The Voice 3: Top 10 Performs and "Who's In and Who's Out!"

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We are now closing in on the top 4. Amazing performances this round and the elimination is really getting tougher. It was a great idea not to favor coaches and teams this season because I think the artists deserve more the recognition. With regards to the results of the past two rounds, did you notice that the one who performed first got eliminated first. In the top 12, Michaela performed first and she got one of the least votes and was eliminated. Sylvia suffered the same fate this round. It seems there is a trend here. Sylvia and Bryan were also the first two whose names were announced as save artists in the last elimination round. Anyway, off to my individual assessments.

Cassadee Pope,  Team Blake

Cassadee stellar performance of Miranda Lambert's "Over You."

Cassadee brought the house down with her rendition of "Over You" which is a Miranda Lambert original. Blake, who happens to penned this song together with Miranda, was so star struck as if he just heard the song for the first time. I guess everyone had the same reaction. It was my first time to hear this song and I think it fit Cassadee to a tee. I think Cassadee can win it if she builds this momentum over the next crucial rounds.

Melanie Martinez,  Team Adam

Melanie makes her own twist of  White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army".

I am glad Melanie brought her guitar back. She brings that singer-songwriter vibe which is a perfect picture for her. I heard this song before and I think she did better. She makes the listener experience the material in another light and that is where she is the strongest.

Amanda Brown,  Team Adam

Amanda shines with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals' "Stars."

Amanda can sing any song. But for any artist here, song choice is the key to a successful performance. This is another song I have not heard before and Amanda run with it. She made us believe that it is her own. This was way much better than her last showing. Welcome back to the top Amanda.

Nicholas David,  Team Cee Lo

St. Nick jives with Bill Withers' "Lean on Me."

St, Nick took us to church and it was sensational. He is so consistent and his performances is so defined. He looks every inch a pro with new locks and the fine suit.   The formula still works for him but he still needs to open up more.

Dez Duron, Team Christina

Dez's "Feeling Good" moment.

Dez is a crooner with a lot of charisma  This was one of his better performance. However, could he charm his way to the top?

Cody Belew,  Team Cee Lo

Cody is doing a show to Beyonce's  "Crazy in Love."

Crazy Cody picks up a Beyonce song and the outfit was out there. His performance has visual impact although he seems to be mumbling the lyrics in some parts.


Terry McDermott, Team Blake

Terry rocks to Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69."

Terry sounds and looks rock definitely but this performance seems to be lacking. I think he could have done much better with a different song.

Trevin Hunte,  Team Cee Lo

Trevin with his take on Usher's "Scream."

Trevin decided to change it up a bit with an upbeat song. The idea was good but the execution was not that good. The screams wasn't eardrum friendly at all. I think he needs to stick to what he sings best. Perhaps he can do a Donna Summer and turn ballad songs to disco.

Bryan Keith, Team Adam

Bryan takes on Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind."

Bryan was always consistent and delivers all the time. But why was he out? Well, he makes it look everything so easy. The way he sings make you at ease. I think, Bryan wasn't innovative as some of the other artist. Sometimes you have to exude a certain degree of aggression to show you wanted something really bad.

Sylvia Yacoub, Team Christina

Sylvia puts her all into Alicia Keys' "Girl on Fire."

Sylvia sound a bit like Christina. She also brings that fire when she performs. But, I guess, it isn't enough to  be Christina's 'mini me' to win The Voice. 

The Voice 3: Top 12 Performance and Results

Image: 'A Cee Lo Green Study in Bling' 
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It is the live rounds and a lot of rule changes taking place this season. From hereon in, the power shifts completely to the public. The coaches lost the power to save their favored artists.  After the votes are casts, two artist will be eliminated irregardless of any team whatsoever. So it is a possibility of a coach or two having no artist represent him or her in the final four. That would surely be a bummer for any of the coaches if none in the their team reach the finals. Let's wait and see how they would take this ego crushing scenario. So with this, I am choosing my top 4 artist each week. Here is my take on the performances and results of this round.

The best from all the rest...

Trevin Hunte #TeamCeeLo

Trevin Hunte: "When a Man Loves a Woman" - The Voice

Cee Lo's top dogg  is back! Trevin Hunte is just spectacular. He took everyone to church from beginning to end. Way to go, Trevin!

Melanie Martinez #TeamAdam

Melanie haunts us with Young the Giant's "Cough Syrup."

This is the Melanie Martinez that I like. I love Melanie when she takes on weird and poetic songs. Her voice and her take on songs like this makes her unique. That makes her interesting to listen and I would listen to her singing this song all day long.

Sylvia Yacoub #TeamChristina

Sylvia does a stellar rendition of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On."

Sylvia is showing she is the top female vocalist on Christina's team. A stellar performance on a very difficult to sing Celine Dion song. She did really really well. She even sounded a bit like her mentor. Christina must be so proud of her apprentice. 

Terry McDermott #TeamBlake

Terry rocks on Boston's "More Than a Feeling."

This is a perfect song choice for Terry. I like Terry's voice when its way up there. However, there are some bullets that missed the mark. His voice seem to struggled to hit some of the high notes. Nevertheless, he was so amazing to watch. Yes to more rock and to more Terry in the coming rounds.

It's alright, it's okay; they made it anyway...

Cassadee Pope #TeamBlake

Cassadee sings her heart out with Kelly Clarkson's "Behind These Hazel Eyes."

I like Cassadee when she is rocking with a guitar. It makes you feel you are on a concert. Well, she's been there before. Her rock influence shines through. She has a natural shakiness in her voice that I like. And that high note near the end, sensational! I wish she did hold it, though, all through out. Nevertheless, a very good performance from her.

Nicholas David #TeamCeeLo

St Nick grooves to Huey Lewis' "The Power of Love."

Nicholas is giving us a lesson in old school music. He performs like a man possessed with music and that makes him contagious. His moves are a bit in a quirky side but very entertaining. However, I wish St. Nick could open his eyes when he sings and interact more with the audience.

Cody Belew #TeamCeeLo

Cody slows things down with a Tina Turner classic, "The Best."

This is a very subdued performance from Cody. He sings good his voice inaudible or drown in the lower parts of the song. It was not a perfect fit, however, his enigmatic stage presence does shines through for him all the time. I think he delivers more 'bam bam' when he sings up tempo songs. 

Amanda Brown #TeamAdam

Amanda takes on Florence + the Machine's "Spectrum."

Oh Amanda what went wrong. I was a bit of a disaster. First, she started very low. Then her voice sounds strained and she couldn't reach the higher notes. She did a lot of arm swaying as well, kinda like a jellyfish swimming in the deep blue sea. But she looked great and sexy in her dress. I hope we get a more stellar Amanda next week.

Bryan Keith #TeamAdam

Bryan puts a soulful touch to Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black."

Way to go Keith! I like his soulful rendition of this song. He makes singing look so easy. However, no matter how pleasing it was to the ears, I can't help myself from inhaling some air and stretching my eardrums. Boredom starts creeping in. I wish he could do more than sing slow rock or ballad songs. He needs to do something different next time. 

Dez Duron #TeamChristina

Dez on stage with "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You."

Dez is becoming quite the consummate balladeer . He never fails to make the ladies in the audience scream. He did his own thing with this song so it was kinda alright for me.

The one that got away...

Michaela Page #TeamBlake

Michaela's take on Pink's "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)."

Michaela started low and shaky, however, she brought out that sassy punk rock chick and delivered a solid performance at the end. This girl is a trooper. Too bad she didn't get the votes she needed to cross over to the next round. I would have liked to see more of her. I am gonna miss her Mohawk and all.

A definitely bye bye...

Adriana Louise #TeamChristina

Adriana sings her twist to Carrie Underwood's "Good Girl."

Adriana was one of my favorites at the blinds. However, she seem to have lost her magic moving forward in the competition. I think she can sing any song she likes and make good run with it. The problem, however, is that she doesn't seem to make us stand up in awe. Yeah, it is time to say goodbye.

The Voice 3 Knockout Round: Team Christina and Team Blake

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It is the knockout rounds part 2 and it is Christina Aguillera and Blake Shelton's turns to pick their top 5 artist to move forward to the live performance rounds.This show brings a lot of hype and energy. There is so much going on and in a fast phase. And, I think it is moving quite fast. You don't get to see one or two talent but 5 or 10 per episode. We only get to know and revel at their talent in only one or two episodes and then they're gone. Well that is reality TV for you. On with the show...

Team Christina

Devyn DeLoera vs Laura Vivas
Song choice: "I Have Nothing" / "I Need To Know"

Singing Whitney may make or break you. Shaky start for Devyn, but she hold it strong at the end. It is Laura's first full feature under the spotlight. For no apparent reason, she has been given less airtime exposure during the earlier rounds. She is very good and confident when she perform. And I love how she put more Latin flavor into it. Laura has the stage presence but Devyn showed more depth in her voice. I guess that's why Christina pick her.


Adriana Louise vs Celica Westbrook
Song choice: "Already Gone" / "Never Say Never"

I like Justin Beiber's songs just for fun. But in a competition like this, it doesn't give much value to sing unless maybe you are a singer songwriter type who makes your own spin to it. But Celica is not. Good effort though for bringing us something new, Celica. It is getting to be a one note for team Christina. All pop and big voices. But there is no denying Adriana. She sure can sing. Christina is becoming predictable.

Alessandra Guercio vs Dez Duron
Song choice: "Take a Bow" / "Stuck on You"

Go on Alessandra and take a bow. Dez should have gone too but he chose a better song title to win over Christina. I don't have  much to comment about this pair. They are just good to look at.

Chevonne vs De'borah
Song choice: "Dancing with Myself" / "You Found Me"

You rock Chevonne! Now we know you love to party. But celebration this early can sometimes turn into a bitter taste in the mouth. Kudos to De'borah for being true and inspirational. A tear almost slip out my eye. Thank you for reminding us that God is everywhere every time.

Aquile vs Sylvia Yacoub
Song choice: "Grenade" / "Fighter"

Bold song choices and these two artists are not afraid to take risk. Risky songs does exposed your vocal flaws more. Aquile's voice is not gutsy enough or he didn't dirty it enough or put much effort into it to make par with what Bruno Mars has done with this song. For that he didn't made the grade. Doing Fighter live! That is super risky. And it did exposed Sylvia's voice a lot. She is way under a lot and seems to lag behind a little with the phasing. I give her A for effort.


Christina picked a lot of powerful singers and that is what shaped her team. Three powerful singers in one group? My ears now starting to bleed. My ranking of Team Christina:

    


Team Blake

Gracia Harrison vs Liz Davis
Song choice: "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" / "Gunpowder and Lead"

I would have liked Gracia to move forward as the lone country artist from team Blake but she did stray away from this genre when she picked this song or didn't put much twist on it to make it sound country. Liz, on the other hand, is too sexy. She is touching her body way much when she perform. She need to tone down the skin and the leather.

Rudy Parris vs Terry McDermott
Song choice: "Forever" / "Maybe I'm Amazed"

Poor Rudy. He made a young song old. Welcome back rock '80s! With just the first line of the song, Terry already won. He is a star and a strong contender to win Blake his second best coach trophy on The Voice.

Collin McLoughlin vs Michaela Paige
Song choice: "Breakeaven" / "Love is a Battlefield"

Collin has a like-ability factor to him. However, being a stolen artist from another coach, has a big disadvantage compared to a first hand chosen artists. And with a perfectionist coach like Blake, one note can dismiss you outright. Michaela, IMHO, is most improved. She is current. Her performance is not over the top. She doesn't push but you know it is very good and that you want more of it. I can't help noticing the envy in Christina's eyes when she performs in front of her. Ce Loo's shades doesn't hide the same look he gives to this girl. She is definitely a gem to watch our for in the upcoming rounds.

Julio Cesar Castillo vs MarissaAnn
Song choice: "Somebody To Love" / "Lady Marmalade"

In a very diverse team, odd pairings come naturally. And this is no exception. Another Justin Beiber song but  this time it did work surprisingly. I like Julio's voice especially when it is up there. He is also very like-able. Lady Marmalade is a tough song to do. And I think  MarissaAnn did Christina proud. MarissaAnn is a better singer compared to Julio. But with Blake's standards, no one can beat a Christina  Aguilera.

Cassadee Pope vs Susanna Choffel
Song choice: "Payphone" / "Could You Be Loved"

I never seen Cassadee Pope so nervous and worried. I didn't expect that for an experienced artists like her. Well, perhaps her song choice made her feel that way. Singing Payphone to the one who did it originally is definitely a blood rusher. It was not perfect but she did a lot of twist to it that made it as good as Adam's record. Susanna's vibe, however, was completely the opposite. She was cool as ice. But I do agree, no matter how pleasing it was to the ears, it was too laid back that it didn't vibe to the charge up energy of the whole show.

I do question some of Blake's choices and decisions. He is the hardest to read and predict among the coach and judges. Mind you, he built a formidable team at the end. He chances 1 or 2 stars and let them shine like a supernova. It does make you think that he is a master at strategy. You know he likes to win.

He is also the most opinionated. Sometimes his comments and retorts borderlines SPG. He doesn't sugar coat it. He gives you the way it is. And I think that makes him a great coach.

Here is how they're rank IMHO:

    


Well, I am off to the races. Enjoy the rest of your day.