The Voice Season 4 • Knockout Rounds 2

The Season 4 Knockouts began last night, as Team Adam and Team Shakira brought their numbers down to four each, as Adam picked Amber Carrington, Caroline Glaser, Judith Hill, and Sarah Simmons for the finals, and Shakira picked Garrett Gardner, Kris Thomas, Karina Iglesias, and Sasha Allen. Tonight, Team Blake and Team Usher will be center stage, and their coaches are hoping they will be at their best. By the end of the night, all four teams will be down to four acts each, just right for the finals. It is time, ready or not, for the last of the Knockouts.

Left to right: Adam Levine, Usher, Blake Shelton, and Shakira.

Team Blake kicks off the night with Savannah Berry and Justin Rivers, two Country performers. Both will be finding their inspiration in Pop music, as Savannah will be singing Justin Bieber's "As Long As You Love Me" and Justin will be taking on Miley Cyrus' big hit, "The Climb". Blake loves him some Savannah in rehearsal, but worries about Justin, wanting him to show his range without adding in too many runs. Should be interesting. Let's hear Justin Bieber with "As Long As You Love Me".

Savannah is the first up, and I am not loving what she is doing. I feel lots of whine in her version of the song, and not much else. It just felt muddled and murky. Justin comes out to sing "The Climb", and is right on with his glory notes, but a tad off otherwise. But honestly, I would most likely go with Justin, although both were a bit underwhelming. I was surprised to hear Usher, Shakira and Adam suggest they would pick Justin, and finally, Blake agreed. Justin is going to the finals, and a teary Savannah is heading home. So it is time for Team Usher to show their stuff, and Usher picks Josiah Hawley and Jess Kellner to be the first Knockout round. Handsome Josiah will be singing "Back To Black" by Amy Winehouse, while Jess will take on James Morrison's "You Give Me Something". Usher wants his acts to show sincerity, and a vulnerability to the audience. Jess really needs to be careful, as she sings the song with her alcoholic mother in mind. But before we begin the competition, here is Amy Winehouse singing "Back To Black".

I am happily surprised for Josiah, for I thought he sounded great, with a wonderful tone to his voice. I really enjoyed that. Jess came out, and I was not real impressed. I thought she had a problem staying on key, and she flailed at times on the song. Now I was pretty surprised to hear both Blake and Adam favored Jess in the round. As Usher was making the decision, it felt like he might be swayed by the other judges, but finally picked Josiah to go to the finals. Josiah is pleased to be moving one, while Jess a bit sad to be heading home. After a commercial break, we learn that Blake will be sending Holly Tucker and Luke Edgemon to the ring. Blake wanted to see how his power vocalists would do one on one. Holly will be singing "Live Like You Were Dying", made famous by Tim McGraw, while Luke changes up Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" to make it his own. In the rehearsals, Blake pushes Holly just to have more confidence, for he thinks she has the talent. At first he is unsure about Justin's song choice, but soon is enjoying it so much. Here is Katy Perry with "Teenage Dreams".

Holly starts off with the Country Pop tune, and she does a nice job, but it exposes her voice as a bit thin, at least for me. I think she could have been helped by relaxing some, for she seemed tense. It also seemed fairly karaoke to me, with little originality in the performance. Luke comes out with a slowed-down take on Katy Perry, and I am loving it his R&B spice. His voice sounds fantastic, and he has owned this song, completely. He easily showed artistic range, and yet Usher didn't like it very much. But Shakira and Adam disagree, and thought Luke was the clear winner. Blake thought it was a tough decision, and finally picked Holly, which confuses the hell out of me. I have yet to be impressed by her, and have been so enjoying Luke. Wow, that was really disappointing, for I thought Luke was the strongest voice on Blake's team. Well, time to move on to Usher, who is putting up Audrey Karrasch and Michelle Chamuel, his two indie artists. Audrey will be singing "How To Love" by Little Wayne, but during rehearsals, it wasn't pretty. She was having trouble, and needed much more work. Michelle will be singing "Raise Your Glass" by Pink, and her only problem during rehearsals was having the air to complete the song. Quickly, she and Usher are doing pushups on the stage! Here is Pink singing "Raise Your Glass".

Audrey is a train wreck from the start, somehow both straining and missing the notes. The only really positive thing I could say is she looked nice. Michelle came out like gangbusters, and stayed on top of the song, and giving it her own twist. She was moving all around the stage, giving an active performance. The coaches all enjoyed Michelle, and thought she won out. It seemed like and easy decision to me, but Blake made it clear there was no clear answer. So I was quite pleased when Usher said Michelle was the winner. Blake comes on to announce the next pairing, as he pits youngsters Danielle Bradbery and Taylor Beckham for this round. Blake thinks they both could use a bit more confidence, and hopes one will really step up. Danielle will be singing "Jesus Take The Wheel" by Carrie Underwood, while Taylor will be singing Rihanna's "Russian Roulette". In rehearsal, he loves Danielle's voice, and just loves her. When Taylor is done, he encourages her to invest more in the song, and really get him to buy the song. Before they perform, here is Carrie Underwood singing "Jesus Take The Wheel".

Danielle is the first to perform, and while she has a lovely voice, it feels like this is weaker than the rehearsal, and the ending has a few rough notes. It just felt to me that she let her nerves get the best of her. To be honest, I was a tad disappointed. Next it was time for Taylor to sing, and the opening bars were a little rough, but she seems to gain confidence, and really comes alive. She struggles with some pith issues along the way, but really sells the song. I kinda favored Taylor. However, Usher felt differently, and thought Danielle stole the show. Shakira and Adam agreed. It was time for Blake to decide, and he picks Danielle to go to the finals, and Taylor heads home. Afterwards, Blake admits it was an easy choice for him, for he didn't like Taylor's song choice, although he really liked her. So on to the next Knockout, as Usher announces he wants to see C. Perkins and VEDO competing, for he only has room for one R&B singer. C. Perkins will be singing "She Ain't You" by Chris Brown while VEDO takes on the Bryan Adams ballad, "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You". While C. Perkins seems to struggle a bit in rehearsal, VEDO seems to connect well to his song and deliver the goods for his coach. Give a listen to Bryan Adams on his wonderful song, "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You".

Right out of the gate, C. Perkins struggles with pitch, and you can hear how tentative he is in his vocals. This is just not an enjoyable performance for me. I was happy when it was over. VEDO came out ready to go, and since it was dedicated to his late mother, and the emotion showed in a great way. Shakira, Adam, and Blake all thought it was VEDO who took the battle. While I think it was very clear, Usher takes time to consider before announcing that VEDO will be moving on to the finals. After a commercial break, Blake has his final Knockout, as Grace Askew and The Swon Brothers take to the stage. This will be an interesting battle, for they both have a Country sound, big and bold. The Swon Brothers sing "Drift Away", the great song made popular by Dobie Gray, while Grace will be singing "I Can't Stand The Rain", originally sung by Ann Peebles, and later covered by the great Tina Turner. Check out Tina's version of the song.

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Grace is up first, and seemed eager to show her Memphis Blues, but have to say that was her weakest vocals to date, at least for me. I was so looking forward to hearing her, and I was disappointed. The Swon Brothers were right on form, picking a great song, and bringing the audience with them. I thought they were the clear winners of the battle. Usher loved the Swon Brothers, while Shakira and Adam thought it could go either way. After some contemplation, Blake picks The Swon Brothers to go to the finals. And that leads us to the final Knockout Battle of the night, and the last of the season, as next week they all move on to the live finals. Team Usher closes out the evening when Ryan Innes and Cáthia are called to the stage. Usher is looking forward to hearing the two emotional singers going head-to-head. Cáthia will be singing "Mr Know It All" by Kelly Clarkson, and in rehearsal, Usher helps her with the stage moves, getting her more comfortable. Ryan will be taking on Gavin DeGraw's big hit, "I Don't Want To Be". Here is Gavin's original version.

Cáthia is up first, and I am confused by the tempo of the song, as her phrasing seems to be fighting it. She gains control in the chorus, but it seems to come and go a bit. I found this vocal to be sloppy, more about the vocal tricks than communication. Ryan comes out and shocks me, as the soulful singer turns in a shouty, soulless performance that seemed more angry than musical, with some rough notes to be sure. So very disappointing. Adam and Shakira both mentioned being disappointed with Ryan's performance, and Blake preferred Cáthia as well. When it came time to pick the winner, Usher went with Cáthia, who was better on the night. But it is a shame that the better performer was not given the coaching he needed to have a better showing. But the teams have been picked, and Team Blake turned out to be all Country singers, with Justin Rivers, Holly Tucker, Danielle Bradbery, and The Swon Brothers flying his banner. Team Usher will be Josiah Hawley, Michelle Chamuel, VEDO, and Cáthia, all eager to take their place in the spotlight. They will join Team Adam's talented Amber Carrington, Caroline Glaser, Judith Hill, and Sarah Simmons, and Team Shakira's bold competitors Garrett Gardner, Kris Thomas, Karina Iglesias, and Sasha Allen.

Mick Jagger & Tina Turner Live!

There is something about when two iconic artists get together to perform live that is beyond electric, and even beyond explanation. On their own, both Tina Turner and Mick Jagger have more than enough talent to excite a football stadium full of fans. Couple that with their unending charisma, and their unstoppable energy, and you have what seems like a living example of what a star should be.

"State of Shock" was written by Michael Jackson and guitarist Randy Hansen, originally intended for Michael to sing with Freddie Mercury. Due to the demanding schedules of both stars, it never came to be. Instead, Jackson invited Mick to join him in the studio. Come time for the Rolling Stones to perform at Live Aid, Mick invited the immaculate Tina Turner to join him on stage to perform the song in a mash-up with a great Stone's song. So join me in watching and loving this performances form Live Aid in 1985 of "State of Shock" & "It's Only Rock & Roll (But I Like It)".

While still at the 1989 Rock And Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, it would have been wrong had the Rolling Stones not reached into their bag of tricks to pull out a delicious nugget from days gone by. So when they not only performed a huge hit from their 1969 of hits, 'Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)'. And it was a surprise for no one that "Honky Tonk Woman" went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. So when you already have a great song sung by a hall of fame group, can it get any better than that? Only one way it can - add some Tina Turner!

In the mid-1980s, Tina began to include a cover of the great Robert Palmer song, "Addicted To Love", in her live shows. It didn't make it to a record until the end of the decade, on 'Tina Live In Europe'. So it seemed only natural that at some point, Tina would duet on the song with Mick.

Hope you enjoyed it!

A Draglicious Friday Night

Featuring the music of: (Clockwise) Beyoncé, Barbra Streisand & Donna Summer, Bette Midler, Tina Turner, and Cher.

Is there anything better than a Friday night out at the bars, watching a great drag queen? The smell of the hairspray, pancake makeup, and spilled drinks, along with the sound of ice cubes tinkling in the drinks. Across this country, there are countless ladyboys, young and old, who are out there lip synching for a living! Well, at least some extra spending money. Well, I wanted to bring that thrill to you, here on the blog. And I will start with a queen by the name of Mahlae, who does an amazing Beyoncé as she performs Single Ladies.



Now if I remember correctly, and Gawd only knows my memory can get me in trouble these days, I think one of the first drag shows I ever saw had a performer doing the incredible Tina Turner. I went to a show in Reading, PA, when I was in college, and there was a queen giving great Tina realness. This is Batty Davis doing Proud Mary.



I don't know if a drag show has existed since 1970 that did not include at least one queen coming out doing Cher. Whether it was the 1960s Cher, the 70s Cher, or whatever decade Cher, there are so many who do her, making their best attempt at wearing Bob Mackie. Here is Chad Michaels serving amazing Cher realness singing Take Me Home. This was way before you could catch Chad on before RuPaul's Drag Race.



And since the mid-1960s, you know Barbra has been a features performer at every drag show. Whether is was lip synching to My Man, People, or Don't Rain On My Parade. And, since about 1979, there was a new opportunity out there. The Barbra queens could share the stage with the Donna Summer queens and sing the disco hit, No More Tears (Enough Is Enough). Catch this cute performance by Dizzy & Barbara.



And, finally, no drag show would be complete without having their very own Bette Midler. It could be the one from Clams On The Half Shell, The Rose, or Doris DeLago, like a bad penny, Bette is bound to show up. Watch as Chelsea Raynes performs as Bette singing Stuff Like That There, from the For The Boys period.



Hope you all enjoyed the show!

Billboard Top 5 of 1984

It was an interesting year, 1984. Things were settling in for me as I settled in to life in New York City. Bill & I started the year in an apartment in Spanish Harlem, just west of Amsterdam Boulevard on 109th Street. I had made the move from intern to Master Carpenter at Circle Repertory Theatre Company, working just off Sheridan Square in Greenwich Village. I finished up my first season there with a production of Lanford Wilson's Balm In Gilead, a tense and biting urban drama. It was co-produced by Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and had a magnificent cast. It was directed by John Malkovich and featured Gary Sinise, Laurie Metcalf, Jeff Perry, James McDaniel, Glenne Headly, and Giancarlo Esposito. After an extended run in the theater over the summer, the show moved to the Minetta Lane Theatre, also in the West Village. In the Fall, Bill & I moved to a new apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I loved that neighborhood.

The Billboard Top 5 was quite eclectic in 1984, including the #5 song, the progressive rock band Yes and Owner Of A Lonely Heart, from the album 90215. It is interesting, but the UK band scored their best chart position in the US, hitting #1 on the Pop and Mainstream Rock charts. With the highly recognizable vocals of singer Jon Anderson, and Steve Squire's guitar work, it was classic Yes music put through the Pop strainer of producer Trevor Horn. It was the only Pop #1 on the US charts for the band, who were known more for their edgy rock than hitting the Top 40 airwaves.



Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael made for pretty pictures and catchy pop, especially when sharing the stage under the name Wham! With the perky Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Wham! managed to top most of the charts around the globe, including taking the #1 spot on the US Pop Chart. The #4 song of the year was the first single off their second album, Make It Big. Should anyone have glucose-tolerance issues, beware before you hit the play below. If not, be warned, the catchy tune will live in your mind for days.



When Culture Club made it across the ocean, it was with the song Karma Chameleon. Boy George was leading the band, his gender-bending appearance mesmerizing audiences around the world. The song, from the Kissing To Be Clever album, topped the US pop charts, firmly establishing the band as a new force on the music scene, and the song was the #3 song of the year.



Movie theme songs had been losing power on the chart, but not for singer.songwriter Ray Parker, Jr. His song Ghostbusters, for the hit movie of the same name, spent three weeks atop Billboards Hot 100 chart. Jaunty and catchy, the song was an instant hit. It was in the middle of a controversy in a matter of months, when Huey Lewis & The News released their new single, I want A New Drug. Shortly thereafter, a lawsuit was filed, claiming Parker has plagiarized Lewis' song, and the case was settled out of court. It certainly didn't slow the song up, as it was the #2 song of 1984.



Claiming the #1 song of the year honors was someone cheered far and wide, both for her awesome talent as well as an amazing comeback story. Tina Turner was part of the highly touted Ike and Tina Turner Revue. Ike and Tina were married, but with the fame came indulgences that left Ike out of control, and Tina running for her life. So when she released the album Private Dancer, the critics and the buying public couldn't get enough of her first since the 70s. What's Love Got To Do With It? was the first single off the album, and was the top single of 1984.

Billboard Top 5 - 1984

It was an interesting year, 1984. Things were settling in for me as I settled in to life in New York City. Bill & I started the year in an apartment in Spanish Harlem, just west of Amsterdam Boulevard on 109th Street. I had made the move from intern to Master Carpenter at Circle Repertory Theatre Company, working just off Sheridan Square in Greenwich Village. I finished up my first season there with a production of Lanford Wilson's Balm In Gilead, a tense and biting urban drama. It was co-produced by Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and had a magnificent cast. It was directed by John Malkovich and featured Gary Sinise, Laurie Metcalf, Jeff Perry, James McDaniel, Glenne Headly, and Giancarlo Esposito. After an extended run in the theater over the summer, the show moved to the Minetta Lane Theatre, also in the West Village. In the Fall, Bill & I moved to a new apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I loved that neighborhood.

The Billboard Top 5 was quite eclectic in 1984, including the #5 song, the progressive rock band Yes and Owner Of A Lonely Heart, from the album 90215. It is interesting, but the UK band scored their best chart position in the US, hitting #1 on the Pop and Mainstream Rock charts. With the highly recognizable vocals of singer Jon Anderson, and Steve Squire's guitar work, it was classic Yes music put through the Pop strainer of producer Trevor Horn. It was the only Pop #1 on the US charts for the band, who were known more for their edgy rock than hitting the Top 40 airwaves.



Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael made for pretty pictures and catchy pop, especially when sharing the stage under the name Wham! With the perky Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Wham! managed to top most of the charts around the globe, including taking the #1 spot on the US Pop Chart. The #4 song of the year was the first single off their second album, Make It Big. Should anyone have glucose-tolerance issues, beware before you hit the play below. If not, be warned, the catchy tune will live in your mind for days.



When Culture Club made it across the ocean, it was with the song Karma Chameleon. Boy George was leading the band, his gender-bending appearance mesmerizing audiences around the world. The song, from the Kissing To Be Clever album, topped the US pop charts, firmly establishing the band as a new force on the music scene, and the song was the #3 song of the year.



Movie theme songs had been losing power on the chart, but not for singer.songwriter Ray Parker, Jr. His song Ghostbusters, for the hit movie of the same name, spent three weeks atop Billboards Hot 100 chart. Jaunty and catchy, the song was an instant hit. It was in the middle of a controversy in a matter of months, when Huey Lewis & The News released their new single, I want A New Drug. Shortly thereafter, a lawsuit was filed, claiming Parker has plagiarized Lewis' song, and the case was settled out of court. It certainly didn't slow the song up, as it was the #2 song of 1984.



Claiming the #1 song of the year honors was someone cheered far and wide, both for her awesome talent as well as an amazing comeback story. Tina Turner was part of the highly touted Ike and Tina Turner Revue. Ike and Tina were married, but with the fame came indulgences that left Ike out of control, and Tina running for her life. So when she released the album Private Dancer, the critics and the buying public couldn't get enough of her first since the 70s. What's Love Got To Do With It? was the first single off the album, and was the top single of 1984.