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After an opening performance by Robin
Thicke, James was first to sing for your votes with “Somebody to
Love.” Carson commented that James was taking “a big risk with a
big song,” but James pretty much nailed it. Walking out on stage
with a ‘posse’ of tuxedo clad guys surrounding him set an
interesting feel to the song. As usual, his pitch was great... his
power notes were almost perfect, and he even threw in a nice
falsetto. My only criticism would be his style. Again, he came out
singing with that ‘half microphone stand,’ and it just made
everything he did look ridiculous. I seemed to fixate on that and lost most
of performance. The first time, it was a neat gimmick, the second
time... it just had me shaking my head.
Tessanne followed with “Underneath It
All,” and she was able to show a little of her culture and her fun
side with this selection. Last week, Christina had commented how much she
liked Tessanne’s accent coming through in the music, and Tessanne
delivered that this week. Her accent was more prominent in the
performance, and it worked really well. She seemed more relaxed and
laid back with this song, which allowed her to focus more on just
singing and having fun. She gave us a little bit of a Reggae
breakdown in the bridge, and her tiny ‘squeaks’ added the perfect
touch to an amazing performance. It was the best song choice for her,
and Tessanne showed us that power does not always have to equal loud.
I would say this was the best performance she's given so far.
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CeeLo’s only remaining artist,
Caroline, went with a more indie/alternative vibe and sang “Dog
Days Are Over.” Over the past few weeks, she has continued to grow
and has come more and more out of her shell, and this song continued in pushing her. I was happy that Graphics finally got rid of the
silly pictures usually backing her on stage and went with a more
sophisticated feel. Standing in front a large harp, Caroline did
start off a bit weak. By the second verse, however, she checked her
nerves and her strength and personality began to show. As
soon as she hit the chorus, a brand new Caroline emerged. Over the
weeks, I’ve seen glimpses, but this week the new and powerful
vocalist was here. The rest of the song was strong, and Caroline hit
her biggest note so far on the show... and she hit it well. Good job.
Cole added some country to last night
with “I Still Believe In You.” He and Blake decided to strip it
down and go acoustic, which was a brilliant decision. Sitting on
stage with his guitar and just some strings backing him, Cole gave
the most intimate performance yet. He seemed to sing the emotion
first and the lyrics second. It was just a quiet and perfect
rendition that put the spotlight on his great vocals... Vince Gill
would definitely approve.
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Team Christina was finally represented
with Matthew taking on “It’s Time.” Christina focused a bit
more on his choreography this week, and Matthew put on an amazing
show. His vocal were a little weaker than past performances, but his
stage presence was great. While not one of his strongest vocally, it
was his strongest stylistically. Every now and then, he would move a
certain way or sing a certain note, and you could hear the girls
screaming from the audience. Matthew didn’t really hit any big
notes, but he certainly put on a big show.
Will came next with “At Last.”
Backed by a mini orchestra, Will put on what was probably his best
performance so far. He came on without his glasses and just looked so
different. He was much more animated this week than he was last week.
There really isn’t much to say about Will this week, other than it
was an amazing and practically flawless performance that had most
just in awe.
Playing to his many female fans, Ray
took the stage and sang “Gimme Some Lovin’.” Ray involved the
audience on an entirely new level for him. It was so upbeat and fun,
and he basically became the character of the song. He worked the
crowd, both live and at home. I was very impressed this week with
Ray. Vocally, he was very solid and took his performing
and singing to a new level.
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Closing out the show was Jacquie with her rendition of “Who’s Lovin’ You?” Christina wanted to
bring out another part of Jacquie with this song, and that she did.
During rehearsal, Christina focused on helping Jacquie let go a
little more and give in to ‘Angry Jacquie.’ She took the stage
and began the song on a darkened stage with a side lit face, which
created a beautiful silhouette effect to go with her A cappella first
verse. Her vocals are breathtaking, and the second verse showed us
some of the ‘Angry Jacquie’ she had been working on. The emotion
and conviction Jacquie emotes really does go way beyond her years and
experience. It’s indescribable what she does with her voice. Adam
is amazed at how she is able to do that, especially since she hasn’t
“even been alive that long.” Blake is blown away by her power,
and CeeLo is convinced that she “swallowed an old lady.” However
she does it... Jacquie is the one to watch to go all the way.
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Each one of the performances last night
had something special and great about them. Unfortunately two artists
will be going home tonight, and picking the bottom three is really
hard. I can say with relative certainty that Jacquie will be safe, as
will Cole. After putting Will and Ray in my bottom three picks for
the past couple of weeks, I think they will also be advancing to the Top 6. So
that leaves four...
Caroline showed the most growth and
improvement over the past few weeks, and her performance last night
introduced us to her amazing potential. I would love to see her sing
next week, but I think her ‘emergence’ may have come just a week
or so too late to leave her out of the bottom three. James gave a
solid vocal performance last night, but I don’t think the audience
connected enough with stage performance, and that will land him in
the bottom three for the first time.
So, now it comes down to Tessanne and
Matthew. Both have consistently given winning performances over the
weeks, but I think Tessanne edged out over Matthew last night. Both
were solid, but Matthew was just a bit weaker and didn’t connect as
strongly with the audience as Tessanne did. Both have a very strong
fan base established already, so really, it could be either one.
To say the least, I’m really not sure
about the bottom three this week. Based on performances given and the
sense of connection each had last night, I’m going to have to go
with Caroline, James, and Matthew. As for the Instant Save, right
now, that's impossible to predict accurately. It will be used to
save either Caroline or Matthew, which ends James’ journey on The
Voice. But to guess the Instant
Save... I can’t. There are many factors that will determine the
outcome, so it will all depend on what plays out tonight during those intense five minutes of tweeting. All I will say is that I hope Caroline is saved. I really want to see what she has in store
for us next week, and I think she deserves the chance to show us.
See you next week!
See you next week!
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.
Who caught your ear? Who’s your favorite? What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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