The Voice: Top 8 : The "Blood Bath Results"

The Voice: The Day After : Dishing About the Top 8

Top 10: The Voice:The Day After Show

YES! I'm NOT the only one who hasn't seen that movie! Thank you, Jeffrey!!

The Day After: Dishing About the Top 10 Live Playoffs

The Voice Top 11

I'm not writing this season simply because I don't feel like it. However, I've found this delightful little show called "The Voice: The Day After" which is on Yahoo! Music and airs on Wednesday, after the results show. I'm going to try and remember to share it over here. Go potty, wash your hands, get a snack and drink before punching play because the show usually runs about 30-45 minutes or so.

The Voice: The Day After: Dishing About the Top 11 Live

The Voice: Season 9: Top 4: Finals

Missed most of the show tonight due to an unexpected trip out of town so I'm having to review through Rickey's page. Thank goodness he posts videos over there, otherwise I would have had to resorted to analyzing based on the 30 second snippit on ITunes.

Each kiddo had 2 solos and a duet with their judge. I am just going to bundle their performances together because it'll be easier on me in the long run.

This time around will have 3 sets of numbers, because we'll be checking out at noon and I won't have time to grab the actual final numbers right at 12pm. I plan on grabbing the third set of numbers around 3:30pm to see if there's much difference. The first set of numbers were grabbed at 11:30 and they're in parentheses.

Jordan Smith:
 
Climb Every Mountain
comment: Yet another of near perfection. I'm telling you, the race is for second place.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 3
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): (3) 3
change: none

duet with Adam: God Only Knows
comment: Nice performance. Did it showcase Jordan's vocals? Not really. However, by this point he doesn't really need to. He could go on stage, cough , leave and still have the highest sales. The only way he wouldn't get into the Top 200 is if he got on stage, barfed, sharted and flipped everyone off. This actually came across much like a generic buddy song you'd find on a Disney or Dreamworks movie. Replace Sully and Mike and you'd get pretty much the same result.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 5
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting):  (5) 5
change: none

Mary Did You Know
comment: Oh for cryin out loud... just crown him already!  I'll be buying this one later, when the votes DON'T count because honestly, this one doesn't need my help ^_~
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 1
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): (1) 1
change: none
* Chandelier returned to 63rd. (47) 45
** Great is Thy Faithfulness returned to 45th. (33) 34
*** Hallelujah returned to 17th (this one has been in the Top 200 since it was released) (17) 17
**** Halo returned to 57th. (44) 42
***** Set Fire to the Rain came back to 65th. (51) 52
****** Somebody to Love returned to 10th. (10) 9
******* Who You Are returned to 110th. (79) 78
NOTE: Of the Top 10 at 12:30am, 4 are his. Both solos from this week, the duet and last week's performance. 

Emily Ann Roberts:
Blue Christmas
comment: This was okay. Nice, but kind of generic. We listened to the show once we got home and hubby teared up. Then again, many of the sad holiday songs do that to him these days.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 14
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): (13) 15
change: +/- 1 depending on when that slip happened. Willing to bet it was after noon though.

duet with Blake: Islands in the Stream
comment: This was a sweet moment between the two of them. Going to check the ITunes version to see if it's worth the $1.29.  The first song was a bit better, but the duets don't count towards the votes anyhow. Won't be surprised if this one shows up on his tour with her as the duet partner.  This was the ONLY duet I bought of the bunch.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 6
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): (6) 6
change: none

Burning House:
comment: Now this was the way to leave a final impression. If any of the other 3 have a shot of dethroning Jordan, it'll be her. Both of her solo performances were pretty much flawless tonight. This one was the better of the two and definitely the way for her to end her night.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 2
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): (2) 2
change: none
* Cowboy Take Me Away reentered at 144. (90) 93
** I Hope You Dance reentered at 115. (81) 81
*** In the Garden came in at 158. (106) 105
**** She's Got You came back at 105. (75) 76
***** Why Not Me came back at 116. (84) 82
****** 9 to 5 came back at 74. (61) 61
******* Blame it on Your Heart (167) 172
NOTE: Considering the number of return songs this week, she might actually be a real contender for the win.

Barrett Baber:
duet with Blake: Rhinestone Cowboy
comment: Yet another old time, throw back song for Barrett. Dude's got 3 albums out right now. Nice songs, but weren't enough for my to buy. This is just more of the same. At this point of the game, we need to hear if the contestant can pull off something a bit more current.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 22
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): (18) 19
change:  ^ 3 or 4 depending on where the slip was.

Die A Happy Man:
comment: Holy shit. A MODERN song??? *faints* I didn't think this was even possible. Kidding aside, this was a decent performance. Not as good as the original, mind you, but a decent enough try. This was the only one of his I bought this week.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 11
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): (7) 8
change: ^ 3 or 4 spots depending on where he was at noon

Silent Night:
comment: This is actually the first one I caught on tv. We'd just gotten in and I was washing up in the vanity area when I heard this one come on. My first thought was "Gee, Blake sounds good tonight. They must have the judges singing Christmas carols" Then I saw exactly WHO was singing. Definitely should have been calling this one Blake 2.0 this year. Does that make Emily Ann the Miranda 2.0? *smirk* This was meh at best.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 27
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): (20) 21
change: ^ 6 or 7 spots
* I'd Just Love to Lay You Down came back onto the Top 200 at 122. (105) 102

Jeffery Austin:

O Holy Night
comment: I should have loved this. It's my utmost favorite song of this time of year. However, Jeffery was off during the first part of it and I couldn't get through the rest of the song I was so disgusted with him. At this point, I'd rather hear Adele's Hello for the bazillionth time. (Seriously, I'm so sick of that song and Idol season is coming up... *ugh*)
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 29
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): (21) 20
change: ^ 8 or 9

Stay
comment: Not sure what's going on with him tonight. He doesn't seem to be going at 100% at all. Starting off flat and having to fight to get back into key. I expected better out of him.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 12
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): (9) 10
change: ^2 or 3

duet with Gwen: Leather and Lace:
comment: Seriously, I don't know why they chose a duet for his last impression since the duets don't count toward the final tallies. Wasn't overly fond of this vocal. His was actually better than hers ^_~. Glad to see that she CAN dress normally when she chooses. I was beginning to wonder if that was possible.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 19
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): (15) 16
change: ^3 or 4
* Believe returned to 64th. (55) 56
** Jealous returned to 143rd. (104) 104

NOTE: Jeffery's ITunes recordings were much better than the live performance and I bought both.


Analysis:
As of the evening part of this entry. I'd have to rank them at
Jordan

Emily
Jeffery/ Barrett. Fairly certain Jeffery just edges out Barrett by the barest margins performance wise.

Afternoon thoughts: Hubby just said that he's thinking Jordan with Barrett in second. I can't say how many times this guy manages to be accurate. If he's right, I may have to throw a pillow at him.

I guess it all depends on how the alternate voting methods went. Jeffery is a very long shot, to be honest. I don't see him doing better than 3rd. Would have been a more interesting fight if Amy had been in there. 

The Voice: Supplemental: Additional recordings

I mentioned in the last analysis posting that a couple of the gals had recordings out already so I figured I'd drop a quick post with anything I could find on the Top 24.

Darius Scott: Only the one song, and it's nothing more than an instrumental. The song is called Yeah, Way!

Evan McKeel: He's got one cd out called Teal.  Not a bad little album. Definitely one I wouldn't mind eventually getting in the digital format.

Madi Davis:  She's actually got 2 EPs out already. Madi Anne Davis came out in 2014, and What I Know arrived in March this year.

Riley Biederer: She's had a bunch of singles come out. In fact, she had a Christmas single called Loving Me (White Christmas) drop just last week. The Voice must not be as restrictive on their contestants as Idol is (or was). The rest of her songs are worth giving at least a listen.

Morgan Frazier: Has a country album called The Best (release in October this year) and a self titled EP that she dropped in 2013. Nice music, but she's got a Carrie Underwood sound to her and I can see where she'd get lost in the blue-eyed blonde female sea of country artists out there. She's got potential though.

Barrett Baber: He dropped an EP called Falling Again in May this year. He's also got 2 albums out. Colt Square Sessions dropped in 2012 and Battlefield Us was released in 2013.

Braiden Sunshine: He's been in 3 different bands, but the only album that I could find out there is called Middle Ground by Madison Red & Braiden Sunshine.

Viktor Kiraly: He's had several albums and singles out. His work can be found by clicking this link.

Blaine Mitchell: Has an EP out called I'll Be There Soon.

Keith Semple: He's got one EP called Slow Down the World which dropped in 2011.

Amy Vachal:  She's got 2 EPs out. The first one dropped in 2011 and is called Appleseed (the link is an ITunes link, there wasn't an Amazon link for this EP). The second one dropped in 2014 and is called Crinkle Bloom.

Jordan Smith: I see a couple cds and an EP hooked to his name in ITunes, but I can't be 100% certain that they're his because it doesn't really sound much like him. Could be that I've been listening to snippits of other tunes for too long today.  There is 2011's cd called Psychedelic Love, 2012's Live Like No One's Watchin' (where he's not a lead on the album but a featured artist), and the EP I'm not going to link simply because I'm 98% certain it's not him. Especially considering that when you look up on his Wiki page (not that there's much on it) it has him affiliated with Christian pop music. Even if he wasn't, I just don't see him doing explicit music...

The other 12 of the Top 24 have nothing out there that I'm aware of, unless you go hunting for performances on YouTube.  Which I'm not up for right now.

The Voice: Season 9: Top 9

Looks like Cindy Lou Who is taking over mentoring duties for Gwen tonight....
Final numbers gotten at 1:11pm. I was running late because of a bad night's sleep so the numbers might be off a bit from the true totals.

Barett Baber: Ghost:
comment:  Not really digging this one. Not at all.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 11
ITunes chart placement after noon (close of voting): 9
change: ^2
*Before the show, I'd Just Love to Lay You Down was still in 187th from the previous week. By midnight, it was up to 80th and then up again to 68th when I checked at 1:11pm

Shelby Brown: Even God Must Get the Blues:
comment:This didn't do much for me at all.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 25
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): 18
change: ^7
* By midnight, Go Rest High on That Mountain was at 184th and at the final check had gotten to 151st.

Jeffrey Austin: Believe :
comment: This was good, but not good enough for me to want to buy it.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 4
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): 3
change: ^ 1
*By midnight, Jealous came back at 110th and had risen to 82nd by 1:11pm

Braiden Sunshine: Amazing Grace:
comment: Definitely the right time to pull out a song like this. A very smart play on his part. Enough changes to make it his own. I think the only thing that will get him through (if he does manage it) will be the song choice.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 6
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): 7
change:  DOWN 1 spot (the only reason for the drop is because Amy's and Madi's sales overtook him)

Zach Seabaugh: The Climb:
comment: Cutting from 9 contestants to 4 this week and he pulls out a slow song? I think this week should have been another uptempo number because the girls love to see him move. That said, this was beautifully performed. Is it enough to go into the Top 4? Maybe, maybe not. More than likely the latter.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 10
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): 8
change: ^2

Madi Davis: Big Girls Don't Cry:
comment: Just no. Odd because she reminds me a tad of Joey Cook from Idol in her stylings and I just adored Joey. Just goes to show how fickle taste can be.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 7
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): 5
change: ^2
*By midnight, Girls Just Want to Have Fun was back up to 62nd and had gotten to 53rd by the final check.

Emily Ann Roberts: 9 to 5:
comment: Not much a country fan. Even less a Dolly fan. However, this was a very fun performance to watch. She's a real contender for a spot in the Top 4.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 5
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): 4
change: ^1
* Before the show, She's Got You was at 199th. By midnight it was up to 85th and had gotten to 67th by final check.
**In the Garden came back onto the charts and is sitting in 199th.
***Why Not Me made a resurgence and is presently at 139th.

Amy Vachal: To Make You Feel My Love:
comment: I kinda dug this one. She's got a vibe going for her that reminds me of The Corrs and Leigh Nash, with a little Norah Jones twist.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 8
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): 6
change: ^2
* Blank Space returned to the chart in 200th by midnight and is presently in 136th place.
** Bye Bye Bye returned and came back in at 120th and is sitting in 86th.
***Dream a Little Dream of Me is back on the chart at 165th.


Jordan Smith: Somebody to Love:
comment: With the exception of that small section where he was told to go nuts and "Christina Aguilera it", this was a show stopper of a performance. A slam dunk and this boy is in the finals (as though there was any doubt as we've known for weeks he'd be going straight to the top in this season). I am, however, rather put out that they had him in the pimp spot yet AGAIN .
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 1 (he got here by 11pm)
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): 1
change: none
* Before the show Jordan's Hallelujah was still on the chart in 74th. By midnight after the show, it was at 17th and is now at 12th. Both this one and his song this week outperforming Shelby's song of the week.
** Chandelier came back in 94th and is at 66th.
*** Great is Thy Faithfulness came back into 63rd and is in 42nd place.
**** Halo came back to 82nd and is now at 62nd.
***** Set Fire to the Rain came back to 131st and is now at 85th.
****** Who You Are came back to 163rd and is sitting in 106th.


By 1:11pm, there were 8 of the 9 contestants in the Top 10.

Of the 9, 7 of them had at least 1 additional song on the chart by the last check. Zach and Braiden are the only ones without multiple songs on the Top 200.


Analysis:
This week's biggest sales increase went to Shelby. The only reason she even had that much of an increase is because she had farther to go in order to catch up.

This week's loss went to Braiden. Although it isn't entirely his fault because once you get near the top, there isn't much farther you can go and people will get displaced while performers are jockeying for position.

If ITunes is accurate (and it hasn't been so far, I'm just putting this as an option because it is entirely possible), then we should see Jordan, Jeffrey, Emily Ann and Madi in the finals.


Fairly certain we won't see Barrett, Zach or Shelby in the next round.
Shelby's song didn't even get close to the Top 10. Her performance this week didn't even rate up with Jordan's week old one and that's not a good thing.

Unless Zach or Barrett did better in the alternate voting methods, their performances weren't quite up to par with the rest of the group. I'd like to put Braiden with this group as well but with all the fuss they made about his voice changing now (this is why you don't audition until after puberty, peeps!), and with his choice of song I'm going to need to put him in the "it's possible" list because you KNOW they were angling for pity votes.

For sure through is Jordan. This guy's been a beast this season, singing everything near flawlessly. He annoys me to no end, more so than Braiden simply because he's got some serious talent where the latter is just a heat rash at best.

Now for the rest of the pack:

Jeffrey has been a mostly solid performer this season. He's got a Clay Aikenish vibe to him and can sing most anything he chooses. We really could use another singer like him on the charts these days considering Clay's decided to step away and be a daddy. Real life comes first and let's be honest, with all those Claymates showing up at nearly every performance of his, he's more than likely got the fund to stay home for a good long while. I forsee a life like that for Jeffery. Is it possible he'll go through, maybe. Do I believe Jeffrey will come in second? At this point, not really.

Braiden has that aw gosh cutie patootie attitude that tweentards and grammies all love. Whether or not he can keep it up is debatable. Is he a threat to the most likely to be crowned? Not really. I don't see him getting second either.

I think Jordan's biggest threats are Emily Ann, Madi and Amy though.

Amy's performances all season have been pretty solid. She's got this Leigh Nash/ The Corrs/ Colbie Callait/ Norah Jones with a James Taylor twist to her. There's such a laid back, throwback sound to her that is just so cool. It's a perfect contrast to those that don't like Jordan's performances.

Madi... I'm not fond of her, honestly. I haven't been from day one. Weird because I love Joey Cook and this girl reminds me of her. Maybe my taste changed. Maybe something else is there that I just can't put my finger on. However much I don't particularly like her, I cannot deny the reaction the crowd had to her performance last night. It could simply be that she's much better to see in person as opposed to a recording.

Emily Ann has done fairly well the last few weeks. Of the country artists left in the competition, she's the best of the bunch. This show isn't necessarily one that goes for the WGWG (although last season they did, but then... he was just that good). Usually, for the country artists, they seem to lean towards' Blake's taste of blue-eyed blonde girls. Of these 3, she's the only one who doesn't already have other recordings out for sale. She's young, and she's hungry for a break. Jordan shouldn't underestimate this one if she gets through.

The Voice: Season 9: Top 10

Jeffrey Austin: Jealous:
comment: Nice. Not sure. After checking the original by Labrinth, I decided I quite dug this and bought both Jeffrey's and the original.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 8
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): 7
change: ^1
*Dancing on My Own made a resurgence sometime in the "overnight" hours and at this posting is sitting in 175.  Actually, by noon it could have been a tad higher or lower because I've had a Murphy's Law kinda day and didn't get the figures until 2:30pm.

Emily Ann Roberts: She's Got You:
comment: Again. Nice. Not exactly my kind of music so it's hard to tell. Holy cow how many times can you mention the young age of a contestant? This time it was 2 in the package, 3 by one judge and once more by another. If my gal in Chicago was feeling better and drinking, she'd have been on the floor already.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 5
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): 4
change: ^1
* By 12:18am, In the Garden is back on the chart in 155th. At 2:30pm, the song is now in 123rd.
** By 12:18am, Why Not Me is back on in 57th. At this posting, it's sitting in 44th.


Braiden Sunshine: Radioactive:
comment: no... just no. This was probably the worst choice he's made ever.When Adam sits there and tells you that singing a song took balls, it's not exactly always a compliment. Actually, it seemed like the judges were fighting to say something nice, and weighing each word so it didn't come off as completely dismissive. It's contestants like this that make me miss Simon Cowell. At least they didn't flat iron those curls again, although I can't say I was liking this style any better.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 151
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): 122
change: ^29

Shelby Brown: Go Rest High on That Mountain:
comment: Not bad. Definitely  better than previous weeks. I'll be surprised if she doesn't do well this time around.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 9
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): 10
change: DOWN 1


Korin Bukowski: Same Old Love:
comment: This was a fairly strong performance. Definitely better than some of the other stuff she's done. Gwen needs to stop trying to take the quirk outta Korin though. Glad to see the platinum was gone and a more flattering color was in her hair. Hubby almost didn't recognize her (he calls her mini-Gwen). Constant change ups make it confusing for the fans. What kind of artist does she want to be? At this point of the competition, the contestants need to be solidifying who they are as an artist. I don't feel Korin's accomplishing this. She seems to still be floating a drift. I wondering if another judge might not have been a better choice for her.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 47
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): 28
change: ^19

Amy Vachal: Bye Bye Bye:
comment: Oh... I am SO digging this one. If PMJ was smart, they'd scoop this one up as well as their additions from Idol. I even went as far as to tweet them and suggest that they might want to keep an eye out for her because honestly, she'd be a perfect fit. 
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 15
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): 8 (She's the one that bumped Shelby down a spot on the chart)
change: ^7
*By 12:18am, Blank Space came back in at 74th. At this posting, it's sitting in 61st.
**During the sleep shift hours, Hotline Bling made a come back and is sitting in 166th.

Jordan Smith: Hallelujah:
comment: This is one of the most over done songs out there. Not sure I'm even liking his treatment of it. Won't be surprised if he gets top sales again this week though, simply from the timing of his performance.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 2
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): 2
change: none (in his defense, he's up against Adele's Hello, which has been heard EVERYWHERE lately. It would have taken a massive amount of luck to knock her out of top spot twice in three week's worth of competition.)
* By 12:18am, Chandelier was back in at 153rd. At this post, it's in 111th.
** By 12:18am, Great is Thy Faithfulness was back up to 55th. Now it's in 49th.
***By 12:18am, Halo was back at 117th. Now it's in 86th.
****By 12:18am, Who Are You was back to 126th. Now it's in 97th.
*****During the sleep shift, Set Fire to the Rain came back and is presently sitting in 179th place.

Zach Seabaugh: Crazy Little Thing Called Love:
comment: I've decided that I simply cannot watch this boy during these uptempo songs and be objective in my comments. I kinda lost it with the first.... uh where was I going with this? 
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 25
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): 21
change: ^4


Madi Davis: Girls Just Want to Have Fun:
comment: Really didn't dig this arrangement at all.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 6
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): 5
change: ^1
*By 12:18am, Love is Blindness was at 125th. At this posting, this one's sitting in 105th.

Barrett Baber: I'd Just Love to Lay You Down:
comment: Ugh. What is it about them picking such dated songs for this guy??? Looks like the pimp spot and Blake's insistence that this was a Top 10 song really helped him out. Personally, I liked his performance from last week better. Then again, I'm not a fan of The Twitty.
ITunes chart placement by midnight on show night: 3
ITunes chart placement by noon (close of voting): 3
change: none (he got stuck behind Jordan and Adele, so this is about as far as he was going to chart to be honest. A really strong showing though.)
*During the sleep shift hours, his Delta Dawn came back to 194th.


Analysis:

Holy crap. As of 12:18am, there are 6 of them sitting in the Top 10.
By the time I got back to check the Top 200 Chart, 7 of the contestants had muscled their way into the Top 10.  Of these 7, six of them had at least one song from previous weeks make a re-entry to the chart.

This week's biggest sales increase went to: Braiden.

Top performers, according to the Top 200:
Jordan (in 2nd with 5 additional songs on the chart)
Barrett (in 3rd with 1 come back song)
Emily Ann ( in 4th with 2 come backs)
Madi (5th with 1 additional come back song)

Those 4, for sure, should be going through to next week.

Also more than likely joining them will be:
Jeffrey (in 7th with 1 more song added on the chart)
Amy (in 8th with 2 more on the chart)

Most likely to be the ones in trouble this week:

Shelby: She slipped a spot, but it's simply because Amy out performed her last night. She's still in the Top 10, so this might be her saving grace. It all depends on how the alternate methods of voting treated her this week.

Zach: What he gained in squeals from the girls during his performance, didn't really translate well into the recorded version. It was nice, but really not a great pick for the week. It's something you'd expect to hear in the middle of a concert as filler and not something that translates really well to radio. Even with my squeal and panty throw at the tv last night, I didn't buy this one.

Korin: This was a strong performance,  but I'm not sure it's strong enough. Gwen seems bound and determined to make Korin just like her, but all this transformation is doing is making Korin look like an inferior Gwen. Her choice of judge is really working against her as it feels like Gwen is stifling all that made Korin really quirky and special. It feels like Korin is floundering in an attempt to discover who she really is. This confusion translates to the fans as we try to figure out exactly what kind of artist she's wanting to be. I suspect that Adam would have been a better choice for her mentor. Shoot, even Pharrell might have made a difference. I'm sad because she really is a decent performer, it's just that her judge doesn't know how to package her. Kind of like Hailey Reinhardt in AI, no one knew quite what to make of her either. I suspect that Korin would find a nice fit with the PMJ as well because of that uniqueness.

Braiden: By ITunes standards, this boy shouldn't even be in the running still. However, the other methods of voting is the only way he's making it through. I have been calling him out almost every week and every week I'm surprised he was saved.  Presently, there are 94 places between him and 9th placed Korin. I'm so over this boy and have been for awhile now. Oh Lord.... he annoys me and we all know what that means. He's The Voice's Sanjaya!

If things go according to the Chart (and they haven't yet) , we should see Braiden in a sing off with Korin tonight. However, taking into account the way things ran the last few weeks, I will not be terribly surprised if it turns out the sing off is between Korin and Zach/Shelby. Disappointed, yes. Surprised , not really. The only surprise will be if anyone other than those last 4 end up in the sing off and then sent home tonight.

The Voice: Season 9: Top 11

Shelby Brown: You and I:
comment: She did absolutely no justice to this song. One of the very few Lady Gaga songs I actually like... Haley Reinhardt did a better version a few years back on Idol.....
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 139
chart position as of noon (close of voting): 95
change: ^44

Evan McKeel: Smile:
comment: meh. It was okay-ish. Did absolutely nothing for me. I'm ready for this one to go home.
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 67
chart position as of noon (close of voting): 43
change: ^24

Barrett Baber: Delta Dawn:
comment: Okay... this was different. I kinda dug it. Not really enough to buy it though. We'll see how the votes go. If Chicago's reaction is anything to go by, they'll find it still too dated.
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 48
chart position as of noon (close of voting): 29
change: ^19

Korin Bukowski: Only Hope:
comment: This one is a better pick than it was last week. She needs to be doing more of this kind of vocal. I suggest something by Deana Carter next, maybe Once Upon a December?
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 88
chart position as of noon (close of voting): 55
change: ^33

Amy Vachal: Blank Space :
comment: This was sweet, but that's about it. Poor girl has no clue what to do with her hands when she doesn't have an instrument in them.
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 8
chart position as of noon (close of voting): 4
change: ^4
* Hotline Bling from last week came back to the chart in 106th at the first check. It rose to 83rd by noon.
** Dream a Little Dream of Me had a resurgence in the sleep shift hours and was at 153 by noon.
*** The Way You Look Tonight also made a come back and by noon had arrived in the 198th spot of the Top 200.

Zach Seabaugh : Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not:
comment: *flings her panties*
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 43
chart position as of noon (close of voting): 31
change: ^12

Madi Davis: Love is Blindness:
comment: meh. No thanks.
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 26
chart position as of noon (close of voting): 15
change: ^11

Braiden Sunshine: True:
comment: ew no. Just no. The vocal was so bad, I almost didn't notice that she flat ironed the crap outta his curls again.
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 87
chart position as of noon (close of voting): 63
change: ^24

Jordan "Just Crown Me Already Because I Have This Season" Smith:
Who You Are:
comment:  This was an AWESOME pick for his voice.
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 14
chart position as of noon (close of voting): 8
change: ^6
* Great is Thy Faithfulness was at 38 at the first check, and slumped a tad to 39 at noon.
** Halo was at 137 at the first check, and up to 120 by noon.
*** Chandelier came back during the sleep shift hours to 172nd spot. 

Emily Ann Roberts: Why Not Me:
comment: meh. It's okay-ish
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 18
chart position as of noon (close of voting): 10
change: ^8
* Her performance of In the Garden from last week made a come back in the sleep shift hours and by noon was sitting in 196th place.

Jeffrey Austin: Dancing On My Own:
comment: I wasn't wowed like I should be with a performance in the pimp spot.
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 45
chart position as of noon (close of voting): 27
change: ^ 18
* Last week's Let it Go made a come back in the sleep shift hours and by noon was sitting in 178th.

Analysis:
Biggest sales increase this week goes to Shelby with a 44 spot jump in the charts.

We had three in the Top 10 spots of the Top 200 sales in ITunes this week.  Fairly certain we'll see Amy (4th, with 3 additional songs coming back), Jordan (8th, also with 3 additional songs coming back) and Emily Ann (10th, with last week's song showing back up) go through to next week's competition.  Joining them could be Madi, who missed the Top 10 by only 5 spots. However, if they look at the sales and take into account additional songs making a resurgence to the chart it is possible she may lose this spot to Jeffrey who was only 12 spots behind her.

In the middle of the pack we have Jeffery (27th, with one song coming back), Barrett (29th), Zach (31st) and Evan (43rd). Considering the results from last week, each of these could possibly have to sing tonight for a save. Jeffery being the least likely of the 4 listed.

Rounding out the week's performances we have Korin (55th) , Braiden (63rd) and Shelby (139th). Now if we just had ITunes to contend with, two of these three would be singing tonight. However, we have the phone in votes and as we saw last week, those tweentards just lurve the Flat-ironed wonderboy. Well them and the geriatric set, although the latter is less likely to be burning up the texting minutes to get the child through. Are we sure that VFTW isn't back up and running again?

Bottom 2 should be Braiden and Shelby (bad song choice and worse singing spot killed her this week). However, I'm suspecting that either Korin, Zach or Evan might be taking his place. Pretty sure Twitter will get fired up this week, unless the B2 comes down to Shelby vs Braiden/Evan because I'm kinda over the 3 of them already. Then again, I may fire up to save Shelby.....

The Voice: Season 9: Top 12

Braiden Sunshine: Renegade :
comment: This one was all sorts of no. From the flat ironed hair (again) to the song in general. He really didn't have the low notes for this song.
chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 122
chart position as of noon (close of voting):75
change: ^47 spots

Amy Vachal: Hotline Bling :

comment: s'ok. Not fond of the song, but I'd listen to her's before the original.

chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 14

chart position as of noon (close of voting): 6

change: ^8

*Her performance of The Way You Look Tonight came in at spot 135 this week. Nice to see more than one of the contestants have a bit of carry-over from week to week.

Mark Hood: Against All Odds :

comment: This song is so over done. I love me some Phil Collins but can we retire this one?

chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 95

chart position as of noon (close of voting): 61

change: ^34

Emily Ann Roberts: Blame It On Your Heart :

comment: No thanks. The performance was okay, but I wasn't diggin the sound on the recording. Then again my tastes run closer to pop and rock, and not so much country.

chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 32

chart position as of noon (close of voting): 20

change:  ^12 spots

*Her version of In the Garden was at 72 just after midnight and is presently seated in 57th. 

Korin Bukowski: Titanium :

comment: Holy cow over done song Batman. Can we retire this one now?? She has the pipes but not the accuracy for this song.

chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 88

chart position as of noon (close of voting): 55

change: ^33 spots

Barrett Baber: Right Here Waiting :

comment: meh

chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 21

chart position as of noon (close of voting): 10

change: ^ 11 spots
*His performance of I Drive Your Truck from last week cracked the Top 200 sometime in the sleep shift hours (it wasn't there when I checked after midnight) and is presently at 199. 

Madi Davis: Who Will Save Your Soul :

comment: meh.

chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 57 

chart position as of noon (close of voting): 33

change:  ^24

*Songbird back on the charts at 175 just after midnight and is in 125th as of this entry.

Jeffrey Austin: Let It Go:

comment: OMG WTF did she do to that lovely ginger hair he had???!!!

chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 20

chart position as of noon (close of voting): 9

change: ^11 spots
*Say You Love Me was back up to 187 just after midnight and is now at 133.

Shelby Brown: In Color :

comment: meh

chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 54

chart position as of noon (close of voting): 35

change: ^19

Evan McKeel: This is It :

comment: Holy crap, it's not another Stevie Wonder tune.

chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 80

chart position as of noon (close of voting): 56

change: ^24 spots

Jordan "This Year's Sawyer" Smith: Great is Thy Faithfulness :

comment: s'ok

chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 2 (by 1:45am it was in first)

chart position as of noon (close of voting): 

change: ^1

*Halo was at 19 just after midnight and is now at 15.

**Chandelier came in at 58 just after midnight (I suspect his songs have been lurking all week, to be honest) and is presently at 41

*** Set Fire to the Rain was at 77 after midnight and is at 60.
**** Sometime during the sleep shift, his battle with Regina Love made a resurgence and Like I Can is sitting in 182nd place.

Zach Seabach:  My Love :

comment: Meh. Wasn't lovin it this week.

chart position as of 12:02am after performance: 45

chart position as of noon (close of voting): 26

change: ^19
*During the sleepshift hours his song from last week, Brand New Girlfriend, came back onto the charts at 151. 

Analysis:
This week's biggest increase in sales was also the one lowest on the Charts. I suspect Braiden's fans saw how poorly he was doing and attempted to save him.

We had 4 in the Top 10 this week. Leading the pack was the juggernaut, Jordan, followed (in placing order) by Amy (6th), Jeffrey (9th) and Barrett (10th). We can anticipate that these 4 will more than likely be thru to the show next week. All 4 of them had multiple songs in the Top 200, with Jordan having a total of 5.

Mid packers we have Emily Ann (20th with 2 total songs on), Zach (26th with 2 total songs on), Madi (33rd with 2 total songs on), and Shelby (35th with no additional music on the Chart).  These ones will more than likely be needing help from the call in votes. Best shots at getting thru are probably Emily Ann, Zach and Madi. This is just based on the fact they had multiple tunes on the chart, some of which showed up AFTER the west coast aired the show. Shelby is in an iffy position at this point. I'm basing my guess on her simply because she didn't garner any interest in her past songs like the other 3 did.

Rounding out the field we have Korin (55th), Evan (56th), Mark (61st) and Braiden (75th). None of these have additional songs in the Top 200.  Any of these (and/ or possibly Shelby) could be the last ones on the stage tonight. Personally, Braiden's , Mark's and Korin's were my least favorites of the night. If any of them are left standing, I won't be firing up my Twitter tonight.

The Voice: Season 9: Top 24

Don't get excited, this won't be nearly as in depth as the AI articles were. However, I need a place to keep my notes as I am continually forgetting my notebook either upstairs or down. Depending on where I am, the notes are 9 times out of 10 in the other location. I have found that the ITunes sales are fairly accurate and I will be leaning heavily on those numbers.... or at least until the Vegas odds decide that they're going to track the show.

This week the contestants are still broken down into teams, so I'll keep them this way for now. 

Team Pharell: Not a strong team, but certainly better than Team Gwen. I bought 2 of the 6 numbers presented this week.

Darius Scott: Love Locked Down:
comment: Not bad for a Kanye song. Still not enough to make me want to buy the original OR his version.

chart position as of 12:58am after performance: 133

chart position as of noon (close of voting): 98
change: up 35 spots

Evan McKeel: Overjoyed
comment: WTF another Stevie Wonder song? 
chart position as of 12:58am after performance: 60

chart position as of noon: 41

change: up 19 spots

Madi Davis: Songbird

comment: meh. Not my style

chart position as of 12:58am after performance: 30

chart position as of noon: 22

change: up 8 spots

Celeste Betton (CBC): Something in the Water
comment: This was a good choice for a call back contestant. Very good song choice. Version well worth the purchase. 

chart position as of 12:58am after performance: 48

chart position as of noon: 36

change: up 12 spots

Riley Biederer: Should've Been Us

comment: Another well worth the $1.29

chart position as of 12:58am after performance: 153

chart position as of noon: 114

change: up 39 spots

Mark Hood: What Do You Mean?

comment: meh. I'd like to say nothing could make me want to check out a Bieber song, but I used to say the say the same about Lady Gaga.  This version, however, wasn't enough to make me want to check out the original. 

chart position as of 12:58am after performance: 148

chart position as of noon: 95

change: up 53 spots

Analysis: Biggest jump was Mark with 53 spots. However, they don't really look at that. Considering just the spots where they landed, we can anticipate Madi, Celeste and possibly Evan making it through to next week. Depending on the phone vote, though, it's also possible that Mark or Darius could edge Evan out. At this point, I'm not seeing much going for Pharrell's team unless they step up big. 

Team Blake: Fairly strong team although there evidently was a questionable choice in his CBC.

Ivonne Acero: One of Us
comment: ew pu. The recording wasn't much better than the live.

chart position as of 12:58am after performance: 95

chart position as of noon: 71

change: up 24 spots

Morgan Frazier: Lips of an Angel
comment: I really hate this song. Not to the point of Unchained Melody, Hey Jude, The Long and Winding Road, most of Kenny Chesney songs and half of Shania's discography... but damned close.

chart position as of 12:58am after performance: 106

chart position as of noon: 72

change: up 34 spots

Zach Seabach: Brand New Girlfriend
comment: If I hadn't been in such shock, I might've sqweed and tossed my panties. I think I'm going to have to come up with a nickname for that one.... WTF do you mean only one ITunes purchase counts as a vote????? Shit.

chart position as of 12:58am after performance: 25

chart position as of noon: 21

change: up 4 spots

Nadjah Nicole (CBC): Upside Down

comment: Wow. This should've been good. Way to waste a call back....

chart position as of 12:58am after performance: 200+ (chart only goes to 200)

chart position as of noon: 150

change: up at least 51 spots but it's hard to tell

Emily Ann Roberts: In the Garden

comment: People are going to eat this up because of the song. Most times a hymn will do really well. The recording was seriously nasally though.

chart position as of 12:58am after performance: 16

chart position as of noon: 6

change: up 10 spots

Barrett Baber: I Drive Your Truck
comment: Not bad, but I'd rather watch the repeat of Zach....

chart position as of 12:58am after performance: 33

chart position as of noon: 17

change: up 16 spots

Analysis: Biggest jump went to Nadjah, but when you don't even chart after the east coast showing, one has to wonder if she was the ideal choice for CBC.  If the numbers are right, we should expect Emily, Barrett and Zach in next week's show. Wild cards would be a possibility of Ivonne or Morgan bumping Barrett out of that 3rd spot.

Team Gwen: Her team isn't fantastic. Granted most of her kids did well, however there were a couple that we have to question whether or not they should have gotten this far.

Regina Love: Hello
comment: This should have been good. It failed, miserably.

chart position as of 12:19am after performance: 200+

chart position as of noon: 200+

change: M.I.A As of noon today, she still hasn't charted. Only divine intervention is gonna get this one through to next week.

Korin Bukowski: Adia
comment: yeah... uh.. no thanks.

chart position as of 12:19am after performance: 200+

chart position as of noon: 188

change: up >13 spots

Ellie Lawrence (CBC): Ex's and Oh's
comment: This was a fabulous choice for her voice. Worth the $1.29

chart position as of 12:19am after performance: 61

chart position as of noon: 44

change: up 8 spots
*as of noon TODAY, more than 24 hrs later, chart position: 60

Jeffrey Austin: Say You Love Me
comment: At this point I'm drawing a blank on how this performance was. No star and no check mean I didn't buy it....

chart position as of 12:19am after performance: 37

chart position as of noon: 25

change: up 12 spots
*as of noon TODAY, more than 24 hrs later, chart position: 31

Braiden Sunshine: Everything I Own

comment: Damn. The make over made him look like a background singer in a generic boy band. Performance wasn't all that great either. Maybe that's why he was a background singer?

chart position as of 12:19am after performance: 90

chart position as of noon: 62

change: up 28 spots
*as of noon TODAY, more than 24 hrs later, chart position: 90

Viktor Kiraly: All Around the World

comment: Again I draw a blank

chart position as of 12:19am after performance: 123

chart position as of noon: 77

change: up 46 spots
*as of noon TODAY, more than 24 hrs later, chart position: 121

Analysis: Biggest increase was either Regina or Korin. Hard to tell because I can't see the change in Regina's. According to these  numbers we should expect to see Jeffrey and Ellie for sure. Third spot could go to either Braiden or Viktor. These contestants will need to pick up the pace if they want to keep up with the singers on Adam and Blake's teams.

Team Adam: You'll notice I did the teams backwards and are probably wondering why (unless you're My Favorite Alien and talk to me during the show...). His team's numbers aren't as good as some that we've seen, except the one singer of his.... and it only takes one.

Blaine Mitchell: Never Tear Us Apart

comment: Very nicely done. I bought this one. He's almost, but not quite, good enough to help me get over my loss of Tyler earlier this season. 

chart position as of 12:19am after performance: 107

chart position as of noon: 79

change: up 28 spots
*as of noon TODAY, more than 24 hrs later, chart position: 124

Keith Semple: Be With You

comment: meh

chart position as of 12:19am after performance: 160

chart position as of noon: 117

change: up 43 spots
*as of noon TODAY, more than 24 hrs later, chart position: 60

Shelby Brown: You're No Good

comment: Liked it, bought it.

chart position as of 12:19am after performance: 97

chart position as of noon: 66

change: up 31 spots
*as of noon TODAY, more than 24 hrs later, chart position:112

Amy Vachal: The Way You Look Tonight

comment: Liked it, bought it. I'm going to need to check her's against Madi's because I'm thinking they're similar, but where I don't like Madi... I enjoy Amy. They need to quit taking the quirk outta this one though.

chart position as of 12:19am after performance: 50

chart position as of noon: 29

change: up 21 spots
*as of noon TODAY, more than 24 hrs later, chart position: 40

** A Sunday Kind of Love (last week?) was back on the chart as of yesterday afternoon sitting at 194 (a 7+ spot increase over the day before) and by noon today was sitting at 185

Chance Pena (CBC): Barton Hollow

comment: no... just no.

chart position as of 12:19am after performance:126

chart position as of noon: 81

change: up 45 spots
*as of noon TODAY, more than 24 hrs later, chart position: 130

Jordan Smith: Halo

comment: Holy crap it's Sawyer Fredericks 2.0. Okay. This guy is good. Really good. I'll give him credit for that. Did I like this week's performance? Nope. Don't like the song though.

chart position as of 12:19am after performance: 5

chart position as of noon: 3

change: up 2 spots
*as of noon TODAY, more than 24 hrs later, chart position: holding firm in 3rd

** after his performance, Chandelier showed back up at spot 90 and moved to 61 by noon yesterday. By midnight it had slipped briefly to 65 and then again to 66 at noon today.
***Set Fire to the Rain also saw a resurgence after this week's performance coming back onto the charts at 128. By noon yesterday it had come up to 88th position. By my midnight check it was sitting in 79th. By this noon it's come back down to 88. 

Analysis: Biggest increase goes to Chance with a 45 spot leap. Since Jordan is Sawyer 2.0, we can expect him to fly right into next week.  Joining him will more than likely be Amy. Wildcard in 3rd with either Blaine or Chance. Depends on how the fans liked them. Blaine sang first, though, and we know what a deadly spot that can be in any competition.