‘The Voice’ Recap: And Then There Were Eight
On last night’s episode of The Voice, we said goodbye to Devon Barley, Curtis Grimes, Jeff Jenkins, and the Thompson sisters, all of whom, it turns out, only have A Voice. Carson introduced another rule, America’s four picks asserted themselves, Maroon 5 premiered their catchy new single “Moves Like Jagger,” featuring a finger-shaking Christina Aguilera, and Blake Shelton debuted “Honey Bee,” looking for all the world like a proud papa with Xenia and Dia at either side, trembling along.
Joining Dia and Bev as the country’s chosen ones from last week were tiny powerhouse Vicci Martinez and Javier Colon, whose head, we found out, is as smooth as his voice. Cee Lo and Adam added Nakia and Casey Weston to the crew of judges’ picks, which includes Frenchie Davis and Xenia. In a Carsonian turn of events, the news was announced that America would have to pick four from this new pool of eight in less than 24 hours, for a surprise Idol-style results show. The real question: is there anything new to judge?
Bev’s take on BB King‘s “The Thrill Is Gone,” had all the hallmarks of a killer Bev performance: passion, head-shakes, a strange outfit. Meanwhile, Frenchie took on Madonna‘s “Like A Prayer,” a combo that should have split the rafters, but fell short when Frenchie’s back-up singers overtook her. Casey Weston channeled more Dolly Parton than Whitney Houston in “I Will Always Love You,” but she seemed to hold back, never quite hitting fully on the high notes in a way that could have matched Javier, whose safe take on Coldplay’s “Fix You” was enough like the original to keep Javier fans close. Dia and Xenia had a shy-girl standoff with acoustic versions of R.E.M.‘s “Losing My Religion” vs. The Script’s “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved,” but Xenia out-shyed Dia by looking like there was a gun to her head. In Cee Lo’s camp, Nakia introduced Adam Levine to the work of another musician with the same initials – Adam Lambert’s “Whataya Want From Me.” “I’m pretty sure you sang it better than the person who originally sang it,” Adam said, inviting the wrath of Glambert fans across the cosmos. Adam’s praise/Lambert dis aside, Nakia didn’t rank when it came to his nemesis Vicci, who gave the “coolest performance of the night,” according to all the judges, a faithful, drum-lined version of Florence and The Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over” that Blake compared to a gas fire.
What was it all about? Did the B-Team bring out enough new ammunition to usurp the chosen four? Or was last night just a fancy way of getting Adam Levine in a suit? Pray tell, America.
Last Episode: Sisters Rule Girls Night
Related: ‘The Voice’ Power Ranking: America Picks a Fantastic Four