The Top 4 Duke It Out

Love the Carrie Underwood song that opened up the night.  Ugggh gotta get the album stat!!!

Let me start by talking about the Voice finale for those of you who watch it.  Juliet Simms should have won.  She was incredible, just incredible.  Jermaine was really good, but it's not a comparison.  But I was happy Blake won because I love Blake.  I look at the Voice, however, and already in Season 2 I think, who won last year?  Did anyone even have a hit?  Which is why I stand behind Idol.  The exposure of the show and what they put into the talent creates a better shot.  Look at Katharine McPhee, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler, Jordin Sparks, and of course Carrie and Kelly.  Even if you never watched the show, you would know those voices.  And so many more that are still known and trying.  Any Project Runway winners that are legitimately making it?  Only Top Chef creates legitimate success stories (although these were working chefs before anyway).  So my final comparison -- The Voice?  So entertaining and I love the judges.  American Idol?  I feel the dreams come true.  I'm happy The OVice exists, just if you want to again hear my comparison, there it is.

Phillip Phillips  -- CCR's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?"  He admits that last week was weak and so he goes back to his ditty roots.  Sing a fun ditty and smile and dance.  Well done.  A friend (ALY) who is a huge Dave Matthews fan expressed her feelings on his being a rip off and I totally understand that feeling, but my point is look, the kid is 24 or something?  Dave's hey day was 1995 - 2000 - this kid couldn't rip him off from age 10 or 12.  All singers are inspired by something, that's okay, how many Mariah wanna be's have there been for the past 15 years?  But what do they do with it, that is what is important.  Judges loved this too because his energy was good.  As Randy said (and I think this was his best comment of the season,  "So remember something, if you have a good time, we have a good time and they have a good time."  B+

Hollie -- "Faithfully" by Journey.  Man, I used to sing this with this guy in high school who played the piano.  Love this song.  Her version starts off like a muzak version with her voice sounding again too old. She Celine'd it.  And the wind machine doesn't help it.  My god, modernize it, strip the music and the lights and give me a moment.  I appreciated her journey to get here, she almost made it last time and then made it through this time, blah, blah, blah.  Randy, who played for Journey, as he reminded us of AGAIN, thinks she is in the zone.  Jlo felt it, Steven thinks she made it bloom.  Hollie then told us she didn't really understand the true meaning of the song.  But she is living it now -- what?  Is she a music man on the road affirming his love for the woman who stands by his "circus" life?  Come on, stop speaking and singing.  I would fail her for that comment.  But based on performance she gets a B-.

Joshua -- didn't realize he was here last year too.  I love his modesty.  "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Grobin.  Pausing to go get a tissue.  A contestant, Chris Mann, sang this on The Voice this week and a woman signed the words.  WHAT DEAF PERSON IS WATCHING THE VOICE?  Of course, Josh changed this up.  His voice took it out of Josh Grobin territory.  I have never heard an original version of this song until now.  And he dedicated this to his father?  Crying.  Not the ultimate moment, but phenomenal.  Steven said, "Courage is fear that said it's prayers."  How does he think of these things?  Randy and his coral plaid suit and JLo with her space hair style liked it too. A-

Jessica -- "Steal Away" by Etta James.  She has a Beyonce fierceness sometimes.  She definitely channels that.  She is talented, but not my style.  Judges love her soul despite her age, but the fact that you are shocked that someone her age has that much soul means to me that you are still noticing her age and something feels off to you.  B

Phillip and Joshua duet on "This Love" by Maroon 5, that's funny.  They are getting more and more into singing together.  They were having fun.  The black and white pianos?  Too much.  And the Soul Train ending was funny.  I loved it, pure fun with talent.  Steven loved it.  Shout out to exec producer Nigel Lythgoe for picking it.  Jlo compared it to Usher and Adam Levine singing it.  I mean the black white theme is too much.  But a fun performance.

The ladies come out with Eternal Flame by the Bangles -- a personal living room favorite from my youth (in case you don't remember, I used to sing in the living room out loud when I was home alone.)  STOP, I cannot watch this.  WHAT ARE THESE SWINGS?  This was terrible.  They don't know what this song is.  The finale was sealed.  Joshua and Phillip came out and sat on the swings while the girls were getting judged and thank god lightened the mood because that was terrible.  Randy let them have it and Steven kept it simple by saying, basically you were not as good as the boys.  Face it.

Adam Shankman, producer of Rock of Ages, shows up with Julianne Hough, girlfriend of Ryan Seacrest.     He shows the contestants a preview.  The movie is definitely being pitched on Tom Cruise's Stacie Jaxx and I am buying it.  I'm in.  I'm in.  Sweet little interaction with Ryan and Julianne.  They are cute.

So the group does a tribute to 80's power ballads.  The group comes out with Foreigner's When You Love Someone.  Phillip is the only one who makes it sound modern.  Not into this.

Round 2 is songs you wish you had written.

Phillip names "Volcano" by Damien Rice -- Jimmy thinks this is perfect for him.  The butterfly is coming out.  Jimmy says he was sounding like someone else before this and now he is an individual.  ALY, you're not the only one who felt the DMB overkill.  Love the staging of this.  I loved this.  Loved it.  That was an artist.  Steven says it sounded beautiful.  Jlo says it was one of the most beautiful poignant moments she has seen on this show.  Randy said it was one of his best performances.  I just rewound to watch again.  Can we say Download?  A

Hollie -- "I Can't Make You Love Me"  by Bonnie Raitt.  I love this song.  Please do not ruin this song.  She talks about it like she gets it.  Jimmy tells her not to oversing.  I can't deny her vocal ability, but it is cabaret.  Hit the notes straight for this.  Uggh the arrangement is cheezalicious.  NO. NO. NO.  Steven says she didn't feel it.  JLo gave her a great tip -- this should have been sung for the audience - -I Can't Make You Love Me if you don't.  Yes, this would have been the way to do it.  Randy said this was not the song for her big note belting voice.  Agree.  She legitimately has sealed her fate.   C

Joshua -- "This Is A Man's World" by James Brown.  Juliet Simms on The Voice sang this last week and it was incredible.  Jimmy loves it and tells Joshua to call him if he has any thoughts and Joshua starts laughing because he does not have his phone number.  Okay but to the performance.  Jesus.  This guy is so talented.  Juliet's was obviously more original being that she is a woman, but the power of Joshua, the growl, the commanding of all attention and of the stage is incredible.  He is so powerful.  He always keeps it so cool in the beginning and then just goes nuts.  JLo had to shake it off, it was so hot.  Steven said noone has ever sang that good on this stage ever.  He has never heard anything like that in his life -- that is major.  JLo said the audience and she thought he couldn't interpret a song any better than he has, but he killed it.  Randy said it was the best performance ever on any show.  I am giving this guy an A+

The one A+ of the season so far!!!!!

Jessica -- "I'm Not Going" from Dream Girls.  My first thought was please style her properly.  Not like a slut.  She looks like a hooker.  And the arrangement is cheesy.  Neither she nor Hollie have ever done a new interpretation of anything.  Look, I would kill to sing like this girl so I could blow them all away at karaoke.  But after the genuine performance of Phillip and the ability for Joshua to actually make me feel that I am relearning classic songs through his voice, this is copycat.  It is amazing, but it is copycat.  Of course the judges stood, but I did not buy that.  Sure Jessica should stay over Hollie, but I can't see her win.  Overpraise by the judges.  Wow Julian Lennon is old.  A-

Phillip B+ and A
Hollie B- and C
Joshua A and A+
Jessica B and A-

Bye bye Hollie, my god this episode wore me out.  Awesome. Awesome.

Don't be ashamed of your obsessions or admitting what you did home alone...