone to make the timing easy to figure out. All one needs to do is follow the Voice's twitter account and they'll also learn exactly who the bottom 3 are in time to vote. 

 

I haven't been fully paying attention this season, so I was surprised by the bottom 3. I really enjoyed Dani. I think Tess was killed by a terrible arrangement on Monday. Poor Shakira really needs to up her game or she'll be gone long before the finale. I can't really get behind anyone on Team Usher, although I wouldn't be mad at an Usher win. I had forgotten how likable he can be on this show.

 

I'm firmly rooting for Team Blake. I really like the Blake/Sissaundra pairing. They remind me of Usher/Michelle last year where you wouldn't expect them to be a match musically, but somehow they are. I think Blake is having fun working with someone with her vocal power and she seems willing to take risks. The girl on Team Blake (don't remember her name) reminds me of Shakira vocally, and not in a good way. I'm glad she's not on Team Shakira.

[Swedish Chef]

The phrase "live eliminations" conjures up rather unfortunate images. But perhaps it's apt, given the crappiness of the group numbers and Shakira's "performance".

[Joystickenvy]

I thought the two weakest vocals of the week were Blake's country guy and Grimmie. I normally like the country guy, so I was OK with him being safe, but I sure hope his pitch improves next week.

Initially, I thought Shakira killed Dani with a song choice that didn't suit her voice, but I thought Dani did pretty well on her sing for your life song and seemed to get no love, so I guess she just didn't have a fan base.

Don't get the Tess appeal. She sounded the worst of the three to me. Hate the gimmicky "instant save" and wish they'd just send the B2 home, but I get that they're trying to encourage more live viewership of the results show.

Kristen & Sisandra & Kat are my current favorites. Seems I'm in the minority on the group performances. I thought Sledge was OK, but was so bored by Blake's song choice I FF'd over it.

[Lily Adler]

Kristen is my current favorite. Sisuandra will become my favorite once she tones down the vocal acrobatics and sings a song straight through without melisma. Adele could show her a few things, not that I'm saying she needs to sound like her or cover one of her songs. I think we had enough about that with all those covers during Season 2.

[aradia22]

 

If Shakira comes back for season 4,568 she is going to be in even more trouble when it comes to getting people picked for her team.  As endearing as she is, she just really sucks at this show.

Yup. It was no surprise she almost lost two artists. I was a little scared for Sisaundra for a while and then I thought TJ might make it through on Usher's popularity. All three gave rather bad final save performances. TJ was just alright with grating high notes. Dani was... Dani. Tess was struggling mightily against a band that was trying to drown her out.

 

Blake really lets his people shine.  I was a little worried for Sissaundra when I heard it was going to be a country song, but I liked her better in that group performance than I have in anything else she's done on the show so far.  Blake really does have his stuff down when it comes to this show.  He knows how to get people to care about his people.

I disagree as I feel like Sisaundra has done well so far but other than that, yes. I was worried Sisaundra would be the weak link and she actually blended into the song just fine. Audra was the weak link for me as her vocals were weak not particularly special except for the yodeling thing. Blake did right by her.

 

I wondered about Shakira lip syncing at the end of her song. She sounds like at least 3 different singers to me in the same song. It is kind of jarring to watch.

I was getting a lot of Alanis. Like Christina, she doesn't seem to be the best person to be giving the contestants advice. Here she is chasing trends and not giving a particularly great "rock star" performance. She reminded me of a Eurovision contestant. And unlike Christina, she's not really a fantastic singer. YMMV. I really only like her when she's singing in Spanish.

 

Less than a minute left, the screen has gone from showing the voting results to flashing the credits, and Carson grabs still more camera time with another lengthy pause. What a douche.

Carson is like a bland version of Seacrest. Weirdly, that makes him tolerable. Like, he's a version of the same terrible host but you can easily just ignore him because he's so uninteresting.