The Voice 7: Top 12

If not for the last four singers, I was seriously ready to call this the lamest Top 12 in The Voice US history! Seriously. Some of them were boring, a couple had terrible vocals, ad the song choices in general were older than dirt. This season had so much potential, but something's just not right. If it was me, we should have a Bottom 8 tomorrow. Ha.

Oh, and coaches, please stop convincing us that the talent is great when it's not. Really.

On with the show!

12. Ryan Sill
Ordinary World
[TEAM GWEN]
Look, I really think Ryan has a lovely tone, but there's just no finesse in his delivery especially in this performance. So while his verses sounded fine, towards the end, those two held notes were seriously sharper than a diamond drill bit and the judges barely commented on it!! His pitch just went all over the place that I had a hard time watching it. 2

11. Sugar Joans
Take Me To The River
[TEAM PHARRELL]
An annoyingly screechy mess. I don't know. There was a consistent disconnect between the words and her demeanor as she performed the song, and her vocals towards the end was terrible. The growling sounded unpleasant, and it felt like she was shouting at me. What did I ever do wrong to deserve such punishment? Haha. 3

10. DaNica Shirey
Creep
[TEAM PHARRELL]
What was Pharrell's thought process when he gave this song to DaNica? I hated the arrangement with a passion - I was seriously expecting dancers to pop up anytime - and the whole thing just sounded like something I'd hear in a hotel lounge. True, she sounded fine for the most part, but she just murdered the song. Where's Jena Irene when I needed here? 4

09. Jessie Pitts
Don't You Worry Child
[TEAM BLAKE]
The weaker version of Ellie Goulding tried some Swedish House Mafia and the result was rather tricky. While I thought the arrangement was inventive, some of her phrasing choices made the melody a tad unrecognizable. Her falsetto needed a lot of work, her transitions were rough around the edges, and her lower register was sloppy. She had some beautiful moments, but it was just too inconsistent to even care. 4.5

08. Damien
He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
[TEAM ADAM]
I give him points for singing the song with conviction and basically singing on key, but this was just so old fashioned. Yes, his vocals were good, but the problem I have with contestants like him is that once the show is done, the can never be deemed relevant in today's musical landscape. Plus, the dramatic gestures were too much for me. 5

07. Taylor John Williams
If
[TEAM GWEN]
Fact: The butterflies in the background had me rolling. Haha. So yes, I was more focused with the background than his performance. It wasn't awful, but this was boring. His voice strained a bit towards the end, his pitch went off a little bit. and I wish his voice was stronger as it thins out rather easily. Oh, and can he be NOT depressing all the time? 5

06. Reagan James
It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over
[TEAM BLAKE]
Other than fact that her voice was a tad breathy and her last runs were wonky, this was a solid outing for Reagan. Not as good as last week - possibly her weakest to date - but I digress. Her stage presence was infectious though. 6 

06. Luke Wade
Thinking Out Loud
[TEAM PHARELL]
Poor Luke. That glitch at the beginning threw him off so bad, I felt like he wanted to die that very minute. But like what the coaches said, he recovered really well. His voice sounded lovely on the song, he had enough grit to actually pull it all off, and there's dynamics to the performance. Sure, he looked annoyed at the end of it all, but what else for him to do? Oh and Carson, go and point out his flub even more. Ha. Unbelievable this host. 6

04. Craig Wayne Boyd
You Look So Good In Love
[TEAM BLAKE]
This song turned out better than I thought it would. I liked that he tried his best not to turn this into something sleepy, he sounded genuine, and possibly one of the more polished performances tonight. So while I didn't care much about the song, I'm pretty sure country lovers will eat this up. 7.5

03. Anita Antoinette
Redemption Song
[TEAM GWEN]
Just beautiful. I liked that it was a little understated, her phrasing was just lovely, and her interpretation was captivating and sincere. 8

02. Matt McAndrew
Take Me To Church
[TEAM ADAM]
Perfect song choice. Strong vocals. Awesome. 8.5

01. Chris Jamison
Jealous
[TEAM ADAM]
Who knew? I admit, I was a little irked with Adam's decision to save him over Taylor Phelan, but he proved himself worthy with this performance. His falsetto was impeccable, his lower notes sounded fantastic, and there's a nice key change towards the end that was pretty impressive. I wasn't exactly a big fan of Chris, but he may have turned me into one. 8.5

PREDICTIONS

Ryan Sill

Sugar Joans