Spoiler Alert! Recap and Review: THE VOICE's Top-10 Perform 11/24; Full Results! Coaches Over-Produce Artistry Out of Contestants
By: Matt Tamanini Nov. 24, 2014
To say that I am a little disappointed with last week's elimination of Team Pharrell's Sugar Joans is an understatement. Though, I admit, she didn't have the best week in terms of performance, she was still one of the best vocalists on the show.
So, since she and Team Blake's Jessie Pitts failed to earn America's votes (and Team Gwen's singing automaton Ryan Sill won the Instant Save), we are already at Season Seven's Top-10.
Here is how I rank the remaining contestants going into tonight's live show:
1) Anita Antoinette | Team Gwen
2) Damien | Team Adam
3) Chris Jameson | Team Adam
4) Craig Wayne Boyd | Team Blake
5) Danica Shirey | Team Pharrell
6) Reagan James | Team Blake
7) Luke Wade | Team Pharrell
8) John Taylor Williams | Team Gwen
9) Matt McAndrew | Team Adam
10) Ryan Sill | Team Gwen
I think that the top five are all incredibly close and depending on what songs the coaches give them to perform each week, could be jumbled into any order. As I said last week, I am disappointed in how Blake has guided Reagan away from the emotional beltress that we saw in the Blinds and Battle Rounds and into a sassy teen pop artist. I thought early on that she was one of the most interesting contestants in the competition, but now she just seems like every other Taylor Swift wannabe... not that there's anything wrong with that.
Luke is incredibly talented, but after getting out of sync with the band last week (not to mention his fairly arrogant attitude), I think he could be in danger if he doesn't right the ship ASAP.
It looks like Grammy-winner Colbie Caillat is going to be this week's Live Show Mentor. Hopefully she can reign in the coaches' desire to over-produce every aspect of their contestants' performances.
What do you think? I'm still not sure that there is a star in this year's field (not that THE VOICE has yet to produce a star). Let me know what your rankings look like in the comments below, or on Twitter @BWWMatt.
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.
Top-10 Medley:
I love Rascal Flatts as much as the next guy, especially since Gary and Jay are both proud Central Ohioans, as I am, but why would THE VOICE think that their brand of country music was appropriate for this group of singers? Heck, half of the time Rascall Flatts sings Rascal Flatts' songs live they don't sound that good. "Broken Road" was in a terrible key for the women and ended up sounding more like feral dogs. "Stand" sat a little better for the guys, but over all, that was a horrendous decision. Hopefully the song choices aren't this bad for the rest of the night.
Team Adam
Matt McAndrew
Song: "Fix You" by Coldplay
Three-Word Review: Three Boring Notes
Good for Matt for being the only competitor to chart on iTunes last week, but I just don't get it. The first half of the song was a very effective lullaby, because by the time that the band started to pick up the tempo, I was already asleep. Despite the two obvious dynamics used in this song, it is a pretty simple song musically, so there really wasn't a whole lot of opportunities to display his vocals. I sure hope that the performances get better from here.
Team Gwen
Anita Antoinette
Song: "Let Her Go" by Passenger
Three-Word Review: Stop Over Producing
Oh crap, Gwen just did to Anita what Blake did last week to Reagan. Why do they continue to take artists with very specific, unique sensibilities and force them into something completely different? Rather than letting Anita (who has been one of the season's best) sing in her style, Gwen tried to force a pop song into a reggae beat. It doesn't work like that. Let Anita be Anita; let Reagan be Reagan, and stop trying to force reggae pegs into pop music holes.
Team Adam
Damien
Song: "You and I" by Stevie Wonder
Three-Word Review: Way Too Slow
Ok, first off, why would they sit a singer a piano and not have him play? That seems like a pretty big waste of a cool looking prop.
Secondly, I love Damien (see above), but that song just seemed to drag on and on; this performance, especially some of the lower notes, would have benefited greatly if they had picked up the tempo. Rather than being able to hit the more difficult notes and get off them, he had time to plunk down right on them, have a cup of coffee, and discuss the meaning of life with those notes. The ending was impressive sure, but if the only thing that can save a song is a last second riff, what's the point?
If you noticed, the first three singers from last week all ended up in the Bottom Three. This very well could happen again.
Adam said that he felt the audience "Get on board," but what really happened was the audience just "got bored."
Team Blake
Reagan James
Song: "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea
Three-Word Review: Off Reagan Train
I'm sorry Reagan, but I am officially off your bandwagon. Blake said that this week's train wreck of a song Reagan's idea, but I can't help but feel like she has gotten some really bad advice at some point along the way. You are telling me that the artist who killed "Give Me Love" in the Blinds is the same artist that I just watched get out of breath on a bizarre arrangement of "Fancy"?
I understand that 16-year-olds are still a long way from figuring out who they want to be personally, but not being sure who you are artistically is a big problem in competitions like THE VOICE.
Team Pharrell
Luke Wade
Song: "Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding
Three-Word Review: Completely Committed Performance
Luke's vocals have been strong throughout, but he has struggled at times with creating believable, relatable performances. While I wasn't a huge fan of his lyrical breakdown in the final third of the song, I did find his performance to be fairly compelling. His voice has a tendency to be a bit tinny at times, but I thought this was his best performance thus far. I believed him and he actually remembered when he was supposed to start singing; so that's a good thing.
Team Blake
Craig Wayne Boyd
Song: "I Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash
Three-Word Review: Finally, Some Quality
I was starting to think that I had taken crazy pills before tonight's broadcast. The first five performances were less than impressive, they seemed more like the rejects from a Nebraska County Fair Talent Show than the Top-10 on the biggest competition show on television.
Fortunately, Craig brought something that finally rose to the quality that this show deserves. I don't know if it is a Reverse-Samson kind of thing, but since Craig cut his hair, he was continued to climb up the show's rankings. There are still three weeks left in the competition, but I can already confidently say that, no matter how he fairs, Craig Wayne Boyd is going to have a career in country music.
Team Gwen
Ryan Sill
Song: "Starlight" by Muse
Three-Word Review: Fish Outta Water
Gwen, Pharrell, and all of the judges keep saying that Ryan's voice belongs in the rock/alternative arena, but I just have a hard time seeing a guy with frosted tips and sparkly sweater thriving in that genre. When he tried to headbang and his mini-fauxhawk didn't budge an inch, I almost felt badly for him. It just didn't work.
Anyway, as for his performance, like always, it was fine. Nothing impressive, but always containing more pretense than sincerity. As Clive Davis said early on in the episode, if you don't believe and understand the lyrics, no matter what type of vocal performance that you give will be good enough. And for the third week in a row, Ryan's wasn't.
Team Pharrell
DaNica Shirey
Song: "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston
Three-Word Review: Simple is Better
DaNica just defied my one reality show rule, "Don't sing Whitney, Mariah, Christina, or Kelly." Well, at this point, DaNica just earned the right to sing whatever the heck she wants.
With so many of these performers getting the artistry produced right out of them, it was nice to see DaNica stand in one spot and sing the bejeezus out of a classic, beautiful melody. There was no pyro, no crazy choreography, and no real vocal gymnastics forced into the vocal.
This is a performance that makes you wonder just how DaNica hasn't become a huge star yet.
Team Gwen
Taylor John Williams
Song: "Come Together" by The Beatles
Three-Word Review: ..... That Was Weird
That was one of the weirdest performances on a singing show since Adam Lambert. It was a great vocal performance, but why choose a song that has next to zero lyrical meaning? I guess if you are going to sing a nonsensical song, you might as well go completely loony tunes in terms of your performance.
At times he strutted around the stage like Mick Jagger, at others he looked like he might be on the verge of a homicidal rampage. But I guess a guy who is a barista at a dog hotel needs to have at least one screw loose.
Team Adam
Chris Jamison
Song: "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
Three-Word Review: Surprisingly Perfect Choice
Ok, I admit it, I didn't think that this song choice was going to work for Chris, but then when I realized that they were saving him for the pimp spot, I was honestly surprised. In a night that opened with an hour of below-average amateur performances, Chris put a spectacular cap on the night.
Every aspect of his performance, from vocals to stage presence to breath control was absolutely professional. I wouldn't have thought that this buttoned up kid with a buzzcut would be able to get that funky, but man was I wrong. Dude's got funk... and even more, he has a legit shot to win this thing.
Should be Eliminated
Matt McAndrew
Reagan James
Best of the Night
DaNica Shirey
Photo Credit: Trae Patton | NBC
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