Spoiler Alert! Recap and Review: THE VOICE Knockout Rounds Night One 10/27; Full Results!
By: Matt Tamanini Oct. 27, 2014
All right, after two weeks, the Battle Rounds are finally over on THE VOICE, now we can get to the real competition... wait, what? There is still a whole other round before America gets to vote? No wonder I always lose interest in this show after the Blinds, it takes a year and a half just to get to the actual voting rounds. That being typed, at least now the artists get to pick their own songs, a fact that yielded rather mixed results during tonight's episode.
Ok, in case you forgot how this works, in the Knockout Rounds, two artists from the same team square off, and their coach picks a winner. Though, fear not, no one is officially out of the competition, because each coach gets yet another Steal. At the end of the Knockouts though, each coach will have just five singers left. In terms of tonight's Steals, one I am completely onboard with, the other I couldn't be more offboard with.
Oh, one more thing about tonight's episode that I blocked out almost forgot. Taylor Swift was the Universal Advisor for all singers; as she will be throughout the Knockout Rounds. So, no matter the team, T-Swizzle is dispensing her signature brand of advice. For example, what do you do if your opponent gives a great performance? "Shake it off." What do you do if you forget the lyrics to your song? "Shake it off." What do you tell yourself if the audience starts booing after your song? "Haters gonna hate!"
Alright, fine, that was a cheap shot, and a rather unfunny one at that. As much as I hate Taylor's faux-humility when she wins awards, and I can't stomach the Holden Caulfield levels of phoniness that she displays at every turn, she did have some pretty helpful advice for the contestants. However, all of the advice that the producers chose to show, from Taylor and the coaches, was about performance. Why can't any of the SINGING competitions actually broadcast the SINGING instruction that the professionals are obviously giving them. I don't mean, "Save the runs for a gift at the end." I'm talking about vocal placement, breath support, music theory, etc. I know those things have to be discussed. Does Mark Burnett think the American public isn't smart enough to handle that?
Check out tonight's recap and then add your thoughts in the comments below, or on Twitter @BWWMatt. Alright, here we go...
Team Gwen Battle #1
Bryana Salaz
Song: "Heart Attack" by Demi Lovato
Three-Word Review: Strained, Unrefined Skill
Let's get it out of the way, Bryana is super talented, and she has a remarkable amount of potential. She has vocal levels and nuances that make her someone who could be a pop star in the future. However, her performance tonight seemed pushed and strained. It really made it sound like she just was so untrained that her voice wasn't able to handle the power she was providing. One tiny technical point is that it looks and sounds like her mouth is too spread open to properly funnel the sound out in the best possible tone.
Sugar Joans
Song: "Love on Top" by Beyonce
Three-Word Review: Soulful, Sassy, Special
I loved what Sugar with this song, she probably didn't have the natural stage presence that Bryana did, but she was so professionally perfect, I thought she was clearly the winner. Her tone was incredible, and the musicality that she showed in rearranging the song was special. I wasn't really into Sugar the first two times we heard her, but I am now a fan.
Should Win: Sugar Joans
Did Win: Bryana Salaz
Steal: Pharrell Williams
New Team: Team Pharrell
Pharrell made Gwen's decision for her by telling Sugar that he would Steal her if Gwen didn't pick her. Like every coach in the show's history, Gwen made it clear that she didn't want to have to make the decision, so she took the easy way out; it just so happened that the easy way also left her with the more marketable of the pair.
Team Blake Battle #1
James David Carter
Song: "You've Got a Friend" by James Taylor
Three-Word Review: Beautiful, but Boring
Currently "James Taylor's Greatest Hits" is in the first slot in my car's CD player, so I love that someone chose to do this song on THE VOICE, but as soon as I saw the song selection, I was confused. This is not a song that you think would translate well to a singing competition, where the name of the game is generally vocal gymnastics. And while I think JDC gave a really beautiful performance, it just seemed kind of also-ran.
Griffin
Song: "As Long As You Love Me" by Justin Bieber featuring Big Sean
Three-Word Review: Where's the Singing?
Ok, if I thought the JT song was an odd choice, this one was even more from out of left field. This guy was supposed to be a crooner, and he goes to an atonal teenage wanna-be? This was a terrible performance in my mind. There was no melody, there was no impressive moments, there was just nothing.
Should Win: I guess JDC, but neither
Did Win: James David Carter
Steal: Nada
Team Pharrell Battle #1
DaNica Shirey
Song: "Saving All My Love For You" by Whitney Houston
Three-Word Review: Defied My Rule
As I have said many times in covering THE VOICE and AMERICAN IDOL, there are four performers that NO singing competition contestant should cover; Mariah, Celine, Kelly, and, chief amongst them, WHITNEY FREAKING HOUSTON! That being typed, she more than adequately delivered that song; it wasn't the most challenging of Whitney songs, but she demonstrated so much control over her instrument that it was extremely special.
Katriz Trinidad
Song: "Superwoman" by Alicia Keys
Three-Word Review: Pretense, Lacking Consonants
In this performance, other than the fact that they are both supremely talented high school students, Katriz seemed to be the polar opposite of Bryana. While Bryana was all natural ability and no technique, Katriz probably demonstrated a little too much technique. Elements of her performance seemed so artificial and rehearsed ( dropping to one knee ) that it created a wall between her and the audience. She also hasn't recovered from her serious case of Ariana Grande disease, which prevents her mouth from fully forming consonants. Sad really.
Should Win: DaNica Shirey
Did Win: DaNica Shirey
Steal: Nope
Team Adam Battle #1
Damien
Song: "How Do I Live" by LeAnn Rimes
Three-Word Review: Preach On Brother
Damien provided a very good performance. He took a traditionally female song and credibly delivered it as a male gospel song. The problem is is that "very good" and "credible" are about the most complimentary adjectives that I can use to describe his performance. It was technically strong, and vocally solid, but nothing that I am going to remember in 3, 2, 1....
Toia Jones
Song: "Crazy In Love" by Beyonce
Three-Word Review: Nothing, Nothing EVERYTHING
I know that that this statement will probably not be popular in this forum, but I just don't get Beyonce. Yes, I always thought she was the most talented member of Destiny's Child, and she is an absolutely gorgeous human being, but her songs don't go much for me, and they do even less for me when someone else sings them. The lyrics on this song are so super-fast, it was difficult to actually hear any vocals during the first 2/3s of the song. So, for me, I felt like there was nearly no singing for the majority of the song (while the melody was practically rapped in Toia's lower register), and then when it fell into a more comfortable spot, she through everything out, including the proverbial kitchen sink; there was not a vocal, run, riff, or trick left when she was done. I wish that she would have been able to find a song that allowed her to spread those spectacular moments throughout her entire performance, rather than having to beat us over the head with them at the very end.
Should Win: Toia Jones
Did Win: Damien
Steal: Nyet
Random Observation: There have been some weird pronunciations in songs tonight. JDC gave us, "to brighten up 'Heven' your darkest nights. And Damien just gave us, "'Yow' do I live?" Breath support will allow you to start words on vowels guys. Breathe!
Team Blake Battle #2
Jessie Pitts
Song: "Your Song" by Elton John (Ellie Goulding arrangement)
Three-Word Review: Intense, Engaged, Haunting
Like JDC earlier, this is one of my favorite songs (thanks MOULIN ROUGE), but I didn't anticipate this translating well to a singing competition. I was unfamiliar with Ellie Goulding's version, so this was really interesting for me. Jessie has such an incredible intensity when she performs, that, though they were small, for the first time tonight, I got goosebumps. I was really surprised at the end of the song when she transitioned from the mellow, singer-songwriter vibe to an out-and-out beltress. That was such a pleasant surprise.
While she did go back to the choo-choo train motion that T-Swizzle referenced in rehearsal, one tiny detail of that really struck me. As we saw her hand, there was energy pumping through each finger; they were completely extended and engaged. While that has little connection to her vocal performance, it served as physical proof that her entire body was engaged in her performance.
Tanner Linford
Song: "Calling All Angels" by Train
Three-Word Review: Just Out Classed
Tanner seems like a really nice kid, and his interaction with Taylor Swift was really cute, but he just wasn't ready to be on this stage. I don't have nearly the experience or ear of Blake Shelton, but I really have no idea how he has gotten this far. Was it simply on the "cute boy factor" that Taylor referenced? Because I can't imagine that it was because he was one of the 32 best singers that auditioned for this season.
Should Win: Jessie Pitts
Did Win: Jessie Pitts
Steal: None
Random Observation #2: Have you noticed how Adam, Gwen, and Pharrell have all seemingly pitted equally talented performers against each other (resulting in difficult decisions), while Blake has given himself two easy choices? During the Blinds and Battles, I kept talking about cannon fodder; singers who were sacrificial lambs to better performers. I don't think that has just been coincidence or happenstance from the winningest coach in show history.
Team Pharrell Battle #2
Luke Wade
Song: "Rich Girl" by Hall & Oates
Three-Word Review: Got Me Grooving
The fact that Luke has been a touring musician for half of his life was extremely evident in this performance. He was cool, calm, and in complete control of every aspect of the song. While I felt some of the gesticulation and moves were forced, vocally, he made that song do exactly what he wanted it to. He showed a great range, tone, and musicality. He was so compelling that I forgot to be paying attention to specific details, because I was so taken by his performance; and on a night that has been a bit more miss than hit, that was a welcomed change.
Taylor Phelan
Song: "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne
Three-Word Review: Why this song?
I don't understand the thought process that goes through singing competition contestants when they are picking songs. This was such a terrible choice for Taylor; it was clearly lower than his voice was comfortable with. It seemed like he was expending far too much breath to hit the lower notes that his voice was shaky and he always sounded like he was short of breath. I just don't see the love that Taylor got from the coaches.
Check out their performances below before you read the result:
Should Win: Luke Wade
Did Win: Luke Wade
Steal: Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton
New Team: Team Adam
What did you think of the season's first Knockouts? Did you see the results the same way I did? 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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