The Voice Recap: Night 3 Of The Battles Makes Casualties Of Blondie And The Bee Gees
Curious: At a time when the networks are struggling to fill their schedules, The Voice is still abbreviating Battles. Two on Tuesday were shortened to the point that we heard more of the coaches' comments than the contestants' singing. And how bad did they have to have been, anyway? 'Cause the first and last of the evening's sing-offs were so "meh," I could probably have done without hearing them. How come? Read on...
Team Niall: Nini Iris (Grade: B) defeated Sophia Hoffman (Grade: C) on "Heart of Glass" | Niall called Blondie's disco classic "the perfect song" for this duo. Erm, really? For two belters? I was skeptical going in to the Battle and, aside from the cool, slowed-down intro, disappointed coming out of it. Despite the misfire of the song selection, there was no denying the superiority of Nini's vocals. Sophia obviously gave it her all, but she was so outclassed, it felt like she was the standby for a standby for Nini.
Team Gwen: Chechi Sarai (Grade: B+) defeated Calla Prejean (Grade: A-) on "I Will Never Love Again" | After being reminded of Calla's disappointing Blind, I thought, "Easy peasy, Chechi. You've got this." But she was in her head in rehearsal, and Calla sounded a lot better than I recalled. On stage, Calla shone, delivering a gorgeous, emotional performance. (It didn't hurt, either, that Lady Gaga's ballad was better-suited to her vocals.) Chechi was very good, too, even working in one of her whistle notes. She's also probably the more technically skilled singer. However, based on this number, which worked so well with Calla's tone, I'd have to have given her the win.
Team Reba: Rachele Nguyen (Grade: B) defeated Mac Royals (Grade: B-) on "How Deep Is Your Love?" — Mac stolen by John | Is it just me, or shouldn't this have sounded way better than it did? Mac, perhaps struggling with Reba's instruction not to deviate much from the Bee Gees' melody, sounded sorta flat, as in disengaged. Niall and John both dinged him for pitch issues, too. Rachele, with a more piercing vocal, fared better and held my attention more throughout the number. Still, I'd have given the win to Mac, whose four-chair-turn Blind had made me see stars. Well, one: him.
And, in Battles that were given the blink-and-ya-missed-it treatment, Caleb Sasser defeated Talakai to remain on Team Legend, and Lila Forde defeated Jarae Womack to continue on with the EGOT winner.
What did you think of Tuesday's Battles? Kinda "meh," eh? Vote for the performance you liked best below, then comment away.
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