NBC’s ‘The Voice’ preview: Troy Ritchie, Taylor John Williams prove to be clash of the titans

Gwen Stefani may have a hard time making a decision on Tuesday night’s new episode of “The Voice.” After all, she’s got to pretty good performers facing off against each other in Troy Ritchie and Taylor John Williams.

We have to say, though, that Troy’s “Hey Ya” may be one of our favorite performances we’ve ever seen on the show. The guy just breathes joy on the stage, and manages to showcase his range, his dance moves, and a huge stage presence in just a few minutes of time. It brings life to this Outkast song that we have not seen from it in a long time, and you cannot teach being a good performer.

This is not to be a slam on Taylor at all, since his rendition of “Mad World” is very good. The problem this song runs into is that Adam Lambert did such an iconic version of it on “American Idol” so many years ago, and that to many will remain the seminal cover of the song. That probably will remain our favorite forever, but in separating that from what Taylor did, he carried the emotion well. He had a song that is more suited for hitting big notes, and if that is what Gwen is really looking for here, he will win.

Ultimately, though, we really just hope that both of these guys make it through a last for a while. They each have the potential easily to be among the top five or six in the competition.

What do you think about this performance right now, and do you have a current favorite among the two artists hitting the stage? Share your thoughts with a comment, and head over here to read our full review of last night’s performance show. Also, sign up to get some other updates worth singing about via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo via NBC.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vWSUi4YDT0#t=81