Jake’s Take: My Favorite Team Xtina Moments

 

By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com

If you talk to anyone that knows me, they will instantly tell you who my favorite Voice coach is the one and only Christina Aguilera!

Next week, the Queen of The Voice to celebrate the NBC singing competition’s tenth season.  In honor of her return, Jake’s Take is presenting its favorite moments from the “Beautiful” singer’s time as a coach.

 

Frenchie Davis’ “I Kissed A Girl” (Season One)

One of my all-time favorite Team Christina members nearly did not audition for The Voice. When I interviewed the lovely and talented Ms. Frenchie Davis back in November 2012, she was very apprehensive about going back on Reality TV. But, thanks to a producer who stated that the coaches would not be able to see her, Frenchie auditioned for the show.  Her powerful take on Katy Perry’s signature song not only caught the attention of Christina, but she also set the standard when it came to performing on The Voice.

Beverly McClellan & Xtina’s “Beautiful’” (Season One)

Blues singer Beverly McClellan became Team Christina’s very first finalist on the inaugural season. During this round, the artists join forces with their coaches to perform a track that is meaningful to them. They sang Christina’s 2002 hit, “Beautiful,” a Linda Perry-penned track that has become an anthem for the LGBT community.  Joined by Linda Perry on guitar and other musicians, the duo gave an impeccable performance that gave viewers chills.

Sera Hill sings “I’m Goin’ Down” with Xtina (Season Two)

When Christina is the only coach remaining to fill her team, she becomes extremely picky and turns down artists left and right for not meeting her expectations. Luckily, Season Two’s Sera Hill impressed Christina with her take on Mary J. Blige’s breakout hit: “I’m Goin’ Down.” Christina was so captivated by her performance that she joined forces with her new protégé for the chorus. Sera also remains one of the only three artists who have so far performed with Xtina during her time as a Voice coach in the Blind Auditions stage of the show.

Jesse Campbell vs. Anthony Evans’ “If I Ain’t Got You” (Season Two)

One of the best battles during the show’s early seasons was between Team Christina’s Jesse Campbell and Anthony Evans. The two men tackled Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You” and this battle of epic proportions showcased why she is one of the best coaches on the show. Both men gave it everything they got and set the standard for future Battle Rounds.

 

Chris Mann’s “You Raise Me Up” (Season Two)

Kansas native and friend of Jake’s Take, Chris Mann, represented Christina during the show’s sophomore season finale. For one of his final performances on The Voice stage, Chris gave a vocal master class performance of Josh Groban’s “You Raise Me Up.” By combining American Sign Language, a string section, and a youth choir, Chris gave one of the best male vocals in show history that not only moved Christina to tears but also inspired more classical singers to audition for Reality TV singing competitions. Currently, Chris is one of Team Christina’s most successful alums as he is currently playing the title role in the latest US Tour of The Phantom of the Opera.

De’Borah’s “Who Knew” (Season Three)

I firmly believe that if Xtina chose De’Borah to go into the Season Three Top 12, she would have a finale contender. Her performance of P!nk’s “Who Knew” was out of this world and delivered a fiery performance that set her apart from her peers.

Will Champlin’s “When I Was Your Man” (Season Five)

Sometimes Christina can pleasantly surprise viewers with her steal selection. When Adam eliminated Will Champlin for James Wolpert (big mistake on Adam’s part), Christina swooped in and stole Will! Under her brief tutelage, Christina helped Will expanded his knowledge of stagecraft, and his vocals increased a hundredfold. Despite being paired with Matthew Schuler; Christina gave Will enough information that helped him get to the finale–as a member of Team Adam.

Matthew Schuler’s “Hallelujah” (Season Five)

Matthew Schuler is still probably one of the best male vocalists that have ever appeared on The Voice. His cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” remains one of the show’s best moments and one of the best male vocals in the history of the show. From the first moment that he started to sing, I received the chills and every word that he sang stabbed me in the gut. While Jordan Smith may have had a moment with this song last season, “Hallelujah” will always belong to Matthew.

 

Team Xtina: “Jackson Medley” (Season Five)

Team Xtina performances are one-of-the-kind because they always blow the other teams out of the water.  Matthew Schuler, Jacquie Lee, and Christina blended their voices in a way that would have made the Jackson family proud as they tore through “Black Cat,” “Scream” and “Bad” that remains the best team performances of all-time!

Jacquie Lee & Christina sing “We Remain” (Season Five)

After a two-season absence from the finals, Christina and her top protégé of Season Five, Jacquie Lee debuted Christina’s hit for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Soundtrack during The Voice: Season Five finale. This was a beautiful performance, and it showed how much Xtina bonded with her top pupil throughout the season.

Caitlin Caporale’s “Impossible” Dream Comes True (Season Eight)

Caitlin Caporale became the first artist in Voice history to sing with their idol during the Blind Auditions…that was not their coach.  After Caitlin’s successful Blind Audition impressed both Blake and Pharrell (she chose the latter), an impressed Christina let Caitlin sat in her chair, and they sang the “Impossible” chorus to the delight of both Pharrell and the viewers.

 

Kimberly Nichole’s “The House of the Rising Sun” (Season Eight)

Since the third season implementation of steals, Christina has been hit or miss when it comes to recruiting other artists to join her team.  For every Will Champlin, there is a Chevonne. However, Christina’s best steal of Season Eight was capturing Team Pharrell vocal dynamo Kimberly Nichole.  Each time Kimberly stepped onto the stage, Kimberly delivered grand slam vocal performances that captivated America.  Kimberly’s Top 12 performance of the Animals’ “The House of Rising Sun” steamrolled her competition, established herself as a frontrunner and received a rare four-coach standing ovation. While Kimberly sadly was eliminated during the Top Six, she became one of Christina’s best finds during her involvement of the show.

Christina Aguilera, Kimberly Nichole, Rob Taylor & India Carney: “Hotel California” (Season Eight)

I was extremely disappointed with the show’s fans with the fact that they did not put any of the original Voice coach’s artists into Season Eight finale. They would have put on better performances than Sawyer and Josh, and either one of them would have easily won Season Eight. The Team Christina “Hotel California” group performance brilliantly backs up my thesis.  Between India’s gorgeous tone, Rob’s superb storytelling, Kimberly’s hypnotic phrasing and Christina’s signature vocal flair, “Hotel California” highlighted what Season Eight truly looked like if all three members of Team Christina made it to the finale. Hopefully, Christina and one of her new batch of artists makes it all the way to the Season 10 finale and finally hoist up the winner’s trophy.

I do not own any of the clips that are featured in this article. They belong to NBC & United Artists Media Group.