The Voice 7 - Live Blog and Recap - The Battles Premiere, Part 2 (VIDEO)
Welcome to the live blog and recap of The Voice 2014 Season 7, "The Battles Premiere, Part 2"! Coaches Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Pharrell Williams, and Gwen Stefani are building their teams. Some of the matchups we'll see, according to the show's official YouTube page, are...
Justin Johnes vs. Tanner Linford
John Martin vs. Grant Ganzer
Menlik Zergabachew vs. Troy Ritchie
Alessandra Castronovo vs. Joe Kirk
Jordan Searcy vs. Taylor Phelan
Clara Hong vs. Rebekah Samarin
Which singers will prevail in the battles? And will there be any steals?
Add your thoughts in the comments below, and keep refreshing for analysis, thoughts, and videos of the night's battles! Rickey will be posting individual videos as the night rolls on. So let's get this show on the road!
Credit: NBC
RECAP
-We open with Pharrell and Alicia Keys, chilling out while waiting for the contestants to arrive. Pharrell says Alicia is the kind of artist that this show is about, with her artistry and awards and overall awesomeness. Thus, she's a pretty perfect mentor for this. And I agree.
TAYLOR PHELAN VS. JORDY SEARCY (TEAM PHARRELL WILLIAMS)
-Taylor is "pumped" to sing for Alicia Keys, while Jordy Searcy continues to get a complete ghost edit. He sounds absolutely great in the few lines we hear from him, doing The Script's "Breakeven". He plays his guitar well too. I have no idea why they aren't focusing on Jordy at all. Seriously, dude doesn't even get a confessional, nor do we hear him speak a word. Considering that his blind audition was montaged, this doesn't bode well for his chances in this battle, as it's more about how Taylor is struggling with the falsetto in the---OH NOW Jordy is talking! He gets five seconds to talk a little bit about the battle ahead.
-In the rehearsal, Alicia doesn't believe either man's connection to the song. Pharrell and Alicia work with them to bring out that emotion, and it's much, much better on the second run-through. However, Jordy feels his voice was all over the place on that vocal. But Pharrell thought it was good, and notes that both men have to figure out what kind of feeling they want to convey with their performance.
-Both men sport guitars for this battle, which further draws a comparison between the two, since they already sound so similar. However, Taylor is really taking this battle for the most part, particularly because Jordy bails on a high note in the chorus early on, although he recovers nicely later on with a lovely falsetto in the final chorus. Overall, it's a pretty even battle, and the only reason I think it's so one-sided in Taylor's favor is because of the edit.
-Gwen calls the battle "class" and praises both men for their realness. Adam notes that there were great moments in the chorus for Jordy, but says Taylor's stage presence pushed it over the edge for him. He gives the nod to Taylor. Blake agrees, saying Taylor tipped the scales, for him. Pharrell thanks both men for not only having the bravery to try out for the show, but to agree to be on his team. He thinks both men are great, but he can only pick one, so...
TAYLOR PHELAN wins this Battle!
-Jordy thanks the coaches for the opportunity, and for everything they do. Nobody steals him though, which isn't exactly surprising. Not because he isn't talented, but because the editing has seemingly gone out of its way to give us almost no sense of who he is. I liked what little we saw though.
WATCH: Jordy Searcy and Taylor Phelan sing 'Breakeven' (VIDEO)
ALESSANDRA CASTRONOVO VS. JOE KIRK (TEAM ADAM LEVINE)
-We learn a bit more about the lovely Alessandra, whose blind audition was montaged. She works in her father's Italian restaurant, and...okay, that's basically all we learn. Other than that she's gorgeous. Seriously, Alessandra is outrageously pretty. At the run through, Adam and Stevie go over "Stay" with the contestants, noting that Rihanna has a certain island flavor to her voice that makes the song distinct. They encourage Alessandra to take a similarly deliberate approach in her vocal, while telling Joe he needs to show more power.
-In the rehearsal, Alessandra continually has a problem with one note during the chorus. Stevie runs through it with her until she gets it. Meanwhile, Adam tells Joe he needs to make his performance more "operatic," recalling that he first heard Rihanna sing this song on Saturday Night Live, alone onstage in the dark, and he thought it was stunning. He gives the contestants an example of what he means by singing a few bars, and it's a lovely reminder that Adam has a downright wonderful voice.
-I was surprised by this battle. I was expecting this to be a relatively safe battle, with neither singer really having any standout moments. But I thought Alessandra had some nice runs, while Joe showed some surprising power to his voice. That said, I kind of wish they'd stop doing this song on shows like this, because every single one cuts out my favorite part ("Ooooo, the reason I hold on..."). Overall, this was yet another even performance that's too hard to call.
-Blake thought Alessandra couldn't have done anything better, but notes that Joe's performance was one of the most perfect vocals he's ever heard on The Voice (really? I wouldn't have gone that far, personally). Pharrell is indecisive, causing Adam to agonize that his comments aren't helping. Gwen, meanwhile, notes she had tears in her eyes from how beautiful their duet was. Adam is wracked by the decision, taking so long to pick that Carson has to push him to give them an answer. After stalling for the better part of forever -- with Blake noting he's had a birthday since this battle began, and Pharrell saying that you can literally hear the air in the room -- he finally throws out a name.
ALESSANDRA CASTRONOVO wins this Battle!
-Wow! I was expecting, with all the talk of how great Joe was, that Joe had this in the bag. But I LOVE that Alessandra is moving forward, since I think she shows real potential. But I do feel awful for Joe. Nobody steals him, and he breaks down into tears, to such an extent that Pharrell takes him backstage and gives him a pep talk, telling him to keep going. He tells Joe he has to fight on, because he gives up, then "No" will be proven to have been the right answer.
WATCH: Alessandra Castronovo and Joe Kirk sing 'Stay' (VIDEO)
We then get a montage of battles for Team Adam and Team Blake:
Rebekah Samarin defeats Clara Hong (Team Adam Levine)
Grant Ganzer defeats John Martin (Team Blake Shelton)
Tanner Linford defeats Justin Johnes (Team Blake Shelton)
I hope they post the battles online, because I'd love to see why each of these contestants won their respective matchups.
WATCH: Clara Hong and Rebekah Samarin sing 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow' (VIDEO), John Martin and Grant Ganzer sing 'Stop and Stare' (VIDEO), and Justin Johnes and Tanner Linford sing 'You and I' (VIDEO)
MENLIK ZERGABACHEW VS. TROY RITCHIE (TEAM GWEN STEFANI)
-Gwen has given the guys "Maneater" by Hall and Oates, which might just be the most interesting song choice of the Battle Rounds so far, particularly for these two, who have a similar, groovy tone to their voices. Both Gwen and Gavin are impressed by the singers, although Gwen notes that they have two very different styles, which should make this an interesting battle.
-In the rehearsal, Gwen encourages Menlik to add some ad-libs, since she read that "Maneater" was actually originally meant to be a reggae-type song. She has the band deliver more of a reggae arrangement, and Troy gets really into it. However, Gwen thinks he gets too into it, getting "bouncy" and "happy" when that isn't the intention of the song's lyrics. Gavin suggests it should be like two friends in a bar singing about a girl who's dangerous. It's not bad advice, really, although I don't know that I ever thought of it that way when hearing Hall and Oates singing it. I like Gavin as a mentor, and think his suggestions about the tone of the song might help shape this into a very colorful battle. And Gwen's choice to give this a groovier, more reggae-flavored arrangement was an inspired touch on her part. I'm looking forward to this.
-This was a really fun battle. Troy actually sounds a lot like Adam, in my opinion, doing some of the same vocal inflections. He has a similarly deliberate way of enunciating his words, and it makes for a fairly engaging vocal style. However, he does kind of ignore Gwen's advice about coming across as too bouncy, since he dances and smiles during the bridge. Menlik is doing a much better job of making these seem like an ironic song, like a wink-and-nod performance. Like, "Yeah, this is a jam, but it's about a terrible person." His voice is really smooth. Tough call, but I'd actually give it to Troy.
-Adam thinks these are the two guys who've come the farthest since the Blind Auditions, while Blake loved the song choice. He says this was the best battle of the night. Pharrell, meanwhile, admits he didn't know just how good Troy was. He then praises Menlik, saying, "Ethiopia is proud of you." Gwen wishes she could put these two guys in a blender and make one person, which Adam thinks sounds horrible. But Gwen loves both guys. She makes her decision...
TROY RITCHIE wins this Battle!
-The right call, in my opinion. But it's not over for Menlik, as both ADAM and PHARRELL push their buttons.
WE'VE GOT A STEAL!
Troy is backstage during the steal, but he's absolutely over-the-moon for Menlik, saying "He's my boy!" Adam and Pharrell both make their play for Menlik, but the decision is up to him...
MENLIK ZERGABACHEW CHOOSES TEAM PHARRELL WILLIAMS!
-Menlik says he chose Pharrell because "he said the right things" and "the vibe was right," which I guess is as good a reason as any. I would have gone with Adam though, since I think he has a better grasp of the kind of artist Menlik wants to be. But Pharrell will never be a bad choice for any artist, in my opinion. Even the country ones.
WATCH: Menlik Zergabachew and Troy Ritchie sing 'Maneater' (VIDEO)
-And that's a wrap! To recap, here are the results of tonight's battles...
Taylor Phelan def. Jordy Searcy Alessandra Castronovo def. Joe Kirk Tanner Linford def. Justin Johnes Rebekah Samarin def. Clara Hong Grant Ganzer def. John Martin Troy Ritchie def. Menlik Zergabachew (Menlik Zergabachew is STOLEN by Pharrell Williams!)
So what did you think of tonight's battles? Did the coaches make the right calls? Sound off in the comments! And join us next week as the Battle Rounds continue! Thanks for hanging out!