The Voice Season 4 • Knockout Rounds 1

So far in Season 4, we have seen the blind auditions, and judges Shakira, Usher, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton spin their chair to fill out their teams. Next came the Battle Rounds, which brought the number from 12 to 8 on each team. Now it is time for the next step, the Knockouts, with two hours of performances tonight and tomorrow night. This will leave each team with 4 acts, and ready to begin the finals next week with live shows. This is the last chance for Adam, Blake, Usher and Shakira to tweak their teams to pick what they believe will be the best lineup they can put out in the finals, and see how the home audience will react with their vote. This is when each team will pit one act against another to cut the numbers in half, in a sudden death playoff situation. The artists will pick out their own songs, and see who will survive. So ready or not, here come the Knockouts.

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

Tonight, we will see both Team Adam and Team Shakira on the stage, and in fact it is Team Adam who is first up. He has chosen to pit Amber Carrington against Midas Whale, a battle of opposites in many ways. Amber is the big voiced Country singer, while Midas Whale is the quirky Folk duo with as much charm as talent. Amber is up first, and she sings Avril Lavigne song "I'm With You". Her voice is big and bold, not straying from pitch for a moment. There seemed to be no nerves, and she just sang the song the best she could. Midas Whale has the daunting task of singing next, and they choose to take on "Higher Ground" by Stevie Wonder.

They give it a makeover, with an amped-up frenetic pace making it tough to really hear their harmonies. Pretty much it is a no-brainer, and Adam picks Amber to move on to the finals. So it is time for Team Shakira to make an appearance, and the Latin beauty calls on Garrett Gardner and Tawnya Reynolds to be her first Knockout. Garrett decides to sing Alex Clare's "Too Close". The rocker with the gritty voice and good looks got some help from his mentor during rehearsals and seems ready. Tawnya is singing "Hell On Heels" by Pistol Annies, another Country effort. But it was Garrett who was first up singing "Too Close".

He did a nice job, and I was a bit impressed. He kinda swallowed the title line, but really loved the rest of the song. I thought Tawnya did a nice job, but was a bit too reserved, lacking some originality. Blake, Adam and Usher were all supportive of both singers, and finally Shakira decided to bring Garrett to the finals, and send Tawnya home. It seems Shakira sees star power in Garrett, and Blake agrees. Back to Team Adam, and he will put Amy Whitcomb and Caroline Glaser. Amy is the big voiced singer who comes from the world of choral groups, while Caroline is the quirky alternative singer more at home in the coffeehouse. Amy will be singing "House of the Rising Sun", the traditional Folk song best known for the version by The Animals in 1964. Caroline will be singing "Little Talks", by the Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men. Here are the Animals with "House of the Rising Sun".

Amy was the first out of the gate, and while she has a nice voice, she just really trampled all over the song, favoring power notes and contrived growls over substance or emotion. I was just waiting for her to step it back a bit and appreciate the lyrics just a little, but instead got form over function. Next up, we had Caroline singing "Little Talks", a perfect song for her. I liked her take on the song, and it just sounded like she had a perfect delivery. Blake would pick Caroline for the round, while Usher picked Amy. So it is up to Adam, who admits both were better in rehearsal, and that worries him a bit. But he picks Caroline, and sends Amy home. Backstage, Amy said she will be cheering for Caroline for the win, and was proud of her performance. After a commercial break, it is time for Shakira to put the next two artists up for possible elimination. She announces that Kris Thomas will be taking on Mary Miranda, an interesting battle indeed. Kris will be singing Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World". In rehearsals, Shakira wants him to show control, and enhance the sweetness in his voice, instead of trying to manufacture power. She is dead on with that. Mary will be singing "Every Breath You Take" by The Police, which sounds like an odd choice in rehearsals. Here is the classic from The Police.

Kris is up first, and he freshens up the older song with his R&B take on the song, and he added a great touch with the song. He took Shakira's notes, and put out a beautiful performance. Then Mary came out and delivered an interesting twist on the Police song, really giving it a Spanish flavor, and I was pleasantly surprised. Adam would give the nod to Mary, while Blake wouldn't be able to decide, he enjoyed them both. And while Usher's thoughts seem to favor Kris, he doesn't really endorse either officially. So it is up to Shakria, and she picks Kris to move on to the finals, and sends Mary home. After another break, Team Adam returns to the stage. The Maroon 5 frontman sends Judith Hill and Orlando Dixon to the stage. Judith will be singing "Always On My Mind" by Willie Nelson, and in rehearsal she sounds amazing. Orlando will be singing "All My Life" by K-Ci & JoJo. His rehearsal shows the need for a little work. This is the song as performed by K-Ci & JoJo.

Judith is up first, and her voice is gorgeous, and she delivers a beautiful version of the song that sounded fresh and new. That was a standout performance. Orlando is up next, and he starts off nicely, but the chorus gets busy and congested, and just so muddled. Blake is up first, and he would pick Judith. Usher thought Orlando was good, but the nod must go to Judith. Shakira thought the round went to Judith, and it was time for Adam to make the decision. It is no surprise, he picks Judith. Orlando will be going home. We are just over the midway point of tonight's episode, with three Knockouts remaining. Shakria picks out her next match up, and it is Karina Iglesias singing opposite Monique Abbadie. Karina will be taking on a great rock song, "Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz. Meanwhile, Monique will be singing "The Power of Love" by Jennifer Rush, but made popular by Celine Dion. But first, here is Lenny Kravitz doing his thing.

Karina was up first, and from the start, I thought her performance lacked a little juice, a little energy. Rather than taking control of the song, she let the band have the lead. She sounded on key, just a bit underwhelming. When Monique begins, I will admit to thinking this song is sung way too often on reality television, and seldom does it work. But I must admit, she added a few nice touches to the opening lines, and remained on key throughout, which is often the downfall. This round is surprisingly tight, although not very impressive for either, and not sure who I'd pick. Adam thought he would side with Karina, while Blake would side with Monique. No one really thought the song choices were great this round. After much consternation, Shakira goes with Karina, due to her show of confidence. After another break, it is time for the last battle for Team Adam, as Sarah Simmons and Warren Stone will be taking to the stage for a chance in the finals. Warren will be singing "(I Just) Died In Your Arms" by Cutting Crew, taking the Rock song and making it Country. Sarah will be taking on "Wild Horses", the song made famous by The Rolling Stone. But first, here is The Cutting Crew on their great song, "(I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight".

Warren is up first, and he really changed up the song, and did a great job with it. He brings a real Country/Rock vibe to it, and allowed his voice to soar when needed. I wasn't sure he could actually do this well. But his battle is definitely in the hands of Sarah, whose angelic voice has an amazing ethereal quality. Wow, I am a little confused. I was really expecting this to be better than it is - she allowed the song to get mired down, and kinda lost me. I was disappointed. Blake, Usher, and Shakira all praised Warren, but gave the round to Sarah. I figured that is the way it would go, but not sure that is the call I would make. In fact, I would have picked Warren, who really delivered tonight. But Adam makes the expected pick by going with Sarah, and completes his all-girl team. And in the final Knockout of the night, Shakira sends Shawna P and Sasha Allen to the stage. Sasha will be singing "At Last", the song made great by Etta James. Shawna will be taking on "Maybe I"m Amazed", the great song by Paul McCartney. But first, let's listen to Paul singing his classic song.

Sasha came out and sang the crap out of the song, and gave a truly wonderful performance. That was different from the original, with her own special flair. Shawna came out, and delivered a good, but not great performance. She was a bit affected, and really needs to take a step back and get a fresh look at her style. Her voice has some power. Adam, Blake and Usher all offer their support to Sasha, and Shakira makes it official, and Sasha moves on to the finals. This finishes out Shakira's team, with two boys and two girls. Tomorrow night, The Voice comes back for two more hours as Team Blake and Team Usher figure out who will be competing in the finals.

AI10 Today & Yesterday

For the tenth time in it's illustrious history, American Idol offers up a top five to the audience to enjoy, and then take an active role in their careers. James, Lauren, Jacob, Haley and Scotty will all be performing two songs this evening, one from our modern times, and one from the 60s. If there is a greater philosophy behind this, other than filling 90 minutes of airtime so Fox can charge a bun of money for commercials, it is lost on me. And since they decidedly left up without a clue as to the identity of the bottom 3 last week, all five of the remaining contestants are on equal footing, or at least that is the impression the producers want to give us. After all, until last week, we knew that Lauren, Scotty and James had not been in the bottom 3. Did that change last week, and they just didn't tell us? Or did Haley and Jacob complete the bottom 3, still leaving the record of the others unblemished? I doubt we'll ever know, but soon, we will know who was in good form, and who wasn't.

Everyone is introduced, and we find out that tonight is important, cause, as Randy says, America and the Judges want to know who is in it to win it. This tells me that I will soon be tiring of this statement, for Randy will be going there time after time. James starts out the evening with the contemporary entry, as he performs Closer To The Edge by 30 Seconds To Mars. He does a nice job, although there are times when he really drifts off the notes. I just find his technique to be really lacking at times, he can get pretty sloppy with his notes, and his breath control is lacking. Of course, the judges all love him, and see none of that. In fact, Randy calls 30 Seconds To Mars a great band, which is somewhat surprising...



Jacob is up next, and he picks No Air, by Jordin Sparks and features Chris Brown. Jacob goes it alone on the duet song, which was a beautiful one perfectly suited to the former AI champions voice. Not so perfect for Jacob. He is incredibly sharp and shrill, and makes a wonderful song and makes it a muddied mess. Jennifer seems to appreciate he has defined himself as the next Chris Brown, and ignores the bad performance. Surprisingly, Randy agrees with me, and he and J-Lo argue about who is right, rather than about the guy in front of them. Steven agrees, but with what, I am not sure.



Lauren is up next, and she is going to sing Flat On My Feet by Carrie Underwood, a true vocal powerhouse and winner of the fourth season of Idol. Cheryl Crow offers the useful advice that Lauren plant herself and sing the damn song, and when Lauren takes the stage, she really takes control of the stage. She owns it, and does a great job. The judges agree.



Scotty is next, singing Gone by Montgomery Gentry. Cheryl loves it, and thinks he sounds great. Frankly, I thought the song showed a certain thinness in his voice, a bit of a hole in his range. But it was certainly more energetic than I thought Scotty capable of being, at least on stage. Apparently, once again, I listen alone, as the judges drool over the performance, and is the 3rd outta four who is in it to win it. Sorry Jacob.



Haley is up next, and we are told she is singing an unreleased song by Lady GaGa, which fascinates me. How does Haley get to sing a song like that? Apparently, Jimmy Iovine suggested this song, which GaGa did at concerts, but not recorded yet. Haley got permission from GaGa herself to sing You And I. Cheryl Crow promises an elusive 'moment' on the show, and I think she sang it well, with perhaps the best vocals of the night. OF course, the judges see it differently. Jennifer thinks it was silly to sing a song no one knows, the audience isn't smart enough to see the singer. She Randy agrees, and even insults the song and Lady GaGa. Steven, as is often the case, says nothing.



James comes back to lead off the 'Songs of the 60s' portion of the night, and sings Harry Nilsson's Without You. That is a great song, and right up his alley. There is all kinds of slippage going on, moving from on key to sharp, and he loses his emotions, as well as a bit of vocal control. Again, he highlights his weaknesses. For the judges, however, not so much. Randy considers it his to lose at this point. Sure there were some bad notes, but that is OK. After all, it's not a singing competition, right? Steven also acknowledges the bum notes, but chooses to ignore them. Jennifer does the same, emphasizing the emotional mess of the situation. Got it.



Jacob sings Nazareth. Go figure. He sings Love Hurts, and hits some notes that are not anywhere on the paper, nor should they. He plows through much of the song, and then pulls out his bag of tricks at the end. What a steaming pot of mess. Shockingly, the judges see it differently, as an amazing performance that put him back in the competition.



Lauren is up next, and is singing Simon Cowell's favorite songs, Unchained Melody. It is a favorite of her parents, sung by the Righteous Brothers. She does a lovely job with it, but is a bit too tentative to me. No bad notes, but a bit hollow. However, the judges think it was beautiful, with nary a bad thought allowed.



Scotty sings Always On My Mind, by Elvis Presley. I think of it as a Willie Nelsen song, but hey, it is a great song. It is kinda sweet, and a bit vapid. A little weak at moments, but no bad notes. The judges love it, and think there is nothing to criticize. I cringe a bit when Crusty starts talking about there being some Puerto Rican in Scotty...



Haley will close out the show with some great 60s rock by The Animals. She will sing House Of The Rising Sun, a brilliant piece, to be sure. Cheryl convinces her to come out singing a cappella, and she just tears the house down. She sings the crap outta this song. Surprisingly enough, the judges agree, and call her the performance of the night. I just don't follow them.



The recap goes on, and it is very obvious that Jacob is the weak link of the night. I thought both performances went way outta control. But it also featured some wonky notes from James, and how Scotty was carried by the back up singers in his first song. The ladies had good edits on their songs, but who knows what America will do.... Guess we will learn tomorrow.

Saturday Rocks - The Animals

Formed in 1962 in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, the original line-up of the group was Eric Burdon on vocals, Alan Price on organ and keyboards, Hilton Valentine on guitar, John Steel on drums, and Bryan "Chas" Chandler on bass. Their wild stage act got them the nickname "animals" and it stuck, and soon The Animals were born. By 1964, they had moved to London and were getting noticed with their strong covers of American R&B and Blues singers like Nina Simone and John Lee Hooker. The timing was just right, as the British Invasion was kicking in full-force in the US, and the band was signed by Columbia Records and on their way. They jumped into the studio and released their self-titled debut in September 1964. From that album sprang their first #1 hit, a traditional blues song, House of the Rising Sun. Although it was covered by many, the Animals were the most successful cover, in terms of sales.



In 1965, they released the Animal Tracks. Interestingly enough, there are two entirely different collections with the same name. The UK version was a collection of blues & rockabilly covers, while the US version included rock and pop singles. The US version of course had the hit Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, which made it to #15 on the US Pop chart.



The first cut off the Animal Tracks (US) was the iconic We Gotta Get Out of This Place, which made it to #13 on the Billboard Pop chart. The song has gone on to be covered by some of the big names in the last few decades, from Bruce Springsteen to Bon Jovi to Ann Wilson.



Close behind that success, the band released yet another song that is part of rock history. It's My Life had great success in the UK and Canada, but in the US, it only made it to #23 on the chart. However, it had a long, successful run on album-oriented rock stations, who loved the gritty feel.



Finally, in the summer of 1966, the Animals came apart and the new line-up was called Eric Burden & the Animals. The scored big on the charts with the song See See Rider, a rock/blues song that went to #10 on the Billboard Pop chart.



However, not long after this, in the fall of 1996, the group disbanded, and Eric Burden staked a claim to a solo career. So, in just two years of making music on the big stage, the group had added greatly to the rich history of rock music.