NBC’s ‘The Voice’ review: Sawyer Fredericks, Corey Kent White, Koryn Hawthorne take on top 8 show

Tonight, the top eight on “The Voice” came out on the stage with what was ultimately a tribute show to past seasons. All of the old coaches were back in one form or another. Even Shakira sent a video message from her home in Spain!

For the most part, we’ll give the contestants credit for living up to the show’s legacy. There were some interesting song choices, some genuine risks, and while not everyone hit, a few who did were truly spectacular. We don’t try to compare one show to the other every week, but by and large at this point “The Voice” is blowing “American Idol” out of the water.

Hannah Kirby, “We Don’t Need Another Hero” – Fun! This may be one of Hannah’s better performances, and it was all sorts of weird and funky. Still, the fact that Hannah is consistently stuck in the lead-off spot doesn’t speak well to her longevity.

Joshua Davis, “Fields of Gold” – We’re not that familiar with this particular Sting song, but Joshua pulled it off! It emphasized his storytelling ability, which is his greatest asset. Now, we have to see if this is enough to actually keep him around another week.

Kimberly Nichole, “Creep” – It’s a huge song, and as expected Kimberly hit almost every note. We’re not sure that she had the same emotional connection to it that we saw from Joshua, but her voice alone probably compensates somewhat.

Meghan Linsey, “Something” – Cee Lo was an interesting guest mentor for Blake, mostly because these two are almost completely different. Meghan’s performance almost was like a hybrid of their individual tastes, and we are not quite sure that is a good thing.

India Carney, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” – Wow, was this great. A little too much near the end, but the first half of this performance was sublime. India made some great choices here, starting with stripping it back and letting her voice shine through.

Sawyer Fredericks, “Simple Man” – So far, Sawyer has been a beast. Can that continue? It definitely did tonight with this take on the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic. We do wonder at times if Sawyer’s sound will start to blend together after a while, but there is still something mesmerizing about his performance.

Corey Kent White, “When I See You Smile” – The choice alone is a risk. It was a solid, heartfelt performance. We’re not going to say that it blew us away, but we understand why Corey is getting votes and staying around. He’s a young country singer who appeals to that demo.

Koryn Hawthorne, “Girl on Fire” – Was this better than her breakout? As it turns out, yes! She slayed for the second straight week, and we are starting to think here that she is getting hot at the right time.

Who was your favorite during this episode? Let us know in the comments, and head over here to see where we ranked everyone going into the show! Also, sign up to get some other TV news worth singing about via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: NBC.)