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Managing Editor & Senior Editor
Hello our fellow Voice fans!
It’s the second night of Knockout Rounds! Last night was shocking when several early frontrunners were cut and not stolen.
Adam and Christina have two steals left going into the last night before the live shows!
Well let’s see where this will go tonight.
Bec’s Take:
“I’d Rather Go Blind” Lina Gaudenzi versus “No Woman No Cry” Preston Pohl: The battle of the soulful singers. Lina has problems dancing around the song versus actually singing it. Adam wants to hear more emotion from Preston on the laidback song. Preston needs to connect with audience here. Lina does some things with her vibrato that I’m not wild about. The power and the emotion is there though. But there’s…not the grit. Etta James has this special grit. Preston has that great rasp and just his awesome stage presence. I like happy music like Bob Marley. Preston does a great job embodying the song. Blake thought Preston was great. He thought Lina was good too but he liked Preston more. Cee-Lo loves Preston’s rough quality and liked Lina’s honestly. Christina thought they both did great. She thought Preston didn’t show enough of himself and prefers Lina. Adam is proud of how much Lina has improved. Ultimately though he goes with Preston.
WINNER: PRESTON POHL
“I Can’t Make You Love Me” E.G. Daily versus “Hard To Handle” Ray Boudreaux: Blake tells E.G. to go softer. Ray needs to find a moment to breath in his song. E.G. seems to focusing on that soft sound. This is a little too slow for my taste. I wonder if E.G. went a little too “adult”. She sounds really awesome though. She has this rasp but I don’t know about the falsetto. Ray is definitely focusing more on the funk/soul side. He sounds good though. I kind of like the mellow but energy there. Christina thought Ray had better control of his voice and rasp. Cee-Lo loves Ray’s song choice and performance but he likes E.G.’s performance as well. Blake is happy they followed his notes. Adam thinks Blake is studly. He goes technical with his decision.
WINNER: RAY BOUDREAUX
“The Other Side” Anthony Paul versus “Stompa” Jacquie Lee: It’s the battle of the young pop singers with potential. Anthony wants to show his pop side. She thinks that this song doesn’t suit Anthony. Christina wants Jacquie to stay on beat and point. Anthony Paul again doesn’t impress me. He has that great smooth voice but it was a dull performance. Jacquie gives a much more dynamic and interesting performance. Her voice sounds clear and crisp. Her energy gets better as she goes on. Cee-Lo says that it wasn’t Anthony’s best performance and gives it to Jacquie. Adam agrees with Cee-Lo and thinks Jacquie is further along. Christina agrees with her fellow coaches.
WINNER: JACQUIE LEE
“Don’t Know Why” Stephanie-Anne Johnson versus “No One” Tamara Chaunice: Cee-Lo thinks she needs to embellish a bit more and hit the higher notes from the chest. Stephanie-Anne goes with a funky, indie sound that I adore so much. Her voice is strong and clear and lovely. It’s very cool and awesome. Tamara is rich and lovely in her performance as well. She totally gets into the song and delivers a wonderful performance. Adam says it’s about song choice. He thought that Stephanie-Anne’s felt unfocused and he likes Tamara version. Blake was also really into Tamara’s. Christina liked the originality. She loved every second of both. Cee-Lo is proud of them both and saw nerves in Stephanie-Anne.
WINNER: TAMARA CHAUNICE
CHRISTINA STEALS STEPHANIE-ANNE JOHNSON.
“More Than A Feeling” James Wolpert versus “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” Juhi: Adam wants to see the clash between the two. James is going for a classic rock song. I love James and his mind. It’s a very challenging song though. Adam wants James to budget his breath. Juhi needs to focus more on her singing than her style. She also is a little flat. James is totally rocking out on stage. I don’t hear anything off. He totally sounds on point with that awesome gritty voice of his. HOLY SHIT WHERE DID THAT NOTE COME FROM?!?!?! Damn skippy son! He wins. After that note James Wolpert wins and anyone who tells you different is a damn filthy liar. Oh and Juhi continues to annoy me. She seems like a nice girl. Her voice though is off-putting to me. Her style it just isn’t connecting. That wasn’t as epic as James. Christina thought they had great moments. Juhi was careless and James had pitch problems. She gives it to James. Cee-Lo thought James gave it his all but gives it Juhi. Adam says that James was shaky but hit the perfect place.
WINNER: JAMES WOLPERT
“I’ll Be” Austin Jenckes versus “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” Brandon Chase: Austin Jenckes wants to put in his emotion about his father’s suicide in the song. It made me tear up a bit then and there. He wants to sing this to his Dad. Brandon wants to sing genuinely. Brandon is swinging for the fence by taking it up an octave and Brandon needs to be sharper. Austin utterly gives it his all and puts it all into the song. He has that great growl and that huge soaring moment. Oh there’s a nice smoke to Brandon’s voice. Actually you know I think if it was any other knockout pairing Brandon would have won. In this one though, Austin gave the truer and more genuine performance. Christina heard power all the way through for Austin and thought Brandon went soft and pitchy. She gives it to Brandon. Adam thought there were some dynamic issues but gave a better/more confident performance. Brandon gave a dynamic performance. Blake think it’s the pitch issues that tells more about the artists.
WINNER: AUSTIN JENCKES
“The Way I Am” Caroline Pennell versus “Because Of You” George Horga Jr.: He pairs them because of their young commercial appeal. Cee-Lo wants to see evolution in Caroline and put herself in there. George needs a bit more focus in his song. Caroline Pennell is the cutest thing ever. Caroline is just so cute and honest and sweet. I love it. Keep her! Oh George you’re good dude but I think you hit your peak. It was a really generic. Blake said that George was really flat and Caroline wants to make him buy a cat, a fuzzy blanket, curl up by the fire with some hot cocoa. Christina thinks Caroline is effortlessly angelic.
WINNER: CAROLINE PENNELL
“Cosmic Love” Matthew Schuler versus “When I Was Your Man” Will Champlin: She chooses two energetic rockers. Christina says Matthew needs to know when to restrain himself. She wants him to pace himself for the song. Christina tells Will that he needs to go more vulnerable. She wants him to find that vulnerability the song requires. Will reveals his wife has a brain tumor but is doing better. Matthew makes the best faces when singing. He is totally killing it in his Matthew way. He delivers a flawless vocal and puts his all into it. Will definitely shows some of that puts that vulnerability and adds his own flair. I do not envy Christina. This will be a hard pick. Damn son you’re taking me to church tonight. That was excellent. Cee-Lo gives them both standing ovations. Cee-Lo likes Will’s rasp and notes. He calls Matthew’s performance stellar. Adam said both of them were peers and equal on the stage. Blake thought both of them were awesome. Christina said Will came out like a champ and Matthew slayed his song. She thought they were both amazing performances.
WINNER: MATTHEW SCHULER
ADAM STEALS WILL CHAMPLIN.
Erika’s Take:
Team Adam: Lina Gaudenzi Vs. Preston Pohl: Lina takes on “I’d Rather Go Blind” by Etta James, and Preston picks “No Woman No Cry” by Bob Marley as their Knockout songs. Lina’s voice really gets a hold of the sultry style of Etta James but Preston really stands out with his rough sounds. Lina really showed her growth in her short time. Adam goes with his gut and picks Preston. No steal for Lina.
Team Blake: E.G. Daily Vs. Ray Boudreaux: E.G. picks “Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt, and Ray Boudreaux picks “Hard To Handle” by Otis Redding. E.G.totally channeled Bonnie for me, though I am still bewildered by the fact that Tommy Pickles is on my TV. E.G. fails at the end of the song, where Ray was spot on the entire time. Blake chooses Ray as his winner. No steal for E.G.
Team Christina: Anthony Paul Vs. Jacquie Lee: Anthony picks Jason Derulo’s “Other Side”, and Jacquie Lee picks Serena Ryder’s “Stompa”, my current jam of the moment. Anthony sounds flat the entire time. Jacquie wipes the floor with him and her amazing vocals. Total TKO for me.
Team Ceelo: Stephanie Anne Johnson Vs. Tamara Chaunice: Stephanie picks “Don’t Know Why” by Norah Jones as her song, and Tamara goes with Alicia Keys’ “No One.” I really loved Stephanie’s voice on this. So effortless and whimsical. Tamara, my goodness, just won me over because those notes were just WHOA. Tamara wins the Knockout but Stephanie gets stolen back by Christina, a first for the Voice.
Team Adam: James Wolpert Vs. Juhi: James, who’s kinda endeared himself to me now, picks Boston’s “More Than A Feeling”, and Juhi picks “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye. Both them have really rough moments in my opinion. James got it together in the end while Juhi continued to flounder. James gets pick as the winner by Adam as he just thought he was having an off day. No steal for Juhi as Adam is the only one with a steal left.
Team Blake: Austin Jenckes Vs. Brandon Chase: Austin picks Edwin Mccain’s “I’ll Be”, and Brandon picks “?”. Austin, for me, did an amazing job vocally because he showed so much emotion in it. Brandon sounded very weak for me. Austin is the clear winner for me as he has soul that can’t be faked. Blake picks Austin as his winner. No steal for Brandon.
Team Ceelo: Caroline Pennell Vs. George Horga Jr.: Caroline picks her singing kindred spirit Ingrid Michaelson’s “The Way I Am”, and George picks “Because Of You” by Ne-Yo. Caroline just warms my soul and heart with her honey smooth vocals. George was another one that was flat throughout. Sweet Caroline, as Ceelo calls her, is declared the winner. No steal for George.
Team Christina: Matthew Schüler Vs Will Champlin: Matthew goes with “Cosmic Love” by Florence + The Machine, and Will takes on “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars. Hands down, the best knockout round in the season so far! Both Matthew and Will really get into their songs, and stay on point the entire time. I got chills from the pair of them. Matthew gets the win but Adam steals Will back to his team for a second time!
FANTASY TEAM STANDINGS:
Bec’s Fantasy Team
- Nic Hawk (Team Blake)
- Will Champlin (Team Christina)
- James Wolpert (Team Adam)
- Kat Robichaud (Team Cee-Lo)
- Caroline Pennell (Team Cee-Lo)
- Preston Pohl (Team Adam)
James Irwin (Team Adam)- Matthew Schuler (Team Christina)
- STEALS: Stephanie-Anne Johnson (Team Christina)
Erika’s fantasy team:
Briana Cuoco: Team Blake- Will Champlin: Team Christina
- Kat Robichaud: Team Cee-lo
- Caroline Penell: Team Cee-lo
- Tessanne Chin: Team Adam
- Jacquie Lee: Team Christina
Lina Gaudenzi: Team Adam- Matthew Schuler: Team Christina
- STEALS: James Wolpert: Team Adam
- STEALS: Amber Nicole: Team Ceelo
Join us next week for the start of the Live Rounds!
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