Photobucket

After we said goodbye to dancing pop star in the making VEDO and growly rocker Garrett Gardner last week, the Top 10 will take the stage one more time in order to make it through another round. Tonight, the coaches brought back the advisers from the battle rounds to help mentor their teams. Cee Lo will aid Shakira, Sheryl Crow will help Blake,  Hillary Scott teams up once more with Adam and Pharrell Williams gives a hand to Usher. We'll we have our first shock tonight?

Recap and videos after the JUMP ...

Holly Tucker

photo HollyTucker_zps593ba503.png

"How Great Thou Art" - Team Blake - 6,5/10 - This will she'll focus in being 100 % who she is. According to Holly, Sheryl helped her calm herself before a performance. Blake gave him this old gospel standard because she's got strong gospel roots. "You hear her embody that song" Sheryl says. A big emotional song of which she probably doesn't understand the meaning. There's just such a huge disconnection between herself and the lyrics. I don't think that will ever change. I like Holly more when she's just a country singer, she's got a huge set of pipes but I don't think gospel music is what she should be doing, after all, gospel is all about the emotional connection and that's the one thing she doesn't have. "It's nice to see performances like this because, regardless of what the song is, it epitomizes what the show is about and the pristine beautiful quality of your voice, the grace that you deliver it with, it's just what this show is about, it's the purity of the voice" (Adam)


Judith Hill

photo JudithHill_zps9dfa0772.png

"The Way You Make Me Feel" - Team Adam - 7,5/10 - Adam gave her this song because it's a beautiful breath of fresh air and this week she has to come out and do something fun. She's got a huge connection to Michael, she was set to be his duet partner for "This is It", and is very grateful to him. "It hurts that people think I'm taking advantage of him" she says. She's torn about singing this song. Adam and Hillary ultimately change her mind. The hair isn't a crazy mess this week. The performance's got a jazzy feel when slowed down but it loses a bit of it's magic when the faster tempo kicks in, the scat at the end was cool though. Judith was very faithful to the original version, I'd have preferred a crazier arrangement. The song doesn't give her much space to shine but she's such a consummate professional that she manages to nail every song she's given. That said, this isn't my fave from her. "You can never say anything negative, it's always good, no matter what" (Blake)

(Couldn't find the NBC video)

 The Swon Brothers

photo TheSwonBrothers_zps6b95d826.png

"How Country Feels" - Team Blake - 7/10 - They made their home studio from duct tape and egg crates and couldn't even hold their mic stand cause it was broke. "They've got really good mic stands here" one says. Blake gave them this song because it'll give them the chance to explore their energetic side. Blake did a terrific job by picking this song. I've found them boring since the show began and this is exactly the type of song they needed to do. They are still generic as hell but at least I'm not falling asleep. Honestly, they were quite entertaining and the performance was pretty cool. This is their best yet, without doubt. "Every time you perform I feel like having one of those special lattes that your coach has. You guys make me feel good every time you hit that stage, that's what you guys do, you lighten my mood" (Shakira)


 Amber Carrington

photo AmberCarrington_zpsb3347234.png

"Breakaway" - Team Adam - 6/10 - This week she's excited to be more uplifting. She's excited to have Hillary as an advisor because she really gets her. Adam thinks the song is cool because it has all of the things that make Amber a great singer.  He views Amber as Kelly Clarkson type of artist since she can do both country and pop music. He thinks this is the perfect song for her. Amber considers this song lines up perfectly with her life since she comes from a small town and keeps moving up. This pick is a head-scratcher. I mean, Amber is a phenomenal singer and is perfect for pop music but this isn't the right song for her to show it. I don't even like Kelly's version of it. If Adam wanted her to sing a Kelly song, there are better picks than this one. Her lower register was somewhat weak and the whole performance felt like a karaoke rendition even if she succeeded with the bigger notes. "I really enjoyed it, I was blown away by, I mean, literally blown away. It was cool but the theatrics had nothing to do with your incredible talent and the arrangement, it was personalized and I loved it" (Usher)


Sasha Allen

photo SashaAllen_zps8d5c51d6.png

"Next to Me" - Team Shakira - 8,5/10 - She thinks having Cee Lo is amazing. "I've the fresh, new ideas from Shakira and then I also have somebody that has done this for a few seasons" Sasha says. Being away from her kids is really hard. Shakira wants her to sing something that's currently playing in radio. She thinks it's right in Sasha's alley and that she could easily release an album within this genre. That's a big departure from "Alone". I really like this change for her, Shakira finally listened and made her go current. Sasha's voice is huge, perfect for this type of songs. What it lacks is a bit of that soulful tone Emeli has but even without that her explosive voice manages to keep us interested with a killer phrasing. That was the best I've heard so far. "I'm so happy that you did a song like this because that was my biggest note as a coach, I want to see you interpret a pop song in your own way and you did a really fantastic job, I'm super proud of you" (Adam)


Josiah Hawley

photo JosiahHawley_zps7748c70b.png

"Clocks" - Team Usher - 6/10 - He says he learned hard work from his dad. He had a construction business. If you hadn't figure it out already, he is a model. Usher thinks this is a perfect song because Chris Martin tells a story through the way he delivers the song and he considers that's something Josiah needs to show. Pharrell thinks he is intimidated by the bridge. He had a moment with last week's acoustic pick, so I'm not sure singing this type of song was a clever move, after all, the band usually drowns him. This was no exception, his voice got lost in that performance, mainly because his upper range is non existent, and even if I enjoyed the little I heard, it'd have been preferable to have him turn this song into an acoustic version. "You did a great job. This is a toughy one for me because when it comes to Coldplay they have such a distinguishable sound and any attempt to try to evoke the magic that happens in Coldplay's performances is always like almost Mission Impossible. I feel like you did a great attempt" (Shakira)


Danielle Bradbery

photo DanielleBradbery_zps022c3753.png

"Heads Carolina, Tails California" - Team Blake - 8/10 - She loves Sheryl. She sold in one week 15000 singles. "Can I be on The Voice?" Sheryl says. Blake thinks this song is youthful and that it encompasses her journey. Sheryl is missing the connection. About 7 y/o she had breast cancer and before that she didn't want to see anybody but after the cancer she wanted to have an experience with people. "It will propel you and you'll be amazed at how that translates to everybody" Sheryl says. She's the exact opposite to Holly, sh seems to connect with the lyrics so easily, it's almost scary. It may be an apparent connection since she's so young but it doesn't matter cause she's selling it perfectly. I never thought someone would make me love country music but she has. This is such a cool performance, her lovely voice and bubbly personality don't hurt either. I'm confident Blake can turn her into a star. "That was great, you 100 % had an incredible performance, you came out here and made country cool and I'm really happy to see what Blake has done with you. I understand now why he's won" (Usher)


Kris Thomas

photo KrisThomas_zps4fcfcb6a.png

"Adorn" - Team Shakira - 6,5/10 - He says he knows he has to work extra hard to stand out because he's the only RnB singer left, which is a bit of a contradiction. Shakira gave him this song because it allows us to see Kris' sexy side. This song is the opposite of what he's been going through. Kris's been in an on and off relationship for the past 5 years so when he was singing ballads it gave him a raw emotional place to come from, not with this song. I love this guy's singing but unfortunately, that was the most sexless performance I've seen in a while. Even the background singers had more sex appeal than he did. The sexiness is the soul of this song and while his voice was quite spectacular, he looked so uncomfortable that it also made me feel that way. "That was great. You have a fantastic voice. I think for me the only spots that seemed a little dodgy, I wanna feel you thinking less. I want you to store it away and have more fun. I wanna see you open up and be more comfortable" (Adam)


Sarah Simmons

photo SarahSimmons_zps542aad0c.png

"Mamma Knows Best" - Team Adam - 9/10 - She picked this song because she feels like she's been doing too much ballads and she needs to bring it up. She used to sing with a hard rock scream pop band when she was in 9th grade. She also skateboarded. Adam thinks she needs to show that sassy side. He doesn't want her vocal ability to trump the song's meaning. "I've had some men in the past that have not treated me the best way and this song I feel like I can bring that through" she says. The most interesting aspect of Sarah's performances are the transitions between the vulnerable soft moments and the gritty big notes, something she lost in this performance. This is a song that is meant to be sang at the top of one's range and there's no space for subtlety. That said, this was really impressive. She's showing she can do anything. Her huge vocals and incredibly confident and sexy strutting around the stage easily made this the best performance of the night. "Oh my Gosh! That is just rock. I don't even know what to say. You just radiated sexy tonight and I think you turned a corner too musically, you are a rocker. You can't fake what you just did up there" (Blake)


Michelle Chamuel

photo MichelleChamuel_zps63451d69.png

"Just Give Me a Reason" - Team Usher - 9/10 - She sees this performance as a chance to establish herself as a vocalist. Usher gave her this song because he wanted her to have a song heavily built with emotion and he also wanted her to show her range. She says she's always been really independent and tried not to need anyone so it's gonna be a challenge for her to tap into that emotion. I love the dynamics in her voice, she goes from broken to powerful in a matter of seconds. She's such a raw performer, the way she awkwardly moves around the stage, the amount of drama there is in her every note, there's nothing fake about her, she's pure authenticity and that's the most interesting aspect about her.  I'd love to see her do an original cause I wonder what she will do after the show. Right now, she could easily do any genre she wants. "I'm a fan of yours. I'm just so happy and proud every time I see you perform. You take the competition away from us because we are all beaming with pride over how much success you've had and we are all really proud of you" (Shakira) 


Results

 Elimination:

Josiah Hawley
Kris Thomas

Not at all surprising. The guys were easily the weakest of the night. Josiah really struggled with that big Coldplay song and unfortunately, his extremely good looks couldn't save him. Kris' gave a great vocal delivery but unfortunately, his inability to show a sexy side do him in. It's interesting to see that up to this point, only male contestants have left the competitions and that only The Swon Brothers remain now.


Share this :