Spoiler Alert! Recap and Review: THE VOICE Top 12 Performance Show 11/17; Full Results! Fortunately the Show Finished Strong!
By: Matt Tamanini Nov. 17, 2014
I don't know about you, but I feel really powerful right now. After 16 episodes, THE VOICE is finally trusting the American public to take control of the singing competition. There are no more Battles, no more Knockouts, no more Steals, there is just you, me, and the other 11 or so million people who watch the show on any given week! And it couldn't come at a better time, because last week the coaches really screwed the pooch with their final Saves.
We saw some of the best performers in the competition sent home (James David Carter, Bryana Salaz, Mia Pfirrman), while some absolutely underwhelming singers remained in the competition (Matt McAndrew, Ryan Sill). Now that Gwen Stefani, Pharrell Williams, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton are out of the decision making process we can actually get to selecting the best singer.
Here are my current rankings, based on the entire season to date. None have stood out as being exceptional, and many have had near fatal moments, but for now, I feel ok about this list. Let me know what your rankings look like in the comments below, or on Twitter @BWWMatt.
1) Sugar Joans
2) Anita Antoinette
3) Damien
4) Reagan James
5) DaNica Shirey
6) Chris Jamison
7) Craig Wayne Boyd
8) Luke Wade
9) Taylor John Williams
10) Jessie Pitts
11) Ryan Sill
12) Matt McAndrew
I will be live recapping the show, so follow along with me all night long, and let me know what you think. Then, after the show ends, I will have full reviews of each performance. Finally, sometime in the wee hours of the morning, I will add photos when NBC makes them available.
I haven't yet seen any song spoilers, but if I do, I will update this article ASAP! All right folks, grab some snacks, it's time to get down to business.
Team Pharrell
Sugar Joans
Song: "Take Me to the River" by Al Green
Three-Word Review: My Disappointing Frontrunner
As you can see from my rankings up top, I am a big fan of Sugar. She has shown an incredible amount of depth of character and voice throughout the competition. However, this was a disappointing performance for me. I didn't think that the song appropriately highlighted the tone of her voice. It seemed to sit mostly on her break, and when she flipped up into her head voice, she had trouble not going flat. I hope it was enough to keep her safe, as I think she is much more talented than this performance showed.
Team Gwen
Ryan Sill
Song: "Ordinary World" by Duran Duran
Three-Word Review: Ow My Ears!
I almost did a spit take when Gwen talked about how natural Ryan was, because I don't think there has been a single moment on the show that he didn't come across as rigid and phoney.
Besides the obnoxious pretense that Ryan carries with him, this performance was, simply put, awful. It was amelodic and plodding early on, and then when he attempted to belt some bigger notes, he was so sharp that I worried about the windows in my home. As I said last week, this was one of the worst saves I can remember on a reality show in a long time.
Considering that Katherine Heigl stars as a CIA operative in her new show STATE OF AFFAIRS debuting tonight, perhaps she could use Ryan's performance as an "enhanced interrogation" tactic on suspected terrorists.
Team Blake
Jessie Pitts
Song: "Don't You Worry Child" by Swedish House Mafia featuring John Martin
Three-Word Review: Boring, Banal, Underwhelming
This is another one of those Saves that I just didn't understand at all last week. She is nowhere near the talent of James David Carter, who was eliminated with her save. I appreciated her attempt to reinvent this song, but her reinvention was completely uninspired. The best song reinterpretations are the ones that bring out some new aspect of either the song, or the artist. This was just an unremarkable, kind of pitchy coffee house performance.
Team Adam
Damien
Song: "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" by The Hollies
Three-Word Review: Brother Got Game!
This was not a perfect performance, I thought some of his bigger notes were a bit strained, his phrasing as odd at times, and it was a bit overacted. That all being typed, Damien gave a remarkable performance of a deceptively difficult song. I don't know how commercial his style will be, but he brings so much soul and true passion to each performance, I can't help but root for the guy. For this performance, with each higher note he ramped up the emotion. I am sure some people will think that he laid it on a bit thick, but from where I'm sitting, it was a spectacular performance.
Team Pharrell
DaNica Shirey
Song: "Creep" by Radiohead
Three-Word Review: Great Opportinuty Missed
I was really excited when they announced that DaNica was singing "Creep," because it was a risky song that gave her opportunities to be haunting, depressed, and (pun intended) creepy. However as soon as Pharrell threw out the name "Al Green" I became immediately disappointed; not that I don't love Al Green, or don't even love hearing DaNica sing soul music, but we've been there, we've done that with her. After a performance last week in which I swear she forgot an entire verse of lyrics, I wanted her to have a truly unique moment, and this was not that. It was technically impressive-ish, but it wasn't anything different than we've seen from her before.
Team Gwen
Taylor John Williams
Song: "If" by Bread
Three-Word Review: Got No False
Taylor's voice was extremely clear and tender, but again, kind of forgettable. I hate that I'm starting to sound like a cynical record here, but for well over a decade, AMERICAN IDOL has preached that performers need to have moments, and neither Taylor, nor most of his competitors, have given us anything positive to remember.
As I typed, Taylor sounded pleasant enough, but when he was supposed to go into the song's insanely high falsetto, he just didn't have it; robbing the song of its most potentially powerful moments.
Team Blake
Reagan James
Song: "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over" by Lenny Kravitz
Three-Word Review: Who is She?
Early on, Reagan was one of my favorite singers in the competition, however, the Reagan we saw in the Blinds is simply not the same person that we are seeing on stage now. She has gone from a unique artist who was able to imprint her emotions and creative sensibilities onto a song into someone trying to play it safe and to stay right in the middle of the road. The performance was fine, it was a bit breathy, and occasionally pitchy, but I was most disappointed by the generic approach she took. I know that Blake knows how to make younger artists successful on this show, but I think he is coaching what I liked in Reagan right out of her.
Team Pharrell
Luke Wade
Song: "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran
Three-Word Review: Deer Meet Headlights
Whoever produced the pre-performance package for Luke either looks like a genius or a jinx right about now. After showing him going up on his lyrics in rehearsal, he came in too early on the start of the song. The panic in his eyes as he looked back at the band for direction made me nearly as nervous as he was... ok, maybe not, but it was close.
I wouldn't say that I was #Lukeafied, but he recovered fine. It was clear that the flubbed opening clearly took a bit of the wind out of his sails, but I didn't think that he pushed too hard to overcome it, he just settled in delivered a solid performance.
Team Adam
Matt McAndrew
Song: "Take Me to Church" by Hozier
Three-Word Review: What Just Happened?
I was not a fan of Matt's Beach Boys' cover last week, in fact I thought he needed to be sent packing before he even exited the stage, so I was not looking forward to him doing a semi-screamo that I didn't know. Even though none of the coaches could apparently hear him well, he came through fine on TV. I was impressed at how good he sounded; I'm still not a fan, but I didn't hate it as much as I did last week. So, I guess that's a step in the right direction.
Team Blake
Craig Wayne Boyd
Song: "You Look So Good in Love" by George Strait
Three-Word Review: Newest Opry Member
While I was really surprised that Blake didn't keep JDC last week, he stuck to one three-named country singer. Craig gave such a genuinely professional and touching performance. I don't know if Craig is going to win this show, but I can pretty much guarantee that he is going to be opening up for some major act this summer; perhaps even his coach.
Gwen was dead-on, when he performs, it is as if he is giving a concert, not like he's part of a competition. I'm not a huge country fan, but I would probably listen to his album.
Team Adam
Chris Jamison
Song: "Jealous" by Nick Jonas
Three-Word Review: That's A Falsetto!
Gentlemen of all reality singing competitions, please take note of how Chris Jamison just absolutely slayed this song. If you are going to do a song that requires that much authentic falsetto, you better be able to nail it like he did.
Not only did Chris become a serious contender with this performance, he just continually comes off as a down-to-earth guy who doesn't understand how special his talent is; either that, or he is completely unaffected by it. These things, and his chiseled good looks, are going to give him a good shot at winning this season.
Team Gwen
Anita Antoinette
Song: "Redemption Song" by Bob Marley
Three-Word Review: Performance Master Class
Seriously, there were more positives in these last three performances than in the other seven combined. Anita showed that you don't have to do vocal gymnastics to just for the sake of showing off. She delivered a simple, stunning performance that focused on the song's message and melody, and allowed her talent to be the vessel that communicated them.
Also, another thing that I like is Anita's diction. I'm not sure why I enjoy the way that she pronounces certain words so much; perhaps it is a reminder that she was born in Jamaica, or maybe that because she lives the words she sings.
Should Be Eliminated
1) Ryan Sills
2) Jessie Pitts
Best of the Night
Anita Antoinette
So, what did you think of the Top-12? Wht did you think of what I thought of the Top-12? Please share your thoughts in the comments below, or on Twitter @BWWMatt. Also, don't forget to follow @BWWTVWorld on Twitter and Like us on Facebook for all of the latest TV news, reviews, and recaps.
Photo Credit: Trae Patton | NBC
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