Episode 6
Michelle - The night starts off strong with Michelle, a very fun bank worker with an almost-NFL player husband. I just like her personality a lot, and it only gets better when she starts singing. Her rendition of "Proud Mary" is just right, and clearly, it works. Blake is the only judge that doesn't turn around, and after all the bickering, Michelle claims a spot on TEAM ADAM.
Diego - The first "sob story" of the night is that of Diego, a Latin singer born with a hip disease that left him unable to walk for a few years when he was younger. Now, he's on the voice singing "Animal," and that Latin vibe is certainly powering through here. Apparently, only one coach sees it (even though the girls really love this guy) and Diego joins TEAM CEE-LO.
Lauren - Lauren's audition started with a lot of promise, or at least her package beforehand did. Lauren is very pretty and has two sad stories: she was diagnosed with dyslexia and her uncle, her best friend who also had dyslexia, recently passed away. Still, that doesn't translate to a good performance. Lauren is flat and doesn't hit those big notes that someone singing "Cowboy Casanova" should. It seems Lauren will have to chase her dream just a little longer.
Suzanna - One of my favorites of the night is Suzanna, a Stevie Nicks look-and-sound-alike. She's got a really good personality and her voice was absolutely perfect for "Landslide." Adam and Blake both vie for her, and she sides with everyone's favorite country star, becoming a frontrunner for TEAM BLAKE.
Next, we get tiny snippets of two TEAM BLAKE contestants: Michaela and Ryan. We didn't really hear enough for me to form a good opinion.
Dez - Oh Dez...after winning the hearts of millions of girls in less than 90 seconds last season, a lot of people were upset that this young heartthrob didn't make a coach's team last year. Could that change? If Dez's performance of "Sara Smile" means anything, I'm going to say he's back and much better than before. He just sounded better all around, and that certainly picked up the attention of Cee-Lo, Blake and Christina, who tried to get Dez on her team at the last second in season two. Apparently, everyone's favorite eye candy (Cee-Lo egged the girls in the audience on while Blake was full on crushing on our guy) remembered Christina's attempt, so he now joins TEAM XTINA.
VJ - Of course, for every high, there is a low. VJ comes out, a big Cee-Lo fan, singing "Forget You" and it just doesn't compete. It doesn't even compete with Nakia's version from season one (remember him?). The performance is "Forget"ful except for Cee-Lo's duet with the young singer, which just proves that he's got one of the most fun attitudes in the music industry.
Alexis - Once again, we get another sob story. This time, our friend is lamenting about her losses from Hurricane Katrina, and she's here today hoping the exposure from The Voice will help her family rebuild their lives. Well, it worked in some capacity. She sings "Go Your Own Way," the second Fleetwood Mac song of the night (woohoo!), and it's just okay. It's enough to turn Cee-Lo around, so Alexis now on TEAM CEE-LO.
We get three more singers who also only turn around one coach: Sam is on TEAM ADAM, Laura joins TEAM XTINA, and Leila becomes a member of TEAM BLAKE.
Brandon - And what's his story? He grew up in violence and had to leave his hometown, but he carried his music dream with him (of course!). He's singing "I Wish It Would Rain," and he's doing a pretty good job. His voice is solid. Then, we hit his falsetto and that's the sweet spot. Of course, because of that, it should come to no surprise that although Cee-Lo and Xtina vie for this soulful singer, Brandon sides with TEAM ADAM.
We get a few failed performances before we get to the final two performances of the night, two of the strongest of the night.
Jordan - Woah! That was my first reaction to seeing ex-Disney star Jordan Pruitt on the show. After having a pretty successful career as a Disney Channel star back when I was a youngster, the now-20-year-old Jordan is looking to transition to a more mature career (hmm...what other coach did this?!). She comes out singing "The One That Got Away" and it doesn't look like she's stopped performing at all. She sounds good, and starts her really solid riffing, and that sells it for Xtina, who had been lamenting that she couldn't find any good divas. Surprisingly, no one else makes a bid for Jordan, so she joins TEAM XTINA, and I would guess that, because of her "sorta" fan base, she's a frontrunner.
Terisa - The most surprising segment of the night is Terisa's performance. Her pre-performance package has "SASS" written all over her, and I'm praying she delivers a helluva performance to match that diva attitude. Thank God she does! Rifing is Terisa's middle name, and "Someone Like You" is her game. Still, Blake has to persuade Xtina to hit her button, because clearly this is an artist cut out just for her. Yet, when Terisa learns about Xtina's hesitations, she actually picks to be on TEAM BLAKE, and it might just be a game-changer.
Episode 7
Sylvia - The first contestant of this episode is Sylvia, originally from Egypt, who is here to pursue her mother's dreams of a singing career (women couldn't sing in Egypt, because of oppression). Sylvia's got attitude when she performs "Only Girl (In the World)" and she turns around every coach, except Adam, but she goes with the pretty obvious choice and joins TEAM XTINA.
IJ - Damn, this kid's voice is high! That's the only thing you can really notice about him at first. But maybe that'll be a good thing right? Not exactly. Even with a voice like that, IJ is straining for notes on "Virtual Insanity," and can't get any coaches to turn around. Poor guy.
Charlie - Smog technician Charlie is hoping to finally break out of the car shop onto the stage, and his performance of "Home" indicates he's got pretty good chances of that happening. He's voice, ironically enough, is clear and clean. Adam and Blake certainly think he's got it, and after a heated debate, Charlie goes with TEAM BLAKE.
Amanda - The second Amanda says she used to be a backup singer for Adele, I...am...SOLD. She's perfectly fine with her version of "Valerie," and only gets Cee-Lo to turn around, so she joins TEAM CEE-LO.
Yolanda - In one of the night's more surprising moments, this 50-something bus driver/cruise singer doesn't make it onto a coach's team! Why? Well...it's actually really hard to say. Singing "Get Here," Yolanda sounds like she should easily turn around some chairs (I'm looking at you, Adam and Christina!) and the coaches really really like her. So why not turn around?! It's a shame, I would've liked to have seen Yolanda this season.
Cassadee - On the other hand, the final singer of the night completes the rare feat of turning all four chairs around. Just like Jordan from Monday's episode, Cassadee might also be familiar to some viewers: she was the lead singer of a pop/rock band Hey Monday. I've listened to some Hey Monday music for a while, although not recently, so it's not surprising when Cassadee says the band broke up and she's looking to go solo. Her crystal voice shines on "Torn," and gets everyone amped. So who does she pick? While Xtina says she knows how to make solo careers work, and Adam says he knows what it's like to work with a band, Cassadee decides to become a major player for TEAM BLAKE.
Overall, I really thought the selection of singers from this week's episodes were much better than what we've seen in the past and I thought we saw a lot of frontrunners emerge. Who did you like this week? Let me know in the comments section below!
Evan
No comments:
Post a Comment