NBC’s ‘The Voice’ review: Alisan Porter, Bryan Bautista, Adam Wakefield, and more in top 12 show
Tonight, the top 12 artists all hit the stage on “The Voice” in hopes of impressing America, and they really needed their votes now more than ever. For the first time this season, the power is firmly in the hands of the people to determine who is going to be able to rock the stage for many weeks to come.
We’re going to be covering this show live as always, so be sure to refresh this page often for some further developments.
Mary Sarah – Team Blake – So Small by Carrie Underwood – Was this performance big enough to get votes? She tried to hit the notes, but we’re not quite sure after this that she has the range to match Carrie. With that said, we did feel that she was genuine and heartfelt in this.
Laith Al-Saadi – Team Adam – Born Under a Bad Sign by Albert King – Did Laith keep his momentum going? We don’t think it matters what many young viewers think, or if many of them have heard the song. NBC may bury him fairly early in the night, but we think older viewers / blues fans will keep him around.
Daniel Passino – Team Pharrell – Human Nature by Michael Jackson – Did Daniel reinvent this classic? Not exactly. More than anything else, it was corny. We didn’t necessarily have huge expectations going in given that this is such a hard song to do, but Daniel didn’t bring anything new to it.
Emily Keener – Team Pharrell – Lilac Wine by Jeff Buckley – How was Emily’s latest retro outing? We know that it was uneven, but there was enough passion in here that we almost didn’t mind. Mistakes to us are only bad when someone isn’t putting their heart into it … or if there are so many that it is a disaster. This was neither.
Adam Wakefield – Team Blake – Soulshine by Adam Wakefield (cover of the Allman Brothers) – How was Adam’s take on a song he’s covered before? You could tell that he was familiar with it, since the song and the arrangement fit him like a glove. Great vocals, and a nice interpretation. Easily the strongest of the night so far.
Nick Hagelin – Team Christina – Mine Would be You by Blake Shelton – Did Nick really go country with this song? It was pseudo-country, and most of his fans will like it. There were some vocal mistakes in it, though, and we still don’t think this is his genre comfort zone.
Bryan Bautista – Team Christina – Kiss From a Rose by Seal – How was Bryan’s take on a classic? It was strong in the beginning and the end, but kind of forgettable in the middle. We do like Bryan, but we don’t understand this song choice at all.
Owen Danoff – Team Adam – 7 Years by Lukas Graham – Did this performance live up to the excellent song choice? We’re biased because we love the song, but we think that Owen did a good job overall. The hard thing is that this song is really a story, and it had to be reduced greatly due to limitations on the show.
Alisan Porter – Team Christina – Stone Cold by Demi Lovato – Did Alisan make this song white hot on the stage? Absolutely. The best of the night AGAIN. It’s easy to be cynical about Alisan being the obvious favorite, but the truth is she backs it up every week with awesome vocals.
Paxton Ingram – Team Blake – Hands to Myself by Selena Gomez – Did Paxton bring something new with this current hit? Surprisingly, he did. While we had almost zero expectations going into this, this was his most restrained and, thanks to that, his best vocal this season.
Hannah Huston – Team Pharrell – Something’s Got a Hold on Me by Etta James – Did Hannah impress Christina, let alone everyone else in America? We think that it was definitely impressive, and the show tonight really stacked the end of the show with incredible female vocalists.
Shalyah Fearing – Team Adam – Up to the Mountain by Patti Griffin – How did Shalyah follow up “Listen”? With a STRONG vocal that made her seem like more of a contender to go far than ever before. We enjoyed this more than any other performance from her this season, and it’s nice that we are saying that a lot tonight.
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