Things are moving fast and furious this week on The Voice, like the weather on the East Coast. In four hours over two days, the field of singers will be cut in half from 40 down to 20 thanks to the new Knockout Rounds.
Each coach on The Voice pits two singers against each other, then picks one as the winner to move on. By the end, only five singers will remain on each team heading into the live performance shows where America gets to vote.
It might sound insensitive, but my fingers are crossed that someone decides to sing “Rock You Like a Hurricane” by the Scorpions.
So let’s get ready to rumble on The Voice!
It’s Team Adam and Team Cee Lo tonight, which means we’ll get Xtina and Blake Tuesday night. Here are my pre-show predictions on which five singers will make it from each team.
TEAM ADAM
Joselyn Rivera vs. Kayla Nevarez
It’s a battle of young pop stars, including one Adam Levine stole from Christina Aguilera (Joselyn). Will the stolen artist have an edge or not?
.
Joselyn Rivera (“Love on Top by Beyonce): It’s good, for the most part, but with a few problems here and there. It’s not all that fun, though. I think the song is too big for her.
Kayla Nevarez (“Shark in the Water” by V V Brown): She does a great job with the vocals and with conveying exactly what Adam is looking for, a cool young pop star. This one’s a no-brainer for me.
Blake thinks Joselyn took more chances and risks, which she did, but not all of them paid off. The other coaches all agree that Joselyn was the winner.
The Winner Is…JOSELYN RIVERA!
It turns out song choice is all that matters and Joselyn won because she was more ambitious. I still think Kayla was better.
Joe Kirkland vs. Bryan Keith
Poor Joe, I feel like he’s being sent to the slaughter. Adam claims he only wants one unique pop singer.
Joe Kirkland (“Mean” by Taylor Swift): As someone who saw Puck sing this on Glee, I’m not as shocked by the song choice as Adam is. The problem is he tries to morph it into a punk rock song, and the result is so weird and kind of awkward. Part of me really likes it, but it’s the same part of me that can’t stop watching 90210.
Bryan Keith (“(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” by Bryan Adams): Ugh, what an unfortunate song choice. The fact that there’s only about a three second window between Joe’s wild man song and this slowl, heartfelt one is mind-blowing. Literally, my brain can’t adjust that quickly. But Bryan does exactly what this overly melodramatic song needs to make it work.
The coaches find it even, with Bryan as a great singer and Joe with great charisma (and beautiful eyes, according to Xtina).
The Winner Is…BRYAN KEITH!
OK, the fix is in. Adam Levine even admitted Joe was great and Bryan wasn’t that good between these two performances. So obviously Adam chose the winner before hearing it and the performances didn’t matter at all to him. He would’ve chosen Bryan over Joe no matter what happened.
Amanda Brown vs. Michelle Brooks-Thompson
Amanda was stolen and shined in the battle. She’s definitely Adam’s favorite going in, so the songs don’t matter.
Amanda Brown (“Paris (Ooh La La)” by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals): Wow, she manages to impress me more and more with every performance. She rocks, she’s sexy and she kills it. How did she slip through the cracks in the blind auditions?
Michelle Brooks-Thompson (“Spotlight” by Jennifer Hudson): She does the expected big, diva, gospel thing on this song. There’s no denying she’s an AMAZING singer, but she doesn’t have that extra spark that Amanda has.
The other coaches all seem to think Michelle won. I think they’re trying to sandbag Adam’s team, because they know Amanda Brown is a bigger star.
The Winner Is…AMANDA BROWN!
Yup, the performances and the other coaches’ comments are meaningless. Adam is just going with whoever he chose to pick before the knockout battle began. Although it makes me happy this time, because I think he actually made the right call.
Loren Allred vs. Nicole Nelson
Nicole is obviously Adam’s favorite and she’s gonna win. This is all a formality. He even admits Nicole knows who she is as an artist and Loren doesn’t.
Loren Allred (“You Know I’m No Good” by Amy Winehouse): Vocally she’s fine, but she smiles too much and acts too bright and cheery for the darker, more haunted Winehouse. It’s just an incongruous song choice for who she is.
Nicole Nelson (“If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys): Like her “Hallelujah” blind audition, this feels way too easy for her, like shooting a lay-up. Yeah, she does a great job, but I’m not sure I buy her as a current artist.
Blake thinks Loren just had her “a star is born” moment. Wow, I’m not watching the same show. The other coaches agree she was a revelation.
The Winner Is…LOREN ALLRED!
Wow, that was a surprise, mostly because it shows Adam Levine is actually willing to change his original plan. Adam even admits he was going to pick Nicole before the singing began. I may need to rewatch Loren’s performance several times, because I didn’t see what the coaches saw.
Melanie Martinez vs. Sam James
Will Adam really go with four women and only one guy into the live shows?
Melanie Martinez (“Bulletproof” by La Roux): Ugh, the stupid hair bow is back. She actually starts to sing the song instead of using that annoying raspy baby voice all the time. But it doesn’t make it any better for me. Sorry, but I’m NEVER gonna like her.
Sam James (“Walking in Memphis” by Marc Cohn): This is a solid singing competition song, though Sam has issues pronouncing “Memphis.” I get Adam’s point, because the singing is good, but I don’t think his phrasing is very good/
Personally, I don’t think either of them really deserves to go to the live shows over Kayla, Joe, Michelle or Nicole. The coaches are pretty split.
The Winner Is…MELANIE MARTINEZ
Yikes, I have to listen to her voice yet again. I guess Adam is banking on a woman finally winning since he has four in the live shows.
I only got three of Adam’s Top 5 correct. I wrongly predicted Kayla and Joe would make it over Joselyn and Loren. In all fairness, I bet not even Loren’s parents thought she’d make it.
TEAM CEE LO
Avery Wilson vs. Cody Belew
Goodbye, Cody.
Avery Wilson (“Yeah 3x” by Chris Brown): Two David Guetta songs, now Chris Brown, Avery knows EXACTLY who he is as an artist. I may be biased in favor of him, but I can admit the vocals aren’t that strong. But his sweet dance moves more than make up for it.
Cody Belew (“Jolene” by Dolly Parton): I love this song, but it doesn’t matter. He does a very weird thing with it and I don’t think it’s all that great. Though I finally realized he looks like a hot, young Jeremy Davies.
The coaches seem to agree Cody was great and Avery was off.
The Winner Is…CODY BELEW!
WTF?!?!? I picked Avery to win the whole damn thing! I guess screwing up once really does matter. Cee Lo Green made the right choice based on these individual performances, but he made the wrong choice moving forward. I still think Avery had a better chance to actually win than Cody, but he got eliminated because, for about a minute and a half, he was off.
Mackenzie Bourg vs. Daniel Rosa
Go, Mackenzie! Though now I’m terrified my favorites are marked for death.
Mackenzie Bourg (“Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen): Weird. And cool. I’m in love. Totally in love. This dude is just plain awesome and I loved it.
Daniel Rosa (“Back to December” by Taylor Swift): So two guys singing girl songs, and the second dude to take on T. Swift tonight. Funny, because DWTS is having country music week with Taylor Swift as well. I actually think this is the best he’s ever sounded, but I still prefer Mackenzie.
Adam prefers Daniel’s magic while Blake and Xtina like Mackenzie’s artistry.
The Winner Is…MACKENZIE BOURG!
YAY! Bourg, Bourg, Bourg! Resistance is futile, you will all be assimilated!
Terisa Griffin vs. Trevin Hunte
Oh hells no. They’re both amazing and this is just a foolish pairing because both should go to the live shows.
Terisa Griffin (“Saving All My Love for You” by Whitney Houston): This is a tall order and she slays it. There’s nothing bad to say at all.
Trevin Hunte (“Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” by Phil Collins): It’s tender, emotional, beautiful and amazing. These are two of the best performances of the entire night so far, and one of them has to go home. Seriously, how is Cody Belew going to the live shows and one of these singers isn’t?
Everyone thinks this is a hard call, but Xtina speaks volumes when she says she wishes she could co-coach Trevin because he’s that good.
The Winner Is…TREVIN HUNTE!
Without Avery Wilson, Trevin Hunte is my new pick to win The Voice season 3. He’s so emotional and he and Terisa had a great relationship, which will only make fans vote for him even more.
Mycle Wastman vs. Nicholas David
I don’t think either of these guys belongs in the live shows.
Mycle Wastman (“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” by Elton John): This feels like a predictable and uninspired song choice. It’s pretty good, but his hat makes me think of Andre from The League, which makes me not like him at all.
Nicholas David (“Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae): There’s a whole lot of guys singing girls songs tonight. I don’t quite understand his voice, but I really wanna here him do the Family Ties theme song for some reason.
The coaches are split and it seems to come down to personal preference. Neither of them seems that commercial, so it doesn’t matter, because the winner is going home next week anyway.
The Winner Is…NICHOLAS DAVID!
Yawn.
Caitlin Michele vs. Diego Val
It’s Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg vs. Florence and the Machine. This is certainly a battle of theatricality.
Caitlin Michele (“Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence): It’s wonderfully Gothic and operatic, but I still think she suffers from sound-alike syndrome.
Diego Val (“Are You Gonna Go My Way” by Lenny Kravitz): It’s fun and energetic, but I don’t think it’s very good.
Xtna agrees that Caitlin was a sound-alike and Cee Lo admits neither was all that good.
The Winner Is…DIEGO VAL!
Holy crap. So Cee Lo picked five guys to go to the live shows. That might be pretty smart.
For Team Cee Lo, I did even worse with predictions, only getting two right (Mackenzie and Trevin). That’s a pitiful 50 percent for the 10 singers who moved on from tonight.
Tomorrow on The Voice: It’s the Knockout Rounds for Team Blake and Team Xtina in a special two-hour Tuesday episode. Hopefully I’ll do better than 50 percent on predictions.
(Image courtesy of NBC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
