Adam's team surprised me. In the past, I haven't really liked Adam as a mentor. He's a hilarious guy with a great sense of humor and just the type of dude you'd want to keep back and have wine coolers with while you talk about your favorite flavor of ice cream but I haven't loved him as a mentor. He's no doubt probably the most nurturing of the four judges but I just haven't really been feeling him. There's a certain moment where I can remember losing respect for him as a mentor but I'm not going to get into that just yet. I'm going to see what he does with the contestants this year because he has an amazing batch so far.
BLAINE MITCHELL
Blaine is a cool guy, I like him. He has just the right amount of guy next door that makes him likable enough to the audience and that's what you need in order to be a success now a days, it's not enough just to have talent anymore. He certainly looks like an artist already, that hair looks comfortable enough to use as loofah. Gross. I'm not using anybody's hair as a loofah but you get it. There's something about Blaine that draws you into him. Maybe it's, like I said previously, his appearance. He has a very distinct appearance (and voice, for that matter). While he's on stage he does these weird hand movements as while he walks throughout the stage he has a very commanding presence and that's great. His voice was perfect for the song and that's probably the direction he goes in. As I heard Blake talking, apparently he's been country the whole competition? He is very versatile. That was an amazing way to start the live show. Let's get to his vocals. He has some pipes on him and at one point he stood in front of his wife and begun singing to her. It was a powerful moment for his performance and one of those rare emotional moments you get on The Voice. 7.5/10
KEITH SEMPLE
I remember Keith Semple's over the top expressions during his song in the Knockouts. His vocals were alright back then. It's interesting to hear him say he's been in the industry for 17 years, considering how long he looks. You can see it in his performance when he is on The Voice's stage. He has a lovely voice but I really don't know who he is as an artist. Adam's comment was pretty redundant because Keith stated in his clip package that he didn't want people to think he was this kind of artist and then Adam said this was the type of music he would do and it was all just very confusing. I don't have much to say about Keith because he's just very simple. While that can be a good thing, I don't really find him to be a standout. I might be wrong, but that's just one bloggers opinion. This performance was far from bad, though. 7/10
SHELBY BROWN
Shelby Brown is a standout. Her voice is gorgeous. Her rendition of Jesus Take the Wheel was gorgeous. She has such a strong voice and it complimented the song in wonderful ways. I'm not sure what type of artist she wants to be because she has a clear country voice but she's switching up genres on us when we're supposed to be getting introduced to the type of contestant she will be in the competition. I have to say I was very wrong because when she opened her mouth and ripped into that chorus like an old shirt she shut me right up. She legitimately crossed over the song's genres just with the tone of her voice. Her vocal prowness is what carried the performance but by the end when she "went off" on that person who was "no good" and just stuck it too them all that passion just resonated through my television set. She's also adorable, she looks like she's having the time of her life and the smile on her face is just infection. Blake was pretty good with the vocal baby metaphor. 8/10
AMY VACHAL
Amy really impressed me during the Knockouts. When I heard she was doing The Way You Look Tonight I was very excited! She has a very old school vibe to her, especially in her voice, so the jazz element was going to compliment her voice gorgeously. She looked amazing on stage and the song was amazing for her. The way she effortlessly and gorgeous held out her first belt was amazing. She doesn't have an amazing range but what she does have is a very unique voice and a very unique look to her and that might work in her favor. When she hit the bridge and held out that note, I wasn't feeling it, but I think I loved the rest of the performance. My only problem with her is how good she did at this performance. By that, I meant the song is very cabaret and she pulled off an amazing cabaret performance that you would see on a cruise ship or in Vegas in a hotel. It worked tonight, though. The way she was navigating the stage, as Pharrell said she was "singing her way around the stage" I had a come to Jesus moment because I had the same thoughts as Pharrell Williams. If this is the type of artist she wants to be, she is pulling it off effortlessly. 8/10
CHANCE PEÑA
I didn't pay attention to Chance before so I can't speak on his personality very much so onto his performance. When he started, clearly he caught my attention because the camera was so dead in his face. The thing I immediately noticed is how natural he is on stage. He seems very comfortable with himself and the song. The one problem for me wasn't the song because I agreed with him when he said it was the type of song he'd perform in a bar or something. His voice just isn't really that easy on the ear. He has one of those voices where his vibrato comes off as yodeling and their came a part during the chorus towards the latter end of the song where his voice came of as screaming but I thought the end was flawless, honestly. Overall, I don't think the performance was flawless. 6.5/10
JORDAN SMITH
We are just going to discuss how when Carson was telling us that Jordan was up next, he was placed on the staircase in a way that made it look like he was giving us Queen Bey (ironically, he's also doing a song by Beyonce) and posing for us but he was just adjusting his ear peace. I died several times. Anyways, I'm not sure what to think about Jordan, honestly. He has an absolutely out of this world voice, you have to be blind not to see that. But how far is a voice going to get you in the competition? His voice is powerful and he can hit notes in his sleep that I couldn't hit on my finest day. At this point, he's been a one trick pony. He's given a flawless vocal performance with a couple of glory notes but when has anyone with an amazing singing voice and absolutely nothing won any of these singing competitions? (We're not going to talk about American Idol's winners, we just aren't.) I would absolutely love for him to prove me wrong. I would LOVE him to, but prior to tonight's performance I've seen him sing power ballads by divas. When I heard his song choice came from Beyonce tonight I didn't groan as much as I sighed. I once again sighed, but this time it was a sigh of relief. I'm referring to when Adam told Jordan this wasn't time for karaoke anymore. It got me very intrigued to see what Jordan would pull out on this performance because all of his performances up until this have been just that, karaoke. As they got through his clip package and they begun arranging a new version, I felt hope for the performance. We don't have to talk about the beauty of the chord progression into the first chorus. We don't have to talk about how gorgeous his tone was and how effortlessly he hit the notes in the performance. I got goosebumps as he held out this certain note and just allowed it to change note after note. This kid has a gift, he has an amazing voice and he is clearly not going anywhere anytime soon. His final "fade away" had my hand up in the sky and I had an absolute eargasm. I would love to see him do something different and show off his versatility but if he continues to give performances as vocally stunning and emotionally on point as this performance...I'm with it. That was beautiful. "All I can think of is God when he sings." Same, Gwen, same. 9/10
Side note: Adam Levine's hair, it's lovely to see you back. <3
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