Tuesday, November 5, 2013

The Voice 5: Live Playoffs Part 1

Why were these judges LOVING everyone? Were they pressured to blow smoke up their *sses? Throwing these folks platitudes and confetti is unnecessary at this point and yes, constructive criticism would be helpful. 

As for the episode, I thought it was kind of lackluster. There were a couple of great performances, but a lot of them - especially people I expected to do well - were underwhelming, to say the least. Not sure if it was just because I was expecting too much, but I digress.

Here we go!
TEAM BLAKE

5. Nic Hawk
Blurred Lines
Oh. My. God. This was pure torture, I'm pretty sure it's against the Geneva convention. And yes, my review for Nic's performance ends here. Haha. 2

4. Austin Jenckes
She Talks To Angels
Why was Austin smiling while singing a song about drug addiction? Sure, he sounded nice for the most part hitting most of his notes quite precisely, but it was obvious that he was unable to connect fully with the material, he bored me to tears that I quickly lost focus and began looking for food. Fact. 5.5

3. Cole Vosbury
Maggie May
Can you believe that under all that hair, Cole is only 22? Haha. Kidding aside, this was a bit of a letdown after his gorgeous rendition of the Passenger's Let Her Go during the Knockout Rounds. I mean, I was really hoping to hear something more creative from him, but he just did nothing interesting with this song. Good thing, his voice still sounded smooth and melodic that it somehow saved this from being a total snoozefest. 6.5

2. Shelbie Z
Fancy
While I did think that the verses were pitched a tad low for her range - she seemed to lose her power on those notes - I thought she performed Fancy with great conviction. The song choice was right up her alley, the energy was palpable, and she delivered, yet again, another sassy performance. It wasn't as good as her Knockout performance, but good enough. 6.5

1. Ray Boudreaux
Home
Not exactly a fan of the song, but Ray delivered it with so much passion, I swear I felt him. His vocals were top notch with some well placed grit to his voice, his tone worked well with the song, and he's one charismatic vocalist. Very nice. 7

TEAM ADAM

5. Grey
Still Into You
What happened? Grey has a gorgeous rich tone that somehow took the night off and left her with nothing to work with in this Paramore song. Haha. Such a shame. If I hadn't heard her before, I'd question her presence at this late stage of the competition as her performance just flopped. Her pitch was all over the place and she sounded out of tune for the most part. 4

4. Preston Pohl 
Nothin' On You
Very strange for Adam to give Preston this song. Why? This guy is probably one of the more poised and confident singers this season and I can't get over the fact that he was saddled by this song. He sounded lazy delivering his lower notes, he was straining reaching for his higher register, and his overall rhythm threw me off. It was a bit odd to see him struggle and it's unfortunate. 6

3. Will Champlin
Secrets
I was a little iffy with this particularly song choice, but I thought he pulled it off quite nicely. The arrangement was refreshing - the verses in particular presented better dynamics - his vocals were good for the most part, and there's authenticity to his performance. It would've been better if he just stayed in his piano, but I digress. 7

2. Tessanne Chin
Many Rivers To Cross
Flawless vocal performance! Vocally, Tessanne is in a whole different league. True, nobody on earth can do what Annie Lennox did with this song - she's superhuman to begin with - but this version was actually pretty powerful. I also think that it's about time for her to go a little low key on a performance to prove her versatility. I just wish there was a little quirk to this as being too polished for the competition will be her biggest problem - see, Judith Hill. 8

1. James Wolpert
A Case Of You
I intially questioned why his voice kept on trailing off after each phrase, but I figured it's intentional. It gave his rendition some character despite the rawness of his delivery - especially during the verses. His vocals were lovely, his transitions were sublime, it had a quiet power - if you know what I mean - and that tone was everything I wanted in life. Possibly one of his best performances on this show. 9


 PREDICTIONS
 Team Blake
Ray Boudreaux
Shelbie Z
Cole Vosbury
 Team Adam
James Wolpert
Tessanne Chin
Will Champlin

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