'Reality Check': Most Boring 'Voice' Week Ever? Are Restless Road Beyond Hope?
Credit: TVLine.com
TVLine.com's Michael Slezak returns with American Idol Season 6 finalist Melinda Doolittle for an all-new episode of Reality Check, dissecting the week in reality singing competitions.
This week, the duo discusses what may have been the most boring week of the year for The Voice, as uninspired song choices led to frontrunners stumbling in cringe-worthy fashion. What were the highlights and lowlights of the week? And which group performance from the results show has almost single-handedly restored Melinda's faith in group performances? Meanwhile, over on The X Factor USA, Michael and Melinda discuss which contestants are the most exciting simply for their willingness to take risks, before transitioning into an evisceration of Restless Road's performance of "Fix You". Can the trio get back on track with the right song? Or did the judges just put the wrong three guys together? Another fun episode, as always. You can watch it below via TVLine:
Thoughts
I liked this week on The Voice, although I have to agree about the head-scratching nature of some of the song choices. Matthew was pitched way too low at the start of the song, while Jacqui Lee looked terrified during the majority of her performance. Of course, without the visual of Jacqui looking like a deer in the headlights, it was actually one of my favorite performances from her. Just very pleasing to the ear, even if not technically perfect. With that said, I hope the song choices start to get a bit more apt, as I feel like the coaches actually had a better grasp of their contestants' identities earlier in the competition. Seriously, the song choices for the Battle Rounds were vastly superior to what we've been getting on the live shows, and it worries me somewhat that, for instance, Adam hasn't really been able to get James Wolpert right yet. I'm keeping optimistic though.
As for The X Factor USA, I don't necessarily feel like putting Restless Road together was a mistake. It's just an issue of song choice. It's almost comical how bad a pick "Fix You" was for these guys. They had their small moments in the verses, but overall, they just didn't feel like a group. They came across as three solo singers mashed together, mostly because that's how they got their start. I don't think they're entirely used to being a group yet. With any luck, that changes in the weeks to come, since they're facing serious competition from Michael and Melinda's frontrunners. I loved Lillie McCloud this week, as she continues to deliver dependable vocals that are never needlessly over-the-top or desperate. And Josh Levi and Alex and Sierra are the two most exciting acts in the competition to me, as well. I just can't imagine how much of a snoozefest this show would be without them.
What do you think about The Voice Top 10 Week? And what about Restless Road on The X Factor USA? Sound off in the comments!