re: The Voice--Season 6 thread

The playoffs continue...

Kristen (no relation to Malcolm) Merlin singing "Two Black Cadillacs": Another country song I don't really know, but Kristen did a really good job on it. There were a couple of very brief, very minor pitch issues but other than that this was a really strong performance for her, especially with those good power spots at the end.

Deja Hall singing "Battlefield": She picked something different than the ballads she has been doing, which I like and the coaches usually like because it shows growth. I wasn't really thrilled with Deja during the practice, but was extremely pleased with "Shak" in the jeans and shirt showing her abs. Yum :)

Not bad, but I just don't feel the energy from her on this song. I don't know if it's nerves but she seems like she is just singing the song instead of feeling or performing the song. She's 16, cute and loaded with talent so while I don't think this performance will take her to the next round, I certainly believe she has a future in the music industry.

Tess Boyer singing "Human": This is going to be interesting because Katy Perry songs can be deceptively difficult. Tess has a voice that may be able to pull it off though, the practices were okay. She has a really good lower register, at times as she worked toward that first almost-acappella part she sounded hauntingly like Carol Carpenter (minus the eating disorder). This song has lots of range and lots of great moments, but not moments many singers can take full advantage of them. She did a really good job, she should make the next round.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one to recognize her absolutely gorgeous lower register (*insert vagina joke here*).

Really bizarre, awkward moment as Carson gives her one last mention to the audience at the end of the segment.

Oh God! The Gary Busey commercial for Amazon FireTV is hysterical!!!

Patrick Thomson singing "Trouble": This should be a GREAT song for his gravelly voice but I would still like to hear him pull back on the grit more and use it for special occasions. He fell out of the pocket a little at the end of the first verse and -as with Deja- he doesn't seem to be really performing the song, only singing it (except for some few, shining moments). He was spot-on with the notes though. Very possible contender for the next round.

Dani Moz singing "Edge of Glory": The snippets of this performance of this song thus far have been really good. The practice had some shaky moments but was mostly good. Another instance of a couple of very brief, very minor pitch issues but she makes up for it with the rest of the performance and for doing such a stripped-down version (less music = less to hide your mistakes behind). Really good power moments at the end and fantastic transitions in and out of them. She deserves to make the next round.

At this point I would go with Tess, Kristen & Dani if I were "Shak". The other coaches seem to give Patrick a lot more leeway because of the unique grit he has, so he may squeeze Kristen or Dani out.

And the "Shak" pack isssss: Tess, Kristen & Dani

Delvin Choice singing "Let's Stay Together": He has the style to do it, but his pitch in practice started very poorly. The performance started well. He hit a bit of a lower register early in the song but then never went back to it, if he moves on I would like to hear more of it.

I usually don't like lots of runs, but for the most part he did them in ways that made sense... except right at the end he milked it a bit too much for my taste. His pitch was good, there might have been once or twice where it got alllllmost off-key but it was a strong performance. I would like to hear him sing that song with a good producer working with him on it.

Jake Barker singing "She'll Be Loved": Considering his lack of experience, I think this is a great song choice for Jake. No one could possibly coach him better on this song than the guy that sings lead on it for a living. Solid start, not a big fan of the extra runs he's putting in. A couple of pitch issues during the song, enough that I don't think he makes it to the next round (especially not when competing against Christina Grimmie and Delvin Choice).

I guess this is the round where the other coaches don't really critique the performances because none of the coaches mentioned his getting off-pitch. Maybe they were taking his lack of experience into account? I guess I'm just a hardass.

Kat Perkins singing "Open Arms": What's crazy about this choice is that Steve Perry sings higher than Kat sings at normally. She has a good Broadway sound at the beginning, a nice, pure tone but she got quite a bit pitchy leading into the first power section and it seemed to go in and out throughout that entire chorus part. Something about the way she sustains the word "arms" when she sings it... it's almost like nails on a chalkboard to me. She was definitely into this song, Deja and Patrick could have learned a lesson or five about being "into" the song... if they were still on the show. ;)

No one else was hearing her pitch issues? Good lord, maybe I need to get my ears replaced.

Morgan Wallen singing "Stay": He sounds good with this song in the practice. This is supposed to be a country song but the arrangement and his voice make it rock (except for the chorus, where the arrangement gets a little country). He had a couple of small pitch issues and possible moments where he seemed to have lost a little breath.

Christina Grimmie singing "I Won't Give Up": Great sound at the beginning of practice, then falls to crap. Adam's coaching on that is dead on. The performance was absolutely flawless. Not only did she stay on beat and on-key, she PERFORMED that song! She's definitely in the next round, no question about it.

My picks for Adam's team: Christina, Delvin... and a toss-up that I would pick Morgan for, but it will probably be Kat.

And the members of Adam's team going on to the next round are: Christina, Delvin & Kat.