Spoiler Alert! Recap and Review: Night Two of THE VOICE's Battle Rounds 10/14; Full Results, Reviews, & Pictures!
By: Matt Tamanini Oct. 14, 2014
I have been pretty vocal about the fact that I don't love THE VOICE's Battle Rounds. The whole point of a singing competition is to out sing your competitors. However, in the Battles, your future on the show is, in part, in the hands of your collaborator; how does that make sense? Even if the two singers create a great duet, by definition, each has to play background singer at some point in the song. How does that help you determine who is the better of the two singers? If the goal is to find the best singer possible, then you should let the singers give you their best possible performance.
Those issues with the show's structure aside, there are occasions when the set-up creates memorable moments. Last night's two hour Battle Round had some impressive performances, but nothing revelatory. However, with Gwen, Pharrell, and Blake all using one steal during the episode, that means that they will have to be a little pickier in hitting their buttons the next two weeks. With four more hours left in this round, we will see 12 more battles, but the coaches only have five more steals.
We only got to see three actual Battles, and they were all fairly strong match-ups. No one really blew me away, but no one was majorly disappointing. So, all in all, that's a good night to me.
Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below, or on Twitter @BWWMatt.
Team Pharrell: Taylor Phelan vs. Jordy Searcy
Song: "Breakeven (Falling to Pieces)" by The Script
Six-Word Review: Six of One; Half Dozen Another
Should Advance: Toss Up
Did Advance: Taylor Phelan
Save: Nyet
This one was really difficult; they might as well have been the same person. Vocally, they both were a little lacking when they went up into their falsettos, but due to the emotion of the song, that didn't really bother me all too much. Jordy seemed to have a slightly purer voice, but Taylor's was far more interesting; there were just so many levels in his voice, he seemed like he was really living in the song.
I would have been ok with either one singer winning this battle, but I think Taylor was the right one.
Team Adam: Joe Kirk vs. Alessandra Castronovo
Song: "Stay" by Rihanna featuring Mikky Ekko
Six-Word Review: School Talent Show vs. Professional Artist
Should Advance: Alessandra Castronovo
Did Advance: Alessandra Castronovo
Save: Not this time
Like the first battle of the night, both performers showed well, but neither especially differentiated him/herself at all. So, if I had to split straws, I would say that Joe's limited range and forced theatrics made him seem like the high schooler that he is. However, every aspect of Alessandra's performance was so natural and incredibly effortless, she felt and sounded like a professional.
And I saw the mic tap that Pharrell mentioned too. I always associate that with Whitney Houston, so when Pharrell says it's the sign of a diva, I couldn't agree more.
Team Adam: Rebekah Samarin vs. Clara Hong
Song: "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" by The Shirelles
Six-Word Review: Who Knows? We Saw Minimal Footage.
Did Advance: Rebekah Samarin
Team Blake: John Martin vs. Grant Ganzer
Song: "Stop and Stare" by One Republic
Six-Word Review: No Idea. We Didn't See It.
Did Advance: Grant Ganzer
Team Blake: Tanner Linford vs. Justin Johnes
Song: "You & I" by One Direction
Six-Word Review: Your Guess Is Good As Mine.
Did Advance: Tanner Linford
Team Gwen: Troy Ritchie vs. Menlik Zergabachew
Song: "Maneater" by Hall & Oates
Six-Word Review: White Boy Feels The Groove, Mon!
Should Advance: Troy Ritchie
Did Advance: Troy Ritchie
Save: Adam Levine, Pharrell Williams
New Team: Pharrell Williams
Coming into the Battle, I thought Gwen did Troy a disservice by allowing Menlik's reggae inclinations to take over the song, but wow, Troy had, by far, the better tone and feel in the song. When Troy jumped up into his falsetto, it showed how dynamic his voice was. If any modern rocker can sound that good on A) a reggae song and B) a Hall & Oates song, that is saying something about the immensity of his talent.
Neither of these two singers is going to follow Josh Kaufman from THE VOICE stage to Broadway; between the awkward forearm bump, the rigid facial expressions, and stiff interactions, I'm not sure what was most unnatural about their performances. Fortunately, they both could sing their faces off (that is such a weird saying; who started it?).
I am very glad that Menlik got a steal, he was one of my favorite Blind Auditions, and I will be interested to see how Pharrell can merge Menlik's reggae sensabilities with a more palatable, commercial sound.
My Performance Rankings of the Night of Battles We Actually Saw:
1) Troy Ritchie
2) Alessandra Castronovo
3) Taylor Phelan
4) Menlik Zergabachew
5) Jordy Searcy
6) Joe Kirk
After each battle, let me know what you think 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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