NBC’s ‘The Voice’ review: Bria Kelly, Madilyn Paige, Jake Barker end battle rounds
We’re sure that going into this episode of “The Voice,” you were hoping that we were at the playoffs … unfortunately, that hasn’t happened yet. That round of the competitions is going to take place on Tuesday night.
We’re not going to lie: We were bored for large chunks of the night. We don’t like the battle rounds, and to make matters worse, we had a battle rounds where we spent the entire show wondering when Blake Shelton was going to us his steal. Since he didn’t do it until the last performance, it took the air out of the tires.
Clarissa Serna vs. Dani Mox, “Perfect” (Shakira)- This is hardly an inventive song choice, mostly since we’re pretty sure that it has even been used for “Voice” battles in the past. Also, this felt like a mismatch from the beginning … we thought Clarissa had this. She had one of the best blind auditions, and she’s a potential darkhorse going into the end of the competition.
So, now that we are staring at Dani in the next round, how is that for a surprise? We’ll just go back and listen to her “Zombie” cover again. Shakira saves Clarissa, with no steal.
Dawn & Hawkes vs. Kat Perkins, “Suddenly I See” (Team Adam) – Remember when Adam said that the duo’s audition was his favorite performance on the entire show? We got the feeling during most of this performance that they were going to run away with this … but we were just wrong! These two just have a natural feel to how they perform, while Kat felt like an out-of-control tornado trying to blow them off the stage.
So here you go with another duo falling on the show’s stage, and we lose someone who was truly special. Thirty minutes into the show, and two of our favorites are gone. Adam picks Kat, with no steal.
Melissa Jimenez vs. Music Box, “Girl on Fire” (Team Usher) – We recognize that Music Box has a great voice, but doesn’t anyone else find her name to be somewhat off-putting? It’s trying too hard to advertise that she is a performer, and it’s almost appropriate here. The biggest flaw with this performance is that it felt like Music Box was trying way too hard to hit all the notes. Usher picks Melissa, and no steal.
Kaleigh Glanton vs. Ryan Maloney, “Easy” (Team Blake) – Chalk this one up as surprise #3 of the night. Ryan’s been consistent every time we’ve seen them, but after the last battle we thought that Kaleigh was going to be Blake’s Golden Girl who makes it all the way in the competition. Unfortunately for her, she went at a time when all of the coaches were already without a steal to hand out to her. Otherwise, she may have had a chance to get it. Blake picks Ryan, and no steal.
Jake Barker vs. Britnee Camelle, “Climax” (Team Adam) – Is the winner of this battle really Usher? We feel bad saying it, but the coach seemed much more interested in proving he could sing this better than either one of the contestants … and he did. Jake had the more interesting performance, but neither one of them was particularly amazing at a song that is almost impossible to sing in the first place. Adam picks Jake, and no steal.
Madilyn Paige vs. Bria Kelly, “I’ll Stand By You” (Team Usher) – The first thought that we had during this performance was that for some reason, Bria always tends to get all of the spots at the end of the show. Hyping her up much? There’s about as much drama in this decision as there is humility in Blake … who of course used his steal, since there was no one left. There is potential in Madilyn, but she is still very timid and tentative. Usher picks Bria, and Blake steals Madilyn.
So let us now rejoice the end of the battles, and we can now move forward and see where the show goes from here. Hopefully, there will be chances for the show to actually showcase the artists’ talents … and not force them to sing with someone else. Grade: C.
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Photo: NBC