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Welcome back guys! I've not been following The Voice up to this point, honestly, because I couldn't take more auditions, but since the liveshows are already here, I guess it's about time to start covering the show again. Adam Levine and Blake Shelton returned as coaches, being joined by Colombian star Shakira and RnB singer Usher. We are down to 16 acts and tonight, Team Adam and Team Usher take the stage. By the end of the week, only 12 will remain. Two will be saved by the audience and one by the coaches. Will your fave make it?

Recap and videos after the JUMP ...

Amber Carrington

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"Stay" - Team Adam - 8,5/10 - Before The Voice, her mom passed away and she had to put her music career on hold. She then decided it would be good to actually start performing again, that's when she auditioned for the show. She used to work at a little boutique in Texas. She was paired with Sasha Allen (also a Top 16 finalist) during the battles and with Midas Whale (the act that included former Idol S3 8th placer, Jon Peter Lewis) during the knockouts. Her dad's side of the family also sings and plays music. Her dad was the reason she started singing. "Amber is astonishing, so I'm really excited about her potential" Adam says. This is a really beautiful performance. She's got some big chops but she never oversang. It's very restrained yet really powerful. She also did a lovely job with the melody, her tone shone with this song and that arrangement. For someone who mainly sings country music, she could easily fit into the pop genre. "I'm such a fan of yours and I'm so glad that Adam turned for you because I do feel that you have something very special to offer to us all in this competition" (Shakira)



Josiah Hawley

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"Starlight" - Team Usher - 6/10 - "Life on Team Usher is good" Josiah says, "he works hard and he pin-points exactly what he thinks you need to grow in". His dad, who is a jazz pianist, was a great influence for him. He says his tone is pop rock with a jazz influence. Usher gave him this song because he thinks this is the type of music that he could potentially do. His challenge is breath control. This isn't the song I pictured him doing, I think he will sound a lot better with a slow acoustic song which could allow him to focus on his tone. His a good singer but he sounds very limited on this song. The band behind him wasn't helping either, it was drowning him. I liked his transition to his falsetto, despite it could've been a lot better. He's extremely good looking though, that will make up for the singing issues he had.  "That was great. That's a really tough song, there were little things but for most parts, that was really great" (Adam)


Sarah Simmons

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"Angel" - Team Adam - 9/10 - Before The Voice she was a music student. All four coaches turned for her during the auditions. Adam thinks she was born to sing this song. "She hasn't had a really quiet moment yet and I thought this would probably be the perfect song for her so people can really fall in love with her tone" Adam says. Sarah says that it's always been her go to song to sing. She's going to dedicate it to her best friend who passed away in a tragic accident. Her audition is actually one of the few I saw. This is a terrific performance, the perfect song for her. It's so full of emotion, I could see she was struggling not to cry, I almost wanted her to. She's got such a fantastic tone, the way she slides from a crystal clear sweet tone to a gritty rock rasp is so interesting to hear. Refreshing. "That was so amazing, that was beautiful, that was angelic" (Blake)


Cáthia

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"I Have Nothing" - Team Usher - 5/10 - Her mom came from El Salvador with nothing. She was defeated by Mary Miranda during the battles yet, Usher stole her from Shakira. "Being picked by Usher it just shows that I've the power in my voice to be able to continue on" she says. Usher gave her this song because she has the type of voice to support this song. What a boring song, I've grown to hate it. Actually, looking at Usher's acts, it's all quite disappointing. The problem with this song is that the singer usually doesn't get the emotional aspect of it right. That's what happened to Cáthia. A good singer but without the emotional connection it became just decent karaoke. "You did great. I'm still rooting for you. I know how much drive you have and how determined you are. Usher, I don't know about the song, it sets the bar to high for her. I would've not picked that song if I was your coach" (Shakira)


Caroline Glaser

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"The A Team" - Team Adam - 9,5/10 - Before the blind auditions she was playing at coffee shops. She was originally a member of Team Blake, yet after she lost her battle to Danielle Bradbery, Adam stole her. She had to withdraw from her freshman year of university for this opportunity. Adam thought this would be an interesting opportunity for her to sing something darker than what people were expecting. She thinks the biggest challenge is finding a big moment in this song. This is a beautiful song and it worked to perfection with her quirky style. As she said before, she's not a powerhouse singer but her tone is special enough to create some moments for her. It's not the type of moments you'd expect from a big voiced singer but she creates them with her gorgeous tone and distinctive phrasing. I hope to see her again, loved that cover, it felt so authentic! "I love it when I don't know the song because I can just enjoy what I was hearing there from you. I felt like I was in that coffee shop. That part of the type of thing you were doing there. That's the first time I've really seen you do what I think that you do. That was a great move" (Blake)


VEDO

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"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" - Team Usher - 5,5/10 - He's done over 250 shows. Usher gave him this song because he knows he can dance, he can move, but can he stand still and move you with his voice? "I think so" he says. He's not so sure about the song choice. Then after he heard it, he was sold on it. Damn, Usher really sucks at this, doesn't he? Yet another awful song for one of his acts. This is very cheesy, a cruise performance at best. He wasn't memorable at all despite he wasn't as dreadful I was expecting him to be. "Who am I to say anything? I'm just a little ant in the infinity of the universe. The audience loved you" (Shakira)


Michelle Chamuel

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"True Colors" - Team Usher - 10/10 - She worked at a bakery before auditions. She picked Usher because there was a feeling in her gut. Usher gave her this song because it'll give her the chance to open up and be vulnerable in front of the audience. He asks her what the lyrics mean to her. "I'm singing to someone who is having a difficult time and sometimes you just have to be 'I see you for who you are and that's beautiful' but sometimes you need someone to tell you the same thing" she says, while tearing up. The song hits close to home for her. Usher makes her sing in front of the mirror. This is a truly beautiful performance. This girl is something special, I seriously haven't seen someone like her before. She's different and she doesn't mind it and that's what makes her performance that much more interesting. Her vulnerable cracking tone was incredibly emotional, she was feeling that song with every bone of her body, and that translated perfectly. Usher picked a great song here, I'll give him that. One of the best performances I've seen in a while, that was a true moment. "That was beautiful, I think you always manage to reveal your true colors, you are so authentic and I like that so much about you. I think people like authentic and usually what we do on stage is who we are in life and you are just like that and you always go for it" (Shakira)


Judith Hill

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"Feeling Good" - Team Adam - 9,5/10 - She used to be Michael Jackson's background singer. She turned the four chairs during the blinds. She feels like she's finally becoming the solo artist she always wanted to be. "Judith has this rare opportunity to knock it out of the park in a totally different way that shows how much range she has" Adam says. Judith tells us it's hard for her to reach for the bigger notes because she had a vocal nodule that she's been rehabilitating. I was worried this may turn into yet another karaoke version of this classic but damn that was good! I liked the fact that the arrangement was different from the one we usually see, making the performance sound unique. Starting acapella was a very bold move but it really payed off, showing off her phenomenal tone.  Her jazzy ad libs are spectacular, that definitely put her ahead of the pack. She's gonna go places. "You are such a freaking diva. That was awesome. You nailed it, you did all the things that irritate me as an opposing team. It was good, it's always good with you Judith" (Blake)



Results

 Elimination:

 Cáthia
Caroline Glaser

Cáthia's elimination is no shock. After all, her performance was the weakest of the night. I don't know what went wrong for Josiah, VEDO getting more votes than he did makes no sense. Either way, none performed very good, so I guess it doesn't really matter who was left to be saved. Poor Adam only had a few seconds to make his choice between the equally talented Caroline and Sarah. "Whatever decision I make would not be one that I support" he said. He ultimately went with Sarah, though it was obvious he wanted Caroline to somehow magically stay. She should have, after all, Adam had the strongest team in the competition. The Voice should have found a way to give Caroline another chance.

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