“The Voice: Season 10” Top 10 pose together. (Photo property of NBC and United Artists Media Group)
By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com
Attention, America!
This is Pop Culture Colonel Jacob Elyachar here! I have your marching orders for this week.
Tonight, after you watch The Voice: Season 10 Top 10 perform…make sure that you vote for everybody BUT Nick Hagelin. This Lazaro Arbos wannabee has ruined The Voice: Season 10 with their atrocious vocals and mediocre performances. Countless of fantastic and quality talent (Joe Maye, Moushumi, Ryan Quinn, Tamar Davis and Emily Keener) have left early because of Passino and Hagelin’s smugness, and this pop culture warrior is done being nice. As a music lover and longtime fan of the show, if you do not want the NBC singing competition to be thrown in the crapper, please vote for talent NOT FOR BACKSTORY!
So which artists proved that they were leagues above Nick Hagelin? Read on to find out.
Carson introduced First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden and the active members of the United States Armed Forces that were in the audience. Both women talked about the fifth anniversary of Joining Forces, an initiative that recognizes all of America’s armed forces. The First Lady introduced the Top 10, who performed a rousing rendition of “Home.”
As everyone left the stage, it was Daniel Passino’s job to open up the solo round. When I read on MJsBigBlog that Team Pharrell’s lone male vocalist was going to cover one of my all-time favorite songs tonight, I was about ready to question my decision to save him last week. Three friends-of-the-blog Jessica Sanchez, Kat Robichaud and Emil & Dariel, plus three artists that I admire-David Cook, Caleb Johnson and Jeff Jenkins had home runs with this song. It is frustrating that the contestants on this show do not study any Reality TV history before they come onto the show, because if they did…they would know what songs NOT to touch. First of all, I am glad that he listened to Pharrell’s advice and not to listen to the haters. Secondly, he proved me wrong. I thought that the song was going to be a complete and utter train wreck. He gave me chills throughout the performance and fought for the right to stay in the competition. B
Shalyah Fearing brought her mom to her rehearsal with Adam. This week, Shalyah performed a Mother’s Day tribute to her mom with Emeli Sande’s “My Kind of Love.” Despite several shrieks that were in the middle of the track, this was probably one of Shalyah’s best performance to date. If she continues to deliver performances like this, I could see her pull an upset and steal either Laith or Adam W’s spot in the finale. B+
This is the reaction that I get every time Nick Hagelin performs on “The Voice.” BTW, I love the “Britain’s Got Talent” judges: David Walliams, Alesha Dixon, Amanda Holden & Simon Cowell. (Photo property of iTV)
As you can tell by the picture of the Britain’s Got Talent judges, I want to buzz Nick Hagelin with a passion! He tackled MJ’s “I Can’t Help It” and my ears were still bleeding after that vomitus performance. I believe that the King of Pop rolled in his grave during the duration of Nick’s cover. F
Like her Team Pharrell teammate, Hannah performed her take on Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.” This song has been tackled by two impeccable friends of Jake’s Take-the flawless Kim Yarbrough and the lovely Haley Reinhart and both ladies did a phenomenal job covering one of Adele’s monster hits. However, I was unable to connect with Hannah during her performance. She did not have enough soul in her vocals and sounded very robotic. D
Laith Al-Saadi paid homage to the King of the Blues with “The Thrill is Gone.” I got chills from the rehearsal package, and they intensified during Laith’s performance. Laith is the kind of artist; I will buy music from after the show and the artist I want to interview after he is off the show. I firmly believe that Laith earned a spot in the Final Five with this performance. A-
Last week, Team Blake’s Paxton Ingram had a breakout moment that made him a force to be reckoned with in this competition. This week, he tackled one of the monstrous songs of all-time: Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.” The former stylist and dancer delivered a fiery anthem that would make Ms. Dion very proud. B+
Mary Sarah is the final country artist in this competition! The Team Blake teammate paid homage to the legendary Tammy Wynette with “Stand By Your Man.” I loved hearing Mary’s husky voice on this iconic song. Her vintage voice reminds me of a hybrid between Tanya Tucker and Carrie Underwood. It was a strong performance, and I believe Ms. Wynette is smiled down on her during Mary’s performance. B
Bryan Bautista decided to go the Latin route tonight when he tackled Romeo Santos and Usher’s “Promise” for Top 10 week. His voice and superb falsetto was just like eating a beautiful piece of red velvet cake; you did not want the experience to be over. I am glad Bryan showed this side to him because it will give him an edge over several mediocre artists that performed tonight. A-
Team Christina frontrunner Alisan Porter took the acoustic route tonight. She revisited her haunted past that contained her drug addiction and a deceased boyfriend by covering the Dixie Chicks’ “Let Him Fly.” Every lyric that she sang tugged at my heartstrings and gave me a strong case of the goosies. I think her honest performance sealed her place in this season’s finale. A+
The final performance of the night belonged to Team Blake’s Adam Wakefield. He paid homage to the late genius (and one of the greatest artists of all-time) Ray Charles with a cover of “I Gotta a Woman.” He dedicated his performance to his girlfriend: Jenny Lee. For his performance, Blake and The Voice band pulled off all the stops to help Adam pull off the song of the night. Everything from the first note to the decrescendo of the track was perfect, and all I have to say to Adam is: “See you in the finale!” A+
Tomorrow night, Season Eight champion Sawyer Fredericks and DNCE provide the music as the Top Nine are revealed!
I do not own any of the clips that were sprinkled throughout the article. They belong to FOX, FremantleMedia North America, 19 Entertainment, NBC, SYCO Entertainment & United Artist Media Group.
