The Voice UK: Season 2: Top 8 Perform - The Semi-Finals!
16 June, 2013 7:21 PM
After the exit of Alys, Sarah, Mitchel and Leanne last week, it's two on each team as the remaining contestants fight it out head-to-head with their fellow team member for that spot in the final. Each team has just one spot in the final mind so who will get each place? And more importantly can anyone derail Leah who is the clear favourite?
Recap and videos, after the jump ...
Ash Morgan
'Ex-Factor' by Lauryn Hill - 7.5/10 - Ash was overrated last week after a decent but not that great performance of 'Lego House' which saw Jessie give him her fast pass. This week his song choice is slightly less well know, it's the Lauryn Hill track 'Ex-Factor'. Maybe it's just because I'm not that familiar with the song but I can't really connect with the performance, vocally it's good but it doesn't blow me away and his vocals just are there, they're nothing outstanding. I'm glad that he doesn't oversing the song like he did last week but it's still missing something. I think beyond his voice, Ash lacks stage presence perhaps due to his lack of confidence and for me, it means that what could be a great performance ends up being just a good performance. Whether he can survive without Jessie's save, well I remain doubtful. - VIDEO
Matt Henry
'Girl On Fire' by Alicia Keys - 9/10 - Matt has a fantastic R & B tone and his slightly edgy tone adds a bit of rasp into the mix. This is a very interesting song choice, I love Alicia Keys and this track is great but the arrangement that Matt is singing is adding to my level of intrigue. It starts off slow and stripped back but the song continually picks up pace and once it gets into the chorus, there is something rather magical about the performance, his voice absolutely soars in the track and I absolutely love listening to his rendition of the song, it's refreshing and I 100% hope that Matt goes through tonight as I believe that he deserves it. - VIDEO
Karl Michael
'I Believe I Can Fly' by R. Kelly - 6/10 - I was really disappointed last week when Karl gave an underwhelming performance of 'A Thousand Years' and personally felt that Mitchel was more deserved of a place in the semi-final. This week Danny has given him quite a dated song, 90's hit 'I Believe I Can Fly'. It's okay, nothing special in my opinion and certainly not a stand-out performance. Karl has went downhill since the knockout rounds in my opinion, I feel that Danny's song choice did him no favours, his husky vocals are decent but I don't really like the arrangement that Danny has chosen for him, it makes the song sound overly clichéd. I'm disappointed but it's a solid performance. - VIDEO
Andrea Begley
'One Of Us' by Joan Osborne - 8/10 - Andrea is a good singer and has a nice voice, she's maybe not my favourite artist in the competition but she's definitely talented and I think that she's very likeable. This performance is a really nice match for her voice, the track shows off the angelic quality of her voice and her sweet, high voice is brilliant on the song. She really easily connects with the emotion of the song and I definitely think that this has been her strongest performance so far and I think she would be deserved of a place in the final after that, her voice really works on this song and I think that she's vocally very unique. I do prefer Team Will overall but she's still great. - VIDEO
Leah McFall
'Killing Me Softly' by Roberta Flack/The Fugees - 9.5/10 - After last week's showstopping performance from Leah, the pressure is on for her to deliver again this week, in fact considering that her unique rendition of 'I Will Survive' broke into the Top 5 of the iTunes charts, there's a lot of pressure on her shoulders. Leah is going down a more classic route this week with a well-known song that she's just going to sing as it is. Vocally, this is another strong performance, perhaps as Jessie J puts it, it could be perceived to be a little bit safe but at the same time, I really like her tone and all her vocal quirks so I'm still impressed by this performance. I like that she doesn't launch into too many vocal acrobatics but still shows off her impressive range and puts her own stamp on the track. It's a great vocal performance from Leah and I'd love to see her going through to the final although her team is definitely the strongest so it'll be sad to see either leave. - VIDEO
Cleo Higgins
'Don't Let Go' by En Vogue - 10/10 - Cleo was surprised to be voted through by the public last week, expecting to be sent home. She's feeling really nervous because the press have once again been printing rumours about her backstage manner, suggesting that she has fallen out with Will due to her 'diva' behaviour and accusing her of being at war with some of her fellow contestants. Will is quick to hit out at the press, saying that everything being printed about Cleo is a lie. I myself haven't seen anything on the show to suggest that she's a diva, if anything I think she seems a little bit lacking in confidence in herself, she's a confident stage performer but she seems to have doubts about herself. She wants to go all out this week and takes control of her performance, controlling the band and telling them what she'd like in the song, Will seems in awe of her ability to take control of the performance and it definitely pays off. Every reverb, every note sounds incredible, her tone is great and her range is spectacular and this performance is simply incredible. She absolutely kills it, Leah is amazing but Cleo's performance tonight was insanely good, I really want Leah AND Cleo in the final but I'm going to call it now, Leah will go through as Cleo's treatment by the press will definitely count against her. - VIDEO
Mike Ward
'Picking Up The Pieces' by Paloma Faith - 7.5.10 - Country artist Mike has been impressing the coaches with his country arrangements of well-known pop songs. Last week he took on Bruno Mars and this Paloma Faith is receiving the country treatment. Again, his country tone is certainly strong but I don't love the genre so I struggle to connect with him in some ways. That said, the arrangement sounds a lot better on this track than it last week where something felt flat. His emotional connection has also impressed, I don't think he's amazing but he definitely has improved and vocally it was another good performance, I just think that he hasn't had the wow moment that the likes of Matt and Leah have had and wonder whether he will struggle if he makes the final, I definitely think he's more marketable than Joseph however. - VIDEO
Joseph Apostol
'End Of The Road' by Boyz II Men - 6.5/10 - Joseph is a really good singer but the problem I find with him is that he is quite a dull performer. Even last week when he was doing something upbeat, I found the performance hinging on cabaret as well as being quite dated. This week he is going for yet another dated song, this time a ballad and I have to admit that I'm very anxious about how we will handle it. Vocally it's very good but the performance is forgettable and rather generic, I don't think it's vocally anything to write home about and I fully believe that Tom would be better with Mike who has a more unique tone. Joseph sings well but the performance sounds like any other decent karaoke performance of the song and I have a feeling it may well be the 'end of the road' for Joseph tonight. - VIDEO
Rankings
1. Cleo Higgins (Team Will)
2. Leah McFall (Team Will)
3. Matt Henry (Team Jessie)
4. Andrea Begley (Team Danny)
5. Mike Ward (Team Tom)
6. Ash Morgan (Team Jessie)
7. Joseph Apostol (Team Tom)
8. Karl Michael (Team Danny)
Results
Eliminated:
Ash Morgan
Cleo Higgins
Karl Michael
Joseph Apostol
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