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).

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.