The pressure was on for both Team Christina and Team CeeLo! Despite the pressure, they made their coaches proud! (Photo property of NBC)
By: Jacob Elyachar
Last night, The Voice Live Rounds began!
Both members on Team Adam and Team Blake delivered memorable performances and already James Wolpert, Tessanne Chin, Will Champlin, Austin Jenckles, Ray Boudreaux, Cole Vosbury and Preston Pohl have made it to the iTunes Top 100!
Tonight, it was Team CeeLo and Team Christina’s turn to impress America.
So who rocked? Who fizzled? Read on to find out!
Former Team Christina member Amber Nicole was the first artist to take the stage! Her new coach, CeeLo Green, chose Voice Season Three winner Cassadee Pope’s “Wasting All These Tears.” It is always a huge risk to tackle a winner’s song but CeeLo believed that she could be versatile as an artist. I loved hearing her upper register and she could be a dark horse in this competition. B+
Jonny Gray was the second Team CeeLo member to perform. He tackled The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony” and it sounded in the pre-package that he was off his vocal A-game. If I had my old AGT buzzer, I would immediately buzz him. I think the vocals were all over the place and it sounded much like karaoke. If he wanted to do that, he should have auditioned for American Idol or X Factor. This was the third worst male vocal of the Live Shows. D+
Tamara Chauniece transported the audience back to Studio 54 as she performed Gloria Gaynor’s signature song: “I Will Survive.” This is an incredibly fast up-tempo song and I am so glad that Tamara was able to not only keep up with the band but also deliver powerful notes! Tamara clearly won me over with her performance and it would a shame not to have her in the Top 12. A-
One of my favorite Team CeeLo singers this season has been Kat Robichaud. From her powerful Blind Audition and impeccable Knockout Round performances, Kat continues to deliver constant performances. CeeLo chose Mary Lambert’s “He Keeps Me Warm.” This was the first time that Kat gave me goose bumps and I loved seeing parts of her upper register. A-/
17-year-old Caroline Pennell was the last member of Team CeeLo to perform. The “Bright Lights Bigger City” singer chose the White Stripes’ “We’re Going to Be Friends.” Caroline’s infectious energy took this song to another level and she is such a beautiful storyteller. No matter how she does in this competition, Caroline has a place in the music industry. A
Josh Logan kicked off the Team Christina round with a huge risk. He performed CeeLo Green’s huge hit with Gnarls Barkley—“Crazy.” I liked that Josh performed this song acoustically. In addition, his jazzy vocal runs were a true highlight of his performance. CeeLo stated that he was “flattered” and so honored that Josh performed the song. I think Josh did a great job opening up Team Christina’s section of the show. B+
Country singer Olivia Henken had a huge challenge in front of her! She had to differentiate herself from other country singers with the last names of Lambert, Nettles and Underwood. I think Christina did a great job transforming Katy Perry’s “Roar” from a power pop anthem to a country song…but Olivia’s performance was not my cup of tea. C-
Stephanie Anne Johnson paid tribute to the great Ray Charles as she tackled the legendary track: “Georgia On My Mind.” I am so glad Christina asked her to pull it back and infuse some blues into her performance. Every time, Stephanie opened up her mouth…I got chills! I hope she sticks around! A-
It is always risky to cover Miley Cyrus and could be a huge hit or a big failure! Matthew Schuler tackled the controversial singer’s “Wrecking Ball.” I have to apologize to Miley because Matthew now owns your song! Matthew took the audience to church and cemented his status as a frontrunner with his outstanding vocal performance. A+
Jacquie Lee closed the night with her cover of Nina Simone’s “I Put a Spell on You.” I loved her vocal delivery and the vocal runs gave the audience goose bumps! I think we are watching The Voice discover their version of Jessica Sanchez! A+
The Final 12 will be decided on Thursday!
