The Voice: Blind auditions Night 4

Night 4 of the blind auditions and the teams are starting to shape up!

First up was 17 year old Melanie Martinez. She has an interesting look, very cute. She performed an acoustic version of Britney Spears' "Toxic" while playing a tambourine between her feet. That was cool! She has a very cool modern voice and she made great note choices. I really like her. Blake, Adam and Cee Lo turned. Went with Adam.

Next was the creator of the Cupid shuffle, Cupid himself! He decided that he would sing his song because he felt that song that was his one hit had put him in a box. So then why do it? I still don't understand all the logic by this questionable song choice of his. If you want to prove you're more than the song, then show it by doing something else. It was also a weird song choice to do on a vocal competition show. No one turned. Cee Lo immediately knew who he was and questioned why he would do that song. He asked him to sing something else. He did and showed he could sing. Just a poor song choice. I had never heard his song before so if he went on there for some self promotion of his song, then good job!

Next was Brian Scartocci who sang Stevie Wonder's "Isn't she lovely". He's a single dad of 2 kids which I can relate to as I was a single Dad for 4 years. I always like to see fathers being fathers to their children. Although it sounds like that's what the norm should be, in this day and age unfortunately its not. Broken homes and lack of parental figures are the root of so many issues in society nowadays, it's sad. Anyway, he has a very nice voice. Blake, Adam, Cee Lo turned. Chose Adam.

Next up were Husband and wife duo Beat Frequency who sang Katy Perry's "ET". They have an interesting sound and good harmonies. Only Xtina turned.

Next was Tyler Lillestol who sang Usher's "U got it bad". It was only ok. No one turned.

Next was Liz Davis who sang Gretchen Wilson's "Here for the party". She has a good look and strong vocals. Adam, Xtina and Blake turned. Blake unashamedly used his ACM award to recruit her. Went with Blake.

Next up was Alaskan Youtube sensation Jr Aquino. He sang Bruno Mars' "Just the way you are". He was a little shaky with his notes from being nervous I think. Xtina, Adam and Cee Lo turned. Chose Cee Lo.

Next was Agina Alvarez who sang "Turn the beat around". She mentioned in her backstory profile that she had been signed twice before. She was looking for a third time? What happened with the other two? Most artists are lucky to ever be offered even once. Her voice was very dark and her vocal performance was way too over the top. As Xtina said, she started out at 10 and stayed there, there was no color to her vocal performance. No one turned.

Next was Nicholas David who sang "Stand by me". Very cool voice. Only Cee Lo turned.

Next was 17 year old LaGuardia Performing Arts High School student (local NY girl!) Alessandra Guercio who sang Miley Cyrus' "The Climb". She has pretty good vocals and a good look. Adam and Cee Lo turned. Chose Adam.

We were shown some other singers. Adam, Blake and Xtina each got one.

Last of the night was 16 year old Avery Wilson who sang David Guetta's "Without you". In his backstory profile we were shown how supportive his Dad has been in guiding him to pursue music because he believes in his talent. I could relate to that as I always push my daughters to pursue their dreams and develop their talents. He was very good! All turned. Chose Cee Lo.

The Voice: Blind auditions Night 3

To compete with and try to take ratings away from The X Factor debut tonight, there was a 3rd night of The Voice. A bit of overkill. It's already too quick of a turnaround between Season 2 and Season 3, now they're over-saturating things on the first week. Time will tell if this ploy will work in the ratings. Anyway...

First up was Samuel Mouton who sang "Redemption Song". He has a cool reggae voice and sounds very authentic but I wonder if can he bring that to other styles of music? All turned but Blake. Picked Adam.

Next was Former Dreamstreet member Chris Trousdale who sang "I'm glad you came". Not the right song to show off his vocals. No one turned.

Next was Nigerian refugee Nelly's Echo (cool meaning behind the name!) who sang "Ain't no sunshine". Very nice guy. Very good singer, he made excellent note choices. Adam and Xtina turned. Went with Xtina who turned first for him.

Next were mother & daughter duo Allison and Crystal Steele who go by 2 Steel Girls. They sang Carrie Underwood's "Before he cheats". They were good but I feel they need to stay away from low notes. Blake and Cee Lo turned. Picked the obvious choice Blake.

We were shown how Cee Lo kept losing out on contestants. Xtina beat him for 2 others and Adam beat him for another.

Next up was the overconfident and over the top contestant Domo. In the intro to her, she called herself the Lady Gaga of China? Lol. This was the first and only time I've ever seen the Voice mock a contestant as they made a little montage of her touting her talents(?). She finally stopped talking about herself and got on stage. She sang The Pussycat Doll's "Don'cha". Way over the top performance. Only Cee Lo turned. The other coaches were laughing at him and telling him he's got a handful with her. It should be good TV to see her in the battle rounds and at rehearsals.

Last was Nicole Nelson who sang another of my all-time favorite songs "Hallelujah". I love her look and vocal style. Her performance was WOW. Love her. They all turned. She picked Adam. Great way to end the night.

The Voice: Blind auditions Night 2

Onto Night 2 of the Voice blind auditions!

First up we were shown Adriana Louise who sang Jessie J's "Domino". She is pretty and has a good voice. All turned. Xtina really liked her, she picked Xtina.

Next was Casey Muessigmann who sang "Sweet Home Alabama". Blake & Cee Lo turned. Went with Blake.

Next up was Aquile who sang one of my favorite songs of all-time, Elton John's "Your song". He has a very cool look and smooth voice. One of my favorites so far. All but Blake turned. Picked Xtina.

Next was Leann Rimes tour production coordinator Ryan Fogarty who sang "Tomorrow". He has a good voice. I was just as surprised to see that no one turned as I was to wonder why Leann hasn't helped him herself.

Next was Mackenzie Bourg who sang "Pumped up kicks". He has a cool vibe to his voice. I really like his voice. Cee Lo turned so he was on Team Cee Lo.

Last of the night was Julio Cesar Castillo who sang "La Bamba", the first contestant to do his audition entirely in Spanish which was very cool. Blake and Cee Lo turned. Went with Blake.

After 2 nights, Adam has 2 contestants. Blake has 4, Cee Lo has3 and Xtina has 4.

The Voice is back! Blind auditions night 1

The Voice is back! Season 3 and all 4 coaches are back. Christina, Adam, Cee Lo & Blake. I feel the turnaround for Season 3 from Season 2 was too fast but I guess NBC is trying to milk all they can out of the show and while they still have these coaches. It must be hard on the coaches who are in the middle of projects and have to work around them to honor their commitments to the Voice. Anyway, Season 3 has begun and I'm watching...

Once we got past the usual Coach introductions, we got to Night 1 of the blind auditions. I always look forward to this part not only because it's our first glimpse at the contestants but also because I love to see the coaches trying to woo the contestants to be on their teams.

The first contestant we saw was Terry McDermott who sang The Who's "Baba O'Reilly". He was very good. Adam, Cee Lo & Blake all turned at the last second. He went with Blake.

Next was De'borah who sang Train's "Hey soul sister". She had a real androgynous look which was interesting visually. Her voice also had an androgynous tone to it. She had a really cool vibe and good vocals. She was a really good performer. Xtina and Cee Lo turned. She picked Xtina, quoting trusting her "voice within" which I immediately knew meant that the song and Xtina meant a lot to her. She confirmed as much backstage. That must be cool to have a song mean so much to you and then get to work with that artist. I'm happy for her.

Next was Gracia Harrison who sang "I want to be a cowboy's sweetheart". All except Xtina turned. Very good singer. Great yodeler. She went with Blake.

Next was Garrett Gardner. He's 16 year old and dedicated his performance and career to his late dad which I found touching. He sang "Have you ever seen the rain?". Very good voice. I was surprised and disappointed for him when no one turned.

Next was Devyn Deleora who sang Xtina's "Ain't no other man" which was daring. I thought she had a good voice but felt it needs some work. Xtina, Adam, Blake turned. She went with the obvious choice Xtina.

Next was Bryan Keith who sang Bruno Mars' "It will rain". I really liked the cool tone to his raspy voice. All turned. Picked Adam.

Next was returning contestant Daniel Rosa. He sang his own interesting version of Gotye's "Somebody that I used to know". This time, Cee Lo and Blake turned. He was shocked that they remembered him. Went with Cee Lo.

Next was Anita Antoinette who sang "No woman, no cry" by Bob Marley. She had a very cool vibe to her voice. I was surprised that no one turned. Adam and Cee Lo told her this song has to be felt, not sung. She asked if she could sing it acapella and then rocked it. Got a standing ovation from everyone, so she had her moment but unfortunately it didn't change her fate. She was so upset afterwards.

Next was Joe Kirkland who sang The All American Rejects' "Gives you hell". He has an interesting rock voice. Adam & Blake turned. Picked Adam.

Next was Jessica Sharpe who sang "Son of a preacher man". She showed a good solid voice. No one turned.

Last contestant of the night was Trevin Hunte who sang "Listen". In his backstory, we heard him tell us that he was denied getting into a performing arts school because he needed 4 teacher referrals and one of his teachers refused to give him a referral and even had told him he'd never make it. IMO, that's vile. A teacher should encourage dreams and show the student towards whatever potential they have, not the opposite. He has an amazing voice. All turned except Adam. Cee Lo won him to his team.

It was a good first night for the Voice.

The Voice Season 2 winner is...

The show opened with Jermaine Paul, James Massone, Pip and Jamar Rogers singing "I want you back". They sounded really good. Almost boy band like. Almost. Lol.

Juliet Simms performed with Flo Rida.

Chris Mann, Lindsey Pavao and Katrina Parker sang "Bittersweet Symphony". The mix of their voices was interesting.

Hall and Oates performed "Rich girl". Jermaine, Tony and Chris sang backup.

Cheesa, Kim Yarbrough, Naia Kete and Sera Hill sang "Superstitious". Sounded really good.

Juliet, Erin Willet, Jamar Rogers and RaeLynn sang "I get by with a little help from my friends".

Lady Antebellum performed their song "Wanted you more".

Tony and Jordis sang "Go your own way". Sounded very good together.

Justin Bieber performed.

The Final 4 spoke on what it all means to them which was cool to hear and see.

Results time!! Who would win? Chris Mann was announced in 4th place?! I found that shocking but not surprising since I had thought that Xtina's attitude towards contestant Tony Lucca might affect votes towards Chris. Unfortunately it seems that's what happened because Chris, although not as mainstream as the others, should not have been 4th. Tony Lucca was announced in 3rd place. So it was between Jermaine Paul and Juliet Simms. You could see how much it meant to both of them. Then Juliet Simms was announced in 2nd place, Jermaine Paul is The Voice Season 2 winner!! Congrats to Jermaine! He fulfilled his dream of no longer being a backup singer. It was a wonderful moment to see. I'll be looking forward to hearing more from this humble winner.

The Voice finale - the Final 4 sing!

This is it, the Voice finale. The contestants last chance to sing for America's votes so they had to let it all go tonight and they did.

Jermaine Paul was up first and sang "I believe I can fly" by R. Kelly. I love that he let's his passion show. I can totally relate to him through his passion. Great song choice. Wonderful performance. He felt it and it showed.

Carson told us that we would see tributes from the artists to their coaches throughout the night which I felt was a really cool touch. Juliet sang "Crazy" for Cee Lo. Sounded great and confident, looked great.

Chris Mann dueted with Xtina to sing "The Prayer" by Andrea Bocelli & Celine Dion. Amazing performance!!

Tony Lucca sang "99 problems" by Jay Z. Interesting song choice. Pretty cool performance. Xtina seemed offended by the song choice and felt it was inappropriate for the show. I agree with her but her cattiness towards him throughout the season probably didn't make anyone see her point. Her interactions with Tony have been an un-necessary distraction all season and it could wind up hurting her artist.

Chris Mann sang Xtina's "The Voice Within" as his tribute to her. I loved his letter of thanks written to her in the background video wall as he sang. I think that was very sweet and open.

Juliet and Cee Lo sang "Born to be wild" by Steppenwolf. Pretty cool performance.

Adam and Tony dueted by singing "Yesterday" by the Beatles. I really liked it.

As a tribute to his coach Blake, Jermaine sang Blake's "God gave me you". Very nice performance.

Chris Mann sang "You raise me up" by Josh Groban. Perfect song for him! Loved the choir. Xtina was so proud that she was moved to tears.

Blake and Jermaine dueted with "Soul Man" by the Blues Brothers. Pretty cool performance, they had fun.

Tony Lucca sang "Harder to breathe" as tribute to Adam. Sounded good.

Juliet sang "Freebird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd to end the show. Nerves may have gotten to her. It wasn't her best performance but it was still good.

I think this is between Juliet and Chris but who knows how much impact the Xtina/Tony Lucca drama will have on votes for Chris? Should be an interesting Finale results show!!

The results are in! The Voice Final 4 are set!

The show opened with last season's contestant Dia Frampton performing her single.

Xtina's artists Chris Mann and Lindsey Pavao were up first. Xtina split her 100 points to give her artists down the middle with a score of 50/50.
Along with America's share of votes, Chris won by a 104-96 vote. Chris will represent Team Xtina in the finals.

Vicci Martinez and Cee Lo performed her new single.

Adam's artists Tony Lucca and Katrina Parker were up next. Adam split his vote 60/40 in Tony's favor. Tony won by a 108-92 vote to represent Team Adam in the finals.

Beverly McClellan & Cyndi Lauper performed.

The Voice season 1 winner Javier Colon performed his single.

Blake's artists Erin Willet and Jermaine Paul were up next. Blake split his vote 50/50. Jermaine won by a 123-77 vote to represent Team Blake in the finals.

Cee Lo's artists Jamar Rogers and Juliet Simms were up last. Cee Lo split his vote 60/40 in Juliet's favor. Juliet won by 121-79 vote to represent Team Cee Lo in the finals.

Very full show. It had performances, strategy and lots of drama! It's a good Final 4. Can't wait to see the performances and to see who wins!

The Voice Semi Finals

Competition time, all the remaining team members would be singing tonight for America's votes.

Got right to it. For Team Adam- Tony Lucca sang "How do you like me now?" Very good. Didn't expect it to be so good.

For Team Blake- Erin Willet sang "Without you" by David Guetta. Interesting song choice. Very pitchy. Sounded like she couldn't hear herself.

For Team Xtina- Chris Mann sang "Ave Maria". Amazing song choice, as soon as I heard he was going to sing this song I was dying to hear it. It was as excellent as I thought it would be. I found it really cool to see opera represented on a vocal talent show.

For Team Cee Lo- Jamar Rogers sang "If you don't know me by now". Was good, very hip. Just seems over-confident which is a turn off to me.

Team Adam and Team Cee Lo performed.

For Team Blake- Jermaine Paul sang "Open Arms" by Journey. Very good.

For Team Adam- Katrina Parker sang "Killing me softly" by The Fugees. Pretty good.

Blake performed.

For Team Xtina- Lindsey Pavao sang "Skinny love" by Bon Iver. Really good. Her best performance yet! This is the performance of hers that totally won me over.

Team Xtina and Team Blake sang "Edge of glory" by Lady Gaga.

For Team Cee Lo- Juliet Simms sang "This is a man's world" by James Brown. Interesting song choice. She totally rocked it!She ended the show on a very strong note and as a lasting impression going into the voting period.

Can't wait to see the results fo America's votes tomorrow!

The Voice results

Florence and the Machine performed to open the show.

We got right to America's vote, for Team Adam Tony Lucca was saved by America's vote. Katrina Parker & Mathai would have to sing for Adam's save tonight.

For Team Cee Lo, Jamar Rogers was saved by America's vote. Cheesa & Juliet Simms would have to sing for Cee Lo's save tonight. This was probably the worst possibility for Team Cee Lo because both Juliet and Cheesa both deserved to get farther in the competition.

Mathai sang "Cowboy Casanova" by Carrie Underwood?! Strange song choice for her voice. Predictably, it was only ok.

Katrina Parker sang "Perfect" by Pink. Sounded good.

Decision time for Adam but it seemed to be a pretty simple decision after teh performances tonight. Adam eliminated Mathai and saved Katrina Parker. I hope to hear more from Mathai, she has a ton of potential and charisma.

Cheesa sang "Already gone" by Kelly Clarkson. Sounded dark but really good. Did her emotions get the best of her though?

Juliet Simms sang "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia. Weird song choice but she worked it out.

Decision time for Cee Lo and he eliminated Cheesa. Saved Juliet Simms. Either choice Cee Lo made was going to suck but that's how The Voice is structured. I will be looking forward to hearing lots more from Cheesa.

2 of my favorite singers went home tonight. I wish them a ton of success in the future!

The Voice quarter finals night 2

Went over last week's controversial eliminations again.

Tonight was members of Team CeeLo and Team Adam singing for America's vote save and to not be eliminated tonight as well!

For Team Cee Lo- Jamar Rogers sang "It's my life" by Bon Jovi. Solid performance.

For Team Adam- Katrina Parker sang "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri. Sounded really good.

Team Cee Lo sang "Dancing in the streets".

For Team Adam- Mathai sang "I'm like a bird" by Nellie Furtado. Great song choice for her but I don't think she reached the emotion of the song. I was disappointed that she didn't do better with this song than I thought she should have.

For Team Cee Lo- James Massone sang "Just the way you are" by Billy Joel. He was not very good for this type of song. I thought he would do better but once again, it was a case of not hitting the deep emotion behind the song.

Cee Lo sang with his group Goody Mob.

For Team Adam- Tony Lucca sang "Hit me baby one more time" by Britney Spears as a response to Xtina's criticism last week. That was ingenious as Xtina couldn't say anything negative without it coming off like a slam towards Britney. Either way there wasn't much that could be said because it was a very cool version. I really liked it!

For Team Cee Lo- Cheesa sang "I have nothing" by Whitney. She was great!!

For Team Adam- Pip sang "Somewhere only we know" by Keen. Nice performance but rather obscure song so that may have hurt him.

Team Adam sang "Instant Karma".

For Team Cee Lo- Juliet Simms sang "Cryin'" by Aerosmith.

Decision time! Cee Lo eliminated James Massone which was mildly surprising considering the crowd reaction he was getting. I think it was a good decision though considering the other members of his team.
Adam eliminated Pip which was also mildly surprising since I thought Mathai faltered pretty badly tonight.

Overall though, Cee Lo and Adam had a tough choice tonight. It wasn't as clear cut as what Blake and Xtina decisions should've been. Good show tonight.

The Voice results night

The show began with last night's eliminations and the judges thoughts regarding their decisions. I still don't agree with their decisions even after hearing their explanations but the show goes on.

The Wanted performed.

Team Xtina up - Chris, Ashley and Lindsey were up to find out America's vote. Xtina once again defended her decision to vote off Jessie Campbell. Boo! America saved Chris Mann which was great to see. Ashley and Lindsey had to perform later to see who Xtina would save tonight.

Team Blake up- Jermaine, Erin and RaeLynn were up to find out America's vote. America saved Jermaine. Good vote by America. RaeLynn and Erin had to perform later for Blake's vote/save.

Ashley sang "You and I". Loved her look. Very good performance, she sounded good.

Lindsey sang "Please don't go". Looked great. Really liked this performance.

Justin Bieber was on the show to world premiere a clip from his new video. For all the hype I was expecting the whole video, not just some teaser clip. the clip was cool but still, the whole video would've been better to see.

Elimination time. Ashley and Lindsey came up to hear Xtina's decision. Xtina eliminated Ashley. I really liked Ashley so I wasn't happy to see her go but she's still learning in a lot of ways and Lindsey really stepped it up. I hope to hear lots more from Ashley in the near future.

Erin sang "Proud Mary". Sounded good.

RaeLynn sang "If I die young". Sounded good but her voice was too affected for the song which is what the some of the coaches said and I agreed with.

Elimination time. Erin and RaeLynn came up to hear Blake's decision. Although I felt Eric did much better, I thought Blake would stick with the country girl RaeLynn that he had been championing throughout the show. But I was pleasantly surprised that Blake made the proper decision based on how they sang tonight and eliminated RaeLynn. She's made a lot of fans with country music's elite so I expect to hear lots more from her in the future.

Good decisions from the coaches tonight! They redeemed themselves tonight. Good show!

The Voice Quarter finals

Carson told us and the judges that there would be a new twist for the judges, they would have to eliminate a contestant off their team tonight! Tonight it would be members from Team Xtina and Team Blake singing.

For Team Blake- RaeLynn sang "She's country" by Jason Aldean. She was very good.

For Team Xtina- Jesse Campbell sang "Halo" by Beyonce. We saw a sad story of him dedicating this for his daughter. While he sang we saw photos of her in the background. I thought that gave the performance a very emotional punch.

For Team Blake- Jordis Unga sang "Stronger" by Sara Evans. Good song choice theme wise but vocally I don't think it showed enough for her voice.

We saw that Xtina and her team went to Crenshaw HS choir and invited them to the show. They performed Stronger together. Very cool.

For Team Xtina- Ashley De La Rosa sang "Foolish games" by Jewel. I loved the rock arrangement. She was very good.

Maroon 5 performed their new single "Pay phone".

For Team Blake- Erin Willet sang "Set fire to the rain" by Adele. She was good.

For Team Xtina- Lindsey Pavao sang "Part of me" by Katy Perry. I thought that while she looked pretty similar makeup-wise, her performance and vocals were only ok.

Team Blake sang "Heartache tonight". It was pretty good.

For Team Blake- Jermaine Paul sang "Against all odds" by Phil Collins. We saw how he was doing it all for his family. That is something I could totally relate to. Hearing this made me like him even more. He was very good.

For Team Xtina- Chris Mann sang "Viva la vida" by Coldplay. He was very good.

Moment of truth time! Xtina eliminated Jesse Campbell?! What? That was a very bad decision IMO. Blake eliminated Jordis Unga! Another decision I don't agree with, especially with the reason he gave.

I think a really good night of singing was ruined by the coaches' decisions tonight. Smh.

The Voice - Results night for Team Adam & Team CeeLo

Jessie J. opened the show with her hit single "Domino". I like this song a lot but thought that live it wasn't as good. The sound production sounded a bit off.

For Team Adam- America saved Mathai, Tony Lucca and Pip.
Kim Yarbrough, Katrina Parker and Karla Davis must sing for Adam's lone save.

For Team Cee Lo- America saved Juliet Simms, Jamar Rogers and James Massone.
Cheesa, Tony Vincent and Erin Martin must sing for Cee Lo's lone vote.

Team Adam members sang for their save.
Kim Yarbrough sang "Spotlight". Sounded good but she probably should've done a ballad to show off her vocals better.

Karla Davis sang "I can't make you love me". Another of my all-time favorite songs. If you really want to hear a great version of this song, you should check out George Michael's version. She was better than last night but still didn't show a big range.

Katrina Parker sang "Don't speak". Not very good.

Blake liked Katrina. Xtina liked Katrina. Cee Lo liked Katrina. Adam saved Katrina.

Next up were Team CeeLo members singing for their save.
Tony Vincent sang "Sweet Dreams". It was a weird hybrid Manson-Lennox version. Didn't convince me.

Cheesa sang "All by myself". Very good song choice. Went for it and reached it! Great!

Erin Martin sang "Your song". I love this song. She looked great but her voice is just too quirky for my tastes.

Adam ranted about them finally doing well, he liked Cheesa. Blake liked Cheesa. Xtina liked Cheesa. Cee Lo saved Cheesa.

I think the save choices for Adam and CeeLo were pretty obvious. Good show.

The Voice - live week 2

The Voice's live week 2! Tonight it was members from Team Adam and Team CeeLo showing their vocal and performing chops for America's votes.

Team Adam's Katrina Parker sang "Tonight" by The Smashing Pumpkins. Interesting song choice by it totally worked for her. I liked it.

Team Cee Lo's Cheesa sang "Don't leave this way" by Thelma Houston. She showed her strong vocals but a better song would've helped her more.

Team Adam's Tony Lucca sang "In your eyes" by Peter Gabriel. It was solid but just ok. He got harsh critique by Xtina. That was pretty uncalled for. Not cool.

Team Adam's Kim Yarbrough sang "Rolling in the deep" by Adele. It was good but I was expecting it to be much better. For some reason, it didn't get to where I thought it would.

Team Cee Lo's James Massone sang "Don't know why" by Norah Jones. Interesting song choice but it was solid for his voice.

Team Cee Lo's Juliet Simms sang "Roxanne" by The Police. She totally showed rock star attitude. The song started a little pitchy but then she really tore it up.

Team Adam's Mathai sang "Ordinary People" by John Legend. It was pretty good but she didn't seem to connect emotionally enough to the song to take it to another level. She has the voice and charisma, she just needs to connect better to the songs.

Team Cee Lo's Tony Vincent sang "Everybody wants to rule the world" by Tears for Fears. One of my all-time favorite songs. I just didn't believe the performance though.

Team Adam's Karla Davis sang "Airplanes" by B.o.B. It was a solid yet unspectacular performance.

Team Cee Lo's Erin Martin sang "Walk like an Egyptian" by The Bangles. Weird song choice for a vocal show. I didn't like it or her voice with this song. Just trying too hard and too cutesy.

Team Adam's Pip sang "When you were young" by The Killers. He did a pretty good job with this song.

Team Cee Lo's Jamar Rogers sang "Are you gonna go my way" by Lenny Kravitz. He was pretty good.

All in all, there were some really good performances tonight.

The Voice - Results night 1

The show began by telling us how the voting works and what to expect tonight. America has 3 save votes. Coach can only save 1 out of the remaining 3.

Gym Class Heroes performed.

We saw that Blake took his team to a radio show.

For Team Blake- America's saves = Erin Willet was saved. Jermaine Paul was saved. Raelynn was the last save. Charlotte, Jordis and Naia had to sing for Blake's vote.

We saw that Xtina took her team to meet and be on Jay Leno's Tonight Show.

For Team Xtina- America's saves = Jessie Campbell was saved. Lindsey Pavao was saved. Chris Mann was saved. Ashley, Sera and Moses had to sing for Xtina's vote.

Team Blake members went first.
Naia sang "If I were a boy". Was good. Blake wished she did something reggae, she said she wanted to but didn't.

Charlotte sang "Iris". That is one of my favorite songs. I felt that she didn't get the song. I thought it was not good.

Jordis sang "Wild Horses". Ok performance, I expected her to do more with it.

The coaches all felt Jordis should be saved. Blake saved Jordis.

Team Xtina members went next
Ashley sang "Paris oo lala". Vocals sounded better than yesterday. Performance still needs work.

Sera sang "Vision of love". BIG song to try to take on. It was rough in certain parts, I also found it missing the big notes.

Moses sang "Breakeven". Not an easy song to sing, let alone for someone who came onto the show as a rapper. But he worked it out and did good.

Cee Lo liked Sera. Adam liked Ashley. Blake liked Ashley. Xtina saved Ashley.

That was intense! Good saves by America and the coaches tonight.

The Voice goes live - week 1

After weeks of blind auditions and the battle rounds, it's finally time for some live singing! Today's performances would be by Team Blake and Team Xtina members.

Team Blake's Jermaine Paul went first and he sang "Living on a prayer" by Bon Jovi. It was only ok. The song's notes, especially in the chorus seemed too big for his voice.

Team Xtina's Chris Mann sang "Bridge over troubled water" by Simon & Garfunkel. Totally amazing performance.

Team Blake's Raelynn sang "Wakeup call" by Maroon 5. I didn't think her voice fit the song well.

Team Xtina's Moses Stone sang "Stronger" and "Power" by Kanye West. I found it pretty cool.

Team Blake's Naia Kete sang "Turning tables" by Adele. It was pretty good.

Team Xtina's Lindsey Pavao sang "Somebody that I used to know" by Gotye. I really didn't like it, I don't think it was a good song choice tp show off her vocals.

Team Blake's Jordis Unga sang "Alone" by Heart. I thought she was really good.

Team Xtina's Sera Hill sang "Find your love" by Drake. She was really solid with her performance.

Team Blake's Erin Willet sang "Living for the city" by Stevie Wonder. She sounded really good.

Team Xtina's Ashley de la Rosa sang "Right through you" by Alanis Morissette. It was pretty good. She seemed a bit tentative.

Team Blake's Charlotte Sometimes sang "Misery Business" by Paramore. She was pretty good although she comes off as over-confident.

Team Xtina's Jessie Campbell sang "What a wonderful world" by Louis Armstrong. It was very good as I expected it to be.

With so many different voices to choose from, it will be interesting to see who America votes for and who moves on to the next round.

The Voice - Battle rounds 4

Night 4 of the Battle rounds! The last night of the battles!

Cee Lo picked Wade to go against James Massone. He gave them "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper to sing.
Wade was mentored by Babyface.
James Massone was mentored by Ne-yo. Was very nervous & lacking confidence because he didn't know the song?! How can you not know such an iconic song by Cyndi Lauper? It just goes to show that if you want to be a singer then you should listen to all forms of music and not limit yourself to one specific genre.
Cee Lo was moved by their performance in final rehearsal which was cool to see.
Even though he didn't know the song initially, my vote was for James in this battle. Cee Lo picked James.

Adam picked Nicolle Galyon to go against Mathai. He gave them "Love song" by Sara Bareiles to sing.
Nicolle Galyon's mentor was Robin Thicke. She was going to sing with a piano but it wasn't working so Adam took away the piano from her performance in final rehearsal which I thought was a real good call.
Mathai's mentor was Alanis. She gave her excellent advice to honor the song. I found her on-stage charisma off the charts.
My vote was for Mathai. Adam picked Mathai.

Xtina picked Moses Stone to go against The Line. She gave them "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones. A very interesting song choice by Xtina for the non-rockers to sing.
Moses Stone's mentor was Lionel Richie. They made him sing it which was cool because it showed that not only could Moses rap but that he also had a good singing voice. In battle, Moses showed off some good vocals.
The Line was menotred by Jewel. She told them that she D
didn't want it to be so happy sounding. In final rehearsal, Xtina told The Line to be more aggressive. In battle though, they were still overshadowed by Moses.
My vote- Moses.  Xtina picked Moses.

Adam picked Karla Davis to against Orlando Napier. He gave them "Rich girl" by Hall & Oates to sing but upon hearing some run throughs in rehearsal he felt it wasn't working and changed it to "Easy" by The Commodores.
Karla Davis was mentored by Alanis who told her that she needs to find that big voice within.
Orlando Napier was mentored by Robin Thicke who gave him great advice on getting the vowels right and clear in the songs. It's very basic thing but something that some singers don't get, especially when it comes to performing in this type of format and even more so when recording.
My vote- I agreed with Blake that it was only an ok battle. But I gave the edge for unique tone to Karla. Adam picked Karla.

Blake picked Naia Kete to go against Jordan Rager. He picked "I'm yours" by Jason Mraz for them to sing.
Naia Kete was mentored by Kelly Clarkson. The bar was set higher for Naia since the song is up her alley style-wise. That meant she would have to bring it which she did in battle.
Jordan Rager was mentored by Miranda Lambert. She had no confidence in the song and it wound up her undoing.
My vote- Naia. Blake picked Naia.

Cee Lo Tony Vincent to go against Justin Hopkins. He gave them one of my all-time favorite songs to do, "Faithfully" by Journey.
Tony Vincent was mentored by Babyface.
Justin Hopkins was mentored by Ne-yo.
My vote- Justin. Cee Lo however picked Tony.

The Voice - Battle rounds 3

Another night of battle rounds on The Voice! Love the battle rounds, they're always interesting!

Adam picked Pip to go against Nathan Parrett. He picked "You know I'm no good" by Amy Winehouse for them to battle with.
In rehearsals, Pip felt Adam favored Nathan. Alanis Morissette was his mentor. In battle, Pip showed a lot of style and performed really well.
In rehearsals, Nathan Parrett was worried going up against Pip. Robin Thicke was his mentor. I really like the advice Robin gives, he's a really good mentor. He told Nathan to be more confident. In battle, he was good and showed a strong voice.
My vote- Pip. Adam picked Pip.

Cee Lo was up next and he picked Erin Martin to go up against the Shields Brothers in a weird clash of styles. He picked "What's love got to do with it" by Tina Turner which was a rather interesting choice to have the Shields brothers do.
In rehearsals, Erin was mentored by Ne-yo. She was confused by advice given to her by Cee Lo and Ne-yo. She just couldn't understand why they were telling her that this was a grown woman song and not about trying to be sexy. That's not a good sign when a singer can't understand about getting into the character of a song. In battle, I just did not think she was good at all. Her voice is just not my cup of tea.
In rehearsals, the Shields Brothers were mentored by Babyface. He told them to pull back and they took the advice and did a good job with it. In battle, they did what they could with the song which wasn't much since they only had a few spots to shine.
My vote- Shields Brothers. Cee Lo picked Erin.

Xtina went next and picked Jonathas to go against Ashley De La Rosa. She picked "No air" by Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown for them to sing. I think that was a really good song choice for these two.
In rehearsals, Jonathas was mentored by Lionel Richie. He seemed overconfident. Xtina gave him great advice on how to sing a duet with a woman. In battle, I thought he was just ok.
In rehearsals, Ashley De La Rosa was mentored by Jewel. She was worried by the high notes in the song. They told her she needs to be more extroverted which she agreed with. In battle, she started shaky but got it together.
My vote- Ashley by a little. I really like her so I hope she gets more extroverted and confident. Xtina picked Ashley.

Blake was up and he picked Jermaine Paul to go against Alyx. He gave them the song "Get out of my dreams, get into my car" by Billy Ocean to sing. Interesting song choice.
In rehearsals, Kelly Clarkson was Jermaine's mentor. In battle, he was very good.
In rehearsals, Alyx was mentored by Miranda Lambert. She had her confidence shaken going up against Jermaine. In battle, her vocals lacked energy.
My vote- Jermaine. Blake picked Jermaine.

Adam was next and picked Angel Taylor to go against Katrina Parker. He picked "Bleeding love" by Leona Lewis for them to sing. Great song choice.
Angel was mentored by Robin Thicke.
Katrinawas mentored by Alanis.
In battle, they both sounded great.
My vote- Angel. Adam picked Katrina.

Blake ended the night by picking Erin Willet to go against Gwen Sebastian. He chose "We belong" by Pat Benatar for them to sing.
In rehearsals, Erin was mentored by Kelly. We saw that Erin's father who we had been told was suffering from Stage 4 pancreatic cancer had taken a turn for the worse. She was very emotional of course. As was I. In battle, she sounded real good and made real nice note choices.
Gwen was mentored by Miranda. In battle, she showed a real nice tone.
My vote- Erin. Blake picked Erin. After this, as the show was closing out, we saw a photo with Erin's dad and learned that he had since passed away. Very sad. I'm all for supportive parents and he was definitely a supportive parent. I'm glad he at least got to see her make it onto the show. May he rest in peace.

The Voice - Battle round 2

Time for Night 2 of the Voice's battle rounds. This week's performances weren't as good as last week's but were still good nonetheless.

Xtina picked Sera Hill to go against Geoff McBride. They were to sing "Chain of fools" by Aretha.
Sera Hill was mentored by Jewel. Her performing was really good. She sounded good.
Geoff McBride was mentored by Lionel. Sounded good in rehearsal but it didn't seem to come across as well in battle. I found him outshined in performance by Sera.
My vote- Sera. Xtina picked Sera.

Blake picked Charlotte Sometimes to go against Lex Land. He picked the song "Pumped up kicks" by Foster the People for them to sing.
Charlotte Sometimes was mentored by Kelly. She came across as full of herself. Even Blake told her to pull back a bit. I know this is a competition but there's no reason to be arrogantly competitive, just be confident in your singing and let that do all the talking. In battle, she showed more edge to her vocals that came off well.
Lex Land was mentored by Miranda. She kept telling herself to not let herself be intimidated and that she wanted to be more assertive. That's not a good sign heading into a competition, especially when your opponent is so confident. She did a good job being assertive but at times seemed to oversing.
My vote- I have to go with Charlotte because of the edge to her vocals. Also, you need confidence as you move on. Hopefully she can dial it down a little. Blake picked Charlotte.

Cee Lo picked Juliet Sims to go against Sarah Golden. He picked the song "Stay with me" by Rod Stewart for them to sing.
Juliet Simms was mentored by Ne-yo. In battle, I felt she was trying too hard to put too many styles in one song. She can definitely sing though.
Sarah Golden was mentored by Babyface. In battle, she showed a real nice strong tone from beginning to end.
My vote- Sarah. Cee Lo picked Juliet.

Adam picked Whitney Meyer to go against Kim Yarbrough. He picked "No more drama" by Mary J Hoover for them to sing.
Whitney Meyer was mentored by Alanis. Told her to focus on her uniqueness which was great advice. In battle, I felt she has a special it factor on stage.
Kim Yarbrough was mentored by Robin Thicke. In battle, she sounded like a pro.
My vote- as much as I like Whitney, Kim cannot be denied. Adam picked Kim.

Xtina picked Lindsey Pavao to go against Lee Koch. She picked "Heart shaped box" by Nirvana for them to sing.
Lindsey Pavao was mentored by Lionel. He told her to not get stuck in her head overthinking the song and what she wanted to do. In battle, she sounded good.
Lee Koch was mentored by Jewel. In rehearsal, he was doing too much style before getting the melody and it was hard to hear the words clearly because of it. Both Jewel and Xtina got on him about it. He was surprised to hear that they couldn't understand what he was singing. I felt bad for him but he needed to hear it. In battle, he sounded good.
My vote- Lee for his uniqueness. Xtina picked Lindsey.

In the last battle of the night, Cee Lo picked Jamar Rogers to against Jamey Lono. He picked "I want to know what love is" by Foreigner for them to sing.
Jamar Rogers was mentored by Ne-yo. In battle, he showed a nice soulful voice.
Jamey Lono was mentored by Babyface. He spoke about needing to connect and have more confidence. His confidence was really his undoing. In battle, he looked very inexperienced and overmatched although he showed nice vocals.
My vote- Jamar. Cee Lo picked Jamar.

All in all, the picks were pretty right on tonight. Tonight was a case of artists that needed to rise to the challenges that have held them back. Unfortunately some didn't but hopefully they can take those lessons to become better artists. I wish them all luck.

The Voice - Battle Rounds 1

Tonight was my favorite rounds of The Voice. The crazy and wildly entertaining battle rounds!

First, we found out the high profile mentors that the coaches would be bringing in:
Xtina- Lionel Richie, Jewel
Adam- Robin Thicke, Alanis Morissette
Cee Lo- Ne-yo, Babyface
Blake- Kelly Clarkson, Miranda Lambert

2 members of Team Adam were going first, Adam picked Tony Lucca to go against Chris Cauley. They were to sing "Beautiful Day" by U2. Great song!
Tony Lucca- Brought in Alanis to mentor him. In battle he showed a great rock edge to voice that I thought really worked for the song. His performing reminded me of Train's Pat Monahan.
Chris Cauley- Brought in Robin Thicke to mentor him. Gave him great advice about performing for the song and the lyrics. That is more my style so I really liked this advice. In battle I found Chris more smooth in his vocals.
My vote- I liked Tony's rock vocals edge. Adam picked Tony.

Blake picked Adley Stump to go against RaeLynn which is really interesting since they both do country. He gave them "Free fallin'" by Tom Petty.
Adley Stump- Kelly Clarkson brought in to mentor her. In battle, she showed a strong voice and some good performing as well.
RaeLynn- Blake's Honeybee Miranda Lambert was brought in to mentor her. In battle, she showed a very unique voice from her opening note. She was a little overshadowed but showed she had some fight to her. I liked seeing that.
My vote- I really think that RaeLynn's unique voice makes her stand out more but I Blake will go with Adley by a hair because of her confidence. I was happy to see that Blake picked RaeLynn.

Xtina picked operatic singer Chris Mann to go against Monique Benabou. She gave them "The power of love" by Celine Dion to strut their stuff with.
Chris Mann- Lionel Richie was brought in to mentor him. Lionel Richie!! That's just crazy. Chris was worried about the nuances in Monique's voice that he might not show. In battle, his voice immediately stood out and is just something really special to listen to. He does have to pull back on power though to let more nuance come out.
Monique Benabou- Jewel was brought in to mentor her. They agreed that passion in her singing is her weapon. I sing with passion & emotion and love to see singers do it too. In battle, Monique sounded good but was overshadowed with the matchup. I thought she did a good job though.
My vote however goes to Chris Mann. Just too much uniqueness there. Xtina picked Chris.

Cee Lo picked Angie Johnson to go against Cheesa. Battle of the powerhouses! He picked "Total eclipse of the heart" by Bonnie Tyler for them to do battle with.
Angie Johnson- Ne-yo was brought in to mentor her. In rehearsals, Cheesa wanted the song brought up and Angie decided to ask for it even higher! That worried Cheesa since she had a money note to hit. Angie showed her soldier spirit and was ready for battle. In battle, she sounded really good. I'm a fan.
Cheesa- Babyface was brought in to mentor her. She was worried that the note might be too hi and that it'd be over for her if she couldn't hit it. In battle, she did really good and DID hit the note. That high note in her section may have been an unfair advantage and the deciding factor.
My vote- I knew she'd be good but I thought Cheesa did a lot better than I expected. I'm an Angie fan but I think Cheesa did better. Cee Lo picked Cheesa.

Blake picked Jordis Unga to go against Brian Fuente. He picked "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette for them to sing.
Jordis Unga- Miranda Lambert came to mentor her. I'm a big fan of Jordis and she was seriously over thinking the performance, the song and what she needed to do to win. She has all the talent she needs, she just needs to cut loose and everyone will hear & see it. In battle, she started off good but kind of was all over the place.
Brian Fuente- Kelly Clarkson was brought in to mentor him. She told him to commit to the song and the notes he was going to sing. Good advice! In battle, he sounded good but he and Jordis didn't have good harmony. Even Blake said something afterwards.
My vote- Jordis of course but she'll have to pick it up! Blake picked Jordis.

Xtina picked Anthony Evans to go against Jessie Campbell!! She gave them "If I ain't got you" by Alicia Keys. They showed just a brief clip of this battle in the commercial teasers and wow, I was looking forward to this battle! After the battle, they should've just stopped the show and called these two the co-winners. What a vocal performance by these two. They each tried to outdo each other and we the viewers were the beneficiaries. WOW!!!
Anthony Evans- Jewel was brought in to mentor him. In battle, he sounded real smooth and hit a crazy high note that was a showstopper.
Jessie Campbell- Lionel Richie was brought in to mentor him. He was rather overconfident and showing off which I didn't like seeing. In battle, he sounded great and I really liked his performing style.
My vote- Jessie. Xtina picked Jessie.

The show ended with a vocal explosion but the whole night of battle round night 1 was great. It was a great night of singing and performances. Bravo.