The Voice: S10: Top 10

Daniel Passino: I Don't Want To Miss a Thing:
comments: About the only thing I liked about this performance was the swaybots. It was pitchy and that high note in the song? Steven can hit it, with Daniel it was painful.
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: somewhere in the Twilight Zone.
chart position as of 12:30pm: 186
change: up more than 15 spots

Shalyah Fearing: My Kind of Love :
comments: Didn't dig that at all. 
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 120
chart position as of 12:30pm: 92
change: up 28

Nick Hagelin: I Can't Help It:
comments: This was good, but there wasn't anything really special about it. He sounded so much like Michael at times that it was hard to find moments where he made the song his own.
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 122
chart position as of 12:30pm: 91
change: up 31


Hannah Huston: Rolling in the Deep :
comments: Didn't dig this either. That sliding note at the beginning of the chorus really killed it, and not in a good way. That note needs to be nailed. The way she did it made it sound sloppy, lazy. 
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 35
chart position as of : 23
change: up 12

Laith Al-Saadi: The Thrill Is Gone:
comments: There was a bit more growl than I care to hear and to be honest, this is The Voice, not The Instrument. However, I quite dug this anyway and bought it (mostly because he's hubby's favorite and hubby's the one who feeds my music addiction).
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 19
chart position as of 12:30pm: 11
change: up 8
*Make It Rain returned at 127 and got up to 108 for a 19 spot increase.

Paxton Ingram: It's All Coming Back to Me Now:
comments: Okay Blake, I kinda get it. It was an okay performance that was a blend of both Celine and Meatloaf (Meatline? C-Loaf?).
chart position as of  12:02am after performance: 60
chart position as of 12:30pm: 37
change: up 23
*Break Every Chain returned at 94 and got up to 83 for an 11 spot increase.


Mary Sarah: Stand By Your Man:
comments: I really despise this song. That said, she did a decent job with it. I wonder if she couldn't have brought it up a half step because it sounded like some of the lower notes were too low for her to hit comfortably. 
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 25
chart position as of 12:30pm: 18
change: up 7
*Overnight, her version of Johnny & June made a reappearance and is presently sitting in 176th.

Bryan Bautista: Promise:
comments: This wasn't bad. Haven't decided if I like it better than the original or not. It's just good enough so that it's on my wishlist for later.
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 63
chart position as of 12:30pm: 35
change: up 28

Alisan Porter: Let Him Fly:
comments: I liked this one enough to buy it. Not sure if I like it as much as Patty Griffin's or Jessica Simpson's versions, but enough that it'll be a nice addition to the Alisan Porter music file.
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 10
chart position as of 12:30pm: 6
change: up 4


Adam Wakefield: I Got a Woman:
comments: SQUEALZ!!! Flings ALL da panties and then some. Yeah. I'll be buying this one. 
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 20
chart position as of 12:30pm: 16
change: up 4

Analysis: Sales-wise this was a better week for our contestants. We had 3 of them each have a song return. Biggest increase might be Daniel, but it's hard to tell since he was in the Twilight Zone before my bedtime. So I'm going to say biggest sales jump went to Nick , with his 31 spot leap. Right behind him is Bryan and Shalyah with a 28 spot increase each.  Why not Daniel? Because I assume (usually incorrectly , but it makes figuring the numbers easier) that the person who hasn't charted is at 201 and just out of sight. In this case, Daniel has more than a 15 spot increase but I can't guarantee that it was more of an increase than the other 3.

Top 3 according to the Top 200 in ITunes are Alisan, Laith and Adam. No real surprises there to be honest.

Alisan: She's proved, yet again, what a contender she is. I won't be surprised to see her in the finals to be honest. She's got a massive following and has been a favorite since the auditions. The only surprise was that none of her other music came back this week. Maybe we need to have Pharrell pimp her out too? Hey, it worked for Laith. I'd like to see her tackle some Sheryl Crow or Cass Elliot, just to see where she can so with songs from those 2.

Laith: This one is hubby's favorite. Over the last couple weeks I've noticed just how often this one growls while he's singing. Somedays I dig it, somedays not so much. He needs to learn when to use it properly. Over seasoning a dish makes it unpalatable. However, they could always work with it and give him some Steppenwolf or Jonny Lang to chew on. Could work out even more to his advantage.

Adam: Next to Alisan, Adam's my favorite. With a more polished look and less growl, it's more versatile than Laith. Those two suggestions would work well with Adam as well. However, with his versatility, I can see him doing any of the songs Bo Bice did on Idol, or how about throwing some songs at him from the artist Bo was most often compared to... Donnie Van Zant.  Songs from .38 Special, Skynyrd, etc would be right in his wheel house.

The Middle of the pack is fill with Mary Sarah, Hannah, Bryan and Paxton.

Mary Sarah: I really hated that song this week, but then anyone could have sung it and I still would have disliked it. I will say she did a good job with it though. She seems to be another fan favorite, so I'm not really seeing her in the B2, but anything could happen with those fickle voters. She was one of the few that had a song come back on the charts this week. I'm thinking she needs to try her hand at some Maren Morris or Kellie Pickler sometime. Both, especially Pickler, have the same basic sound to their voices as her and it should work out fairly well.

Hannah:  I keep wanting to call her Juliet because she reminds me of that actress from Psych, Maggie Lawson. Although I didn't particularly like her performance, I think Adam's comment (which I agree with) about that scooping note into the chorus (it needed to be hit straight on) might have helped her because his remark would have driven her fans into a voting frenzy. It all depends on how the other voting methods went. She might slip into the bottom, maybe not. I'm thinking I like Elle King or Rachel Platten for her if she gets through.

Bryan: He's still lingering in the lower midpack area. His problem? He's not the only AAM in the competition AND the other one is starting to have more memorable performances. He's going to need to step up and fast. I'd like to see him pull off some Al B. Sure or Nelly. Maybe even some Chris Brown or Bobby Brown would help. Granted those last two artists are personae  non gratae in most circles these days, but their songs would fit nicely with his voice. If the voting goes freaky, he might end up in the bottom. If he does it'll be because the other AAM put forth a more memorable performance.

Paxton: Okay. I almost get it with this one. However, by sales alone C-Loaf should have been gone weeks ago. Do I like him? No. I'd much rather Bryan stayed around, but I have to be honest... there is something about his performances. If he gets through, I'd like to see him tackle some Train or Jason Mraz, just to see what he's made of. If he doesn't, it'll be because his performance this week wasn't nearly as good as last week's.

Pulling up the rear, and most likely (according to the Top 200) to be in the bottom 3 are Nick, Shalyah and Daniel.

Nick: His performance this week was good, but nothing really special. You want to do enough to a song to make it your own without totally wrecking it, but you also don't want to do so little that a person thinks that they're in a karaoke bar. This was the latter. I won't be surprised to see him in the B2, but I'm kinda hoping he's not because I'd much rather watch this guy than the other generic white dude. If he manages to get through , I'd like to hear his take on anything by Timberlake (if he can do Michael, he should be able to manage JT), Rob Thomas (solo career or Matchbox 20 stuff), or even Owl City. Songs from any of those should fall in his wheel house and help boost his ratings.

Shalyah: Not sure what's up with this one. I haven't really liked any of the performances. I'm thinking something's just not sitting right with me in regards to her voice. Maybe it's that she's not choosing the right song? I agree with the comment we heard saying that they want to hear Mary J from her. I think it might be a decent fit. If not Mary J (and Mary's songs are really difficult to master), then perhaps Kelly Rowland, Ciara, or Monica? All have the right sound to fit her voice. If she ends up in the B2 , it's because either others are like me and just not feeling it OR because she sang in the secondary death spot. It all depends on the other voting.

Daniel: He's in the bottom grouping yet again. That death spot singing position didn't help him any, especially with such a generic performance. This wasn't even a good karaoke performance. It was more like a half step better than drunk karaoke on a good night. If you're going to do a song like this, you best be damned certain you can hit the one iconic note the artist is not only known for, but still can hit at the age of 68.

Next week I won't be around to see the show, so there a huge chance that there won't be a write up for the Top 9. IF there is one, it's going to be based solely on the ITunes chart (assuming I even have that program on my laptop).