The Voice – Top Eight

Reviews, Shows

The_Voice_logoGuys, Caroline was saved! I was so happy with the results last week. I think Caroline’s duet of “Royals” with Tessanne helped her stay alive, and I wished she’d performed that instead of “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” I love Caroline so I was hoping she’d pull it together this week.

This week, Blake took his singers to meet Jay Leno. Cee Lo bought Caroline some gelato. And Christina worked on choreography with her singers. Coaching, guys. The lady is coaching the heck out of this season.

James singing “Somebody to Love” (Team Adam)
This is an ambitious song (one of my favorites, and Queen is my favorite band) and James can be inconsistent. I didn’t have high expectations here. I have to say, the choir of tuxedoed lookalikes was pretty genius. Props to whoever came up with that idea. James didn’t exactly blow me away, but the kid definitely pulled it off. He did a good job on a very difficult song, so he definitely gets a thumbs up from me. (That said, I don’t think he could “sing in Queen”, like Adam said. He is no Freddie Mercury. I saw the Queen Extravaganza show earlier this year, and he’s no that guy either.)

Tessanne singing “Underneath it All” (Team Adam)
I love this song, and I thought it was a good one for Tessanne to really have fun with. She was able to make it a Tessanne song, and not just a No Doubt jam. This wasn’t, say, Tessanne’s defining moment in the competition. But I liked the personality she injected into the song, it was crazy fun, and I really liked it.

Caroline singing “Dog Days Are Over” (Team Cee Lo)
This was a great song choice for Caroline, in a similar vein to “Royals”. It’s quirky, but a little more powerful than some of what Caroline’s done in the past. And I had confidence that she could nail it. The performance had all of Caroline’s interesting inflections and her cool tone, but it was sassy and powerful, too. I adore her. (Also, GREAT dress.)

Cole singing “I Still Believe In You” (Team Blake)
Country again? I wish Blake and Cole had gone in more of a blues direction. I love Cole’s voice, but this song was not for me. I almost fell asleep. It’s for some people though, and he sang it beautifully, so he’ll probably kill on iTunes and remain safe this week.

Matthew singing “It’s Time” (Team Christina)
Matthew has been one of my favorites since the season began, and I like how he’s been performing a big variety of songs. I loved the vision Christina, Matthew and the choreographer had for this song. I liked that Matthew really went for something here, but I thought it missed the mark a little. Anyone could have been singing, it didn’t really show off his amazing voice. That said, Matthew is an all-around great performer and I certainly think he could be successful.

Will singing “At Last” (Team Adam)
WHERE WERE WILL’S GLASSES? Oh, also, this was truly outstanding.

Ray singing “Gimme Some Lovin’” (Team Blake)
I mean, Ray’s fine. But at this point in the competition, I think he just doesn’t compare to the other singers. There is no one left that I actively don’t like. Ray’s performance just came across as cheesy, especially sandwiched between Will and Jacquie.

Jacquie singing “Who’s Lovin’ You Now” (Team Christina)
Mariah? Christina? Nope, that was Jacquie. Holy. Crap. That little girl is SIXTEEN. She’s so incredibly talented, it makes me sick.

Rankings

  1. Will
  2. Jacquie
  3. Caroline
  4. Tessanne
  5. James
  6. Matthew
  7. Cole
  8. Ray

I mean, Jacquie and Will were both so fantastic this week that they’re in a different league from everyone else.

I think Ray and Cole are the weakest left in the competition, but I don’t think Cole will even land in the bottom three. If I had to guess. I’d say Caroline, Matthew and Ray will be in the bottom three this week – but I hope not, because I don’t want to see Caroline or Matthew go.

This week’s performances aside, I have five overall favorites: Caroline, Tessanne, Jacquie, Will and Matthew. That’s a lot of favorites, y’all. This is a crazy season.

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.