At aceplace57’s suggestion here is a single thread for the remainder of the Voice instead of starting a thread for each week.
The show will end for me in 10 minutes, so I’ll wait till then to comment.
Yet another great episode. I honestly believe this is the best season so far. As for tonight’s episode, all I have to say is that after the battle round between Tonya and James, I am disappointed that James didn’t get stolen.
They wrapped up the auditions. Blake was the last to fill his team. He got a really good singer that nobody else could buzz in for. A Texas girl but she did this odd R&B version of The Letter. It wasn’t even in the same league as The Boxtops version.
Best song of the first nights Battle Rounds was Blake’s Team. Knockin on Heaven’s Door.
I’m disappointed that Pharrell still selects such odd songs. That was his problem last season. He had a good team but I never liked his choice of songs. I guess they are too modern. Too close to hip hop. To get viewer votes and win on the voice its important to pick songs a wide audience knows and loves. Classic Motown or R&B, classic rock. Thats why Blake wins. He goes with great songs like Knockin on Heaven’s Door.
Pharrell must have read my post. LOL Tonight he went with a classic R&B song and arrangement. LOL Its nice being able enjoy one of his teams songs,
Have you noticed coaches typically go with the young less experienced singers in the battle rounds? Assuming both sing equally well the coaches almost always go with the younger singer. That lady tonight on Pharrell’s team obviously out sung that kid. But Pharrell thought he could help the kid more. I’m glad Blake did the steal. She’s too good to kick off the show in the first week.
Blake did the same thing. He went with the younger guy and tossed away the experienced country singer. Its pretty consistent on this show.
That mirrors the recording industry. Its very rare for anyone over 35 to get signed as a new artist. The music industry is all about youth and fresh faces.
Thanks for doing that. I kept thinking I was missing something, looking for the weekly updates. Having things in one place helps.
Tonight was really fun (the battle rounds). I’m not ready to say it’s the best season so far, but it’s up there, and vastly better than last season.
Yes, I think that’s the tendency. But I think there are a lot of reasons for that. Some of it is that the older singers are pretty set in what they’re doing, They don’t seem as moldable. I agree that Meghan did better than Paul. But I suspect that Pharrell knew that Meghan would get stolen, so I think he felt he could help Paul more. I also thought that Paul had a strong voice.
I also agree that Matt did a better job than Cody. But Cody has star quality that Matt doesn’t. And Cody has a really interesting voice. Matt’s voice is average that he really worked on. Cody has a lot of room for growth that Matt doesn’t, IMO. I can see why Blake picked Cody even if Matt did better.
I’ve seen the coaches pick older singers. In season 6, Blake consistently picked Sisaundra until the lives. Then America voted her off. Sisaundra was 44. The winner that year was Josh Kaufman who was in his late 30’s, IIRC. He beat out 17 year old Jake and 20 year old Christina Grimme. So it’s not all about youth. But I can see why, other things being equal, a coach would pick a younger singer. There’s more room for growth and improvement and the public votes for that.
I also agree with you that Pharrell’s song choices could be better.
Enjoying the Battles so far.
Adding links for the prior threads, so they’re handy.
The Voice - Feb 23, 2015 - Blind Auditions
The Voice, blind auditions week 2
Now to the shows.
Ashley Morgan vs Mia Z, “Put Down The Gun” - good performance, both did well. Both are powerhouses, and Mia has an edge in range, but Mia’s odd tone part annoys me. I picked Ashley, so I’m happy for her getting saved.
James McNeice vs Tonya Boyd James, “P.Y.T.” - Both were strong, energetic. Adam picked Tonya.
Brian Johnson vs Joshua Davis, “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” - two good performers, but I wasn’t thrilled with the way they stretched out of the pocket, especially Brian. It was done intentionally for emotion, but I didn’t like it. But Blake picked Brian, and Adam ended up with Joshua.
More later.
I’ll add a few more.
Cody Wickline vs Matt Snook - Matt’s voice overtook Cody’s several times, but I agree with Blake’s pick of Cody. Cody has a great voice and room for improvement.
Travis Ewing vs. Anthony Riley - Pharrell picked Anthony. I’m an Anthony fan. I’m glad to see Pharrell not knocking out the favorites in the first round. Blake saved Travis. Travis was really working hard to keep up with Anthony. Anthony made it seem effortless. Blake saved Travis for his effort.
Blaze Johnson vs. Michael Leier - Adam picked Blaze. It was no contest for me. Blaze was better.
Hannah Kirby vs. Sarah Potenza - This battle was the best of the night for me. Sarah was great but Hannah kept going for it. I’m glad that Blake picked Sarah. She brings a lot of fun and energy to the show. I’m also glad that Hannah got saved.
Ameera Delandro vs. Sonic - Christina picked Sonic. It was an easy choice. Ameera got timid on stage. Sonic’s voice was much stronger.
Meghan Lindsey vs. Paul Pfau - Pharrell picked Paul. Meghan was saved by Blake. I actually thought Paul gave a strong performance. Meghan was the favorite but I’m good with Pharrell’s pick.
Tonya vs. James - I like Tonya’s energy, and she has a strong voice. I’m happy with Adam picking her.
Ashley vs. Mia - I didn’t get the big deal the coaches made about them. I thought they were just OK. Both were forgettable.
Brian vs. Joshua - Brian had a stronger voice with more options for song choices. Joshua had a lot of great techniques but was less malleable. I like Brian’s story with him helping his father with MS. I’m happy with Blake’s pick of Brian and Adam’s save of Joshua. It was so funny when Adam was trying to rush Joshua off the stage so no one else could push their button since he lost the last steal at the last minute.
Strange, I didn’t get any E-mail notifications of the posts in this thread.
Oh well, I don’t have much to say anyway. Just a couple of things on Hannah Kirby vs. Sarah Potenza
First, they blew the roof off of the joint! Damn!
Second, I was worried that Sarah would be picked because she was younger. And although they’re both great, I just like Sarah better over-all for some reason.
I’m glad that Hannah got saved, because I feel they both deserve to go further, but I have a feeling that if Hannah was picked that Sarah wouldn’t have gotten saved, and I wonder if Blake knew that and picking Sarah was a strategy to keep both in the competition. The judges have been known to do that from time to time.
Cody Wickline vs Matt Snook - Matt’s voice was stronger and more clear. Cody has marbles in his mouth. I thought Matt was the better singer.
Travis Ewing vs. Anthony Riley - Anthony worked hard. I agree Travis seemed more at ease with the song. I applaud Anthony’s work at it.
Blaze Johnson vs. Michael Leier - This was a case where Adam screwed the contestants by song choice. Blaze sang a song by The Fray, Michael sang Pearl Jam. And Adam gave them “Rude”? Really? That’s your idea of the perfect direction for Michael?
That’s why I could never do the show (besides my obvious lack of talent). There are so many popular songs that I think suck that I’d get stuck having to sing something like this dreadful “Rude” and trying to connect emotionally when I want to kick the singer in the balls. (Look, dude, I’m not being rude. You asked my opinion, I’m giving it to you. Being rude would be calling you a lazy turd. If you didn’t want my opinion, you shouldn’t have asked.)
The bouncy dancing was lame, the song has goober lyrics. Yeah, Blaze was better at this dreck, Michael didn’t get a fair shot. Shame on you, Adam. And that’s probably why Adam didn’t have much success with the showdowns this season. His song choices are kinda off sometimes.
Hannah Kirby vs. Sarah Potenza - There was something about the sound quality on this battle for me. Things weren’t as clear as they could have been. I went back and rewatched it, and it was better second time around. Hannah pulled some big moves to show she could stand up to Sarah. A couple of Sarah’s ad libs bugged me, but not much. Good for them both.
Ameera Delandro vs. Sonic - Sonic was much more clear, her voice cut through and stood out. Easy choice.
Meghan Lindsey vs. Paul Pfau - This was a very even battle. It could have gone either way IMO. Both deserve to be in the next round.
WTF did Christina do to Robert Palmer’s song? That was a freaking travesty. A great song like that just ruined. The entire approach they took sucked. There was no energy, no rock, no nothing.
So, the judges don’t have a time limit to decide? Pharrell really messed Lowell up by forcing him to sing R&B. Imagine making Dean Martin or Bing Crosby sing Hound Dog. Doesn’t make much sense. Lowell is a classic crooner.
Agree 100%.
I agree, although in Lowell’s defense he gave it his best try. I still thought that Kimberly did a better job, but then the song was more suited for her.
Also, Barry vs Jack on, “Feelin’ Alright,” I’m surprised that Adam picked Barry. I thought that Jack killed it.
It wasn’t a good night for the Voice. The only song I liked was the very last one Christina’s team did.
Can’t imagine why Blake gave such a hard song to those two young girls. I love that song when Reba sings it. 
I slightly disagree with you both on this. I do agree that the song choice put Lowell at a disadvantage. But I disagree because in the blinds, Lowell himself said that he wanted to go more towards R&B and not the straight crooner style. That’s the reason he gave for not picking Adam. Adam gave his pitch based on Lowell going strictly on that crooner style. Lowell sounded like he wanted more of a mix of styles. I thought Lowell did a good job in that battle. I’m glad Pharrell picked him.
Wow, that’s shocking to me. I guess I wasn’t listening for how well they sang. I was just watching to see who had the most personality. I don’t think either of them will be sweeping the competition, so I thought that Adam was just looking for the person who was less stiff. Getting a smile out of Jack seemed like an effort. One would hope that even their attorney has a better sense of humor.
I agreed with all of the decisions in the battles tonight. It was a good show.
I have a bit of a rant about Pharrell in the shows up until now. I’m beginning to get annoyed by Pharrell’s yoda questions. He asks the singer a question that seems rhetorical, but no matter what the answer is, it seems like the wrong answer.
This example isn’t his fault, but for instance, when he told Anthony, ‘wow, is there anything you can’t sing?’. Anthony answers that there’s nothing he can’t sing. Then Lionel Richie spanks Anthony and tells him something along the lines of. . ‘don’t you dare tell them you’re good’.* But if Anthony answered Pharrell’s question with an ‘aw shucks’ moment, I can almost bet that Pharrell would be telling him something about confidence. It’s good that Pharrell picked Anthony in the battles, or that whole ego trip of the celebrities would have been even more annoying.
Another example is where Meghan was saying that she was afraid. They didn’t even let her finish her sentence to say what she was afraid of. Pharrell went straight into his Dr. Phil psychoanalysis of ‘how is that working out for you.’ ‘Well, if it isn’t working out for you, then cut it out.’* I’m sure Meghan didn’t intentionally try to be afraid and can just turn it off like a faucet, so that was just useless. When the battle was over and Meghan looked over at Blake, that was the first time she looked like she came to life.
Another example is when he asks Paul if the key is too high for him. Paul doesn’t know what to answer because it seems like a test. Paul timidly says that the key is a bit high. Pharrell says, ‘it’s good to challenge yourself but not to sacrifice this moment.’* I bet that could have gone either way. It seemed like one of those rhetorical test questions that could have gotten Paul slammed if the wind was blowing in the opposite direction that day.
Pharrell’s words of wisdom can sometimes come across like little gotcha moments where the singers can’t be right, since whatever they answer, Pharrell will have the opposite yoda answer for them.
I haven’t noticed the other coaches doing this. They seem more straightforward. I’m also a big Pharrell fan. I’m not trying to knock him, but those moments were noticeable to me.
- not direct quotes, just paraphrases
The coach I’m having trouble with is Christina. She’s known for being nice on camera (and sometimes not even then) and then being not so nice off, so I’m having a hard time wondering how genuine she is on just about everything.
The more I think of it, if I had talent and got on the show, I’d go with Blake. If he lives up to his line about not wanting to change a singer, then he has a leg up on Adam (and Cee-Lo in past seasons); He doesn’t do the Yoda thing Heffalump and Roo talked about Pharrell doing, nor Pharrell’s bad song choices, and, although all celebrities, to a degree act slightly different on camera, I would feel more trusting of him than Christina.
Rundowns for this week…
Kimberly Nicole vs Lowell Oakley, “Hound Dog” - Lowell surprised the hell out of me. I don’t like crooners, and so was starting off with him in the hole. Then he had to work to find a way to fit in to the song. But by the time of the actual battle, he was giving a good show and sounding pretty good. But Kimberly was owning the stage. Her performance background and familiarity with the song gave her a strong edge, and her voice and personality were top notch. I think Kimberly deserved the win, but Pharrell played strategy and picked Lowell. Maybe that will turn out better than I expected.
Barry vs Jack, “Feelin’ Alright” - This was okay, but it was missing something for me. Jack needed to loosen up, and Barry was upstaging him. Barry won this round, but I don’t think he’ll get a lot further.
Brenna vs Kelsie May, “Fancy” - That was a challenging song. Kelsie had the stronger, clearer voice. Brenna got washed out.
Briar Jonnee vs Caitlin Caporale, “Fallin” - Awesome battle. These two knocked it out of the park. Hard call.
Katelyn Read vs Treeva Gibson, “Addicted to Love” - First off, I agree this version of the song was bizarre. I agree with Treeva.
India Carney vs Clinton Washington, “Stay” - This was amazing. Both contestants gave it everything. I thought going in that Clinton was going to be cannon fodder, but he stepped up. I’d have picked India to keep, but Clinton definitely worked hard and earned that steal.
Jeremy Gaynor vs Rob Taylor, “Animals” - Not as thrilled with this as the judges. I give credit to Jeremy for effort, but Rob’s range was better and he fit the song a bit better.
Sawyer Fredericks vs Noelle Bybee, “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” - Both have oddities to their voices, but Sawyer strikes me as an early Bob Dylan type, and I think he’ll go far. His win clearly.
Corey vs Jacob, “I Want Crazy” - Despite all the talk about the song being country, it didn’t seem a comfortable fit for Corey. He did loosen up, but Jacob had the better voice and the better stage presence. Corey still got a bit breathy. Jacob was the winner, but I could see Pharrell and maybe Christina strategizing that decision with their advice.
Also, here’s another case where they played the segments out of sequence. I’m certain this wasn’t the last battle, they just rearranged to end up with a steal. Oh well.
Technically, I think Florence and the Machine did that to the song.
Some thoughts about the coaches.
This season, Adam has been giving the pitch that he knows what songs to give the contestants. That’s not a winning line. Contestants probably want some say in what they sing, so Adam’s insistence that he already knows what to do with them is losing his contestants to Pharrell, who is saying that he’ll listen to the contestants instead of telling them what to do. Adam has done this multiple times and doesn’t seem to be getting why he lost all that talent in the blinds. Adam’s team is really weak this season. I’ll be surprised if he pulls off the win.
Two episodes ago, Pharrell was talking with the other coaches and was saying that he tried to get the best talent so that if he lost some, there would still be talent left. Christina said that he was doing that for the sake of the show. Pharrell admitted that it hadn’t given him the win. That was an understatement. Last season, he put the strongest singers together and blowing one out with every battle. He seems to have gotten the message that the talent doesn’t replenish when he does that. He has been more strategic this season, IMO. He’s picked all my favorites so far and left people who didn’t have much chance to win.
Christina must know that her reputation precedes her, so she has resorted to begging in the blinds. She’s been giving really passionate pitches for people to join her. Like Nobody, I wonder if those promises will hold up once the competition gets going. So far, I’ve agreed with her picks, so I can’t yet tell if she’s changed or not.
Blake has been getting a lot of the talent by default. People don’t want to go with Adam because they lose freedom of song choice. They saw Pharrell blow out top contestants last season. They’ve seen Christina stab people in the back in previous seasons. Blake has gotten people in the blinds without even giving a pitch. He and Pharrell have the most talent this season.
Some thoughts about the editing. It still sucks. The timing on these shows is so weird. The blinds seemed jam-packed into long episodes that weren’t really on the schedule. The recap of the blinds was on a Wednesday night, except the blinds weren’t yet over. Then they put one episode with half blinds and half battles. That was confusing. People that just got on a team were already battling in the same show. All of this with montages for blinds and battles that didn’t show a lot of people. Then tonight, the show is only an hour with only 3 battles. Somehow, it just seems like there should be a way to make things more even with more equal airtime for the contestants, especially if the audience will be seeing them later in the show and have to be voting on them.
Agree, especially about the last paragraph. The way they chose to schedule the episodes kind of threw me off.
Anyway, as for tonight, I thought that “Animals” for Jeremy and Rob was kind of a bad song choice. I slightly preferred Jeremy but I’m fine with Rob winning. Although I’m not sure how much further he’ll get.
Noelle vs Sawyer “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” For a while I thought it was terrible to do a slowed down version of the song, but towards the middle when they sang together I started enjoying it. And having them sing it slow helped me realize that I had always heard part of it wrong. So I’m glad I know the correct lyrics now. Anyway, I didn’t have a preference on who the winner would be. For the most part, they were both kind of ‘meh’ for me.
And finally, I thought that Corey blew Jacob out of the water. I enjoyed his performance far more than Corey’s. I’m a little surprised that Blake picked Corey, but it could have been strategic.
Agree with everything in this last paragraph, especially the last sentence. I just don’t get NBC and their editing of the show. Montages of performances suck. Not showing us parts of the competition sucks. We’ve already had one contestant who was montaged through Blinds, Battle Rounds, and the Knockouts go on to win the show. Shouldn’t that be enough of an object lesson for them? Apparently not.