The Voice – More quarterfinals, more instant eliminations

It’s the second half of the quarterfinals as Adam’s and Cee Lo’s teams take the stage for the evening in their bids to advance on The Voice.

Jamar Rogers “It’s My Life”
He was not only uneven in his performance, he was subdued as well. If you’re fighting for a spot at the end of the night, you need to put the effort out there, fight for it like you want to, Jamar. And not with tears. Interestingly, Cee Lo mentioned “win, lose or draw” he would fight for him. If it comes down to that at the end, I’m not so certain Cee Lo would go that extra step …

Katrina Parker “Jar Of Hearts”
“I have to sing the crap out of this song,” Katrina Parker told Adam during rehearsals. She didn’t do that in the actual performance, however. Nice rendition, but not to the 9’s. “Jar Of Hearts” is the kind of song you can the crap out of, but it didn’t matter — she put it out there pretty well.

Mathai “I’m Like A Bird”
She was uneven on a song that she absolutely tried too hard on. It wasn’t something she should have been singing during the quarterfinals, with an instant elimination looming and voting coming up. I like Mathai’s voice and some of her takes on songs, but, amazingly, I agreed with Christina’s assessment on this one: She tried too hard.

James Massone “Just The Way You Are”
A Billy Joel tune … and, on a Billy Joel tune, it’s nice to take liberties to mold it to your personality. And especially with some of the runs on this song. However, parts of it were awkward. If they were done a little more mainstream with a little less extremism, James might have gotten away with them. I couldn’t help but think the things he did with and to this song might work against him.

Tony Lucca “Hit Me Baby One More Time”
Hello! I liked it! Putting a somewhat grungy edge on Brittany’s iconic song was a pretty smart move, especially as noted with all the former “Mouseketeerery” that’s floating around The Voice auditorium. Better than his Peter Gabriel effort of a couple weeks ago. (Did you notice Christina’s critique of Tony was out the side of her mouth? Bad form …)

Cheesa “I Have Nothing”
*meh* Big diva-ish song that was more there than she could handle.

Pip “Someone Only We Know”
Nope. It was just “there” and that was it. Not dynamic at all, Pip didn’t put enough into it … it didn’t even fade away at the end properly. All of a sudden there was just … nothing. Not good.

Juliet Simms “Crying”
Frantic and forced in the best sort of way. Anyone else performing that song the way she did wouldn’t have worked it as well — she made it hers. That grungy take was what put her over the top with it. And her wing props? In the background and understated … but not. And it added to Juliet’s performance.

In the end, Cee Lo and Adam were subject to the same kind of torture Blake and Christina were forced to endure the previous week: Instant elimination of one of their performers. Cee Lo chose James, no surprise there given how he sang Joel’s song, and Adam pegged Pip, who I thought should have been eliminated long ago.

Notes:

• Here’s how I respect a Voice coach: “You weren’t one of the favorites on my team.” That came from Adam. When you have the balls to be able to admit that in front of a live audience, that earns respect. It may not be the nicest thing to hear about yourself (as was evident on Katrina’s face while her coach was saying it), but in the grand scheme of things, it’s a gooder.
• I discounted the coaches when they performed with their charges this evening for several reasons. None of the songs sounded good and they were cheesecakey. Cee Lo was sadly comical on stage and didn’t even come close to doing justice to what he sang. (Honestly, Cee Lo just doesn’t have that good a voice. And why Adam was bopping about during Cee Lo’s performances I have no idea.) Adam? He didn’t even sing, instead relegating himself to behind a drum kit.

Clacked by Michael Noble
on Apr 24, 2012 @ 00:05 EST5EDT