‘The Voice’ Recap: Team Blake and Christina Battle Live

Is Cee Lo in drag? Seriously—what is with the long wig, the hang-down earrings, and the open, sparkly shirt? Intense. Your cat is enough comedy for the show Cee Lo, please stop trying to dress like a woman. Along with Adam’s new buzz cut, at least Christina decided to wear a full shirt this time.

Despite the coaches’ appearance changes, Team Blake and Team Christina are the first to battle in the live performances. America will vote and the bottom three from each team will sing off tonight, having the coaches decide who stays.

Team Blake:

Jermaine Paul; “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi

Christina was disappointed in the song choice and claims he has more soul than that; however, if we recall correctly, he sang “Complicated” by Avril Lavigne, so perhaps this man just really likes pop music. (Not every African American has to get on the Soul Train, Christina.) He ran around the stage and hit the notes. Overall, it was a nice opening number but didn’t really stand out enough to get our vote.

RaeLynn; “Wake Up Call” by Maroon 5

Pretty risky of this girl to redo a Maroon 5 song in front of Adam, and furthermore, turn it into a country rendition. While Christina called her “sassy young thing,” she should have said “awkward.” Watching a 16-year-old grind on a microphone and try to stare at the camera (or Adam) in a flirty manner was sort of uncomfortable and made me feel dirty. Blake claims everyone at the CMA Awards talked to him about her, but again, not getting our vote.

Naia Kete; “Turning Tables” by Adele

While she originally had plans for her reggae soul to standout, Blake decided she should leave the Adele song as it is. During the performance, Naia seemed a bit uncomfortable without her signature reggae sound, and while it wasn’t completely a lost cause, there were certain notes she didn’t quite hit. Perhaps it was too tame and dull, which seemed to be Christina’s opinion. Blake thought it was “beautiful” and her “tender moments are so special.” Personally, we’re torn because during rehearsals she is great but neither of her performances have delivered any promises.

Jordice Unga; “Alone” by Heart

She pretty much stole it for Team Blake. She wails every note with a huge scream at the end, showing she is a rocker to the core that can belt out soulful ballads. Blake told her “that was the opposite of playing it safe,” as he beamed with pride.

Watch her performance below:

Erin Willet; “Living for the City” by Stevie Wonder

Another powerhouse, Erin impressed with this funky rendition. She proved she could sing and adapt to different styles, even playing piano at the beginning. Although, with all the extra dancers/actors it sort of felt like we were watching a clip from a Broadway show which was definitely unnecessary. Blake singled her out as the best performance of the night.

Charlotte Sometimes; “Misery Business” by Paramore

This was cool. This girl is cool. Her voice is different and she put a dark spin on an otherwise, boring song. While Adam said she was flat at times, Blake and Christina disagreed (which we have to as well). Charlotte proved she can sing and arrange songs to make them her own, which resulted in Blake calling her a “true artist.” It’d be nice for her to continue on in the competition.

Watch her performance below:

Team Christina:

Chris Mann; “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel

Sure, this guy sounds operatic, but his voice is awesome and this show is called “the voice.” At least he’s not as dramatic as Tony Vincent. Chris was perfectly on pitch and his sincerity came through. In fact, this version was kind of better than the original. All the coaches appeared impressed. Keep your voice the way it is, Chris. Don’t shrink it down for those who can’t handle it.

Watch his performance below:

Moses Stone; “Stronger” by Kanye West

It was a fun performance; it just didn’t impress much for a vocal competition. His did a sort of rock rendition, trying to show he can sing in addition to rapping. This guy may receive some votes for his fusion of pop, rock and rap sensibilities, although, again, judging on strictly vocals this guy is not as talented as his peers on the show. Christina said he makes her “so excited.” We’ll just leave it at that.

Lindsey Pavao; “Somebody that I Used to Know” by Gotye and Kimbra

Okay, so we are extremely partial to another cover of this song by Walk Off the Earth, and keeping that in mind, she was still terrible. She was definitely the worst performer of the night. Her pitches were everywhere while the song didn’t go anywhere, and it seemed like she was trying to convey some serious drama but came off as awkward and uncomfortable. It droned from beginning to end, and adding the creepy people in porcelain doll masks dancing around her, it was pretty horrible to watch.

Sera Hill; “Find Your Love” by Drake

She held her own and impressed with a slightly more disco-soul version of Drake’s hit. Again, the shirtless background dancers were annoying but Christina seems to enjoy them. The coaches don’t really have any gripes with her performance, and Christina likes to compare her to Mary J. Blige.

Ashley De La Rose; “Right Through You” by Alanis Morissette

It’s nice that Alanis is still the pinnacle artist for teenage angst. Ashley’s performance, however, was annoying ‘cause instead of making it her own, she imitating Alanis thoroughly. Having never heard her sing with those inflictions before, it is apparent Ashley still doesn’t quite know her own style which is understandable considering she is only 17. Adam votes her most improved singer, which we will agree on, but it still doesn’t mean she gets our vote.

Jesse Campbell; “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong

There is no denying Jesse has a great voice, but he is not very relatable and comes across slightly arrogant. The song choice was fitting for him, but again, was old-fashioned and not very relatable. Who gets emotional about trees anymore? Adam says he is the one to beat, Cee Lo says if no one from his team wins he wants Jesse to. So maybe we’re way off base, but he doesn’t appear as a frontrunner for us.

Who do you hope stays? Leaves?

This article originally appeared on AllMediaNy.com