Jacquie Lee and Matthew Schuler made their divalicious mentor very proud tonight. (Photo property of NBC’s Tyler Golden)
By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com
Every year, thousands audition for a spot on The Voice.
Only a few lucky hundred are able to stand in front of four of the biggest names in music: Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, CeeLo Green and Christina Aguilera.
This year, 48 artists were able to convince the superstar coaches that they have what it takes to win this competition.
After countless Blind Auditions, Battle Rounds, Knockout Rounds and Live Shows, the show is down to six artists: Team Adam’s Will Champlin, Tessanne Chin and James Wolpert, Team Blake’s Cole Vosbury and Team Xtina’s Jacquie Lee and Matthew Schuler.
At stake, a place in the finale…where the Final Four will battle it out for a recording contract with Universal Music Group and the chance to join Javier Colon, Jermaine Paul, Cassadee Pope and Danielle Bradbury in the winner’s circle.
Who shined? Who faltered? Your Voice recap starts right now!
Each of the Top Six had to perform two songs! The contestants were assigned to pay tribute to someone with their dedication performance and the coaches (Adam, Blake and Christina) chose another song!
Blake chose Hall and Oates’s “Rich Girl” for him to see in Round One. He wanted Cole to show off more range. Cole showed lots of spunk with his performance and he did not let the string section drown him. I was totally feeling this song and I think Mr. Hall and Mr. Oates would be impressed with the cover. A-
Adam took Tessanne on a Reggae route with Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.” Before she performed, Tessanne stated that she was walking on sacred ground and it was a very important song to her and Jamaica. She made her country proud as Tessanne gave a roaring performance that featured superb runs! If that performance did not give you chills, then you are not a true Voice fan! A+
Matthew Schuler dedicated One Direction’s “Story of My Life” to his family. It is always risky performing a One Direction song in any stage of a singing competition, but like he did with Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball,” he transformed it into a gospel anthem! I do not think that he is going home this week! A
When I heard that Will Champlin was taking on Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come,” I was honestly petrified because Will was going to take on a song that made Adam Lambert a star and started a long overdue conversation on equality. I hold this song in such a high regard that I would not encourage anybody to perform on a Reality TV show! However, I was wrong! Will delivered a soulful and passionate performance that made his wife and daughter proud but it stated that he has thrown his hat into the race. Well played, Will…well played! A
Before tonight, I admit Team Adam’s James Wolpert became my punching bag since the moment that he defeated Will in the Blind Auditions. My hatred for him matched J.Lo’s dislike of Haley Reinhart, LA Reid’s harshness towards LeRoy Bell and the Tony Lucca-Xtina relationship. Tonight, James slowly started to win me over. Even though, he messed up a little bit, James proved that he was a solid vocalist and I wish that he recorded an acoustic version of The White Stripes’ “Fell in Love with a Girl” for his debut record. You made your father proud, James. B
Jacquie Lee closed round one with Janis Joplin’s “Cry Baby.” First of all, before you re-watch her performance…watch The X Factor UK’s Melanie Masson’s cover of this iconic song. Melanie gave me chills and received a four judge-standing ovation at her audition at the Glasgow audition, Jacquie had a lot to prove! It was a sturdy performance, but I felt emotionally disconnected with the performance. C+
Cole dedicated his performance of James Morrison’s “Better Man’ to his ex-girlfriend. There was so much grit in his vulnerable voice and combined that with his incredible passion makes Cole one of the best artists on this season. I think Cole is going to have a great career ahead of him. A-
Team Adam’s Tessanne Chin infused her powerhouse vocals into a current Top 40 Katy Perry hit. Her cover of “Unconditionally” was so much better than the original! Brava Tessanne! A
Christina picked Percy Sledge’s “When A Man Loves A Woman” for Matthew to sing in the second round. I wondered if she watched Joshua Ledet’s version of the song because he slayed this song back on American Idol: Season 11. Did Matthew outperform Mantasia? While Matthew delivered a good showing with his performance, he did not reach the same level of excitement and soul that Joshua Ledet reached on Idol. B
Adam decided to give Will an interesting song choice—Avicii’s “Hey Brother.” I love Will and Adam but…ADAM SCREWED WILL OVER WITH THE SONG CHOICE! Will stood consistent the entire time and stayed in neutral mode. They should have inserted more EDM into the song. I am very worried that this song is going to cost him the competition. C+
Jacquie Lee dedicated “The Voice Within” to her coach, Christina Aguilera. While she had a huge uphill battle as being the second Team Xtina member to cover this song…(Chris Mann performed the song back in Season Two) Jacquie was able to connect with me tonight and gave me chills! I was very impressed by her performance and I think that this performance will give her a spot in the Final Five. A
James Wolpert closed the show with Meat Loaf’s “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That).” He finally proved me wrong and I can finally say…I am a James Wolpert fan! Go James and great job on the cover! Please feel better because I have a feeling, you are going to be in the Final Five. A-
Tomorrow night, one artist will be eliminated from the competition!
