The Voice 10: Live Playoffs #TeamChristina

On paper, #TeamChristina should've slayed each and every performance. Sadly, we were served with a trainwreck, two so-so performances, and three not-perfect-but-good-enough numbers. It wasn't as glorious as I expected it to be, but I still have high hopes coming into the Live Rounds in the next coming weeks. I'm hoping America voted for the right people - and for Christina to save the deserving one - because if not, all their plans to hand her the win will be useless.

On with the show!

06. Tamar Davis
Rise Up
Yikes. How can one butcher a song as lovely as Rise Up? Right, you oversing it. Tamar overreached and it felt like she was too busy auditioning her voice for Cirque du Soleil with all the vocal acrobatics and it wasn't even good. There were flat moments, there were sharp moments, and then there were moments where she defied all music theory and messed up in an entirely new way. This was unfortunate. 2

05. Nick Hagelin
Stay
My initial impression? So what. Look, Nick is a very capable singer and he's a looker too, but he's slowly becoming such a one dimensional contestant that never sticks out. That is his problem in a nutshell; it’s not that he has a bad voice, it’s just that he's been, so far, a one trick pony. He's like a less versatile and talented version of Chris Jamison. 6.5

04. Kata Hay
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
This song has been done to death on this program and any other reality singing shows and I don't think Kata did anything else that would separate her version from the others. It was a good version with a lot of grit and passion and yes, vibrato. It became a little too much, but given the nature of the song, I actually didn't mind. Plus, her vocals were a lot better than half of her previous performances and that's a good thing. I think. 7

03. Alisan Porter
Cry Baby
I maybe in the minority, but Alisan's Cry Baby wasn't really ALL THAT. Sure, it was a difficult and courageous song to sing, she sung it like a pro, and she accurately hits all her notes with outstanding precision, but somehow  I was left feeling cold, lifeless, and guilty. Kind of like what I felt in my last failed relationship. Haha. But seriously, there's more to singing than putting in intermittent runs. She needed to tell a story and it felt like she just wanted to show off. Alisan is obviously the Sawyer Fredericks/Cassadee Pope/Jordan Smith of this season, but I want to see what other tricks she has up her sleeves. 8

02. Ryan Quinn
I'm Not The Only One
This was such a gorgeous man vocals. Ryan's performance of I'm Not The Only One was probably the best pure vocal performance of the evening. The first half of the performance, I thought, was extremely lovely as he delicately balanced his pitch and dynamics to a perfect degree. His notes got a little wobbly towards the end, but it was still a pretty strong performance. My only worry? Not sure this was memorable enough - given that he performed at the top of the hour - for people to remember. 8

01. Bryan Bautista
Pillowtalk
While not perfect - and I still prefer his astounding version of Sorry - Bryan, once again, proved that he's possibly one of the few finalists who can actually compete in the real music world. His performance had great dynamics, he was oozing with appeal and charisma, and there's a natural rhythm, which was pretty impressive. Bryan has certainly come out of nowhere and could be a great dark horse in this competition. If he can continue improving each week then he will be a force. 8

WHO SHOULD ADVANCE?
Bryan Bautista

Alisan Porter

Ryan Quinn

WHO WILL ADVANCE?

Alisan Porter

Bryan Bautista

Nick Hagelin (based solely on iTunes sales)