The Voice 2 - Quarterfinals 1 - iTunes Studio Recordings Review
Here's my review of the iTunes Studio Recordings for The Voice Quarterfinals featuring Team Christina and Team Blake.
A rare miss from Lindsey Pavao this week and Jordis Unga gets in touch with her emotions.
The reviews:
RaeLynn - She's Country
I like RaeLynn! She's a 'quirky' country singer. I can see why Blake Shelton would like her. This was a great song choice for her and a great vocal in the studio.
Looks like RaeLynn lucked out with Blake as her coach. This is a big message for country singers for future seasons of The Voice. Blake will definitely take care of them even if they are not the best singers on the show.
Rating: 4/5
Download: She's Country
Watch RaeLynn's live performance
Jesse Campbell - Halo
A surprising song choice for Jesse. He's a better performer live, specially on this song. The 'halo, halo, halo' chorus works a bit better live. But a solid effort from Jesse - he knows when to add the runs and doesn't go overboard.
But does he have room to grow as an artist? Oh wait, Christina already answered that question.
Rating: 3/5
Download: Halo
Watch Jesse's live performance
Jordis Unga - A Little Bit Stronger
Jordis is amazing. This was a great recording. She might want to explore this side of her music moving forward. She really connects with emotional songs like this. I felt like she was trying to get us ready for something bigger in the future.
Rating: 5/5
Download: A Little Bit Stronger
Watch Jordis' live performance
Ashley De La Rosa - Foolish Games
Better than her live version (where she was whispering). A good effort, but she still is generic for me. Will Christina Aguilera ever teach her how to not be generic? I doubt it now.
I find that Ashley's tracks are her souvenirs from being on the show, and not something that works commercially.
Rating: 2/5
Download: Foolish Games
Watch Ashley's live performance
Erin Willett - Set Fire to the Rain
She's no Adele. Not even close. A bit better rendition than Kim Yarbrough from last week, but to take on Adele -- the way Adele sings it, is just setting yourself up for comparison, and ultimately falling short. Only for her fans. Her voice is so generic, this could be anyone.
Rating: 2/5
Download: Set Fire to the Rain
Lindsey Pavao - Part of Me
Well, this is not a good song -- but I think Lindsey did a better job than the original! I can see where Lindsey was trying to take this (like all her covers), but the song itself is nothing special, and you can only go far with it. Too bad.
Rating: 3/5
Download: Part of Me
Watch Lindsey's live performance
Jermaine Paul - Against All Odds
I must admit this is Jermaine's best recording, partly because he is embracing the Jonas Brothers School of Music style of singing throughout his vocal. A slow song fits his voice apparently. So much better than his previous tracks where he sounded generic. At least here, we could hear a little something -- although that might be the Jonas School kicking in.
Rating: 3/5
Download: Against All Odds
Watch Jermaine's live performance
Chris Mann - Viva La Vida
I love this song! Chris did a good job. Probably the best rendition of this song among all the TV karaoke singing shows over the years -- and it's been attempted many times (to failure).
Rating: 3/5
Download: Viva La Vida
