The Voice Recap: Top 5 Semi-Finals Live Performances

Here we are! Top 5! Semi-finals! Only two more shows before we find out who will be named THE VOICE! Who do you think will go all the way? Christina Grimmie? Josh Kauffman? Kristen Merlin? Kat Perkins? Jake Worthington? 

Usher – Such a Good Kisser

 

So, I’m curious about the line that was bleeped from Usher’s performance. Anyone know what they censored? Enquiring minds and all…. Usher was really channeling his inner Michael Jackson, huh? Ooh! And a Mark Wahlberg sighting! Not a bad thing! He was there to pimp his upcoming movie, the new Transformers flick. Back to Usher, he’s not really my cup of musical tea but the man can move!!

 

Kristen Merlin – Gunpowder and Lead

  

• Adam – He sees so much growth in Kristen.
• Shakira – She thinks Kristen rocked the stage.
• Usher – “It was great”
• Blake – He liked the way she smiled when talking about killing the guy. He liked that it was different from how Miranda sings it.
• My two cents – Solid performance. Great way to start tonight’s competition.

 

Josh Kauffman – All of Me

 

• Shakira – She sounded like she was truly reaching for something nice to say. It was odd.
• Adam – Josh hands Adam his weekly slice of humble pie for letting Josh go from his team.
• Blake – Beautiful and powerful. Josh deserves to be in the finale.
• Usher – He’s so glad Josh got to have this moment and dedicate the song to his wife and family.
• My two cents – Josh was good. But I wasn’t blown away.

 

Kat Perkins – Chandelier

 

• Adam – “This girl deserves to be here next week.”
• Shakira – Commended Kat for doing her own thing. (Again, she sounded like she was searching for nice words.)
• Blake – “Kat, you do everything right.”
• My two cents – I could see Katy Perry doing a production like the one Kat did for this song. I admit, I don’t know the song. But I did think Kat did a nice job with it. Well done!

 

Jake Worthington – Good Old Boys

 

• Adam – Jake is as real and genuine as it gets. He thinks Jake is a great singer and calls himself a fan.
• Blake – Jake is “the real deal”, representing traditional country music.
• Usher – A great representation of country in this competition.
• My two cents – Awwww! That’s my childhood he just sang! Dukes of Hazard, right there! All the young’uns watching The Voice have no idea the memories this song brings back. But just hearing it made me smile. Oh, and Jake did a fantastic job with it!

 

Christina Grimmie – Hide and Seek

 

• Usher – Didn’t feel connected with Christina and the song until after she stopped using the vocorder.
• Shakira – If anyone can translate what she said, I’d be happy to hear it. And she wasn’t speaking a foreign language….unless we’re calling it Shakirish.
• Adam – He loves the risks Christina is taking. He loves that his artists aren’t getting up on stage to do karaoke and he stands by those decisions.
• My two cents – A haunting melody. Wow. Again, I don’t know this song so I’m not sure how it was originally done but I thought Christina was fantastic!

 

Josh Kauffman #2 – Love Runs Out

 

• Adam – “I don’t know what else to tell you but you’re amazing.”
• Blake – Called him very much like Robert Palmer.
• Usher – Limitless
• My two cents – MUCH better than his first performance.

 

Kat Perkins #2 – Let It Go

 

• Adam – There has been no one more consistant.
• Shakira – The surprising pick allowed her to show a new side of Kat.
• Blake – She always delivers that big, powerful note.
• Usher – “You killed it!” and he wanted to give her Elsa’s ice fortress.
• My two cents – I love that she’s dedicating this to the kids she nannies for. So sweet! That said, she did a strange Idina Menzel/Demi Lovato hybrid thing. I wasn’t crazy about it. But she has such an amazingly powerful voice. It’s just crazy.

 

Kristen Merlin # 2 – Foolish Games

 

• Shakira – Thinks Kristen gives people chills.
• Blake – The most connected that he has heard Kristen thus far.
• Usher – A good moment for her.
• My two cents – I love this song. But Jewel has a haunting sound to her voice that Kristen doesn’t possess. That said, I think Kristen did a FANTASTIC job with this song. Even my husband said, “That’s the first time she’s really made me notice her all season.”

 

 

Christina Grimmie #2 – Some Nights

 

• Shakira – She commended Christina’s creativity. (Again with the Shakira word search.)
• Usher – An amazing moment. If this was what her concert will be like, he’ll like it.
• Blake – He finds the song very different from anything she’s done before and he loved it.
• Adam – He’s so proud of his team for staying true to who they are rather than pandering to what others may want to hear from them.
• My two cents – First, I love her outfit. Second, Day glo drummers under the black light? Very cool. As for the rest, I love Christina’s voice. I really, really do. I just don’t know if I love her version of that song, but it eas definitely exciting.

Jake Worthington #2 – Heaven

 

• Adam – Thought Jake was great.
• Usher – He interrupted Adam to talk about Jake’s consistency.
• Shakira – “Very nice. I enjoyed it.”
• Blake – He would be so proud to share the stage with Jake any night for the rest of his life.
• My two cents – I thought Jake did a great job with this ballad. Beautiful and sweet and just really good.