Jennifer Hudson’s Season 13 Team (Photo property of NBC’s Trae Patton)
By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com
The Knockout Rounds are over! Let the Season 13 Playoffs commence!
Throughout the week, all four teams will be facing off for a spot in the Season 13 live shows. While Team Miley and Team Adam will perform on Tuesday and Wednesday, all eyes were on on Teams Blake and Jennifer tonight! By the end of the night, both Blake and Jennifer had to decide who would be representing them in next week’s live shows. Also, both coaches welcomed back two previously eliminated artists to their teams.
Who were the Comeback Artists? Which artists advanced to next week’s live shows? Read on to find out!
Team JHUD Productions kicked off the Season 13 Playoffs. Davon Fleming was the first to kick off the night by tackling his coach’s song that won her the Academy Award for Dreamgirls: “I Am Changing.” Davon saw a lot of himself in Effie White, and Jennifer made sure that Davon delivered an impeccable performance, and he did! I got goosebumps from the first note that he sang to the decrescendo. I genuinely believe that he is something special and that he will be one of the artists in the Season 13 finale! A+
Hannah Mrozak is Team Jennifer’s new girl on the team. She dedicated her performance of Kesha’s “Learn to Let Go,” to her brother who committed suicide. Hannah made Kesha proud of her performance, but at the same time, I thought that her vocals were all over the place during the first chorus. Hannah needs to learn more about breath control because I thought there were some parts that I thought she slurred her words together. C+
I am so happy that Jennifer picked Lucas Holliday to be her Season 13 comeback artist. She gave her comeback artist—one of the biggest songs of the evening: Prince’s “The Beautiful Ones” and Jennifer told him to be a singing fool! Lucas has this one of a kind voice that no one can deny! This was a spectacular performance from start to finish! No matter what happens, I hope a label signs Mr. Lucas Holliday! A
Shi’Ann Jones has been considered to be JHUD’s honorary daughter this season. She tackled Ariana Grande’s “Tattooed Heat” for her Playoff performance. I got to say it was a strong performance, but it did not make me run up and vote for her. Hopefully, Shi’Ann will do better if she goes into the Top 12. B
New York City native Chris Weaver stole the show every time that he performed on The Voice: Season 13. Jennifer gave Chris: Marlena Shaw’s “California Soul.” The problem that I had with the performance was that I was very unfamiliar with the song, which could be a bad mark against him if he went to the Live Playoffs. What saved him was an excellent vocal performance that put a smile on my face. B+
Noah Mac closed the Team Jennifer portion of the evening. He has slowly been growing on me over the past couple of weeks. There is something about his stage presence and voice that caught my ears. For his Playoff performance, he tackled Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight.” After a slow start, Noah kicked it up a notch with fiery vocals, and he commanded the stage which I genuinely like to see in an artist. If Noah continues to perform like this, we could see him in the Season 13 finale. A-
After these impeccable performances, Jennifer Hudson had to make several difficult decisions. She thanked her team for all of their hard work and vowed that this is not the end of the road. Jennifer decided to advance Davon, Noah, and Shi’Ann to the Season 13 Live Shows! Lucas or Chris should have had Shi’Ann’s spot.
Team Blake-Season 13 (Photo property of NBC’s Trae Patton)
Red Marlow kicked off Team Blake’s Season 13 Playoff performances. He tackled the classic country standard: “Chiseled in Stone.” To be honest, Red is more country than Blake’s past three winners (Danielle Bradbery, Craig Wayne Boyd, and Sundance Head) put together. Red’s voice will satisfy both Nashville and the Midwest, plus he will make people smile! B+
I am so happy that Blake stole Chloe Kohanski from Team Miley in the Knockout Rounds. She tackled Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time.” It has been a while since we heard “Time After Time” being performed on this show as Michelle Chamuel performed the track during Season Four. I got chills from her voice, and I loved Chloe’s storytelling. Hopefully, Cyndi was watching, because she would be proud of her performance! A-
Blake chose to bring back Natalie Stovall back to the show. She performed “Callin’ Baton Rouge” for her chance to advance to the Season 13 Top 12. While I genuinely enjoyed seeing Natalie play the fiddle on the Universal Studios Hollywood soundstage, I could not connect with the song. C/C+
Former NFL Football star Esera Tuaolo has been one of my favorites on Team Blake. He decided to tackle LeAnn Rimes’ “How Do I Live” for his ticket to the Season 13 Live Shows. I love Esera, but this performance was a hot mess. I thought that Esera’s vocals were all over the place and it cost him a place in the Live Shows. C-
Mitchell Lee’s performance of “Heaven” was so abysmal that I could not watch it. Instead, I watched David Archuleta performing the song during American Idol’s Season Eight. (David=A+; Mitchell=F)
Keisha Renae closed out the night with her take on The Judds’ “Love Can Build a Bridge.” The former Nicki Minaj background singer gave one of the best vocals of the season with her performance of the country classic. I got chills from listening to Keisha, and I honestly believe that she will be one of the last artists standing! A+
Blake made the right decision and chose Red, Keisha, and Chloe to represent him in next week’s live shows!
Tomorrow night, Team Miley enters the Playoffs! Who will the “Malibu” singer-songwriter choose to represent her in the Season 13 Live Shows?
