The Voice 4: Knockout Rounds Part 2

.. and just like that, Knockout Round for Season 4 is done! Yes, this year's talent is quite strong - despite some questionable cuts - and I'm quite excited with the Playoffs next week. 

One thing though, with Blake Shelton having four country acts in his team, he's becoming more of Christina Aguilera from last season when she tried to put up a team mostly composed of female belters and Dex Duron. There's no variety and that might hurt his team. Usher, on the other hand, may have the most variety this season, but possibly also the weakest group. We'll see.

On with the show!

American Idol 12: Top 4 Redux Studio Versions Part 2

.. and I think they fared better on their studio recordings with this theme, which was a totally different story during the live shows. But, as always, I digress.

RANDOM THOUGHTS: Kree Harrison killed it! I love Carrie Underwood, but I actually prefer Kree's version of this song. Somehow, I feel like this is how the song should have been and not the mid tempo track that Carrie recorded. Intimate. Emotional. Sublime. Angie Miller, on the other hand, didn't work for me because she sounds angry! Candice Glover gave a solid vocal performance on When I Was Your Man, while Amber Holcomb sang a competent karaoke version of this Pink song. Enough said.

American Idol 12: Top 4 Redux Studio Versions Part 1

Another set of studio versions from this year's Top 4 ladies and we start off with the Standards. I must be honest, I'm not particularly a huge fan of these tunes, but I can appreciate music in general. So, yeah. Ha.

RANDOM THOUGHTS: I guess, I was expecting too much from Amber Holcomb's recording because this was pretty disappointing. Her transitions were a little jarring for my taste. Angie Miller just didn't have the right voice for this genre and Kree Harrison was fine. Candice Glover, to me, had the best recording for this theme. Heck, she could cover all other songs and give more justice to those tunes. Just saying.

Movie Review: Trance

Sure, Trance started a little slow and took a while for it to pick up, but when it did, it was quite riveting. To me, this film has to be one of the most well crafted thrillers of the year. I adored the narrative complexities of the film and the way they were executed. True to Danny Boyle's style, the editing here was frenetic with sharp edits and quick cuts that somehow added to the impact of the unfolding drama. Yes, it felt a little gimmicky at times and slightly lost the emotional response that one should have towards the story, but that visual flair also kept the movie extremely compelling. James McAvoy was solid, but it was Rosario Dawson who completely stole the show. She had such control that the slightest nuance revealed more than it should. Oh, and the twist was pretty satisfying once I got my head around it. 8

American Idol 12: Top 4 Redux Results Show

Amber Holcomb. I admit, I was a fan of Amber and it’s a little hard to see her leave the program. In my opinion, she turned in some stellar vocal performances this season. In fact, when Amber's on, she's pretty exceptional and I am really going to miss how she sings so effortlessly. If only she had been able to work on her predictable song choices and lived up to the "most current" label, then I believe she would have been a much stronger contender. But damn, Amber just didn’t know how to play the game. That’s why she left.

On a side note: It was nice to see David Cook - possibly my favorite American Idol alum - back on the show and his new single sounds fantastic no? Also, I'm excited for the Top 3. This, I believe, is the only season where I honestly can't predict who gets to the Finale.

NEXT WEEK'S THEME: Jimmy's Choice, Judges' Choice and Contestant's Choice

American Idol 12: Top 4 Redux

For the most part, I enjoyed Harry Connick Jr as a mentor - he's such a cornball - but there's something about his mentoring that felt strange. Did he messed up with the everyone's head - especially Kree - during the Standards round? Also, was it just me or did they all look so tired and exhausted? Survival of the fittest, I guess? But yes, I have to feel for them.

As for the judges, I don't pay much attention to what they say any more. None of them are consistent - Candice was old fashioned last week and then suddenly current this week? - and their opinions are pretty worthless especially Randy Jackson. He's still his stupid gigantic blob of chocolate and air. He needs to stop making me want to put my foot in his mouth. Ugh.

On with the rankings!

The Voice 4: Knockout Rounds Part 1

Is it early for me to claim that The Voice Season 4 probably has the strongest bunch EVER? Indeed, there are a couple of ringers in the group, but that doesn't take away the fact that we actually have a solid group of singers this season - and pretty diverse!

That said, I still think that this round should have, at least, ONE STEAL for that contestant that got paired up with another strong performer and I saw a couple of singers who didn't deserve to go home this early.

But as always, I digress.

Let's get on with the rankings!