vegazone

Last night was the full two hour episode so tonight we have the quickie one hour special. Hopefully we have quality over quantity?

 

Amanda Ayala VS Shelby Brown

Ugh…a Stevie Nicks song…would be cool to actually have some more recent music for these battles. Not sure why they insist on using songs that were well before the times of these girls. I have to say that this sing off was pretty bad. Amanda was very flat, was bouncing around way too much, and looked very amateur. This girl is trash. Shelby on the other hand can sing but this song didn’t suit her at all and was uninspiring. Winner to Shelby by default. So much for quality.

Amanda: F

Shelby: D+ (Winner)

 

Amy Vachal VS Jubal & Amanda

Amy Vachal! Loved her in the blinds so hoping for something special here. Jubal & Amanda I remember not caring for them but they could change my mind. And here we go with another old song…WHY, THE VOICE, WHY?!? Amy sounds nice but is definitely getting swallowed a little bit by the stronger voices of J&A. This is another tough one because they sang really well together and didn’t separate themselves enough from one another. I think Amy has more long term potential so slight win to her. P.S. Gwen keeps calling Amy Pocahontas and I have on idea why, this stupid racist slut. Can I say I hate Gwen? I do. I hate her.

Amy: B+ (Winner)

J&A: B

 

Emily Ann Roberts VS Morgan Frazier

Emily Ann stinks. She is rushing the song and not letting it just come to her. Her voice is also really weird too. Morgan Frazier though…wow. I was talking about Carrie Underwood yesterday and oddly enough, out of no where this girl shows up and definitely left me with that impression of someone that could be similar. I can’t believe Blake literally just said that note was Carrie Underwood! Damn, I am good. I give this to Morgan.

Morgan: A- (Stolen by Pharrell, thank God)

Emily Ann: B- (Winner)

 

See you next week!

One more steal by each coach means there is lots of drama to ensue tonight. I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while, and in preparation, I actually got involved watching some old school American Idol performances over the weekend. Someone caught my ear and eye though, and that was the one and only Carrie Underwood. I started watching all of her past performances but one stood out to me in particular – this one:

 

What I like about this so much is how raw it is, how she deviates from her country comfort zone, and how she isn’t dancing around looking like a fool. She simply is moving with the music, keeping the beat, and absolutely showing off vocal prowess that has not been found ever again on a singing competition, leading her to win that season and becoming the greatest American Idol ever (sorry Kelly Clarkson). As I watch from here on out, this is what we need to find. This is what we need to hear. Flawless pitch and confidence without looking like a karaoke superstar wannabe.

I dedicate this to you Carrie Underwood. On to the battles!

 

Blaine Mitchell VS Blind Joe

Unfortunately we won’t be hearing any Carrie Underwood in this battle. I remember thinking Blind Joe was good in the blind competitions (no pun intended), and thought Blaine was extremely boring. However, this was no battle but a duet. Blaine and Blind Joe sang really well together and neither outdid the other. This is a tie.

Blind Joe: B (Winner)

Blaine: B (Stolen by Adam)

 

Cassandra Robertson VS Viktor Kiraly

Viktor is Johnny cool hair, but actually has a really smooth voice to go along with his epic do. Great pitch in his voice, if a bit nasally. Cassandra I thought was horrible in the blinds and is horrible in the battle. Very boring and not a great singer. Good, but not great. Winner is Johnny cool hair if you ask me.

Viktor: B+ (Winner)

Cassandra: C-

 

Chase Kerby VS Korin Bukowski

The battle of the single-chair turn! I can only imagine Gwen is thinking to herself “holy cow, why did I turn for either of these losers?” I personally hated Chase to death in the blinds, I thought he totally sucked. Korin was also drab and totally dorky. And guess what? This still holds true. Although, Korin at least has something to her voice, like she could sing on a Disney cartoon or something. I guess that is worth winning this battle. Chase was AWFUL.

Chase: FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Korin: C (Winner)

 

Evan McKeel VS Riley Biederer

I do not remember either of these singers in the blinds, so either they didn’t air them, or I was comatose from so much bad that was on the first couple nights of the season that I slept through them. So here is the problem here: both of them are actually ok, but the song Pharrell gave them was a Stevie Wonder song that CLEARLY suited Evan. Poor Riley has no chance with this song. She loses I think.

Evan: B+ (Winner)

Riley: C- (Stolen by Gwen)

 

Braiden Sunshine VS Lyndsey Elm

I really really hate the practices with the coaches. Like, they are fine when they are just bantering with the guest coach, but when they do the interview and say stupid things like Lyndsey saying “OMG Selina Gomez, she is at the top of the charts…” Really? Selena Gomez at the top of the charts? Thanks for letting us know that or else we would have never known that SELENA GOMEZ IS A CHART TOPER. Ugh. I blame The Voice and its stupid writers / producers. Anyhow, this Braiden kid has great tone but looks like he is still 5 years away from hitting puberty. I will pass. Lyndsey is pretty good and has really really nice tone and pitch. It’s straight and not really unique but enough to beat the kid that probably still wears Superman underwear.

Lyndsey: B

Braiden: C (Winner) 

 

Andi & Alex VS Chance Pena

Oh A&A…stands for Angel and Angel, right? My favorites from the blinds. However, this Chance kid is actually pretty good. The song they are singing seems to be better suited for Chance as well. Great song and Chance was nervous, but he definitely sounds a tad bit better. I give it to Chance, but barely. See, I am not so one-sided and blinded by the absolutely gorgeous blondes.

Chance: A (Stolen by Blake)

A&A: A- (Winner)

I do want to say something about this result. Obviously I love A&A (they look like sisters of Avril Lavigne), but I really wish Chance won. Why? Because I think Chance would do better with Adam and A&A on team Blake. There is no doubt that Blake would have also stolen A&A, just like he stole Chance. A&A need to be on team Blake to win, and I fear for them on team Adam. I don’t know why, I just do.

Anyhow, that is all for now. Great night, and I hope to dream of those two lovely ladies tonight! TMI! PEACE OUT!

p.s. the search for Carrie continues tomorrow…

The Voice, the show that can get me very happy and absolutely livid at the same time. I chose to not write anything from the blinds, since this proved a vital flaw in my reviews of the singers, as early impressions did not hold true. In hopes to better gauge the talent, I think starting from the battle rounds is a smarter move. There were people I did like from the blinds and that will probably hold weight as I review them and this goes for the ones I did not like as well.

Battle 1, Jordan Smith VS Regina Love

My first impressions are that Regina is very powerful and sings with emotion. Jordan is just a good, all around singer who does not have charisma. As the competition went on I just felt like Regina was the better choice. Thing is, neither of these two will win because one is too old and the other is lurchy and not likable. Adam seems to think that Jordan could win this competition, but considering he just shaved his head, his decision making is clearly poor.

Regina: B  (Stolen by Gwen)

Jordan: B- (Winner)

 

Battle 2, Tyler Dickerson VS Zach Seabaugh

I hate both these guys with a passion. I was constantly hoping one of them would trip and fall, or they would sneeze and a booger would fly out of their giant nostrils. If I had to chose, I would chose the microphone. Oh, I can’t choose the microphone? Ok I chose lamp. Surely there is a lamp I could chose, right? Somewhere?

Tyler: F

Zach: F (There are no winners from this battle, but Blake chose this fool.)

 

Battle 3, Ellie Lawrence VS Tim Atlas

Another very uninspiring, boring battle. They are going downhill after the first one. You can tell neither of these kids are good on the stage or comfortable. However, I really really like Ellie’s voice and for that reason would give her the win.

Ellie: B- (Winner)

Tim: C (Stolen by Pharrel)

 

Battle 4, Celeste Betton VS Mark Hood

Ain’t no mountain high enough for these two amazing singers. Very, very good battle. In fact, it wasn’t even like a battle, but a duet. They sang off each other magically, and I truly enjoyed this performance.

Celeste: A

Mark: A (Winner)

 

Battle 5, Dustin Ink VS James Dupre

Both of these guys are jokers. James can’t relate to this song at all and just looks too clean cut to be singing an emotional song. Dustin looks like a drug dealer that just got out of prison. If it wasn’t for the fact that they sang a Foggerty song, they might have skipped from televising this performance.

Dustin: D

James: D+ (Winner)

 

Battle 6, Barrett Baber VS Dustin Christensen

Wow. Watching these two guys sing makes me feel like this is something I would be seeing in the Final Four. Both of them act very comfortable on the stage, like they have done this before. I expect to see both of these guys in the final few episodes. Fantastic!

Dustin: A (Stolen by Adam)

Barrett: A (Winner)

And that’s a wrap for night one! Now on to night two, as I watch them back to back!

 

Battle 7, Keith Semple VS Manny Cabo

First thing I notice about Manny is he paints his nails. Fag. Now Keith actually shocked me, I had no clue he could sing like that. He didn’t look like the type. I vote Keith and it’s not even close. I also want to mention that my favorite part of the show happened here, when Keith was singing the line “Wasted!” and was looking right at Blake. Afterwards, Blake makes the joke “How did you know I was wasted?” Haha. Really great and real by Blake.

Keith: A- (Winner)

Manny: C+

 

Battle 8, Chris Crump VS Krista Hughes

Chris sings like a contemporary christian singer in my opinion. Very polished singer but not all that exciting. Krista sings like a traditional country singer with a strong twang. in fact, I couldn’t really tell what she was saying several times. For that reason I go with Chris. This was an odd pairing for sure.

Chris: B (Winner)

Krista: C+

 

Battle 9, Ivonne Acero VS Siahna Im

Ok, this Siahna chick has to go. I can’t stand looking at her, I can’t stand the way she talks, I can’t stand the way she sings. Please just go. Forever. Ok bye. Ivonne, she isn’t anything special but she is tolerable at least. Ivonne wins. By the way, why on earth did NBC choose THIS battle for the final of the night? It was garbage! Actually, none were that great, compared to Monday nights show.

Ivonne: C+ (Stolen by Gwen NO WAIT, BLAKE! WTF?)

Siahna: D (Winner) p.s. Pharrell is an idiot

See ya next week!

After watched the show, I felt like the song choices were really bad, and that this was one of the worst shows of the season. The coaches still pour on the love though, like ” you are so amazing!”, “you set the bar so high!”, “you are every girls dream!”. Ugh, disgusting. Face it coaches, they weren’t that good. Where is Simon Cowell when you need him? On to the grades!

Hannah Kirby – Edge of Seventeen  B+

I don’t care what anyone thinks of her awkward dance moves, this girl can sing. Honestly, the thing that annoys me the most is her mother…can they please stop showing her, for the love of god?!?!

Brian Johnson – “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You”  C-

Terrible song choice as Brian was really struggling to hit the notes on the chorus. I also find it funny how this guy never changes his wardrobe. He did go hat less this time, maybe to make people think he wasn’t wearing what he wore last week. Nice try Brian but you fell flat and I blame Adam for the horrid song.

India Carney – “Take Me To Church”  C-

Christina was taking Adam’s advice I guess in giving her singer a terrible song to sing because this is not a song India sings very well. Was she really raising her arms like this is a gospel song? Sorry India, but this song is not religious but in fact very blasphemous. Anyhow, was not a fan of the song and considering Matt McAndrew absolutely killed this song last season, this was the weak pathetic version. Not to mention she squealed and screeched several of the high notes. Sorry but you also lose to song choice, India.

Mia Z – “Miss You”  A-

In the previews, I noticed Reba did not take affection to Mia, and this meant that Mia is obviously cool and a good singer because Reba doesn’t know crap and is a terrible singer herself. Did I mention I hate Reba? Ok well I hate Reba. So this song by Mia isn’t my favorite and I won’t be rushing out to buy it. I actually thought it was a boring song with very few lyrics. Song choice again was a killer, but thankfully Mia was good enough to overcome the terrible song choice.

DeAnna Johnson – “Oceans”  B-

DeAnna is singing a song I have never heard in my life and it seemed like it would be a good choice for her. Maybe it was…but I think they could have gone a better route. I am happy to see DeAnna so happy out there, it seems she finally is gaining some confidence.

Sawyer Fredericks – “Imagine”  C+

This song is the first song choice that I think is exactly the type of song that should vault a guy like Sawyer to stardom. However, to me it didn’t hit the mark. In fact, he missed a HUGE note in this song, like probably the most distinct note in the entire song. For this, he loses an entire letter grade.

Rob Taylor – Spell On You”  C-

Captain mullet-dreadlocks puts a spell on Christina (and maybe America) because this song sucked and yet the crowd seemed to enjoy it. Hopefully this will be the end of Rob, let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Corey Kent White – “Why”  F

Its been a while that I have heard a country singer sing a song that they missed about 50% of their notes. This song was an absolute train wreck, and the sad part is, he probably will still make the cut because he is country. Sorry, but this was one of the worst performances I have heard in a while. He destroyed the chorus, and if Jason Aldean was listening, he was probably throwing up into his red solo cup. I know I was.

Koryn Hawthorne – “Stronger”  C-

Koryn and her weird trembling, it always makes her look like she is scared to heck. She was yelling most of this song, and for that reason I give it a low grade since it was very unappealing and not something I would ever want to listen to again. AND FOR THE LOVE OF PETE SIT DOWN PHARRELL! YOU STUPID IDIOT, IT WASN’T THAT GOOD! I am so over Pharrell, can he go away for good, please? Bring Celo back? Ok, maybe not that far…but please bring Usher back, I am officially off the Pharrell bandwagon.

Joshua Davis – “America”  B-

Apparently Blake has never heard this song in his life, and guess what? Neither have I! And as for ever wanting to listen to it again, nope. Not a good song, super boring and just makes Joshua look older than what he is. Bad song choice but the guy is still such a great singer. Hopefully Adam picks something more current for him next week.

Meghan Linsey – “Girl Crush”  A

Girl crush huh? Interesting…is that how Meghan plays? I will say she sang this really, really well. I still don’t see her as a threat to win the competition, but I do give her the win for tonight as my favorite performance.

Kimberly Nichole – “House of the Rising Sun”  A-

Very good entertainer, but her singing style is very Tina Turner, and I hate Tina Turner. I will always wear my colors on my sleeves, and I make it obvious. So for this reason, I do not like her and hope she doesn’t win, even though she is good. This is all I will say on her because I can’t really say anything else negative about her.

So who do I think should go home? Corey for sure, and probably Rob. I also think Brian, India and Koryn could be sent packing. I don’t want to make a real prediction here but I do see these five at the bottom. If you held a gun to my head, I would say Rob and Brian go home. Peace.

Tonight opened up with Sia and her song “Elastic Heart”, and can I just say how great it was? I absolutely loved it, even if she has some sort of Lady Gaga thing going on. It wasn’t a performance in the traditional sense, just a good singer with a good song that had me adding it to my streaming playlist. I give her an A+

On to more grades!

Tonya Boyd-Cannon – “Take Me to the Pilot”  B

Last night we had Koryn taking us to church with “How Great Thou Art”, and now we have Tonya jamming this one evangelical style and brought it. I find it interesting they chose for her to go first, considering Sarah had to go first last night (age before beauty?), as I think going first hurts their votes usually. I don’t see Tonya making it to the top 12, but good for her having a great time tonight.

Joshua Davis – “Budapest”  B+

Ok, Joshua is a real pro to have to sing his song against the HORRID rhythm of the crowd and their atrocious clapping. I WANT TO TAKE TIME OUT OF THIS REVIEW FOR AN IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: CAN WE PLEASE PETITION TO THE VOICE THAT THEY NEVER ALLOW THE CROWD TO CLAP AGAIN? As a drummer myself, I find this lack of rhythm offensive, and God bless Joshua for having to endure this distraction. Good song, good singer, horribly bad crowd.

Sonic – “I’m Going Down”  B-

Oh how do I explain my feelings on this song…its like taking a trip to a Sonic and ordering a cherry vanilla Dr Pepper and getting excited for it because I know its going to be good. But then I get it and when I taste it, I realize they forgot the cherry in it, and instead its just vanilla Dr Pepper. This is still good, but it wasn’t what I was expecting and not as good. Thanks Sonic for making me thirsty.

Brian Johnson – “At This Moment”  A

Wow. Just wow. He sang the song the way it was originally intended but the timing was different and it had me thinking that he was off but no, he would then finish just right with the arrangement which meant it was pre-conceived. I loved it and it is my favorite performance (so far) of the night.

Kimberly Nichole – “What’s Up”  C+

Not a fan of this song by Kimberly at all. Her voice is screechy-whiney a bit too much and I don’t think I would ever want to listen to this song as a single in my life. Sorry but no bueno for this muchacho.

Lexi Davila – “All By Myself”  A

Goodness, this girl has pipes. This was the first time I have heard her sing and she wasn’t nervous at all. I loved this performance! Now that’s a voice.

Nathan Hermida – “Chains”  C

I find this song choice very perplexing. I have loved everything Nathan has done so far but this song is nothing like what he has done prior and I don’t think its what he should be doing. The one part of the song where he needed to hit his high note fell short. I feel bad for him as this was not his best performance. Song choice could be his ending, and that is a shame.

India Carney – “Hurt”  B

First of all, great song choice. Secondly, India is bringing out the theatrics again and for this song it worked pretty well as it was very dramatic. And third, she is good.

Rob Taylor – “Earned It”  C-

Rob and his Predator haircut and his stupid high voice needs to go. Bye Felicia, I can’t stand this weirdo.

DeAnna Johnson – “Down at the River”  B-

The most unique voice of the competition sings last to finish the night. She looks like an angel and is singing an old time religion song. I wonder how this will sway votes? I thought she was good but this song was super boring. Who will buy this? Hopefully there are lots of older people voting for her, she will need it.

Prediction time!

Team Adam

Lock to stay: Joshua, DeAnna

Lock to go home: Tonya

On the bubble: Nathan, Brian

Team Christina

Lock to stay: Kimberly, India

Lock to go home: Sonic

On the bubble: Lexi, Rob

Sarah Potenza – Free Bird  B-

Not a fan of Sarah but she did this song justice. Whatever it was she was wearing made it look like she was ready to jump off a cliff and try to be a bird. She kinda looks like a bird. This makes so much sense!

Hannah Kirby – I Feel the Earth Move  B+

She is a singer and entertainer in every way, shape, or form. It is like Blake says, she gets possessed by the song. Her dance moves though are crazy…she is the female Napoleon Dynamite! I am amazing how she never seems winded.

Corey Kent White – Make You Feel My Love  B-

A great song choice, but I heard him struggling with some of the notes and was not as smooth as it should have been. He didn’t sell it to me, but he did sing it ok. He has staying power just because he is the only country boy.

Brooke Adee – Love Me Like You Do  C

Another good song choice but one that didn’t connect with me. Brooke is better than this.

Meghan Linsey – Love Runs Out  B-

I did not enjoy this performance by Meghan. She strains her voice too much when singing these type of songs, and I think she needs to keep her songs to slower tempo’s. 

Caitlin Caporale – Best Thing I Never Had  B-

I think Caitlin sang this song great. I mean, it was a great cover and sang it true to the song. But it was also…flat.

Lowell Oakley – Jealous  D+

Ugh…Can we just send him home right now and not wait until Wednesday? Awful and the worst performance of the night.

Mia Z – Ain’t No Sunshine  A

Mia is my sunshine in this competition, that’s for sure. Lucky for me (and hopefully you), there will always be sunshine because she is making it to the final four of this competition and not even worried about that one bit. This song she just sang reminded me of the MTV unplugged shows that used to air, and you could really hear how great the vocalist was without music. She is there.

Koryn Hawthorne – How Great Thou Art  A-

Awww…she sang about me and used my name in her song. For that she deserves an A, right? Seriously though, thanks for taking me back to church Koryn.

Sawyer Fredericks – Trouble  A-

Oh man…great, great song. I really don’t care if he sang a song that is more “grown up” so to speak, he sang this so perfect. I loved it.

So, this brings me to predictions, my favorite thing to do. They are:

Team Pharrell

Lock to stay: Mia and Sawyer

Lock to go home: Lowell

On the bubble: Koryn and Caitlin. For the record, I will predict that Caitlin is the one cut loose and Koryn stays.

Team Blake

Lock to stay: Corey and Meghan

Lock to go home: Sarah

On the bubble: Brooke and Hannah. I think this will be a tough choice for Blake, but I bet he keeps Brooke and lets go of Hannah.

The knockout rounds have been entertaining so far, and last week’s were really good. However, last night was very disappointing to me. In fact, it wasn’t until the final knockout of the night did I feel that the battles were evenly matched. This was definitely a night of TKO’s.

Barry Minniefield VS Tonya Boyd-Cannon  *Team Adam*

Ok, on second thought, maybe this one was pretty evenly matched. This battle proves that Adam knew he can’t take two older people into the lives, as one has to be cut. Barry was really good in his song but it was boring. Tonya was just meh. I do not like either of these two, and Adam chooses to keep Tonya. I think its a lock that she will be the first to go home next week in the lives.

Brooke Adee VS Kelsie May  *Team Blake*

The second battle of the night was the most lopsided one I have seen in a while. Little Kelsie May was so over matched that one could equate this as taking a wet noodle into a fight against soldiers equipped with AK-47’s You know the saying a picture tells a thousand words? Here is a screen capture of Christina Aguilera during Kelsie’s song: 

Kelsie never had a chance and Blake was clearly stalling in his pick just to lighten the blow of the inevitable flood of tears that would be flowing from Kelsie’s big, doe-like eyes. Brooke moves on , Kelsie can go back singing to her ducks.

Joe Tolo VS India Carney  *Team Christina*

Joe is a good singer but honestly is forgettable. In fact, as I write this, I already forgot what he sounded like. This probably means it was not very good. India came out strong, but I do not like how much she uses that vibrato of hers. I get that it’s her calling card, and no doubt a background in opera singing means you are trained to use it considerably. But on The Voice, it doesn’t translate so well and comes across as over-dramatic. Either way, India gets chosen while Joe goes home. Wait, who is Joe again?

Lowell Oakley VS Jacob Rummell  *Team Pharrell*

Oh man…so much to say about this one. Jacob goes first, and I have sorta believed in him a little. I mean, the kid can sing, no doubt about that. But as Pharrell tells him, he only uses a portion of his register and never goes anywhere else with it. Not only that, his voice clearly cracks at one point, although no coach makes mention of it. This just meant that Lowell had this locked up, all he had to do was show up on stage, blow some notes for a bit and he wins. But instead, Lowell has one of the most awkward performances I have seen in a while. At the beginning part of his song, which is “My Girl” by the way, he incorporates an awkward laugh into a transition. While it seems like he just tripped and tried to laugh a stumble off, I think he really meant to do that. It was like he wanted to get so playful with the performance that he instead took it to another level, almost like he was trying on purpose to blow it so that he could go home. That does not happen though, as Pharrell chooses Lowell and Jacob goes home.

Rob Taylor VS Treeva Gibson  *Team Christina*

There really isn’t much to say here other than Rob won this no contest. Rob nails an Al Green song while Treeva botches an Adele song. I did like Treeva prior to this, but she was clearly out-sung by Rob. Rob stays, Treeva goes.

Joshua Davis VS Lexi Davila  *Team Adam*

Finally we get a quality battle, it only took all night! Joshua is one of my favorites, and he instantly hooks you with his soulful voice. It’s like Christina says, he sings and you just get drawn in, kind of in a Eric Clapton sort of way. I enjoy his song so much I didn’t think Lexi stood a chance. Boy was I wrong! Lexi starts off somewhat shaky, but that is mostly due to the song as it takes a bit to rev up. But once she was about 35 seconds into the song, she begins to shine, and when I thought this was going to be an easy choice for Adam to make, it has become insanely difficult. I get the impression that Adam was thinking Lexi was going to stumble, why else would you pair two voices like this against one other? Or, he knew Christina wanted Lexi and he was happy with Josh and secretly conspired with Christina that he would save Joshua so she can keep Lexi. Either way, Joshua gets kept and Lexi gets stolen by Christina.

So there you have it! The blind auditions are well in the past, the battle rounds have been fought, and the final knock-out has been dealt. Now it’s on to the live shows, see ya next week!

Cody Wickline VS Corey Kent White   *Team Blake*

Cody starts off first, singing some song I have never heard before, “”Til My Last Day”. Can I say that if this was my last day and I had to listen to this performance, I would feel like my life was all for nothing? I really liked Cody prior but this performance was nothing special. Corey is singing “Live Like You Are Dying”, which I don’t remember being sung anytime recently on The Voice, and damn if i wish I didn’t have to hear it tonight because his version stunk. It was Pitchy and his voice sounded like he was gargling with Listerine while singing. If I wasn’t dying before, I am dying now. I would take Cody based on potential, but neither deserves a win. Blake goes with Corey, and Cody goes home.

Wow…both songs about living and dying and now I feel like I need to go meditate and find the meaning of life. What is this meager life for? What am I doing with it? Why did I just listen to two songs being obliterated by crappy singers?

Blaze Johnson VS Deanna Johnson   *Team Adam*  

Blaze begins first, singing “You Found Me” by the Fray. It was an OK performance and there is no doubt that Blaze can sing, but there was no real connection that I felt and it didn’t do anything for me. I want to critique this harder because this song is a song that when I hear it, it moves me. Not only that, Blaze cracked a note. This was way over his head, poor guy. Goodbye Blaze, because Deanna is singing “Listen To Your Heart”, which is probably the most perfect song for her. I want to parallel Deanna to previous voice star singer Jake Worthington, who never got anyone to turn for them prior but came back and got several chairs to turn. I really feel like Deanna and I believe could go just as far as Jake did, and for this reason I go with Deanna. Adam does indeed chose Deanna and Blaze goes home.

Hannah Kirby VS Caitlin Caporale   *Team Pharrell*

I love Hannah, she is so goofy up there doing her thing. This is interesting because if you compare her to Sarah Potenza (who I have criticized for looking awkward on stage), I find Sarah to be off-putting and displaced, while Hannah seems natural and likable. Plus, she is singing “Higher Love”, which really made it fun. Caitlin sings “Warrior” and I think it is just fantastic. Caitlin is a strong contender in my eyes, and I feel like she will get plenty of votes come lives. This makes for a very tough decision for Pharrell. I would chose Hannah but Pharrell chooses Caitlin. Blake decides to steal Hannah and I am glad for that!

See y’all next week!

Tonight is the beginning to the heartbreaking segment of The Voice, the knockouts. This is when each coach cuts half of their team, keeping the strongest and letting go of the weakest. There are still steals available though, so all is not lost.

On to the first bout of the night!

Ashley Morgan VS Sonic  *Team Xtina*

Ashley comes out singing “Heartbreaker”, and instantly I think this is a horrible song choice. This would be a great song to sing at your friends karaoke party, but it doesn’t translate very well on The Voice. Not only that, but her voice is very winded and her high note quality got about as high as a Penguin in a vertical leap contest. Sonic sings “A Women’s Worth”, which is, in contrast, the perfect song choice . She definitely makes that face like she just smelt a pungent fart, but she is feeling the song and was precise in her pitch. Sonic wins this in my book, no contest. Christina does indeed choose Sonic and Ashley goes home.

Brian Johnson VS Sarah Potenza  *Team Blake*

Brian chooses “Nothing Ever Hurt Like You”, which does allow him to move around like he wanted to…but he didn’t. In fact, all he did was just sorta shuffle around and maybe take a step or two around. To me, it was not the best song choice, but the fact remains that his voice is going to be tough to beat. Sarah goes with the ballad “Wasted Love” by my boy Matt McAndew, and I thought this was a really cool and smart song choice. She turns it into a really good rock ballad but she just looks so darn funny out there, I don’t know what it is about her. Maybe it’s just her body shape, I don’t know. I give it to Brian, but its close. Blake goes with Sarah and Brian gets stolen by Adam which makes Adam’s team instantly better.

Clinton Washington VS Nathan Hermida  *Team Adam*

Clinton sings “Wanted” which is a country song. Clinton is not country. Just wanted to make that clear. I guess he wanted to sing it to be different and stand out, but it was sorta weird for me. I never felt connected to it. Nathan sings “Leave Your Lover” and again, another contrast. Nathan might not have the strength and power of vocals like Clinton, but wow, I felt his song. He is a titan on this show, and Nathan is my winner. Adam keeps Nathan and Clinton goes home.

WHAT?!? Ok this is big time…a three-contestant battle is happening here, and at first I was thinking “here goes The Voice again, trying to get stupid creative” but no, the reason is because Anthony Riley left the show for personal reasons. This is mind blowing and now I must find out why, as Anthony was one of my favorites to make it to the final 8, and definitely was live-bound. This show always has something crazy going on behind the scenes.

Mia Z  VS Paul Pfau VS Sawyer Fredericks  *Team Pharrell*

Mia starts off first with “Hold On I’m Coming”, and instantly shows off that cat-like, sultry purr of a voice she has. Not only that, she glides across into the impossible highs that no contestant is capable of hitting. There is no way you can let go of this girl, it would be foolish to let her go. She is a ball of fire that is not going to be extinguished anytime soon. Paul sings “I Don’t Need No Doctor”, which is blues and directly in his wheelhouse. Its cool and groovy but if he was just battling Mia, it would be goodbye Paul. So, he just needs to be better than Sawyer, who is coming out singing “Collide”, which is a fantastic choice of song but right off the bat I do not like his version at all. To me this kid sings really funny, and I guess if I have to choose, I am keeping Mia and Paul. However, Pharrell choices Sawyer first and then decides to chose Mia. Paul goes home. As a side note, I do not get the love Sawyer is getting…its odd to me. Maybe I just hate his sissified hair, but I hope he gets kicked off the show ASAP.

Meghan Linsey VS Travis Ewing  *Team Blake*

Meghan starts off first with “(You Make Me Feel Like ) A Natural Woman”, and this was, BY FAR, her best performance yet. I think this song must truly resonate in her because she didn’t just sing it, she projected it. Someone out there must really make her feel like a natural woman all right. Travis sings “I Don’t Want To Be”, and I sorta feel like this song is one of those songs that kills singers every time in battle rounds on The Voice. The funny part is this guy is butchering this song. Its pretty bad and he feels completely disconnected with it. His last and final note was also a huge reach and while he didn’t break, it was totally unnecessary. Meghan wins this and its not close. Travis goes home.

Kimberly Nichole VS Koryn Hawthorne  *Team Xtina*

Kimberly starts off first, singing “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free”, and its good. I’ve never been a fan of Kimberly and she didn’t do enough to get me on her bandwagon, but I will say that I liked her vocal performance for this song. She also enjoys moving around on stage a lot, like she is at church. Exerting that much energy while staying in pitch and not sounding winded is pretty awesome. She definitely brings it. Koryn (I love her name btw) is singing “Try”, and I feel like she is very nervous, like she is making lots of motions to cover for her anxiety. She definitely gets more comfortable as it goes on and I LOVED her final big note, it was gorgeous. I felt like this knockout was going to be won by Kimberly’s at first but Koryn swayed me to her side at the very end. I give it to Koryn by a pinch. Christina chooses Kimberly but Koryn gets saved by Pharrell.

Fantastic show, and I am 100% pumped for this season; There is some really good talent!

Goodnight!

Tonight is the final night of the battle rounds and I am stoked! Looking forward to the singers that are still left and hope they bring it!

Jeremy Gaynor (Rank 5) VS Rob Taylor (Rank 4)

Christina has chosen the song “Animals” by M5 for her battle and I love the choice! It is a song that definitely is outside the box for Jeremy and Rob, and I think the result was a good one. Both singers came out strong with tons of energy, bouncing around the stage while still able to accumulate enough breath to sing their next highest notes. It was a terrific battle and I preferred Jeremy, but Christina disagrees and chooses Rob. Oddly enough, Jeremy does not get stolen and I think that was a mistake.

Noelle Bybee (No Rank) VS Sawyer Fredericks (Rank 2)

Sawyer really weirds me out…I guess its a guy since they refer to him as a he, but I can’t take this person seriously. As for Noelle, she has the soft, sweet tones that usually accompany a coffee shop singer. They are singing “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” and I do approve of the arrangement. Now, while I like Noelle more, her type of voice never goes far in this competition, so I think Sawyer would make for a better long-term choice. Pharrell does indeed choose Sawyer. Noelle is sent home, no saves available for her.

At this time, The Voice decided to just blow past three battles, some with singers I really wanted to hear! Grrr…

Corey Kent White VS Jacob Rummell

Now back to the last battle of the night, and stupid Blake is choosing a country song (of course) and this sucks because its in Corey’s Wheelhouse but not Jacob’s. Talk about a one-sided song choice. This is really painful watching (and listening) to Jacob singing this song, as it is nothing like what he should be singing. And honestly, Corey isn’t singing this all that great either. I would give this to Jacob regardless, proving how terrible Corey is. Thanks Blake for ruining the evening with a stupid song choice and a cheesy battle. Blake chooses Corey (OF COURSE) and lucky for Jacob, Pharrell steals him. I hate Blake, why any non-country singer would even think of choosing him over anyone else is just stupid.

Until next week!