‘The Voice’ UK review: Amelia O’Connell, Bizzi Dixon, and Jazz Bates-Chambers audition strong

Teams are starting to get full on “The Voice” UK, and that added another layer of tension to the new episode that aired on the BBC Saturday. This meant that there were some good singers that were passed over … but there were still some questionable decisions made.

Were there in the end some people who we could see going far this season? Maybe, but there were not that many this time around that we would necessarily proclaim to be a slam dunk this time.

Team Kylie Minogue

Amelia O’Connell, “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face” – What a lovely, ethereal performance this was! It was probably the strongest thing done by anyone in this round of the competition. Her father being a Tom Jones tribute was kind of funny, but from the moment that Kylie made that pretty grade-A pick, it was clear who she was going to choose to work with.

Team Ricky Wilson

Emily Adams, “I’d Rather Go Blind” – The few seconds of “Fawlty Towers” theme music in here was absolutely brilliant … and then there were references. We would’ve turned around just thanks to the references of that. How did she only get one chair to turn around? Given that the chair was Ricky’s, though, she probably isn’t too upset about it.

Nathan Amzi, “Gravity” – If you are a West End performer, why sing a song that is so theatrical? this was a weird choice for Ricky, and he didn’t get a whole lot of screen time.

Jazz Bates-Chambers, “Crazy” – If we were her, we’d drop the last part of her name and just got by “Jazz Bates.” To quote will.i.am, that just sounds fresh. A very good performance, and someone different than

Team Tom Jones

Talia Smith, “Hell on Heels” – She didn’t have the sass that we necessarily want from someone singing this song, but her voice was solid. She really just needs to come across as a little less cheesy in the later rounds. Tom probably was the only person who considered turning for her, if for no other reason than that he at least knows and understands the genre.

Bizzi Dixon, “Use Somebody” – Bizzi auditioned after his brother (who you can find out more about below), but he was the far superior of the two vocally. He wasn’t perfect, but there were a few moments in here where you could feel that there was a connection to the music. File this under “there is potential.” Also, Tom has a man on his team!

Team will.i.am

Kiki deVille – This name sounds like someone who is a burlesque performer, which makes sense given that it is her profession. She didn’t get a ton of airtime like Nathan above, but she was probably a better singer. This should make for an interesting mix.

Callum Crowley, “Climax” – We’ll be honest: We would’ve pushed our button within about four seconds for hitting some of those opening notes. The funniest part of this was Tom trying an epic chair-turn fail at the end … but he still got turns from everyone else. This is a perfect choice for him, since he seemed to be thinking from the vantage point of who can produce commercial pop music the best.

No chairs

John Rafferty, “Take Me Home, Country Road” – It’s always interesting to see an international take on country music. We understand why John wasn’t chosen. He sounded like a guy who really likes the genre, but there wasn’t that sort of soul behind what he was singing. You need to be able to convey the story that you are singing, and it was lacking there.

Leanne & Natalie – We barely saw enough of them to even really discuss anything that they did.

Shenton Dixon – Shenton has talent, but he sounded like someone who has performed a ton on the road and developed some bad habits thanks to it. If nothing else, he can celebrate that his brother above is on a team moving forward.

Marc William, “Whole Lotta Love” – A very interesting singer, but he may have just been a little too out there or quirky for the coaches this season.

Paul Raji – What in the world happened here? This is probably the most egregious snub of the entire season. He was great, a solid performer, and seemed to be an overall nice guy. This was ultimately a case of a guy who performed far too late in the blind auditions, and that made it harder for him to get any attention from the coaches.

Amrick Channa, “Pride” – This was a decent performance for a show in a club at around one in the morning, but not so much for this show.

Who was your favorite from this Saturday’s “Voice” UK episode/ Let us know in the comment box below, and also be sure to visit the link here if you want to get some more highlights from this season as a whole.

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Photo: BBC