The Voice 10: Live Playoffs #TeamBlake

I didn't expect much from Blake's team - other than maybe Adam Wakefield - but there were some unexpected solid performances and train wrecks in this group. Could anyone from #TeamBlake actually stop Christina Aguilera and her insanely talented artists? We'll see. I mean, Christina had a strong team in Season 8 with Kimberly Nichole, India Carney and Rob Taylor and yet, none of them reached the Finale.

On with the show!

06. Mary Sarah
(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden
What happened? Her music - and most of Blake's artists - isn't my cup of tea, but based on Mary Sarah's body of work, she has the potential to go deep in the competition. Well, until she delivered this strangely uneven vocal performance with an ill-advised arrangement. This just didn't work on so many levels. 4

05. Paxton Ingram
How Deep Is Your Love
I appreciated the song choice and how Paxton managed to lift the performance up with the right amount of energy, but I didn't think his vocals were that good. The clipped notes at the end of every line sounded terrible and there were moments where the band swallowed his voice. Sure, he commanded the stage like no other - maybe Joe Maye? - but that's not good enough. 5.5

04. Justin Whisnant
Here's A Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)
I'm not sure what to think of this. He sounded good and I thought his vocals were, for the most part, spot on, but I couldn't get myself to care about it that much. Should this rank lower than Paxton? Sure, but Justin's had less offending vocal misses than Paxton, so there's that - no matter how bored I was with this. 5.5

03. Katie Basden
Georgia Rain
Katie, to me, has a huge problem at this point - she's hardly memorable! I don't know. She sounded really good on the song with those lush country tone and I thought she connected well with the material, but there's something about her that makes her extremely generic and forgettable. She better do something about it or she'd last longer than any of The Voice winner's career. 7

02. Adam Wakefield
Seven Spanish Angels
You know who reminds me of Adam Wakefield? Craig Wayne Boyd! At this point, Adam is Christina's wall in winning this season. He's highly charismatic, he's got a fantastic gritty voice, and he's under Blake Shelton's guidance. Seven Spanish Angels was an interesting choice and I thought he sounded good. His diction could've been a lot better, but that's something he could fix over the course of the season. 7.5

01. Joe Maye
Long Train Runnin
Other than Joe's audition, I've never been a fan of his performances. Maybe until tonight. This was actually pretty entertaining and his vocals were on point. How he added enough texture to his voice to give it dimension was a pleasant surprise, the way he worked the stage was strangely fun to watch, and his runs were a bit indulgent but never overwrought. Very nice. 8

WHO SHOULD ADVANCE?

Joe Maye

Adam Wakefield

Katie Basden

WHO WILL ADVANCE?

Adam Wakefield

Joe Maye

Mary Sarah