For the live rounds with Cee Lo and Christina’s teams, I liked Trevin, Nicholas and Cody. Sylvia had a nice moment, but I’m not a fan. Dez singing a country song didn’t make sense to me. Poor Diego, he got stuck with a song he obviously didn’t like and couldn’t get excited about.
Trevin and Nicholas cleaned up nice, and they both gave great performances. They weren’t as spectacular as Amanda, but expectations were high for them.
The remaining 12 were named tonight. I won’t say who they were since people might still want to see it. I’ll say that America’s choices seemed pretty obvious to me, and the coaches were left with tough decisions.
I agree except for the people’s choice for Cee Lo’s team.
I was so pleasantly surprised by the audience vote for Cee Lo’s team, and I was also very pleased with his save.
Yep, I’m very happy with America’s vote and Cee Lo’s.
First, watching the second night of playoffs, I was impressed that there were no bad performances. There were a few song style choices that aren’t my taste, but all the performances were good and no major errors. Adriana Louise singing “Firework” started a little soft, so soft it didn’t seem her microphone was on, but she got good stuff before the end.
Cody Belew singing George Michael was stellar - and I called that at the blind audition.
De’Borah has surprised me. At the blind audition, she went first and seemed good, but then with the others it started to seem maybe she’d be in trouble, but she’s pulled it off pretty well. Creative and emotional take on “Who Knew”.
I liked Devyn doing “Bleeding Love”. Nicholas was really good with that song, but that falls in the “stuff I wouldn’t listen to” category for me. Sylvia did well. Dez was another “does nothing for me”. And Trevin once again blew it away. Barring a Cee Lo stumble (like last season), it feels he has this thing sewn up.
For Team Adam, I’m disappointed America saved Bryan Keith. I’m saddened that that sent Loren Allred home. I think I see why Adam picked Melanie over Loren - she has a more unique style and stands out more against Amanda and Trevin. Still, I’d prefer Loren over Bryan.
Team Blake, I was happy with America’s choices of Terry and Cassadee. I hope Terry gets better song matches. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised with Blake’s save, it is consistent with what he’s done before. I was thinking he’d take his country star Liz, but he went with the young and impressionable. That matches what he did in season one by picking the two he thought he could develop more. I think Liz has been far more consistent, and he should have had confidence in his country star. I’m just glad America didn’t pick Julio, which left Blake having to choose between his country star, his young rocker girl, and Julio.
Team Xtina was on the one hand the closest set to me, and on the other hand didn’t have anyone that really jumps out at me for winning. I think America got it wrong on Dez, but with 4 girls against 1 guy, I guess all the chicks voted for him. The four girls were close and all good to me, so this was a coin flip call to me.
Team Cee Lo had the obvious Trevin and the expected Nicholas, but I wouldn’t have picked him. He sings well, but soul ain’t my thing. But Cee Lo’s save of Cody Belew was the important one to me. He’s a lot stronger than Diego or MacKenzie, and I just like him better. I’m rooting for him to go as far as he can - beating Trevin would be a shocker. (He could win my vote on song style and choice, but America may not agree.)
I can’t remember if he picked or Christina did. It was an odd choice.
Yeah, Cee Lo pegged him as a “latin pop star”, when he wants to be rocker. But he needs to buy some real pants, especially if he isn’t going to wear socks.
Trevin was amazing, but it was far more expected out of him, whereas Amanda was amazing, but it stood out because she continues to step up.
And what was with Cee Lo’s attire? First he’s wearing a flag motif knitted thing - looks like a grandma on Fourth of July. Then he’s wearing an animal-print mumu. Crap, that looks like one of my mom’s nightgowns, except it’s much more flashy. Is he taking style advice from Steven Tyler?
I saw this quote in a review and found it interesting
I thought it was interesting because I think it was written even before Trevin did his live round performance. Also, Amanda hasn’t been all that consistent. I think Trevin has been more consistent. If there’s one thing that this season has shown, it’s that people can make bad choices that mess up their entire performance. The blind rounds seemed full of potential, but the field got narrowed down quickly and often surprisingly when some people made some poor song choices or weren’t adequately prepared.
I’m torn about who to root for between the two of them. I like Trevin, but that performance by Amanda was amazing.
Agreed. Amanda had a so-so Blind audition, and then has done a variety of song styles. Her performance has been good since then, and she keeps stepping up to bigger things.
Trevin was spectacular in the Blind audition, and has been spectacular since. But he started so well, as Christina was saying, he hasn’t improved any, hasn’t stepped up to show us something more. But I was still saying in his performance that it seems a lock for him.
I put Trevin, Amanda, and Terry in a three-way race for the final, and peg song choice as the controlling factor. But I think Trevin has the edge on consistency, and Amanda has the edge for creativity and style. But Terry can’t have another night like the last one.
I’m watching now, and I really didn’t like Sylvia or Terry tonight. Since Terry was my favorite going in, I don’t know what to think now. I’m not a musician, and I certainly can’t sing, so perhaps someone with a trained ear can set me straight about their performances.
No, Terry sucked on just about every level. His vocal ‘stylings’ sucked the life out of the song, he has zero stage presence or charisma, and he was so far off pitch on those last high notes that my dog threw up. A little.
Overall, I thought it was a disappointing night. I was expecting a little more from some of them.
I liked Bryan Keith tonight. I never thought I’d say this, I liked Dez tonight also. I always just thought he was eye candy.
Amanda wasn’t as impressive to me tonight as she was last week. She’s reminding me of Juliet Simms from last season, who had a great performance early, and couldn’t recapture that moment at the end. I hope Amanda doesn’t go that way. Hopefully, she’ll put out another great performance next week.
I wasn’t as moved by Trevin as the coaches seemed to think I should be, but he was solid as always. He looks like the front-runner. I watched the performance three times now, and it’s just missing something for me. I can’t put my finger on it.
I’m a Nicholas fan. He did a good performance tonight, but I don’t think he has a chance to win.
I agree with Pai325 that Terry and Sylvia both didn’t do great. But I’m not a musician either.
I thought that was Melanie’s best performance tonight, but I’m not a fan.
Maybe it was me, but everyone seemed a little tired and straining, except in that regard, Trevin did come out with some good energy in comparison.
On preview: I see that Sam Stone thought it was a disappointing night as well, so maybe it wasn’t just me on that.
I agree it was a disappointing night. Terry was way off, Sylvia was awful (and frankly a trapdoor should have opened underneath her the minute she suggested that song. Ugh.). Nicholas and Amanda were okay but that definitely wasn’t their best work. Someone might want to clue Cassadee in that she’d be better served singing songs in her range than songs she loved when she was fourteen. Bryan was okay, but IMO everyone needs to back up off of Winehouse, covers of her songs tend to sound insipid in comparison. Couldn’t understand a single word of Michaela’s song, partly because I don’t know it I suppose, but I think mostly because the band completely overpowered her. Dez had probably his best performance since the blinds and Cody continues to delight, but neither of them really are (or should be) contenders. Trevin was, as someone pointed out, as good as ever but not *better *than ever, which is where he needs to be going. Can’t remember any others, which seems about right.
One thing to consider about the band, and how it can help/hurt contestants: This is the same band that did the “Rock Star” shows like “Rock Star: INXS” and “Rock Star: Supernova”. They were the best thing about those shows, and are absolutely world class. They’re all sought-after studio musicians. The lead guitarist is the guitarist for Pink on tour. Etc.
If a performer chooses to do a rock song, he or she needs to be aware that the band will ROCK. If they can step up their performance like Amanda did with ‘Dream On’, the result will be epic. But if a performer isn’t up to the task, that band will make it clear exactly who the weak link is, as it did with Terry and Michaela. During her performance, the judges were watching the guitarists more than they were watching her, from what I could tell. I was too.
Wow, I really liked Sylvia’s performance. I thought she was one of the best of the night. Trevin did well, as expected. The only reason I don’t hand him the crown now is I want to see all the performances play out, but he’s definitely in the driver’s seat.
I agree that Terry had another off night. Was this another round of Blake picking songs for him? He had a couple strong notes, but most of the higher notes were dreadful. It looked painful, and not in a good way. If Terry wants to stay in, he can’t have another sucky performance. He may not make this round.
Melanie did great, probably her best performance since the Blind Auditions. I still don’t have her on top, but this was a reasonable performance.
Michaela came off weak and off pitch on the low parts at the beginning. She was different enough it didn’t sound like Pink singing the song, but her inconsistency is showing.
Bryan and Dez both had smooth solid performaces with no errors, but egads I can’t stand crooning. It isn’t quite as bad as mariachi, but that isn’t a high bar IMO. I could do without either of them.
Nicholas was soulful, but I’m with Blake, it felt like he was singing that version for the first time, and not in a good way. He was chasing the song, and the low bit was odd. Better song choice, but not a winner.
Amanda wasn’t quite as stellar tonight. Not a song I know. I think she was outdone by several.
I thought Cassadee had a great performace, one of her best yet. I also really loved Cody tonight. He has a great stage presence and didn’t miss a note. I don’t know why I don’t have him on top in my mind, I really like him.
Adriana had a few glitches.
I suspect I’ll be disappointed and Dez and Bryan will easily carry through.
I will say that I am liking most of the format changes this season. I like the shakeup on the Battle rounds with the saves (Steals), I like the Knockout rounds, and I like that they’ve moved to audience votes now rather than continuing to make the coaches pick. I also like that there’s no guarantee a coach will have an artist in the final four, that all the remaining finalists are in direct competition now, not isolated within their own team. Good calls.
My one complaint is the extending of montage into the Battle Rounds, missing out on performances.
I agree, the band is excellent. They play all these different music styles and formats, adapt from big rock numbers to soft accompaniment. There are times they do overwhelm the voice of the singer - I don’t know if that’s a technical error with the balance or what.
Was there a theme night with the stairs? I swear, the first four had to walk down stairs while platforms played a large role on stage all last night. It was weird.
Just for fun, I’m predicting the bottom 2 for tonight, where the top 10 are announced. I haven’t seen the show yet.
I’m predicting Melanie and Michaela.
Michaela and Adriana.
Damn, I’m good.
So the results show is in.
First off, I have to say that Christina is really giving Cee Lo competition for the coach with the worst taste. Christina, the skirt is supposed to wrap all the way around the front. And what was that thing on her head? I don’t think any of Cee Lo’s wigs have been that bad. The only reason I watched the whole performance was to see if Christina’s nipple was going to make an appearance.
I wonder, were those the results in order from highest to lowest?
Yeah, Michaela and Adriana make sense.
No one should be rewarded for singing “My Heart Will Go On.” That piece of glurge has plagued us for a generation now, and justice for perpetuating it should be swift and sure. As previously mentioned my preference would be for a trapdoor over a crocodile pit, but recognizing the impracticality of that I’d settle for people just soundly rejecting it in their votes. Seriously folks, for the sake of our children’s children, this shit has to stop.