The Voice Season 8

[mercfan3]

They picked their top 12 this week..the talent is fantastic this season. Not a bad one in the bunch.

Some notables.. (or potential winners..)

Team Adam - He's probably got the weakest team he's ever had. However, Joshua is the type of singer that tends to be popular with voters. He's sort of The Voice version of a WGWG...same type of genre, but actually can sing so it's all right. (And they don't automatically win every year.)




He also has a contestant named DeAnna. She's interesting. She's got a deep sultry voice, but she's inexperienced and not the most confident.




Now Pharrell..has a bunch of kids, two of them were 15 when they auditioned, the other 16. But they are mega talented. (One of the most talented overall teams I've ever seen on this show, IMO.)

The 15 year olds (although I think they've both turned 16 since) are the current favorites.

The first is Sawyer Fredericks. He's the clear front runner at the moment. It's like an old man is coming out of this kid when he sings.




Mia Z. is crazy talented..just crazy talented. She's the resident blues and Jazz singer on the show, and IMO, the standout the first night of the live playoffs. What she's been known for on the show so far, is her whistle notes.




And finally he has Koryn Hawthorne. He stole her from Xtina after a breakout performance, and she continued to be great in the playoffs taking a spot in Pharrell's top 3 instead of an original member. (Personally I don't like her vibrato but, but she can sing..and her personality is infectious.)




Christina has an unbelievably talented team technically, but to me, she's only got one contestant that can win. Kimberly Nichole was the standout of the second night of the playoffs. Her vocals were just amazing here..(India Carnie and Rob Taylor are the other two. Once again, great vocally..I'm not sure that either will get the fanbase.)



And finally, Team Blake has a country singer turned Blues artist named Meghan Linsey. Great great great singer.



Hannah and Corey are both charming individuals in different ways, but I don't think either are possible winners.


Notable contestants that didn't make the lives..

Brooke Adee..definitely a favorite of mine. She got a bad song and was a little too focused on hitting the notes than performing well.

Here's one of her better performances.


Sonic had a bad performance, but she had the potential to be great.




And Caitlin was a great vocalist..she was on Pharrell's team, and although she had a very good performance..the song choice wasn't a seller and she was on a stacked team. She reminds me of Pia, to be honest.

[Tom22]

The talent is truly fantastic this year.

[mercfan3]

It really is incredible. I love it too because a lot of the talent is mostly in the Blues/R&B lane...but the contestants are crazy good.

I never though a 15 year old boy would be one of my favorites on a singing competition show, but I can't help but love Sawyer. I just can't believe the voice that comes out of him.

[john]

Michael and Melinda flipped The Voice to the first spot on this week's Reality Check.

[mercfan3]

Top 3 performances, according to Itunes...(Sawyer's just always going to be here..even with his little screw up.)

All of them are in the top 5 of Itunes..pretty incredible for the first week of Lives

Meghan Linsey's - Girl Crush (My personal favorite)


Sawyer Fredericks - Imagine


And..Kimberly Nichole singing House of The Rising Sun. She reminds me of Adam Lambert so I can appreciate this...it's so different from Haley's.

[Tom22]

It was quite a show.

I liked the "urban girl" take on Kelly' Clarkson's "Stronger" .. I bought the character and emotion with a "who's that girl" singing it.

I really liked Sawyer again and he managed to bring a fresh take to Imagine to also fit a different personalty/state of mind of a character approaching the words which is no easy feat...
... I like the way he starts understated then lets the glow of his voice fill out notes as he digs into the song. I love that Sawyer can put a lot of breath behind notes when he gets going without ever coming across as yelling or shouting etc.

I've got some of the same issues with the HOTR cover as Haley's cover of that song made worse by Kimberly yelling it a bit in my estimation (but her voice is pretty good in that way she's emphatic even if I think it's should be handled closer to a sailor's song)

I haven't quite got my head around what "girl crush" means but it Meghan has a warm and powerful sound to her voice and she had a full and rich with many emotions alternating throughout the song in ways I bought (if I only understood what she clearly had meaning behing haha.. I like it because I KNOW she's got an understanding of her own behind every phrase as she sings it (whether it's connected with the lyrics or not is still ok with me.. just need to listen to it more to go the same places she is).

I think its great though... blaming myself on that one Haha.

What is really special about the show was that you had 12 strong performers with voices on the level of Top 3 idols... the depth is impressive.

One thing though... I'm not sure any of the songs are something I'd buy....which is probably all personal preference but it is unusual that I can approve of the quality so much while lacking something else. For a contrary example, I enjoy Heejun Han's My Life (from a few years ago on Idol) which is really sung terribly other than the "I want to be that guy" aspect of it that makes it make me feel good listening to.

Joshua Davis has such a beautiful voice and I think he's singing earnestly but between the type of folk song (as apposed to a good old whaling folk song haha) and something else.. I'm still waiting for something he'll sing that I can connect to and savor his voice at the same time.

[mercfan3]

Shocked and disappointed at the elimination tonight. Mia Z is, IMO, something special. Although she's also specialized. A lot of credit to her for not being strategic and keeping to who she is musically, even if it cost her votes. But it's a shame to not hear her again.

"Girl Crush" is a song about a woman longing to be another woman because the object of her desire is in love with that woman. Unfortunately, the writers didn't quite understand what the phrase means, but the full lyrics (something you don't get on the show too well) explain it better.

I didn't love the arrangement given the song choice. But Kimberly, is a fantastic contestant. She really is. And I thought she sang it well and performed it well. I just much preferred "What's Going On." And thought that fit her better.

Sawyer's tone is just magnificent. The flaws in his voice..and everything..just wonderful.

[Tom22]

Yeah Mia Z is something special and could have continued to grow along the way. Deanna has a strong voice though and might be to some peoples taste more . Hard to know exactly what other people prioritize but I can certainly understand that there are strenghts to be appreciated that they chose to vote for.

Some good singers need to go each week.

I really loved Kimberley the weeks before and I think she's got something bubbly and sort of wry humor behind her lyrical interpretations that I really dig.

[30CamdenSquare]

I haven't had a stand alone favorite on The Voice or Idol for a couple of years now, but Mia Z was my flat out favorite on The Voice this year. I was shocked & kinda pissed to be honest, to see her eliminated this early.

[mercfan3]

Mia was 1A (1B being Sawyer) too. Loved her. And for the first time ever I'm a bit annoyed at The Voice for the bit of bussing the displayed.

But she was clearly one of Pharrell's favorites, I'm hoping he takes an interest in her post show.