The Voice 7 – Live Blog And Recap – Live Top 12 Performances, Welcome to the live blog and recap of The Voice 2014 Season 7, “Live Top 12 Performances”!
After last week’s controversial results show, the Top 12 for Season 7 was finalized. There were some controversial picks by both America and the coaches, as underdogs Ryan Sill and Chris Jamison were put through by Gwen and Adam, respectively, while Elyjuh Rene and David James Carter were cut by Pharrell and Blake, respectively. This left us with one of the more eclectic, divisive Top 12s in recent memory.
But who will standout in the Top 12 show?We open the show with Carson revealing that later in the season, the coaches will be teaming up with “some of the most prolific songwriters in the business” to create original songs for the finalists. Interesting. I really liked the originals from the season one finale.
SUGAR JOANS (TEAM PHARRELL WILLIAMS) opens the show!
-Sugar feels humbled because she realizes she wouldn’t be here if Pharrell hadn’t saved her the past two rounds. She talks about her brother Jules, who is a guitarist who plays in a wedding band with her. He’ll be in the crowd tonight, so she wants to make him proud. She’ll be singing ‘Take Me To the River’, a song she and her brother have done countless times. She gets to into it during rehearsal that her hat falls off. So cute.
-I adore what the styling team has done with Sugar. Her curly, ribbon-like hair looks amazing, as does her outfit, which…eh, if I had better skills in describing style, I’d be able to say what this is. Maybe someone in the comments can help me out.
-Oh yeah, the performance. I thought this was a wonderful way to kick off the show. Tons of grit and attitude, showing that Sugar is a modern take on a classic soul artist. Her stage presence has grown by leaps and bounds since the start of the competition, and her vocals are on-point once again, particularly that closing run at the end. Loved it.
-Gwen likes Sugar, but is uncertain what kind of record she would make, since she’s retro but with a current vibe. It sounds like she’s criticizing Sugar, but Gwen makes sure to stress that the performance was incredible. Adam thinks this song suited her, and praises her for what she’s accomplished. Blake says that just when you think you’ve heard everything Sugar is capable of, she continues to surprise you by taking it to the next level. Pharrell tells Sugar he’s proud of her, and that he’s believed in her from the very beginning. He thanks her for following through and showing the audience her talent, song by song. Once again, this was a great way to kick off the show. A really soulful performance, but also high energy. I dug it a lot.
Ryan admits that he needs to really nail it, since there are no more saves (um…hello?). He’ll be singing “Ordinary World” by Duran Duran, and it starts off pretty well. Even Gwen notes that he seems cool and sexy like James Dean. But halfway through, he seemingly becomes self-conscious, and thinks too much about his performance, which takes him out of it. Gwen encourages him not to think about it, suggesting that it’s as much about the presentation here, saying the girls are going to go nuts for him. Did she really only save this guy because he’s cute?
-This basically is the opposite of the rehearsal, in that it starts out kind of dry and lifeless, but becomes better as the song goes on. Seriously, I was genuinely impressed with how much he gets into this song as it builds, leading to some absolutely killer notes in his upper register. He nearly sings himself hoarse, but I thought he sounded pretty damn good. He gets a standing O from Gwen and Pharrell. Ryan seems happy with the performance, but also kind of stunned. Carson notes that even Ryan seems shocked at how well he did.
-Adam says America doesn’t realize just how good of a singer Ryan is, noting that he should do rock music more often. Pharrell didn’t know Ryan had all that in him. He advises Ryan to pick a lane where he can do what no one else can do, and he’ll be good. Gwen listened to his rehearsal audio 15 times in her car, and was thrilled to get a chance to see him perform this live. She thanks him for being her friend, in an adorable little moment.
Back from break with Katherine Heigl and Alfre Woodard from State of Affairs, because NBC is hellbent on making this show happen. Honestly, it looks kinda good. Like Homeland before it went all haywire.
JESSIE PITTS (TEAM BLAKE SHELTON) is up next!
-Jessie thanks Blake for saving her, calling him her hero. He gave her “Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia, and she wants to play piano on the track, since piano was one of her first forms of musical expression as a kid. She relates to the song, feeling it reflects her journey, in a lot of ways. Blake feels this could be the song that proves to America that she deserves to be in the Top 10.
-I hate that I didn’t love this, because I love Jessie. But pulling back on the falsetto in the chorus hurt her a bit, since I think those falsetto notes on the word “worry” are crucial to the song. I loved the luminescent white piano, and I loved how Jessie was styled, but man, did I not like the arrangement once the tempo picked up. Jessie sounded great as the song came to an end, but those last couple seconds of the song weren’t enough to sell me on the track overall. Ugh, I wanted to love this so much.
-Gwen loved it, and said she didn’t even know Jessie played piano. She liked hearing it broken down like that, and feels there’s nothing she can do wrong at this point. Adam liked the performance, and encourages her to keep exploring “the big part” of her voice. Blake feels it’s clear that Jessie deserves to be here, and said if the show was called The Artist, she’d still deserve to be here. He compares her to Miranda Lambert, in her artistry. And he’s right about her artistry and talent. But I just wasn’t feeling this, unfortunately.
Adam feels Damien had a real moment last week that opened America’s eyes. But he wants to give Damien a song that is about passion. He’ll be singing “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” a track that Damien loves since it relates to his role as the eldest child in a Christian family. He recalls his father telling him about the responsibility of being the oldest, and says he’s tried to live up to that role by being there for his siblings. Adam notes that he’s an eldest child as well, and they bond over that. Adam genuinely feels Damien can win this, and…well, hey, if Jermaine Paul can win, why not Damien?
-Another terrific vocal from Damien. I’m not big into gospel-style tracks like this, but Damien made it sound current and new. He also makes it sound effortless, not only in how he delivers the vocal, but in the amount of passion he’s able to imbue each track with. This was almost as good as last week, and it wouldn’t surprise me if this was one of the best of the night by the time all 12 artists have performed.
-Blake loved it, and praises Damien’s vocal talent. Pharrell says it was downright Pentecostal, noting how amazing it was when Damien hit the last run, then paused and hit’em with some more of the same. He was blown away by Damien. Adam congratulates Damien for trusting him, and says he couldn’t be any more proud of Damien than he is right now. I thought Damien did a hell of a job, and he should be proud of himself as well.
