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It’s the final week for the Battle
Rounds on The Voice, and last
nights show highlighted just how much the remaining artists want the
win... but it also had a few shocking choices and some surprising
performances.
Spoilers of Part 3 ahead...
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| NBCUniversal |
CeeLo Green had only one battle last
night, and prepared George Horga Jr. and Juhi for their vocal duel
against each other. CeeLo chose “Best I Ever Had” for his two
youngest artists. During rehearsals, we saw just how well Juhi can
ride the scales... her range really is outstanding, but I couldn't help
but notice how far George has come since the Blinds. He may not have
the range that Juhi has, but he is vocally strong and has a perfect
‘roughness’ in his voice.
As the battle between them began, they
both came out strong and owned that stage. Juhi’s unique voice
showed its full power and control last night, but George seemed to
nail almost everything right along side of her. Technically, they
were almost equals on the stage, but Juhi’s range and energy
overshadowed George. She put so much personality into her performance
that you couldn’t help but focus on her... she was having fun, and
her smile seemed brighter than the stage lighting at times. With no
doubt, my point easily goes to Juhi for the win... CeeLo, however,
saw differently.
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CeeLo picked George, and myself and the
other coaches were shocked. Yes, George was good, but Juhi owned the
night and had the audience reveling in the performance. CeeLo chose
George not because his performance was better than Juhi’s, but
because George was more “committed” to the path of music. I do not agree with his choice or reasoning, and I think he made a
huge mistake his decision. During Carson’s declaration of
George’s win, the chatter from the other coaches were that of
disbelief, and Adam Levine made the biggest steal of the Battle
Rounds this year. Juhi was the only one from Team CeeLo that was on my top
list, and now she is part of Team Adam... good job Juhi and GREAT
steal Adam!
The one battle for Blake Shelton last
night had his two male country singers battling it out with “To
Love Somebody.” In the rehearsal room, it was evident that Austin
is not only a powerful vocalist but also connected with the song and lost himself in it. I’ve often said that it's not the technical
performance or the lyrics that make a great song... it is the emotion
and personality that an artist emotes through it. Brian, on the
other hand, isn’t as powerful as Austin and seems to have a problem
connecting emotionally with the song.
Before the battle began, Brian made a
decision to not play his guitar while performing. Honestly, it was
probably the best decision as he was more able to focus on his
vocals. During the battle, Austin started much weaker than I had
expected, while Brian seemed to have just the right amount of power.
Although Austin connected with the song and was on pitch, he seemed to
put a little too much blues into his rendition. Brian’s pitch was
good, and he seemed so at ease on the stage that his performance
seemed effortless... but there was that lack of connection. Even with
the missing emotional element, however, my point still goes to Brian... on the
grounds that an artist will not always be able to connect with a song
that was chosen for them. Blake didn’t see that and declared Austin
the winner. No other coach decided to use a steal, so it was the end
of the road for Brian Pounds.
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Adam’s first battle of the evening
put up his two power singers. James Irwin (with a four chair turn
during Blinds) and Matt Cermanski (with a three chair turn) would
duel with “Counting Stars.” Adam sees the absolute connection
between emotion and success and said that he was going to pick the
winner based on who can move him the most with the performance.
The battle began, and oddly, Matt also
chose to perform without his guitar. Personally, I think that during
the Battle Rounds losing the guitar is the best choice for the
artist. We, and the coaches, need to see heart and soul on the stage
and not be distracted by an instrument. Anyway, Matt, for the most
part, was right on pitch from the beginning. James, however, came out
with heart and personality. You could tell the connection between the
song and the artist was there. When the chorus hit, both showed what
a true vocal battle was about. Both hit their notes well... both showed
fire in their souls... both showed how much they wanted the win. This
one battle, it was hard to pick a winner, but that extra level of
connection James had, I have to give my point to him. Adam saw that
connection as well and also picked James. I was surprised, though,
that no coach stole Matt. He is very talented, but we had to say
goodbye.
Adam’s second battle was also between
a ‘four chair turn’ and a ‘three chair turn.’ James Wolpert
and Will Champlin will duel with “Radioactive.” Will struggled
technically during rehearsals, mostly because of nerves, while James seemed
confident and showed wide range and great pitch.
As the battle started, Will was a
little flat compared to how strong and clean James was. Incidentally,
James’ look really did not match what was coming out of his mouth.
This odd juxtaposition, however, worked for some reason. Maybe
because we are conditioned to associate a certain sound with a
certain look, James seemed to stand out that much more and seemed even more powerful in his singing. As the song progressed, Will
did get more confident, and consequently, much stronger. James,
in a few spots, did push himself a little far, causing some notes to
fall short. Overall, both of them had good points and some bad, but in the end, my
point went to James. I just think Will needs a little more time and
practice to overcome some nerves and to loosen up on stage. Adam
chose James... but Christina stole Will. No one goes home from this
battle, but I do question Christina’s choice using a steal.
Christina opened the show with the
battle of Josh Logan and Michael Lynch. She chose “Harder to
Breath,” a song that Adam Levine originally wrote, for them to sing. During the
pre-battle clips, it seemed as though this battle may just make both
artist fall on their faces. It is a very ‘angry’ and
‘lyric-packed’ song that both seemed to be struggling with. Even
by the second meeting with Christina, neither Josh nor Michael had
the lyrics right yet. Christina was frustrated, and both Josh and
Michael were going to need to really push themselves during the
battle.
Fortunately, at the battle, both
artists seemed to have learned the lyrics and did the song (and Adam)
proud. Both delivered a relatively solid performance, but as amazing
as Michael was in the blinds, he was simply out-powered by Josh on
stage last night. Josh seemed more comfortable, while
Michael seemed too bouncy. Although Michael is in my top picks, after
the battle last night, my point goes to Josh. Christina agreed and
the journey was over for Michael.
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Christina’s second battle, and the
most intense and amazing one so far on the show, was between
Destinee Quinn and Lina Gaudenzi. Christina picked “Not Ready to
Make Nice,” because she wanted to see “some fire out there.”
Christina strongly believes in the effects and importance of emotion
and connection when performing a song, and this song choice has some
seriously powerful emotions.
At rehearsals, Lina started to over
think causing her nerves to interfere with her vocals, and Destinee
seemed too distant from the song to connect properly. Christina
simply told them that they would need to let go of themselves and
just give in to the song... basically telling them to just trust in
their abilities and find a way to feel the song.
Well, the battle started, and I’ve
got to say, Destinee took every word Christina said and blew up the
stage. She looked absolutely stunning, and the conviction in her
vocals was far beyond anything we’ve seen from her before. You
could see some of her nerves coming through, but she just fought
through them and let every other emotion loose. Vocally, Lina had a
little more power, and she was solid throughout... but she
didn’t have the intense connection to the song that Destinee did.
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Both put on an amazing battle, but Destinee’s emotional connection
to the song was so real, I really thought she was going to break down
and cry at the end. Easily and with no doubt, my point goes to
Destinee... and after that performance, she is the one to watch. With
that kind of performance... she'll easily make the top 3. Christina saw that
raw and true emotion and picked Destinee as the winner, and Adam got
another huge steal (his second and last one), picking up Lina for his
team. Adam’s team is starting to look much better than it did last
week.
Last night’s battles were by far the
most entertaining. Everyone gave it their all, but Destinee Quinn’s
performance stole the night... but, following not far behind
are Juhi and James Irwin. I definitely can not wait for the
knock-outs.
Watch The Voice every Monday and Tuesday on NBC! Check your local listings for times.
Go to nbc.com/the-voice for all the great info on the judges and artists.
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