The Voice recap: Maelyn Jarmon stands alone against three Team Blake country singers
Turns out, the southern singers on Team Blake didn’t need to distinguish themselves from one another after all. The results of The Voice‘s live semi-finals are in, and fans should prepare for a lot of downhome music in next week’s finale because not one, not two, but three country music men have made it through to the final four.
The night also saw Kelly Clarkson join Adam Levine on the coaching sidelines for what remains of the season, as Blake Shelton takes a whopping three artists to the finale to attempt to dethrone John Legend‘s perceived frontrunner. (Side note: Think those cross battles will ever happen again after this?)
Let’s take a look at how the results worked out.
Amid a few key in-house performances and announcements — including the fact that the Jonas Brothers and Taylor Swift and Ronson will be on-hand as guest talent next week — Carson Daly announced that America had saved the Top 3 like so:
Maelyn Jarmon (Team John)
Dexter Roberts (Team Blake)
Gyth Rigdon (Team Blake)
Of those, Maelyn Jarmon was the most-streamed artist of the night on the iTunes charts, which only strengthens the suspicion that she’ll be the one to beat next week.
Then, Daly revealed that the three who’d earned enough votes to try for the fourth spot by way of an instant save were Shawn Sounds (Team John), Rod Stokes (Team Kelly), and Andrew Sevener (Team Blake), which meant that Team Blake’s Kim Cherry and Carter Lloyd Horne were eliminated first.
Andrew Sevener took the stage first with his rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” and proved that southern rock is a good alternative to straight country music for him. It was a smart song selection because it’s always been a comfy crowdpleaser and allowed him to throw in a few full-bodied low belts, and Blake was blown away, convinced it would get him through and served him well in a finale situation.
Then, Rod Stokes returned to the stage, still fresh off of his duet with coach Kelly, and did his best to handle “Brother” by NEEDTOBREATHE. His soft rock soul was a bit muted here, though, and his low notes were a touch too wobbly, but given his double appearance tonight, Kelly’s ringing endorsement, and his sweet words earlier about how he’s learned to be himself throughout this process, it seemed like he still might have done enough to muscle through.
Shawn Sounds took up the rear with a surprisingly up-tempo choice in “That’s What I Like” by Bruno Mars. Shawn has tended to thrive in the smoother, jazzier beats so far, so it was a bit jarring to see him take on a busy number like this at such a crucial juncture, especially once he reached the tippy top of his range and struggled to break through. His coach was still convinced he belonged in contention next week, but this wasn’t Shawn’s most impressive showcase of the competition by a longshot.
In the end, it was Andrew Sevener’s heartened performance that won the day and saw him through.
And with that, Blake Shelton will have three contestants in the running next week against John Legend’s lone singer, Maelyn Jarmon. And since all three of Blake’s contestants are country-first singers, it’ll be really interesting to see whether Maelyn Jarmon benefits from that split focus and continues to deliver on those elegant and gripping ballads or if she gets lost in the Grand Ole Opry we’re all about to go to next week.
We’ll find out soon!
TEAM STANDINGS:
Adam Levine (0):
Kelly Clarkson (0):
John Legend (1): Maelyn Jarmon
Blake Shelton (5): Gyth Rigdon, Dexter Roberts, Andrew Sevener
