NBC’s ‘The Voice’ review: Craig Wayne Boyd, Taylor Phelan, Damien, Mia Pfirrman in first live show
Tonight, “The Voice” finally went live! The first part of the Playoffs took place tonight, but before we even got to the performances from the contestants, we had the obligatory performance of Maroon 5 with “Animals” … lest you forget that this show is an outlet for the coaches just as much as it is the individual artists hitting the stage.
Look below for our own personal take on the contestants tonight, and we of course want this to be interactive! Let us know what you think, and be sure to also check out our pre-show rankings.
Team Adam
Chris Jamison – “Don’t.” We really dig that he chose an Ed Sheeran song to perform on the night, but at the same time, this really didn’t feel like a vocal that really yielded to him getting many opportunities to show off. This, plus performing early in the show, could be a sign of trouble.
Matt McAndrew – “God Only Knows.” We like this song a lot, and we almost feel like Matt could be the younger brother of Ben Folds. It’s just not a very current or impressive song vocally. He may have received a ton of praise from the coaches, but that of course only means so much on this show.
Mia Pfirrman – “Young and Beautiful.” She was a little bit nervous about doing this, but we still enjoyed it quite a bit by the time she got to all of the big notes. How do you not love the creative song choice?
Taylor Phelan – “Cool Kids.” We didn’t know the song, but this is really working for Taylor. In doing all of these lesser-known tracks, he’s getting a chance to really show off his personal style, and also introduce viewers to what they’re not familiar with. Possible good news for the iTunes charts.
Damien – “I’m Not the Only One.” We really liked it, but with that being said, we don’t know if it was worth the enormous “Greatest thing of ALL TIME” reaction that it got from the crowd.
Who should advance – Taylor, Mia, and Matt. Probably controversial, but we feel like even with Matt’s weaker outing, they are the most likely to deliver the goods later on.
Team Blake Shelton
Craig Wayne Boyd – “Some Kind of Wonderful.” We didn’t think that this was a great song choice at first, but then he came out there and rocked it out! He’s got a real chance of going far in the event that he makes it through this week.
James David Carter – “Two of a Kind (Workin on a Full House).” It’s a basic country performance! Lots of generic melodies, the audience clapping along, and … well, that’s it. It doesn’t matter. Garth Brooks has a billion fans, and Blake Shelton Country Conglomeration will get him a ton of votes.
Reagan James – “Try” by Colbie Caillat. Nice lyrics for her, and we’d actually coin this in the end a pretty lovely performance from her. The word “potential” is bandied about WAY too much, but it really applies here. There’s a chance for something special with her, if she has the time to pull it off.
Jessie Pitts – “Holding Out for a Hero.” We thought that this would either be incredibly cheesy or awesome, and it was closer to the latter! She found some originality within it, hit some impressive notes, and showed some real versatility. Nothing to complain about here.
Taylor Brashears – “Long Time Gone.” We liked the energy, but we also feel like this was her trying almost too hard to make an “I’m Here” statement. The vocals were a little all over the place, and she had the misfortune of going early in the show.
Who should advance – Craig, Jessie, and Reagan, at least based on the quality of tonight’s performances.
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