The Voice UK: Series 2: Top 4 Perform - The Grand Final!
25 June, 2013 7:15 AM
Well we're definitely down to the nitty gritty now, it's the finals and only four acts remain but only one can win. Will it be powerful Northern Irish singer Leah Mc Fall, folk singer Andrea Begley, country vocalist Mike Ward or soul man Matt Henry? Personally I can't see any result but a Leah win but the public could surprise us like last year and deliver a surprising winner. All the same, it all hinges on tonight's performances, will one of the hopefuls blow us away?
Recap and videos, after the jump ...
Round 1
Mike Ward
'Suspicious Minds' by Elvis Presley - 7/10 - Mike has a good country voice, he definitely has a strong voice and his tone is definitely very distinctive but he's yet to blow me away. I just think he hasn't had that wow moment that the others have all had in some way. This again is vocally fine, there are a few pitchy problems at times during the song but nothing too bad. Tom picked a bad night to give him a rather old-fashioned song however as he has up until this point in the live shows, performed modern songs with a country twist whereas this is a rather old song. Yes Elvis is great but he doesn't really do anything different with the song, his country tone is okay but for me, he doesn't have any star quality. However, people seem to like him and I wouldn't be surprised if he makes the Top 3 though I don't see him winning. - VIDEO
'Green Green Grass of Home' by Tom Jones with Tom - 6.5/10 - Why is Tom just giving him a selection of songs from about 40 years ago? I have no issue with going down a more old style route but this is a really dull song for them to duet on, it just doesn't excite me at all. The problem is it doesn't really go anywhere and it just feels like a nice karaoke performance, I don't imagine that people would download this song because quite simply this style of music no longer sells in the music industry. I'm not saying give him a rap song but I don't get why Tom suddenly decided to change back to doing old-fashioned songs for Mike when up until now he had been singing modern songs with a country arrangement. - VIDEO
Andrea Begley
'My Immortal' by Evanescence - 9.5/10 - This is easily Andrea's best performance in the competition, last week she did a good job but there was the odd pitch problem however this is as close to being vocally perfect as you can get. What Andrea lacks in vocal power, she makes up in her ability to connect with the emotions of a song, she definitely delivers emotive performances and they're always very heartfelt and honest. I do have to say that I enjoy listening to Andrea, she's a good singer and she deserves to do well in the competition. I think it's definitely a battle of the girls tonight, I prefer Leah but I think Andrea is the person who can most likely give her a run for her money. She's likeable, she has shown bravery despite the challenges she faces courtesy of her disability and I think she will get a lot of public support. Good performance there. - VIDEO
'Hall Of Fame' by The Script feat. will.i.am with Danny and The Script - 7.5/10 - Andrea hasn't done anything properly upbeat yet, yes she sang Ho Hey in the first week but even that was slowed down slightly. This will be a test to see if she can handle the quicker pace of an uptempo track.Obviously due to her condition she can't really move around the stage and I do think that she struggles to keep up with the song, for me her vocals are good but not as good as the first performance but she does a good job and I think she stands a good chance of making the final three, Andrea is definitely a good singer and she has the likeability to get the votes, whether she can pull a Leanne and bag a shock win remains to be seen. - VIDEO
Matt Henry
'Babylon' by David Gray - 8/10 - Matt getting through last week was a pleasant surprise. I had always just assumed that Ash would make the final as he was the favoured on Jessie's team but Matt definitely performed better last week. This song is good and his emotional connection with the track impresses me, it allows him to add his own soulful tone to the track and I definitely believe that it's a very distinctive vocal. Matt is great, I don't think he'll get the same public backing that the others will get because he just doesn't seem to have had as much exposure but he certainly showed with that performance exactly why he's in the final. - VIDEO
'Never Too Much' by Luther Vandross with Jessie J - 7/10 - Matt and Jessie aren't doing a Jessie J song, instead they're doing an old style soul track that Jessie regularly performs on tour apparently. Well it has energy and I can definitely see it being an infectious performance, I'm not sure that picking it was the best decision for showing off Matt's voice as although he's a good singer and this is a good song, I don't think that it's challenging enough for his vocals. - VIDEO
Leah McFall
'I Will Always Love You' by Whitney Houston - 8.5/10 - Leah is the bookies' favourite in the competition and for good reason too as she has been amazing so far, with her cover of 'I Will Survive' reaching the heights of the Top 10. She's vocally great again on this song though I don't think that it's her best performance so far and I feel like the song choice could have been better. That said, she does a good job, at times she overdoes it slightly in terms of vocal acrobatics but she hits those high notes and then some and I'm impressed by how consistent she has been in the competition. It doesn't matter if Leah wins right now as there's no doubt that she'll be signed but I think her winning is the best thing that could happen to the show. - VIDEO
'Bang Bang' by will.i.am with will.i.am - 11/10 - I'm sure all you maths fans will be smashing your heads against the keyboards right now but this performance was what Will would call 'insanely dope'. I wasn't sure how this would work but the fact that it's such a current song, having featured in the soundtrack of 'The Great Gatsby' makes it seem so fresh. I was worried that Will whose music I'm not a massive fan of had chosen a song to show off himself as opposed to Leah but my fears have subsided thanks to the consistency of Leah once again. Vocally she sounds brilliant, I love how she goes from belting in her last performance to such quirky vocals in this. This is what a performance looks like, it's fun, it's energetic, it feels like a proper performance, I loved this. - VIDEO
Results
Matt Henry finishes in 4th place
I'm
not surprised to see Matt in fourth place, he's a good singer and I
enjoyed his performances but his style never seems to properly connect
with the viewers and I felt that he was lagging behind the other three
all along because he hadn't been given the same exposure as his fellow
finalists in the media.
Round 2
Mike Ward
'Don't
Close Your Eyes' by Keith Whitley - 8/10 - So Mike has chosen his
audition song as his favourite song of the series. It's probably about
right, to be honest, he never really figured on my radar in auditions
though I knew he would probably do well but this is good, he sings it
well and the emotion is definitely there. Again my issue is that I just
don't feel like it's an incredible performance, it's good and there's
certainly very little wrong with it vocally but it's just a nice,
relaxing performance of a nice song. Perhaps it's because I'm not into
country music but I just feel like there's something missing with Mike.
Andrea Begley
'Angel'
by Sarah McLachlan - 9/10 - She is also singing her audition song as
the song of the series for her. This is actually a lot better than how
she performed it in the blind auditions. Perhaps it's due to the fact
that she doesn't have the nerves holding her back but there's a whispery
tenderness to her performance this time. It's emotionally very
satisfying and I must admit that I think she has proved herself in the
competition with her performances tonight. She sang really well earlier
and this is another vocal that is very close to being faultless, she has
a great tone and although I don't know that she's as marketable as
Leah, I wouldn't be surprised to see her winning the competition as she
has the likeability and the appeal to definitely stand a good chance of
winning the competition.
Leah McFall
'Loving You' by Minnie Ripperton - 10/10 - Well this is amazing as expected, I'm surprised she didn't do another rendition of 'I Will Survive' but then again I suppose it was probably too recent so this track is going to be her Best Performance of the series. She has the lungs to pull this off for definite, you need to be able to really belt if you take this song on because vocally it is so demanding and to be honest this is only the second time that I think someone on a talent show has pulled this off, the other being Beverley Savarin on The X Factor two years ago. Leah is the clear favourite but I think she may not win because of that however if anyone stands a chance of turning the show's fortunes around then it's Leah.
And the winner is:
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Andrea Begley!
Am I surprised? Not really to be honest. Am I sad that Leah didn't win? Yeah, I think Leah was the deserved winner but at the same time, it will probably be better for her in the long run not to have won. That said, I think Andrea is a good singer and she did a good job in her three performances tonight so her winning doesn't directly frustrate me, I think the two girls definitely had the edge on the guys tonight.
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