November 20, 2012 
Okie Dokie everyone! We’ve got ourselves a competition.
Was that an explosive performance show last evening or what? I have never seen such an impeccable array of talent in one reality singing competition.
Add to this the precise and creative attention to song choice and production and one can safely say that the Top Ten Performance Show of The Voice kicked some serious butt! And hard!
It says something when my favorite in the competition, Trevin Hunte, was my least favorite last evening – mostly based on an Usher-inspired song choice. It didn’t work. It wasn’t horrible, just not stylistically correct for him. I love his retro soulful singing – this is where he excels.
Who else was good? Well, pretty much all of them, although Team Blake’s Cassadee Pope took my breath away. The ringing clarity of her voice, her sweet and genuine demeanour coupled with her emotional performance of Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert’s song “Over You” was just exquisite. Truly a Masterclass Performance.
And then there was Team Cee Lo’s Nicholas David and Team Christina’s Dez Duron both of whom absolutely found their stride in their wisely selected song choices, “Lean On Me” and “Feelin’Good” respectively. They each had a moment on stage that equaled Cassadee’s and deserve to share the Top 3 spot with her.
I also fully enjoyed Team Adam’s Brian Keith and Amanda Brown. Their performances were incredibly strong and they deserve to be in the Top 5.
And let’s add Team Cee Lo’s Cody Belew and Team Blake’s Terry McDermott to complete the Top 7. Both gave improved performances this week.
So, in anticipation of next week’s show, that leaves three singers for that last spot in the Top 8.
Will it be Team Cee Lo’s Trevin Hunte (MCL pick), Team Christina’s Sylvia Yacoub or Team Adam’s Melanie Martinez?
Now your turn!! Agree or disagree?
The show airs Monday and Tuesday at 8:00 P.M. Eastern on NBC.
Catch you in the comments section. 🙂
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i love it to hear your professional comments. i haven’t yet watched the show but i checked itunes this morning and was shocked to see nearly everyone ‘charting’. and cassadee was number one on itunes. that has NEVER happened.
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I know hunter. The show last night was exceptional. Truly the best I have ever seen on any singing competition show.
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Sounds like we saw the same show this week. It was outstanding. . I couldn’t believe the level that all of the contestants performed at. There is something much better about the set, the lighting, the props and the way they use them on this show than on AI, and especially when compared to the X-Factor. The audience being in the round helps but the overall effect is just classier and more professional than the others.
Before last night I thought that Trevin was the designated winner and everyone else was competing for second place but his choice of an Usher cover pushed him down low on my list as well. Not quite to the bottom, but low. Sylvia may be my least favorite. She might make a good singer one day when she finds “herself” but for now she is too copycat for me. I enjoy Terry but I’m not seeing anything special about him. Melanie is getting closer to the mark but may run out of time before she hits it. I do see something very special in her but I think she may find herself in a “too little, too late” scenario. Bryan Keith has been pretty solid since his blind audition and I thought he was very good last night but I feel like we have seen his best already.
My favorite has been Nicholas David because of that great soulful vibe he gives off and the deep rich tone of his voice. He may be the only contestant that is weird enough for me! Last night he put a big smile on my face. At first I thought the choir wasn’t going to be a good idea but I think they made it work. I was hoping to see Jennifer Hudson tucked away in the choir but they let me down a little bit. His real name is Nicholas Mrozinski, BTW. You can find several albums of his under that name on itunes.
I have liked Amanda Brown since her audition because she has a perfect set of teeth; every one of them. Just kidding, but she isn’t shy about opening her mouth. I think she is the most skilled singer (in the since of professional development, not necessarily her gifted abilities) in the bunch. It’s interesting to watch her practice sessions. When someone suggests a change for her to try, no sooner is it said than it’s done. It’s as if you reprogrammed her and hit the play button. She has also been the boldest in the area of trying something new each week which, as Siobhan Magnus could tell her, may come back to bite her if the judges roll out the “I don’t know who you are as an artist” line. She has learned a lot of different styles singing backup over the years but it’s time for her to pick one style and stay with it.
Until last night the best Cassadee Pope has been able to do for me was fill the role of being the closest thing we had to a rocker chick in the competition. For some reason when she sang last night my allergies kicked in and my eyes began to water a bit. I love that song of Miranda’s and if you haven’t seen the video of it, I recommend it. It’s pretty powerful. Cassadee sang it better than Miranda does in a live setting and almost as well as her recording. The emotion she was able to deliver on this heart wrenching, very personal song, without breaking down herself, was the stuff that stars are made of. Outstanding!
I agree with you that Dez found his niche last night as well. It was a little loungey but pretty much the way Buble does it. The only thing he could have done a little better would be to stay in character during the judging segment. He went from suave and debonair to looking sort of like a waiter to me. That’s pretty minor in light of the good performance.
Sylvia is the only one that I would send home for cause but it gets harder from there.
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Gene – sounds like you and I are pretty much on the same page. This show defines class and it helps that Mark Burnett is the producer. He is brilliant.
At first I thought that the stage was too small for the live shows but now I actually love it. They have escalated the production elements and the overall effect is absolutely beautiful and intimate.
And the singers, I feel, have an even playing field. All are treated first-class which cannot be said for American Idol, unfortunately. Not sure about The X Factor.
I loved the gospel choir for “Lean On “. My choir actually performed and recorded a similar version, backing an outstanding a Capella group. Works beautifully for this song.
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Good points MCL. Who is Mark Burnett, I don’t think I know him, by name anyway. I hadn’t thought about the stage being too small but I have had the opposite thought regarding the X-Factor’s stage. It is so big that they are tempted to fill it up with low grade filler.
How cool that your choir has done the song before. I would have liked to have seen that. I like choirs, or gospel groups like the Staple Singers, doing backing vocals on popular music but I was afraid in this case they would overpower Nicholas and make his performance too polished. I was wrong though and the overall effect was great.
I meant to say earlier that as the song opened and the camera view of Nicholas was from his left side, I could have sworn that it was about 1970 and I was watching Leon Russell. Their styles are not that much different, both on piano and vocally, and the hair and beard are very similar, but that’s not to say that Nicholas is copying anyone; oh no he is his own man.
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Hunter, I’m glad to hear that Cassadee is doing so well on iTunes. Each sell of a current weeks song is equal to 10 votes. The fact that they are all charting confirms just how good the show was. I think you’ll enjoy watching it.
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Well, I’ll be. You guys got me to watch a few of the videos from last night. I just haven’t had time to watch this. And I am SO grateful because I absolutely LOVE Nicholas. He is a unique performer with a unique voice and a style that hasn’t been heard in these parts for a while :). I just bought the single on iTunes. And I also was impressed with Cassadee’s performance. The look on Blake’s face while she was singing was priceless. Thanks for nudging me into gear!!
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And Gene, you are so right about Amanda’s teeth!!
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Gene – Mark Burnett made his mark, so to speak, producing The Survivor series. And then Rockstar INXS and so many other reality-based shows. He is a master at what he does.
Here is a Wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Burnett
Yes, we recorded Lean On Me for our Scenes From A Dream CD. It is available on iTunes if you want to have a preview. It was such a huge crowd favorite.
Nicholas was the game-changer last night. It was refreshing and obviously a throwback to a wonderful era in music history. He just might capture the whole title.
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Darlene – the show was just so special. Really an unprecedented viewing event. The Results Show tonight will be a heartbreaker.
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“And Gene, you are so right about Amanda’s teeth!!”
They are beautiful, aren’t they? Every last one of them. She can always be a toothpaste model if the singing thing doesn’t work out! I listened to the iTunes previews of her version of “Stars” as well as Grace Potter’s original, which I haven’t heard before and I would have to say that Amanda’s version was much prettier than Grace’s although the later may have a little more of a distinct sound, which is where the money is.
I’m glad you are watching, Darlene. DWTS and the voice have me on the edge of my seat tonight to see who is going home. Thank goodness for the DVR.
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i feel bad bryan keith was voted off. i really liked the guy. kassadee is still at number one on itunes, that is really really amazing.
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Yes I was sorry to see him go. Glad Cassadee is doing do well on iTunes. She deserves it!
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Rosanne,
Thank you for telling me about your CD on iTunes, I have enjoyed listening to the previews and recognized Patricia Callahan’s voice right away in several songs because you told me about her video’s on You Tube a few years back. I really liked your version of “Lean on Me” and the unique take on the “Hallelujah Chorus” was good as well. There were many of the songs that I really liked. What was the reason behind this compilation? Were all of the songs from one performance or is it a group of choir favorites / greatest hits sort of thing? Were you providing the piano accompaniment as well as arrangements and direction for the songs?
I also wish that Bryan Keith had continued on for a while but at least those who seem to be the contenders dodged the bullet. I still think Trevin is the likely winner if he chooses better songs. The brief history of the show would suggest that as well as his remarkable talent. That would also likely find Melanie or Cassadee in second place. I’m still pulling for Nicholas who has many great song choices available to choose from.
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Gene – thank you for listening to some of my tracks from Scenes From A Dream. The double CD compilation was as you said – the best performances by The Timmins Youth Singers over the years. I was fortunate to acquire the mastering services of a top notch mastering engineer in Toronto. His job was difficult as the tracks were from the years 1984 – 2000 and were not arranged in chronological order. Rather, they told a story.
I have two Christmas CDs as well – I Remember December featuring Patricia O’Callaghan and Kevin Closs and “A Christmas Legacy”. The latter was recorded live in concert.
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Awwww, Gene you mentioned Siobhan. I don’t think anyone will be complaining about Amanda. I can see both her and Cassadee Pope in the finals. I think there may be some success stories here this year. I can see Cody, Dez, and Trevin in it too. It all depends on how strong there fan base is.
In the beginning, I appreciated the uniqueness of Cody, but I don’t like his attitude in recent weeks. So, we’ll see. I really like this judge’s panel!! I am not sure I will like Shakara. Usher has previous experience, but he’s not a “character” like Cee-Lo is. This has been a GOOD season for “The Voice”. I am enjoying it so much more than the X-Factor!
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