The Voice 2012 – Semifinals Performance Episode Review – “One More Step…”

Reviews, Top Story

I don’t care what some junky little boy band has to say about Xtina. She has a crown, she has a fan (and I don’t just mean me) and she is fabulous.

And while we’re talking about fabulous, I should also mention that Cee Lo was wearing a T-shirt with a heart-shaped picture of his cat on it. A heart shaped picture of his cat.

OK, ready for the semi-finals, guys? Tonight the eight semi-finalists performed, and the coaches scored them. The scores plus America’s votes will determine which four performers will be in the finals next week.

 

Team Adam – Tony Lucca – “How You Like Me Now?”

I love this song by The Heavy, though I wasn’t sure how Tony would do with it. The Britney cover last week was fun, but otherwise he hasn’t been the most charismatic performer on this show and I think the song requires a lot of attitude. And I’ve got to hand it to Tony, I think he had a lot more stage presence than we’ve previously seen from him. But the performance still kind of lacked some real oomph. I thought it was just OK.

Team Blake – Erin Willett – “Without You”

I loved this song choice for Erin. It’s a popular song but one that hasn’t been covered all the time, and it takes a good vocalist to perform it. Unfortunately, I thought she started out rather rocky. It was like she couldn’t hear the background music or something, it sounded way off. I’ve liked Erin throughout this competition, but I thought this was a very flawed performance. It’s disappointing.

Team Christina – Chris Mann – “Ave Maria”

This was a safe choice for Chris, since he’s a classically trained singer and it’s a classic song. But you know what? This is what he does, and it’s pretty damn beautiful even if it’s not necessarily music you’d listen to in your car. (OK, well maybe it is. But it’s not music I listen to in the car.) It’s kind of hard for me to judge this, because it is what it is. It’s not music I listen to, but he’s very very good.

Team Cee Lo – Jamar Rogers – “If You Don’t Know Me By Now”

I wasn’t a fan of Jamar’s song last week, the Bon Jovi tune, and this choice was in a completely different direction. I liked him on the Lenny Kravitz track, so I was glad he suggested changing up the tune to make it more modern. It could have been a disaster, but I like risks. I think Jamar’s risk paid off – this felt like something Bruno Mars would get a standing ovation for at the VMAs. I loved it.

Team Blake – Jermaine Paul – “Open Arms”

I liked this song for Jermaine because it showed off his vocal abilities, and was just a little unexpected. It wasn’t my favorite performance of the night, but it was good. You can’t deny that the guy can sing.

Team Adam and Team Cee Lo – “All These Things That I’ve Done”

I love this song, and I enjoy all four of these performers. So I kinda freakin’ loved this. Kudos to Katrina for holding her own with three performers who are more comfortable doing rock. This was a good song choice to showcase everyone.

Team Adam – Katrina Parker – “Killing Me Softly”

Katrina is one of the performers I think has grown the most during this season of The Voice, and I love this song a lot. I was excited to hear her cover it. I think this was Katrina’s best performance to date, and she easily earned a spot in the finals. Count me as  Katrina Parker fan!

I fast-forwarded through Blake Shelton. Sorry, but I already know he’s not my jam.

Team Christina – Lindsey Pavao – “Skinny Love”

I am not hip enough to be into Bon Iver. It’s not that I don’t *like* this music. It’s just that I get kind of restless when I listen to it, unless I’m actively trying to go to bed. It’s like, you know, I dig lullabies and they’re really pretty, but I don’t listen to them in my spare time. So yeah, cool song, just not a big Bon Iver fan. I liked Lindsey’s performance quite a bit though, and I think it was probably one of her best so far. Also, she looked beautiful.

Team Christina and Team Blake – “Edge of Glory”

This was kind of a weird performance because the song didn’t really seem to suit anyone’s voice, except maybe Jermaine’s. But it was downright uncomfortable for Chris and Lindsey. And what was up with Erin this week? She sounded out of breath and off the beat on this just like she did on her solo performance. Overall, not the best group performance we’ve ever seen on The Voice.

Team Cee Lo – Juliet Simms – “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World”

Wow, Juliet got the pimp spot again this week. This was a great song choice for Juliet, and I think she killed it once again. She kept it pretty soft at the beginning, and then let loose on the chorus like nobody’s business. I love this girl.

OK, so who deserves to be in the finals? Let’s break it down.

Team Christina: This is a tough choice because I appreciate both Lindsey and Chris’s talents, but neither singer really performs my favorite kind of music. I’ll go with Lindsey Pavao.

Team Blake: This one is easy for me – I thought Jermaine Paul performed best.

Team Adam: Adam’s team has been the weakest this year, I think, butKatrina Parker easily earned her spot in the finals this week.

Team Cee Lo: This is obviously the toughest showdown, and both performers were fantastic this week. I’m partial to Juliet Simms and would like to see her go through, but I’m sad that means letting Jamar go.

What do you guys think? Who should make it through?

You can follow Jill at her blog, couchtimewithjill.com, or on Twitter @jillemader Jill has been an avid fan of TV since the age of two, when she was so obsessed with Zoobilee Zoo that her mother lied and told her it had been canceled. Despite that setback, she grew up to be a television aficionado and pop culture addict.