S06.E21: Live Top 8 Performance Show 2014.05.05

[pivot]

Song choices are out for tonight's show:

Christina Grimmie How To Love by Lil Wayne

Delvin Choice I Believe I Can Fly by R. (pervert) Kelly

Kat Perkins Get Lucky by Daft Punk

Sissaundra Lewis River Deep Mountain High by Tina Turner

Audra McLaughlin Forgive

Jake Worthington Hillbilly Deluxe by Brooks and Dunn

Kristen Merlin I Drive Your Truck by Lee Brice

Josh Kaufman I Can't Make You Love Me by Bonnie Raitt

 

Christina, Kat, Kristen, Sisaundra and Jake sound good. Think they all have great song choices. Josh, Audra, and Delvin have bad song choices so it will come down to how strong their performances are and how big their fanbases are. I hope Josh can make it another week.

 

[Delofran]

If they want us to give Adam Levine another winner with Grimmie, she's got to back away from the hip hop songs.  The sweetness of her voice disappears in the plethora of words and the pointilism of the lyrics.  She's got a following, but she's got some strong contenders - so I don't know if she's got it wrapped up.

 

Josh and Sisaundra both did themselves proud tonight, and Jake and Delvin showed vast improvement.  It's not over yet.

[FormerMod-a1]

Christina continues to underwhelm me.  She can hold some notes, but when it comes to phrasing- singing multiple words together - she drops the ending.  All the time. 

 

I really liked Josh and Sissaundra - considering they went first and I still remember them, that's good of them.  I was disappointed in Audra.  Still not impressed with Kat and the others would be middle for me.

[pivot]

Kristen and Christina were the best by far, but it doesn't matter. The producers did what they could to sabotage Kristen again. They gave her a performance slot between Kat and Pharrel so no one would remember her and then they had the band play so loud that you couldn't hear the lyrics. They clearly want her gone.

 

Kristen is in 5th on iTunes right now and Sisaundra always does better than her iTunes rank.

 

Jake and Audra had their worst performances this season but between being on Team Blake and getting prime performance slots they will be just fine.

[awkward1penguin]

1. Kat: A+. I loved her energy and the drama of the performance. Now this is what I want from "taking a risk"
2. Kristen: A. One of the most important things for country singers is storytelling, and Kristen did that here. You could see and feel the emotion from beginning to end. 
3. Josh: A-. Solid singing as always. I was reminded by the Bon Iver cover
4. Sisaundra: B+. Great energy, great singing as always.
5. Delvin: B. Also solid singing, but that song...
6. Christina: C+. Good for her for arranging the cover, but I just didn't get it. Arrangements shouldn't just be for the sake of "doing something different" - there needs to be a purpose, and I don't think she reimagined the song into anything interesting. 
7. Audra: C. She's getting pretty bland. I never remember anything that she does, even though she sings well every time. 
8. Jake: C-. Flat in a lot of parts, and hasn't improved the performance aspect much. 

It's pretty obvious that I'm biased, but I'm not too invested this season. Hope Kristen and Josh stay. 

I'm expecting at least one of Jake and Audra in the bottom, along with Delvin. 

[kj4ever]

Adam just may break the Twitter curse because Kat was awesome tonight.  After about 20 seconds in I fast forwarded Audra, Kristen, Devlin and Jake.  Delilah did that exact same arrangement of "How to Love" on The Sing Off (and Amy Whitcomb sang it way better) like three years ago.  Original my ass.

 

Sisaundra Sisaundra'd it.  I know she's talented and all that, but those diva voices just aren't my cup of tea.  Josh was better than last week, but his status has me worried.  I'd love to see Devlin, Audra, and Jake/Kristen in the bottom 3 tonight, but that obviously shows my total lack of love for country music.

[MelsW]

Can’t we all come to some agreement where we can stop people from singing I Believe I Can Fly in singing competitions?

 

Kat truly took a risk, and not in the “OMG! Grimmie is going to strip down another hip hop song!” risk category. I mean a real risk. You don’t hear much rock (other than pop) on these shows so I am not sure if that will hurt her or help her that she dared to step outside the safety zone of country/Top 40/R&B that people usually settle in on these shows.

 

I did a Liz Lemon-style masterpiece eye roll when I heard Josh’s song choice. He sang it well and all but I thought it was a poor choice of song. Lo and behold, he has cracked the Top 10 on iTunes so obviously I have no idea of what America does and doesn’t like. It looks like Christina Grimmie also cracked the Top 10, so we know those two are safe. If iTunes is any indication, it looks like Sissaundra, Delvin and Audra are in trouble.

Edited May 6, 2014 by MelsW

[imonlyhuman]

Josh has been my pick from the beginning as my favorite.  I was a bit disappointed last week, but this week, wow, I got chills.  Voice, not looks, is everything to me when it comes to singing and he has a honey-toned voice.   James was my favorite last season, but Adam's song choices for him were not great.  I was so happy Usher grabbed Josh, because I fear what Adam would have done with his song choices.

 

I thought Grimmie was excellent last week, but this week, horrible.   The only other performance last night that I loved was Kristen's.  I could feel the emotion in every word she sang, just wish the band had toned it down.   Her voice is lovely and emotive.  Kat was great though, even though she is not my favorite, I hope she stays.  I think she will.   

[SunnyBeBe]

I'm not a Gimmie fan, but I thought everyone did pretty well last night.

 

Josh won me over.  I haven't been to date, but he impressed me. I voted for him.

 

I loved Audra. She has as good if not better voice than anyone in current country.  She would be getting more support if she were on Blake's team. Too bad.  Jake is getting the support and he is not even close to her in talent.  I hate it.  I fear she's too low on Itunes to stay.

 

Loved Kat.  I thought she did the job she needed to in order to stay.  I'm thrilled she's doing so well with sales.

 

Liked Kristen, but I hope she comes out with something more upbeat soon.

 

I am concerned for Aurdra tonight.  I also expect to see Sisaundra and Delvin in the bottom.  They are good, but not for my taste.

Edited May 6, 2014 by SunnyBeBe

[JeanneH]

As of noon EST, everyone's in the iTunes top 100:

 

92.Sisaundra Lewis

83.Audra McLaughlin

53.Delvin Choice

46.Kristen Merlin

34.Jake Worthington

24.Kat Perkins

7.Christina Grimmie

4.Josh Kaufman

 

And then sitting there at #33 is Christina again (from last week, I guess).

 

I don't understand all the love some of these people are getting, but I guess it's all up to what kind of music you like.  And then I looked at Twitter (just some of it, don't have time to look at it all  ^_- ). There's a lot of campaigning going on (to no one's surprise, I'm sure). Kat, Christina, and Audra are getting a lotta love, and Shakira has posted a few times, practically begging people to vote for Kristen.

Edited May 6, 2014 by JeanneH

[Lily Adler]

In my honest opinion, Audra and Jake should go tonight. Grimmie is unfortunately the frontrunner and until she flubs up big time I don't see her leaving anytime soon and may even win, but let's face it she's not beating the very best here (i.e. Season Four). I would love Kristen to be a dark horse and win it all or someone other than Team Adam or Blake.

Edited May 6, 2014 by Lily Adler

[Lily Adler]

I just now realized 3 are going home, so throw Delvin or Kat in there too. Also did anyone else see the alleged FB ad for Grimmie and Adam?

[SnarkGhost]

I wasn't feeling well last night, so I may have watched the show through impatient, bitter colored glasses, but I thought it was all garbage last night.  

The people who could sing had terrible songs.

The people who had good songs were terrible.

*edit*  Some terrible people sang terrible songs.

Sisaundra and Josh are the only two that I would have a problem being eliminated.

Edited May 6, 2014 by SnarkGhost

[MelsW]

I loved Audra. She has as good if not better voice than anyone in current country.  She would be getting more support if she were on Blake's team. Too bad.  Jake is getting the support and he is not even close to her in talent.  I hate it.  I fear she's too low on Itunes to stay.

 

She is on Blake's team...do you mean she'd be getting more support if she wasn't on Blake's team?

Edited May 6, 2014 by MelsW

[picklesprite]

The great advantage to having missed the first several seesons, is that I don't have anything better to compare this one to, so it all seems pretty good to me. But you have to understand I'm comparing it to another show altogether, so there's that.

 

I'm SO surprised to read various places that a lot of people hate "I Can't Make You Love Me." God, I adore that song. I thought Josh did a wonderful job. It's not *quite* as additive to me as his version of "Stay With Me," but I've still listened to it many times so far.

 

"I Can't" is  #2 on itunes now and "Stay" is back in the top 100.

 

My ideal top 3 would be Josh, Kristin, and. . .hmm. Okay, my top 2. I'd also love that because it would mean that neither Adam nor Blake won, and that would be good for the show.

[Ohwell]

The people who could sing had terrible songs.

 

For me, that would be Sisaundra and Josh.  Sisaundra worked that song and did the best she could with it, but it just made her look "old" standing up there.  (I feel sad for saying that since I'm older than she is).  Josh put a lot of emotion into his song, and he sang it well, but he just looked like a wee man with a wee face in a wee hat singing a tired song.  

 

I loved Daft Punk and Pharrell's version of Get Lucky, and Kat just tore it up and not in a good way.  I muted the last half of her song because I didn't want her version in my head like a really bad earworm. 

 

Honestly, I'm not all that thrilled about any of these contestants.

[Hildegard802]

Josh reminds me of a lemur.

 

I think his not opening his mouth and letting the sound fly/swallowing the sound affectation is getting more pronounced as the season goes on.  To my ears, it's an unpleasant, tortured sound.   Early on, there were times I liked his voice.  Now, not so much.

 

It's sad Kristen had to resort to jingoism, and even sadder it's too late to help her.

 

Couldn't bear Sisaundra's bowing and prayer hands and blowing kisses and other forms of pageant-y "thank yous" to the judges.  That song was a huge step backward.  

 

The rest are too boring to bother writing something about.

[Ohwell]

Josh reminds me of a lemur.

 

Yes. 

 

Couldn't bear Sisaundra's bowing and prayer hands and blowing kisses and other forms of pageant-y "thank yous" to the judges.

 

Yes again.  I hate when contestants do that because to me it says "I'm so glad that you acknowledge how great I am!  Bless you!"  Now, Sisaundra  might not think that way at all, but that's how she comes off to me.

[daughtersofanarchy]

I can't wait for this season to end.  I wish they were announcing the winner tonight.

 

Delvin sounded good last week, but though he did a decent job with the song last night, it was an awful song choice.  So corny.

 

Sisaundra's performance was static.  It seemed like she was nailed to one place on the stage.

 

Jake finally got a song that suited him well, but he was too ill to do it in the really lively way it deserved.

 

Josh sang well but I had hoped he would take that stupid hat off for once, since this is make it or break it time, and that hat somehow makes him seem as though he is bogged down, not making as much progress as a stage presence as he should be.

 

Kristen sang well, but there were other problems as noted by previous posters.

 

Audra was Audra.  She may have sung the same song each time she has been on stage, because she always sounds the same to me.

 

Kat keeps on fighting as hard as she can.

 

Christina in the pimp spot.  Was there any possible doubt?  The coaches gushing all over her is just boring at this point.

 

I bet next week's show will be absolute torture as the final five turn themselves inside out and rend their garments on stage.

[Lily Adler]

I'm almost at the point of wanting this season to be over and I love Shakira and Usher, but the talent this year isn't enough.

[viajero]

I thought Kat gave the Wow performance of the night.  I loved everything about it.  While it wasn't completely innovative since Halestorm has already recorded a kick-ass metal version of Get Lucky, Kat definitely put her own twist on it.  I really hope she survives tonight.

 

The other two stand-out performances for me were Christina and Josh, despite questionable song choices.  Though I didn't think either one was quite as good as they have been (Christina last week and Josh two weeks ago), I do think both well deserve their front runner status.

 

As for the rest, I thought Delvin and Sisaundra were killed by horrible song choices, while Kristen and Audra had their worst performances of the live shows (with the band partially to blame in Kristen's case).  Though I thought Jake actually had his best performance of the live shows, I'd still rank it towards the bottom of the group.

 

I guess I'd like to see Audra, Jake and Delvin go home, but doubt we'll lose two country singers the same week.

Edited May 7, 2014 by viajero

[tpplay]

Hello, former TWOP-ers!  I'm so grateful for this website!

 

 

All I REALLY want to say is I LOVE KRISTEN.  I sooo want Kristen to stay in the competition.  She is a far far better singer than Jake, than Audra, than Sisandra, then Delvin.

 

I'm so anxious about tonight's results.

 

Of course, a therapist would ask - "And why are you so invested in the outcome of a singing competition in which you are not personally involved?"  Good question, imaginary therapist.

[Kromm]

Kristen was boring as shit.  Shakira did her no favors with that advice, and the song was just a bad bad choice.

 

Sisaundra was Sisaundra.  It's great, but its very samey-samey eventually.  And last year's winner was a belter, so that also hurts her chances (I don't think the audience is likely to repeat itself).

 

Josh was great, but as great as it was it's not "big" enough to win this show.  

 

Now Kat did big.  Effin' gigantic.  

 

Delvin wore out his welcome with me a while ago.  This didn't renew it for me.  He's just predictable in his music, and not in the best way.

 

Audra? {rolling eyes}  Bye!

 

BTW: Will the huge hat come along with Pharell's tiny body next year?

Edited May 7, 2014 by Kromm

[Joystickenvy]

Can’t we all come to some agreement where we can stop people from singing I Believe I Can Fly in singing competitions?

 

I wish. Delvin seems like a super nice guy and he has a good voice, but I hate that song so much.

It was a pretty Meh night for me.

Kat was good, but I didn't really like the song.

Sisaundra sounded too old fashioned.

Kristen's voice sounded good when I could hear her, but for the most part I couldn't. I think I hate that song from having heard it on the radio, but I couldn't understand a single word other than "truck" because all I could hear was violins so I'm not sure.

Josh - I actually love the song. I'm a huge Bonnie raitt fan. I fast forwarded over this. Something about the way he sings reminds me of Peter Griffin doing a walrus impersonation on Family Guy.

Delvin - ok vocal. Terrible song

Audra - don't remember

Jake - his pitch was better, but I don't like Brooke's & Dunn and he sounded out of breath

Grimmie - should have trusted her instinct that covering a rap song again was lame. It was.

[aradia22]

I love Sisaundra but I don't think it was her best performance. 25% of it was her vocals and 75% was the performance and staging. I thought her vocals were just the tiniest bit off, which still puts her leagues ahead of most of the other contestants but Sisaundra's one who can't slip. There are contestants that these shows love to eliminate and Sisaundra is one of them. As for the staging, what idiot said, let's put her up on a weird platform (almost as bad as a terrible X Factor plinth) and then put her in crazy high heels so she can't dance. And let's hide the backup singers in the stage... and just, ugh. It took so much momentum out of the song. Her vocals were dynamic and here she was, doing her best by strutting from time to time but unable to pick up the rhythm of the song.

 

I do not understand how Usher ended up with only one artist.

[aradia22]

I'm feeling too lazy to properly critique everyone so I'll keep it short. 

Josh- Still don't like it but it was good "for Josh." Good song choice. Vocals felt a little more smoky instead of breathy.

Kat- Good but vocals a bit thin. Song way too repetitive for a singing competition.

Kristen- Some really nice moments but overall meh. She doesn't have the breath support to make it through a whole song without dropping out.

Delvin- Good but very safe. I wish he would have opened up more instead of saving it all for the very end because it made the performance feel lackluster.

Audra- She's no Audra. Or even Carrie. But she's getting there. Good song choice. Nice moments. She also drops out but she's a little better than Kristen.

Jake- Song was repetitive but it gave him the chance to be a little more charismatic. Not a great vocal but some nice moments.

Christina- Very tolerable. Good song choice since it quieted and slowed her down. Even the screaming was not as piercing as usual. I actually kind of liked it.