We’re up to Night 2 of the Live Playoffs in season 7 of The Voice. We’re getting closer and closer to the end, and it’s exciting to see everyone who’s made it this far. Tonight, we’ll get to see artists from both newbie coaches Gwen and Pharrell’s teams duke it out for your votes. Gwen and Pharell have both been doing an incredible job this season on The Voice and it’ll be exciting to see their teams live. They’re clearly the nice guys of the group, and we’re in for some great performances.
Plus, Pharrell will be performing live on The Voice tonight, which I’m pretty excited for. But honestly, I really only know that song “Happy.” Either way, it should be a fun time.
The Voice Recap: The Live Playoffs
Pharrell Performs “Hunter”
Pharrell’s kicking off the night with a performance of his song “Hunter.” He’s on a branch and surrounded by some synchronized dancers. It’s a really intriguing song that draws you in, and Adam and Gwen seem pretty into it. Okay. It’s catchy. But I have to say I like “Happy” better. Then he bows down to the dancers afterwards, which I like.
Ryan Sill Performs “I Lived”
Gwen had a lot of trouble picking a song for Ryan, who left school to pursue music. The obvious choice is a boy band song, but she wanted to know more about him and started googling him. She goes for OneRepublic’s “I Lived” and wants his sweet voice to have more of a ruggedness and for him to let go and use more of his body.
I think his voice has a real effortlessness to it when he performs. The biggest critique the coaches have are on his performance style, but I think you could tell he was really trying to work the crowd. Adam says he was always one of his favorites and told Gwen to watch him. He feels Ryan’s performance stuff is still coming, but he has amazing pitch. Blake says it looked like he connected to someone on someone else’s team in the audience and sang to them the whole time.
Pharrell says he felt similarly to Adam, but he’s really stepped up in terms of performance. It’s hard to break out of your shell, but he did it. Finally, Gwen says that she feels so emotional about him and is inspired by his confidence. “I love your voice,” she says. “And I love you.”
Pharrell Coach Cam
Carson’s taking some time to show Pharrell’s coach cam. Pharrell gives some advice about surrounding people who are better than you. And Carson reads some Veterans Day tweets, which is nice.
Jean Kelley Performs “Piano in the Dark”
Jean’s getting a bit emotional in rehearsals. She’s also a little nervous about the song choice because it’s not R&B enough, but Pharrell’s got it covered. She has such a strength in terms of performing and Pharrell thinks she has an actress in her.
She’s such a theatrical performer. Gwen, who was her original coach, starts commenting first. She wants her outfit, but besides that, she says that it was “really good” but she was getting lost in the drama and sometimes she didn’t believe it. She was having a hard time explaining it, but Adam agrees with Gwen. They’re trying to not be negative and think she should be there, but she’s too dramatic. She needs to find a balance to it. Pharrell’s really nice to her about it and says that this is just the beginning for her.
Elyjuh Rene Performs “Latch”
Eighteen-year-old Elyjuh Rene is having some trouble dealing with outside criticism and is feeling insecure, but Pharrell says that he has to sing for himself, and talks about his freedom and his truth. And he wants Elyjuh to sing the song acoustic and then at the end come in really powerfully. I just love how supportive Pharrell is.
And I have no idea what Elyjuh was stressing out about. His voice is insane and I think he has an amazing stage presence. He just grabs you in, and I agree with Pharrell that he has to stay true to himself. People go nuts for his performance and all the coaches stand up for him.
Gwen loves how in control he is with his body and sings so well at the same time. Adam, meanwhile, is in shock. “It’s unbelievable how good that was,” he says. “I can’t believe what I just saw.” He says that Elyjuh’s the frontrunner of one of the strongest teams. Blake agrees that he’s the one to beat and says he navigates so well. Pharrell agrees with the general consensus that this kid rules and adds how proud he is of him for showing who he really is.
Bryana Salaz Performs “Amnesia”
Seventeen-year-old Bryana brings her dad to meet Gwen. He had liver disease and she is excited to share her journey with him. Gwen chooses “Amnesia” and says she needs to make it her own, but Bryana feels like she can connect with it coming from a military family. Gwen wants her to sing it straight rather than ad-libbing so much and wants her to be as vulnerable as possible with it.
She gets really emotional at the end of her performance. It obviously means a lot to her. Adam commends her for doing all this at such a young age and also thinks she and Gwen are perfect for each other. Blake says that they all saw her get better before their very eyes throughout the performance. Pharrell agrees with both of them, but adds that it’s cool to watch her whole journey. Finally, Gwen says she did everything right and she’s completely changed. They want to get to know her, and she showed everyone who she is tonight.
Luke Wade Performs “Let’s Get It On”
Luke’s been playing music for a decade. There’s been some tough times, but he’s humbled by this experience. Pharrell chooses “Let’s Get It On” for him, which is going to be really hard to live up to. But if he does this right, it’s going to be amazing. Pharrell says he needs to think less and feel more.
Luke’s really trying to work the crowd in this performance. He even kisses someone’s hand. And his voice is insane. Pharrell seems so into it. Watching his reactions is almost as good as the actual performance.
Gwen says she got lost in the moment and loves the tone of his voice. He gave a really effortless performance. Adam’s blown away. “You know how I feel about you,” he says. He doesn’t care what he does, because everything he does is amazing. And he loves that he put his own spin on the song and got out of “karaoke town.” Blake says it looked like some of them “actually got it on” during that performance. Pharrell is just so excited about it. “Hashtag Lukified” is all he has to say.
Anita Antoinette Performs “All About That Bass”
Anita really owes breaking out of her stage fright from the other time she tried out for The Voice to Gwen. She’s singing “All About That Bass,” which is so fun. It’s not straight reggae, but it’s such a great song for her.
“Who are you and what have you done with Anita?” Adam says after her fun performance. He just wants to hang out with her. Not now, but sometime maybe. Blake says it’s hard to believe she ever had stage fright, and I completely agree. Pharrell’s really proud of her and Gwen says she’s one of the only ones who has such an infectious personality. She really does seem like a really fun person.
DaNica Shirey Performs “Help Me”
DaNica says her daughter’s obsessed with Pharrell. She’s singing “Help Me” by Joni Mitchell, which is a really tough song. I also love Joni Mitchell, so I’m excited for this performance. She’s been going through a really interesting journey on The Voice.
I think she really does the song justice. She has such a powerful voice. This might be my favorite performance so far tonight. Gwen’s sister’s in the audience today and Gwen says that they both love Joni Mitchell, and she’s so happy that she did it so well. Adam says that there’s nobody like her ability-wise. That was one of his favorite Joni Mitchell songs and she and Pharrell managed to make it completely different and so good. Blake, though, had never heard that song before, but DaNica’s singing was perfect. Pharrell says that she really proved herself to the world. She’s amazing, and I completely agree.
Sugar Joans Performs ” I Say a Little Prayer”
Sugar Joans, who was stolen from Gwen by Pharrell, is performing “I Say a Little Prayer.” She actually changed her name to Sugar because she wanted her name to express herself better. She’s so cool.
Sugar’s insanely talented. There’s really nothing else to say. Gwen says she just had her moment. Everything about her is perfect. Adam says it was “church.” He can’t believe her. You don’t expect that from her, which makes it so much cooler. Blake says it was the best performance of the night, while Pharrell says he’s really proud of her and that she “did it.” “You’re never going back,” he says. Plus, they all had a debate about whether her hair was purple or not.
Ricky Manning Performs “Lay Me Down”
Gwen stole street musician Ricky from Pharrell, and he’s excited to work with her. He connects with this song because he’s in a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend of four and a half years. Can he live up to his “Wrecking Ball” performance?
After his performance, Adam says the coolest thing about him is that it’s not people’s responsibility to fall in love with him, it’s his responsibility to make us love him and he’s been doing that. He’s so dedicated and passionate and is the most improved artist. Blake loves how calm and in control he was, while Pharrell also talks about his journey. Ricky really wants it and it really shows. He deserves it. Gwen comments on how he fixed the note he was having problems with in rehearsals and says he was incredible.
Taylor John Williams Performs “Stuck in the Middle with You”
Gwen asks Taylor if he has any ideas because he always makes the songs his own. He needs to show a lighter side to himself with “Stuck in the Middle with You.” Gwen thinks he’s making it dark because he talks about his parents’ divorce and his grandma, but he says, “Leave it to me.” He also needs to figure out a way to be animated with his guitar. Can he show more of himself and prove that he’s not too dark?
His grandma is in the audience, which is adorable. Adam says he didn’t think that this would be his kind of song, but he loves that he made it his own and showed a whole new side to his voice. Blake agrees and talks about some underwear commercial that had the song in it. Gwen and Pharrell talk together because they’re almost out of time. Basically, they all liked him.
Rankings
At the end of the show, Carson shows the rankings. The order for Gwen’s team is Anita Antoinette, Bryana Salaz, Ryan Sill, Taylor John Williams and Ricky Manning. For Pharell’s team, the order is Luke Wade, Elyjuh Rene, DaNica Shirey, Sugar Joans and Jean Kelley.
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(Image courtesy of NBC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
