The Voice: First Quarterfinals April 16, 2012

For the quarterfinals of The Voice, not only will the audience "save" a singer from each team but each coach will have to immediately cut one team member.  Ouch!  None of the coaches are happy about that surprise.

Surprise!  Xtina performed "Stronger" with her team and the Crenshaw High School Choir.  Great sounding performance but she needs to rethink the bustier/panties outfit.  It wasn't flattering.  Although I did enjoy her little country intro just to tease Blake.  I do like how Christina tries to give her team good pointers, getting them exposure outside the show.

Maroon5 (drool, Adam!) premiered their new single "Payphone" featuring Wiz Khalifa (and I just cheated to look up the spelling on iTunes).  Definitely a Maroon5 song.  I liked it.

Team Blake also performed with their coach on his single "Heartbreak".  Of the two group performances I liked this one better.  It showed the singers to better advantage.

The performances!

• Raelynn - singing "She's Country" by Jason Aldean
• I have to admit it, she is cute as can be.  I have trouble putting her voice together with how young she is.  If I close my eyes, she totally works for me as a country artist.  If I watch her, I just don't believe the "sexiness" she adds to her performance.  She isn't old enough and she doesn't really need it.  Her diction was much better this performance which was something I didn't like two weeks ago.  I also worry that she sings and growls so hard that she's doing some vocal damage.  I'd like to see her do a softer piece once.
• Jesse - singing "Halo" by Beyonce (total aside: Xtina's red studio mic/stand cracks me up everytime)
• It's an interesting choice.  Initially I was worried that they had set the arrangement too high but he warmed into it as the song along.  The staging was so sweet with all the pictures of his little girl.  He really does put his heart into every performance and he deserves to move forward.  He's one of my favorites.
• Jordis - singing "A Little Bit Stronger" by Sara Evans
• This is such a change from her rock performances.  Hearing her sing with vulnerability, so lovely.  I really liked this choice for her.  She had such a nice tone to her voice and I hadn't heard that before.  She is one of my favorites, too.
• Ashley - singing "Foolish Games" by Jewel
• The introduction wasn't my favorite - she was lost behind the guitar until the second phrase when she brought up the volume.  She really went for it but she sounded like she was pushing way too hard.  It got really pitchy, especially the big climax note - that one was sour.  The arrangement was really good, since I don't think she could have carried the original arrangement.
• Erin - singing "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele
• Erin is absolutely one of my favorite singers on this show.  Not only is she crazy-talented she has got the strongest backbone.  She is the only singer on this show as yet to take on Adele and make the performance and song her own.  Absolutely solid.  I loved it - voted, bought the single.  I'd love to see her in the finals.  (I thought the phrasing was good - but you know you did a great job when the criticism is a point that most singers don't even get to).
• Lindsay - singing "Part of Me" by Katy Perry
• I'm not a gigantic Katy Perry fan (I think she's annoying) so Lindsay's performance was pretty fresh for me (CeeLo hasn't heard this song before, either?  Random).  I think she sounded better on the whole than last week but she really needs to keep her breath support up because she loses her pitch on the longer notes (as pointed out by the coaches).  Her pants, however, are an egregious party foul and ought to be burned.  Hideous.
• Jermaine - singing "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins
• This was a great choice for him.  He connected more with this performance and it was less "polished".  He took the song a little more soul than rock power ballad and it worked for him.
• Chris - singing "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay
• Such a great choice for him.  The long phrases show off his breath control to perfection.  And that is what voice training is for.  Also, his pitch is absolutely rock solid.  I love him, I want to see him win.  We need more classical singers in this world! (Note to Adam: while I also would like to see him sing opera, or a more classical piece, it would probably go over better in the style of the East Village Opera Company.  Hmm, speaking of, they do a great "E lucevan le stelle" from Tosca that he would totally kill).

Christina is up first for an elimination:  wow, she chose to let Jesse go.
(Jesus, this is harsh - worst idea the producers for this show ever had because it felt like the air got sucked out of the auditorium when Christina announced his name).  I perhaps might have gone with Ashley, but as long as it wasn't Chris I was good.
Blake's choice: JORDIS!??!????  WTF?????  Blake, that was so wrong.  What a cop-out.  Of the four performances of his team tonight she gave one of the best.  He totally has a favorite *cough* RaeLynn *cough* - she gave the weakest performance of the four and so, following the premise that the judging is based on the performances as given, ought to have been let go.

*Total sidenote: You can't even purchase the single for the two singers eliminated - Jordis, I love you, I think you totally got a raw deal, and I would so buy the song from your performance tonight.

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