‘The Voice’ Recap: Blake & Gwen Break Hearts, the Top 9 Break Through

THIS is The Voice! FINALLY!

Monday’s top nine episode of The Voice was THE best of this entire season. Now, normally, I’d make some snarky remark like, “Not that that’s saying much,” since I’ve been pretty tough on Season 10. But seriously, by any season’s standard, Monday was a superb night of superb singing. This was the thrilling episode I’d been waiting for since the lackluster Live Playoffs began weeks ago. What took so long?

Unfortunately, however, Monday’s most gabbed-about watercooler moment will likely be the most underwhelming performance of the night: the televised duet debut of Blake Shelton and his new girlfriend Gwen Stefani, doing a song they wrote together, “Go Ahead and Break My Heart,” off Blake’s forthcoming divorce album, If I’m Honest. If I’m being honest, I didn’t really sense major musical chemistry between these two; the pair’s collaborative style hasn’t really evolved all that much since that Season 7 opening group number of “Hella Good,” in which Blake seemed very out of place. This duet was a little bit country, a little bit rock ‘n’ roll – and a little bit meh.

The autobiographical lyrics of the sappy ballad – which candidly chronicle Blake and Gwen’s courtship after their respective marriages to Miranda Lambert and Gavin Rossdale unraveled last year – were interesting enough. But they were certainly nothing new from Gwen, whose past relationships with both Rossdale and No Doubt’s Tony Kanal have inspired much better songs of her own (“Don’t Speak,” “Cool,” “Ex-Girlfriend,” “Simple Kind of Life,” “Underneath It All,” “Used to Love You,” and many more).

“I never, ever meant to get so into you/Thought I was using you just to get me through/You know I’m broken, I don’t trust anyone/Last thing I needed was to fall in love/You got me dreaming, got me thinking I’ve got some hope,” Gwen warbled, her big Gwen-Stefani-For-Urban-Decayed eyes staring deeply into Blake’s more bloodshot ones.

I’m sure this was supposed be a sweet moment, and there were glimmers of cuteness here and there… but somehow it felt manufactured to me. I mean, didn’t Gwen and Blake’s romance start just a few months ago? Like in the middle of Season 9? Seriously, their relationship is moving faster than the final truncated 15th season of American Idol. It’s kind of weird.

Maybe my heart is just hardened and cynical after sitting through what has been a bitterly disappointing Voice season. But to get back to my original point… this Monday was the totally-not-disappointing night when Season 10 got back on track! So let’s excitedly recap the true standout performances of the evening – the ones by the contestants – almost all of which were hella good.

Paxton Ingram (Team Blake)

Paxton has been an underdog in this competition – he only made it to the top 12 as his coach’s Save (a controversial and largely unpopular decision on Blake’s part, although I personally co-signed it). Through sheer force of will (and talent, of course), Paxton has survived, and while his performances have been all over the map this season, there’s been one common thread: his penchant for covering female artists. Robyn, Selena Gomez, Tasha Cobbs, Adele, Celine Dion… it seems Paxton never met a diva whose songbook he didn’t like. This week, he gender-flippingly took on the mightiest diva of all, Whitney Houston, doing “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” And he for the most part pulled it off, even adding a bit of world-music flavor ‘n’ funk to make the song his own (albeit with some shades of Natalie Rose and Jeremih’s interpolation of the classic track in recent single “Somebody.”) I gotta hand to Paxton: He’s not afraid to take a risk, and he’s in it to win it.

He probably won’t win it, of course – because producers put him in the death spot this week. And the Voice bus ever-so-gently rode over him when Christina Aguilera shadily said Paxton’s performance reminded her of her “first grade talent show.” But the coaches were mostly kind. Pharrell Williams praised Paxton for “finding himself.” Adam Levine told Paxton: “You’re one of the most infectious performers of everybody. You just have this thing everybody wants to be a part of, and that’s really special.” Blake praised Paxton’s growth and tenacity, saying, “You’re the one guy that every week, you take just another notch forward, another notch higher. You just keep impressing people. That’s why you’re staying in this competition.“

We will see if Paxton can stay in the competition after tonight, but this was an undeniably solid effort, and definitely way above a first-grade level.

Mary Sarah (Team Blake)

Maren Morris’s “My Church” was the perfect song choice for Mary – a contemporary country hit, but with evangelical, slightly retro flair. I don’t think I’d ever seen Mary hit the stage with so much energy, or with such an infectious sense of fun, as she did this evening. Mary took “My Church” to church! She was boot-scootin’ through the audience, flirtatiously interacting with the band members, and basically seeming like she was performing at the upcoming CMT Awards. Perhaps for the first time this season, I saw her as a true Nashville star, not some starry-eyed young hopeful with a Boot Barn day job.

“I felt like that performance is probably your best connection to a song… It seemed like that was actually your record,” marveled Pharrell. “You did a spectacular job. You put everything into this, and it was perfect,” said Adam Levine. “I’m so freaking happy right now… It is the most connected, easily, that you’ve been to a song. I said [earlier to the press], ‘Everybody on my team has had their moment. Tonight is going to be Mary Sarah’s moment on the show.’ And anybody who understands anything about country music knows what just happened up there on the stage. Good job,” said a beaming Blake.

This was a case of a contestant peaking at just the right time. If we see Mary in the finale in a couple weeks, it’ll be due to the momentum from this breakthrough performance.

Nick Hagelin (Team Xtina)

Right before the commercial break, Carson announced, “Coming up, Nick takes on Drake” – and I got all excited, misconstruing and thinking that I was about to hear some “Pink Moon” on The Voice. But no, this wasn’t Nick Drake. It was Nick singing Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home” – a song closely associated on this show with Season 6’s Christina Grimmie, who had a major breakout moment with it. So I was worried for Nick, especially since he narrowly escaped elimination last week. (Nick claimed last week’s Instant Save gave him “newfound confidence,” but I really don’t see how being in the bottom two could provide any sort of ego boost.)

Nick’s performance was unexpectedly cool and contemporary. I liked him playing the acoustic guitar during the first half of his performance, in full-on WGWG mode; he exhibited effortless charisma during the dance-heavy second half; and he had some nice, falsetto-laced “Brian McKnight moments” towards the end. He came across as a credible pop star, maybe for the first time this season. But he still kind of seemed like the poor man’s Chris Jamison. Let’s face it: In a top nine that includes powerhouses like Hannah Huston, Bryan Bautista, Adam Wakefield, and Alisan Porter, Nick is simply outclassed at this point. It’s time for the coaches to stop urging America to vote for Nick just because he’s a nice family man.

Adam and Pharrell appreciated the dancing (“I mean, Blake can’t do that,” Adam quipped), and Christina explained: “I wanted everybody to see that from you, because your energy changes and also at this point of the competition it’s about seeing how you’ve grown and seeing you pull out all the stops. I loved what you did with it. I loved the rhythm of it… It was awesome.”

We will soon see if America thought this was awesome, and if this was enough to keep Nick out of danger this week – or if Nick will need to hold on, because he’s going home.

Hannah Huston (Team Pharrell)

First of all, Hannah deserves a spot in the finale just for having the exquisite taste to cover Jessie Ware. (I will assume it was her choice, given how totally checked-out Pharrell has been all season.) Jessie’s “Say You Love Me” was a breakthrough moment for last season’s Jeffery Austin, and while Hannah has already had plenty of breakthroughs this season, this was still my favorite performance from her yet. I loved seeing her in indie-chanteuse mode – so passionate, so elegant, so classy, so gorgeous. This felt like a coronation song performance. Even on a night when everyone was stepping it up and having a “moment,” Hannah stood out.

“That was my personal favorite performance by you this entire season,” gushed Blake. Christina agreed: “That was by far my favorite thing I’ve seen from you up on that stage. I can see your growth thus far. I can see your confidence in yourself. I’ve been waiting for a while for you to own the fact that you have such a great big voice, and you weren’t afraid of it this time, I felt. You were more comfortable and in your zone, and I loved seeing that from you.” And Pharrell, who has been sleepwalking through this entire senioritis season, finally woke up and offered an actually eloquent critique: “The word I would use is ‘graceful.’ Every line was beautiful, because it came with intention, and the intention shined through when you were singing.”

Well said, Mr. Williams.

Shalyah Fearing (Team Adam)

Sam Cooke’s original version of “A Change Is Gonna Come” is iconic, of course, but the classic has also been covered by Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Luther Vandross, Adam Lambert, Bob Dylan, Solomon Burke, Patti LaBelle, Tina Turner, the Nevilles, and many others. It’s a serious song, not to be toyed with, and it’s a pretty ambitious song choice for a girl who just celebrated her 16th birthday. Shalyah admitted she was nervous to take on such an anthem – with a string section, yet – and I was nervous for her, too.

The first half of her performance was a pretty commendable effort. Shalyah delivered a solid vocal and seemed confident despite her self-confessed jitters. But it wasn’t until the second half, when she let loose, growling and vamping and literally dropping to her knees, that I truly witnessed her connection to what she was singing. Sometimes when Shalyah goes wild, it doesn’t quite work – it feels messy, or amateurish, or like she’s just trying too hard. But this time, it worked.

“When you hit your high end – wow, the passion and the strength that you convey while holding a rasp and a grit in your voice, you are very authoritative. I loved every minute of those high notes,” said Christina. “Nobody means it more than Shalyah does. She is so passionate, so driven, and really feels every single thing that she sings. I love you for that, Shalyah. I really do,” said Adam.

Laith Al-Saadi (Team Adam)

For a while now, I’ve been saying that Alisan Porter is Adam Wakefield’s biggest threat. But Laith might be Adam W.’s real competition. This week, we saw Laith as we’d never seen him before – tenderly covering heartland rocker Bob Seger while sitting at a piano, not shredding on some fiery B.B. King guitar – and surprisingly, his “We’ve Got Tonight” performance was just as effective as any of his signature blues numbers. This was lovely. And it was a risk that completely paid off. Anyone complaining that Laith had been relying too much on his flashy guitar-playing must have realized tonight that he’s actually a multi-faceted artist. This gave me faith in Laith.

“The whole room stopped. When you started and your voice filled this room, everybody stopped. You could hear a pin drop. To me, that’s the ultimate sign of respect, because it was so beautiful in here – the mood was so beautiful. You represent something that is a dying thing, something that’s important to so many of us,” raved Adam.

Adam Wakefield (Team Blake)

Class-act hat act Adam W. continued to impress with his earnest, churchy take on Bonnie Raitt/Linda Ronstadt’s “Love Has No Pride,” and he made his coach proud indeed. My only concern with Adam is, he has set the bar so high for himself – and on a night when contestants like Mary, Hannah, Shalyah, and Laith stepped it up, it was hard for someone as consistent as Adam to stand out. This was another fantastic performance from Adam, but… it was another fantastic performance from Adam. Is it time for him to switch things up and take a chance, like Laith did this week? Or is this an “ain’t broke/don’t fix” situation?

The coaches seemed to think the latter. “I love what you deliver. I’ve always been a huge fan of yours. You just always come out so soulful and so strong,” said Christina, who confessed that she had a dream about Adam the other night, but oddly declined to reveal any juicy details. “Lots of girls are having dreams about you, I’m sure,” joked Blake, before adding, “What you just did right there was your best performance yet. I’ll see you in the finale, man.”

I don’t think this was Adam’s best performance, but I do think Blake’s finale prediction will come true. Whether or not Adam wins, that’s another story. But so far, what he’s been doing all season is still working for him.

Alisan Porter (Team Xtina)

Alisan is another frontrunner who could have plateaued after setting the bar so high for herself so early on. But every week, she has mixed it up and proven that she can sing just about anything. (Yes, even the phone book. Sorry for trotting out that silly singing-show cliché, but it’s true.) After last week’s tender and vulnerable “Let Him Fly,” this week she went from heartbreaker to Heart-like ballbuster on Aerosmith’s “Cryin’.” And she was just as entertaining and convincing. This performance had everything awesome: insane vocal acrobatics, wind-machine-assisted hairography, oodles of attitude, even KISS-style pyro. It was totally rock ‘n’ roll – and not, despite Alisan’s Broadway background, in a hokey, Rock of Ages sort of way. Just when I thought this girl had run out of surprises, she did this. Alisan rocks.

“You were tapping into that inner rock star with real vocals,” said Pharrell. “You are a superstar just now,” raved Christina. I’m sure the judges wanted to say more, but the show was running short on time. But really, it was best to let Alisan have the last, loud, multi-octave word.

Side note: If some resourceful Glambert ever makes a mashup video of Alisan’s “Cryin’” performance with her longtime pal Adam Lambert’s version from Idol Season 8, I think my head might just explode. That’s one duet that surely wouldn’t leave me feeling underwhelmed.

Bryan Bautista (Team Xtina)

Wow. Just… wow. I didn’t think anyone would be able to follow Alisan. I was wrong. Maybe the real threat in this competition is Bryan. He’s had a couple of iffy weeks lately, but tonight, doing a sexy, sultry, seductive cover of Beyoncé’s “1 + 1,” he gave his best performance yet – and one of the best performances of the season. This was truly a BET Awards-level tour de force. By the time Bryan ended this smokin’ performance on his knees in a cloud of dry-ice smoke, begging the laydeez at home to “make love to me,” I practically had to wipe the steam off my TV screen. I bet Bryan, not Adam W., is the contestant that female viewers will be dreaming about this week. And those hot-and-bothered viewers just may vote Bryan into the finale.

“You have the most impressive ability to sound effortless in all of your super-high register stuff, and it’s so powerful… Man, that was really beautiful,” said Adam. Said Christina: “That was amazing. All I’ve got to say is, Beyoncé, if you’re watching out there or somebody sends you a clip, you’ve got to do a duet with Bryan!” Well, that be one way for Bey to make Jay Z jealous, huh? Ha.

So now, it is prediction time. This was a phenomenal and much more fiercely competitive week than usual, but it seems Paxton and Nick were the weakest links, so I assume they’ll be the bottom two. But the other part of my prediction is I bet Paxton will slay in Tuesday night’s Twitter Save sing-off and easily survive over Nick. And I look forward to watching (and hearing) Paxton bring it. See you then.

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