Team Adam’s Judith and Sarah stole the night as they delivered solid vocals. (Photo by NBC’s Tyler Golden)
By: Jacob Elyachar
Tonight, The Voice’s Top 10 battled it out for your votes!
As the pressure rose, each of the coaches brought back their mentors to assist their contestants. (Side note: Since Shakira’s advisor, Joel Madden, is currently in Australia filming their version of The Voice, the Latin Superstar brought former coach Cee Lo Green as a guest mentor.)
How did the contestants do? Your Voice recap starts right now….
Team Blake’s Holly Tucker was the first contestant to take the Voice stage. The Oklahoma native decided to give her gospel standard “How Great Thou Art.” While I recommend to contestants not to mix religion and music on television, Holly delivered one of her best vocal performances on the show. A
Judith Hill tackled the artist that she last worked with as a background singer: Michael Jackson. At first, Judith was very torn about performing this song as she worked with the King of Pop before he passed on in 2009, but she overcame it and delivered a sultry cover of the MJ standard. Right now, I bet MJ was smiling down on Judith from heaven as he watched this! A+
The Swon Brothers tackled Randy Houser’s “How Country Feels” this week. I am very impressed with their growth. They transported the audience to a Nashville stage and rocked out the stage. I really hope that the Oklahoma duo continues to improve because they have the chance to get into the Semi-Finals. A-
19-year-old Amber Carrington tackled former Voice mentor Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway.” Adam saw her as an artist like Kelly, who could do both country and pop music. While the vocal was not as flawless as usual, Amber still entertained the crowd and potentially has the chance to move on to the Top Eight. B
When I heard that Sasha Allen was covering Emeli Sande’s “Next to Me,” I was worried for her. American Idol had their top girls Candice Glover and Amber Holcomb (who performed with Emeli Sande at the finale) perform this song out. Luckily, Sasha made it her own and delivered a stunning cover that showed off a lot of fantastic vocal runs. A-
One performer that I have little expectations from each week is Team Usher’s Josiah Hawley. From what I have seen over the past couple weeks, he DOES NOT COME OFF AS HUMBLE. In addition, he is not a good vocalist nor a guitar player as he showed during his cover of Coldplay’s “Clocks.” He just stood there and looked pretty. Wake up, America! He IS NOT THE VOICE, he is just a pretty face! F
The youngest competitor still in the competition is Danielle Bradbury. She shared a special moment with Blake’s guest mentor Sheryl Crow as the Grammy Winner shared her breast cancer story with her and advised Danielle to find someone in the audience to focus on while she sang this song. This was an okay cover and I thought Danielle could do better. C
Team Shakira’s final performer of the night was R&B crooner Kris Thomas. With the help of former Voice coach Cee Lo Green, Kris channeled his inner Ladies’ Man as he tackled Miguel’s “Adorn.” This was full of vocal runs and great swagger. However, during the Coaches’ Comments, both Adam and Usher wanted him think less, but the latter thought it was very entertaining. B+
Sarah Simmons tackled Jessie J’s “Mamma Knows Best.” There is only one word to describe this performance: WOW! I am so glad Sarah showed off her hard rock skills and she stole the night with her astonishing vocals! A+
Team Usher’s Michelle Chamuel had the privilege of closing the show. Her mentor decided to give her P!nk’s “Just Give Me A Reason.” The Indie artist took on the challenge and gave an intriguing cover of the two-time platinum certified hit. Michelle delivered a solid vocal and I hope that she continues to grow as a performer in the coming weeks. B+
Tomorrow night, Shakira & Usher will perform with their teams and the Bottom Two will be eliminated!
