We’re getting close to the end of The Voice‘s 15th season, so now’s not the time for anyone to choke, and yet … well, we’ve still got a few stragglers left in play, it seems. Tonight’s performances are very varied. We’ve got some artists who are ready to completely own their desired routes, others who’ve still got some kinks to iron out on the technical side, and others who are outright exposing their own weaknesses and thus readying themselves for the chopping block.
Let’s take a look at tonight’s round of performances, shall we?
Kennedy Holmes (Team Jennifer) — “Me Too” by Meghan Trainor
Is Kennedy Holmes safe enough for the semifinals to start experimenting this way? Coach Jennifer Hudson chooses this peppy jam because it allows her to pop and lock and have fun like any other 13-year-old might. Fair enough. It’s fun to see her excel at choreographed dance moves and show off how well she can maintain her breath amid all that stage play. If the idea here is to show us what she’d be like as a full-on performer, mission accomplished. However, we don’t get to hear as much of her vocal strengths as with previous performances, so Kennedy’s right that it’s a risky choice. She’s pretty much banking on voters to remember her competence with the big ballads, but attention spans are pretty short ’round here these days, so we’ll see if this is the right call or not.
Reagan Strange (Team Adam) — “Cry” by Faith Hill
In a word? Oof. Normally, I’m pretty sold on Reagan Strange’s uniquely sharp tones and ability to hop nimbly around her top range all song long. This time, even that’s not working though. Never minding the fact that for a good half of the song, Reagan’s simply unable to reach the low notes she needs — we are duly warned about that in the rehearsal footage, so let’s just ignore it for argument’s sake. Even the mid-range and falsetto pieces are way off. It’s pitchy and so zero-to-sixty that all power is lost in this adaptation. Combined with the attempts to whisper her way through the bottom verses, it’s not even close to good. The coaches have to resort to complimenting her for being so young and willing to take on a tough song instead of saying anything about her actual vocals tonight because, yeah, they know it.
Sarah Grace (Team Kelly) — “Amazing Grace”
This might be an unpopular opinion, but… why? Why did this happen exactly? Look, Sarah Grace’s vocals here are refreshingly good. She’s got that deep Moaning Myrtle vibe down to a science, and woo, she can handle that trumpet too! Without missing a single note even! But the effect of her piling the lyrics to “Amazing Grace” on top of the exact instrumental arrangement of “House of the Rising Sun” is that I am left wondering why she didn’t just sing “House of the Rising Sun.” This all seems like a lot of effort to make something different that really doesn’t need to be. She can still be an ~artist~ and not have to turn songs into a patchwork quilt.
Kymberli Joye (Team Kelly) — “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)”
Now, this is more like it. Here we have a singer who knows who she is and what she wants to do and, most importantly, how to do it without having to bring in all kinds of overproduction nonsense. Kymberli Joye’s take on this gospel number is about as pure and polished as she could make it, and she wisely holds back on the blistering belts to leave us with something honest and heartfelt. Her voice has never sounded more convincing — kudos to those fans who convinced her to finally just commit to this genre that she loves so well because this is a good fit for her.
Chris Kroeze (Team Blake) — “Callin’ Baton Rouge” by Garth Brooks
Blake Shelton is right. When it comes to Garth Brooks’ music, there’s a danger in not reaching for every familiar note, especially with a long-lived earworm like this one. Luckily for him, Chris Kroeze does as he’s told and makes sure to go for those bouncing beats, subbing in his more tender head voice for those snarly growls to make it happen. And while it’s a little awkward in the intro verse as the effort to honor the original is very obvious, it definitely reaches “barn-burner” status by the halfway mark. And that bit with him doing an instrument-off with the fiddler is fun as hell, too.
A rotating chair-full of judges search for the next great superstar singer on this NBC reality show.
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