If there's one good thing to be said about the format of The Voice, it's that it changes pace incredibly frequently. We've been through blind auditions, battle rounds and the knockouts, and here it is... The Voice season seven's live shows. Tonight (Nov. 10), Adam Levine and Blake Shelton's teams took the stage in hopes to make the coveted top 12.
After a performance of "Animals" from Levine's Maroon 5, the show opened with a so-so performance from Taylor Brashears and everything was more or less uphill from here. Some gigs were simply forgettable but luckily for The Voice's credibility, nobody was straight up bad.
That being given, let's take a look at the best, worst and purely mediocre performances from the first of The Voice's live shows:
The Good:
Reagan James, "Try": Reagan James is one of the more impressive contestants on this season of The Voice, even if it weren't for her shocking young age (she's 15, by the way). There's a cool sense of confidence to this girl, who can blend the very different world of R&B and indie rock so seamlessly. With that vocal blend and personality, Colbie Callait's "Try" was a perfect fit, and Reagan gave a fittingly subdued performance. Starting off with a guitar in her hand and on top of a stool, Reagan eventually turned this song into a truly emotional, emotive performance and one of the best of the night.
Damien, "I'm Not The Only One": It's both so easy and so difficult to tackle a Sam Smith song, and it really felt like only Damien was the one who could've done it tonight, and he tackled "I'm Not The Only One" with ease. As Pharrell pointed out, Damien moved between his head voice and his chest voice with no notice, pulling off beautiful ranges and gospel-inspired runs like it was nothing. Much like Sam Smith, Damien was about to pull out a wide range of emotions and love in "I'm Not The Only One," and his passion just pulled you in. The crowd went wild and the votes for this guy should follow.
Taylor Phelan, "Cool Kids": The Voice seems really easy for Taylor Phelan, who hasn't necessarily grown throughout the competition - but that's because he started so strong already. Like his knockout rounds performance, Taylor's song choice wasn't the best to show off his full range, but he was able to show off that he could pull off the cool, indie leaning pop rock star out there, thanks to this Clean Bandit cut. Taylor is such a natural singer and performer, that he's a sure thing for the top 12, barring some crazy turn of events. The Voice just loves him too much and we all just love is voice.
Jessie Pitts, "Holding Out for a Hero": Previously, Jessie Pitts felt a bit like an Ellie Goulding rip off, and it didn't help that she performed one of Goulding's signature spacey hits in the Battle Rounds. However, this performance of Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero" helped to bring out the deeper artistry in Jessie's vocals and performance capabilities. Instead of the ethereal, EDM-fueled Goulding thing, Jessie felt more like a breathy artist with her own signature sound and her own way of moving about the stage and commanding the stage. The nice thing about The Voice is the show can depict how much a singer grows, and it's nice to see Jessie come into her own.
The Bad:
Mia Pfirrman, "Young and Beautiful": For a lot of singers, belting out a diva anthem would be a true struggle - but for Mia Pfirrman, the issue is the exact opposite. The question was: could she turn it down for a Lana Del Rey song? The answer was... not really. For the final female on Team Adam, it would have been easy to give her, like, another Christina Aguilera song and let her shine. Instead, the lack of ability for Mia to pull back her nasal tone of her volume was demonstrated loud and clear. Blend her total nose sound with her hand movements, and Mia was less like any pop diva and more like Jenny Slate's Mona Lisa from Parks and Recreation. Just think about it...
Taylor Brashears, "Long Time Gone": Taylor Brashears has long been one of the stars on Team Blake, let alone one of the biggest, best singers on season seven of The Voice, so why was her performance so flat? Taylor opened up the live rounds of The Voice, so perhaps we can chalk this one up to nerves - but her signature sass and personality really felt lacking on this Dixie Chicks classic. There was the awkward grasp of the fiddle well into the second verse, the walking back and forth on stage... this was a mediocre showing from Taylor, an otherwise solid performer, and it was a real shame.
The So-So:
Chris Jamison, "Don't": As Blake Shelton mentioned, Ed Sheeran's "Don't" is quite a hard song to pull off. Not only do the lyrics move a mile a minute, but it's half sung, half spoken and all difficulty. Luckily for Team Adam's Chris Jamison, he was able to pull off a fully formed performance of "Don't." Sure, this song wasn't the best to show off Chris' range or his soft side, but this guy was able to show, just perhaps, who he would be if he were to make his own record: a fun-loving, easy, breezy dude with a penchant for sass and R&B. This wasn't a Voice performance but it was an artist's performance.
James David Carter, "Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House": The best thing about country music is that it doesn't require a lot of bells and whistles to make for a solid performance, which is what James David Carter pulled off tonight. His take on "Mister" Garth Brooks' "Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House" was short, simple and to the point. His country accent came and went with the wind - when James addressed the crowd it slipped away - leading to a slightly less authentic performance than what we got from a few other singers on Team Blake. When you're so just middle of the pack - solid but not particularly memorable - at this point in the competition, it just does not bode well.
Matt McAndrew, "God Only Knows": Adam Levine teased this song as one of the best tracks in music history and one that is rather difficult to pull off, so he gave it to Matt McAndrew... one of the more hyped performers on this season that I just cannot grasp on to. He was... fine? Some of the notes on this Beach Boys classic were just a touch too low for McAndrew, and he didn't really shine until he blasted off into the key change, bumping up the register and the volume. Still, McAndrew is just that one singer everyone is so into... even the judges. But something from him, a je ne sais quoi, is truly missing for this reviewer.
Craig Wayne Boyd, "Some Kind of Wonderful": This song has a beautiful blend of country, soul and old school rock 'n' roll, which was perfectly fitting for Craig Wayne Boyd. Though his coach Blake Shelton deemed this take the performance of the night. Of course, that's a little hyperbolic, but Craig was a natural here, taking the stage with perfect ease. Like all good country songs, this performance needed very little pizazz to stand out, and that was definitely done.
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