Rank the S21 Playoffs Performances

[Misirlou]

Discuss.

[indii]

1. Wendy Moten

==============

2. Gymani

3. Jershika Maple

4. Raquel Trinadad

5. Paris Winningham

6. LiBianca

7. Jeremy Rosado

8. Katie Rae

==============

9. Holly Forbes

10. Hailey Mia

11. Girl Named Tom

12. Lana Scott

13. David Vogel

14. Joshua Vacanti

==============

15. Shadale

16. Samuel Harness

17. Peedy Chavis

==============

18. Ryleigh Plank

19. Jim & Sasha Allen

20. Bella DeNapoli

[Luis tarin]

Expceptional/on top of their shit

1 . Wendy

2. Hailey

3. Paris

4.Libianca 

 

Great

5. GNT

6. Jershika

7. Raquel

8.gymani 

9. Shadale

10.Holly

ok

11. Lana

12. Jeremy 

13. Samuel

14. Katie 

15. Joshua 

16. David

 

WHAT HAPPENED?!
17. bella 

18.Jim and Sasha 

19. Ryliegh 

20.Peedy

 

 

 

[Someone648]

The way y'all talked about the cast tonight I would've thought we got 20 versions of Caribbean Queen

Yes, the majority underperformed - but I only truly saw one trainwreck tonight.

 

YES.

1. Jershika Maple (9)

2. David Vogel (9)

3. Libianca (9)

 

Actually good, varying levels of under/overperformed

4. Wendy Moten (8.5)

5. Girl Named Tom (8.5)

6. Jeremy Rosado (8)

7. Gymani (8)

8. Raquel Trinidad (8)

 

Did decent

9. Paris Winningham (8)

10. Holly Forbes (8)

11. Lana Scott (8)

 

Underperformed for a variety of reasons

12. Jim & Sasha Allen (7.5)

13. Samuel Harness (7.5)

14. Shadale (7.5)

15. Hailey Mia (7.5)

16. Bella DeNapoli (7.5)

 

Bussed and uninterested

17. Joshua Vacanti (6.5)

18. Katie Rae (6.5)

 

Flopped, sadly.

19. Peedy Chavis (6)

20. Ryleigh Plank (5)

[Misirlou]

8 minutes ago, Someone648 said:

The way y'all talked about the cast tonight I would've thought we got 20 versions of Caribbean Queen

Yes, the majority underperformed - but I only truly saw one trainwreck tonight.

 

YES.

1. Jershika Maple (9)

2. David Vogel (9)

3. Libianca (9)

 

Actually good, varying levels of under/overperformed

4. Wendy Moten (8.5)

5. Girl Named Tom (8.5)

6. Jeremy Rosado (8)

7. Gymani (8)

8. Raquel Trinidad (8)

 

Did decent

9. Paris Winningham (8)

10. Holly Forbes (8)

11. Lana Scott (8)

 

Underperformed for a variety of reasons

12. Jim & Sasha Allen (7.5)

13. Samuel Harness (7.5)

14. Shadale (7.5)

15. Hailey Mia (7.5)

16. Bella DeNapoli (7.5)

 

Bussed and uninterested

17. Joshua Vacanti (6.5)

18. Katie Rae (6.5)

 

Flopped, sadly.

19. Peedy Chavis (6)

20. Ryleigh Plank (5)

Well damn, I dont think I've ever disagreed with you more lol, but I respect it.

[colemanftw]

Just because many of my favorites disappointed me, I'm putting everyone's ranking on my prelives rank in the brackets.

 

1. Hailey Mia (12)

2. Joshua Vacanti (6)

3. Paris Winningham (10)

4. Girl Named Tom (2)

5. Libianca (5)

6. Wendy Moten (8)

7. David Vogel (9)

8. Raquel Trinidad (16)

9. Jershika Maple (3)

10. Holly Forbes (11)

11. Gymani (7)

12. Jeremy Rosado (14)

13. Shadale (13)

14. Lana Scott (19)

15. Katie Rae (20)

16. Peedy Chavis (18)

17. Samuel Harness (1) 

18. Bella DeNapolli (4) 

19. Ryleigh Plank (17)

20. J&S Allen (15)

[FloorWax]

Wait... these aren't the autotune rounds?

1. Paris - Aside from the near pitch perfect vocals, his sincerity in delivering songs is his strength. I felt this performance. A

2. Wendy - Technically perfect, but I feel like this song isn't appropriate to be condensed into 2 minutes, so the result isn't as amazing as one might expect. A

3. Hailey - This performance was one of the most polished of the night, which is very impressive. The song was perfect for her tone. A-

 

Minor issues, great for a live playoff performance

4. GNT - Their harmonies hold up surprisingly well live, and while there were some missed notes here and there, I applaud the risk of doing something completely different. B+

5. Jeremy - Some spots were definitely messy, but I found this performance compelling. B+

6. Jershika - I thought she did well with this song choice. Far from perfect, but I loved her energy. B+

7. Gymani - Great. Her tone sounded very nice here. B+

 

Decent

8. LiBianca - Props for the bold song choice, and this performance was very fresh, but it didn't sound very competitive. B

9. Joshua - This performance made me realize I actually like Joshua's overly broadway side more than his "sincere" side, he just hasn't had a song that worked for me until now. B

10. David - His high register was a tad weak, but this was a decent performance. B

 

Underwhelming/meh

11. Holly - She started off pretty, but by the middle, it felt like karaoke. Also, that high note was flat as a pancake. B-

12. Katie - Welp, this wasn't as good as I remember. B-

13. Shadale - I feel like this could've been way better, but she was fine I guess? B-

14. Peedy - Very much bandzilla'd, and that last note was horrendous, but hey, his vocals weren't awful despite him running around the stage. More entertaining than Lana, I'd say. B-

15. Samuel - Terrible song choice, but I still love his tone so he has that going for him at least. C+

16. Lana - Fine, but the song just didn't allow her to stand out in any way C+

17. Raquel - She was on pitch at least, but the song choice was very dull and her enunciation still bothers me. C+

 

Umm....

18. Bella - Overall tragic but I think she had more good moments than Ryleigh did. C-

19. Ryleigh - Mess. Most epic voice crack since Kyndal Inskeep. D

20. Jim & Sasha - I don't think there was anything salvageable there. F

Edited November 9, 2021 by FloorWax

[Misirlou]

They did it.

 

1. Paris - All around great vocal. Great falsetto and the rasp and growls are inmaculate. Couldnt be happier for him. The dude is overcoming the underdog plot, and I can geniuenly see him moving on tonight.

2. LiBianca - A breath of fresh air. Just all around enjoyable and I hope she moves on to give this season some freshness.

3. GNT - Not perfect, but the creativity makes up for the minor execution issues. Overall they did very good considering the circumstances and the song.

4. Joshua - Rewatched this and apart from being one of the better ones of last night, I just found it endearing. He has charisma for ages and I'd love to see more theatrical performances from him.

5. David - Loved the arrangement and his tone is just clear precision. He got a bit swallowed by the band at times, but solid job. Loved the melody changes.

 

Good job

 

6. Wendy - Vocally the most consistent of the night, but the relaxed arrangement didnt totally do it for me. I wanted more. Still great though.

7. Hailey M - The surprise of the night for me. Controlled and on pitch for most of the song. The reason why I put it here is because I didnt really connect with it, and really havent been motivated to rewatch it after the episode aired, but credit where credit's due. Great job.

8.Jeremy - I felt the emotion and the story told throughout it, but it did have some noticable pitch issues, hence why it moves down a bit. Still, he did good, and hope he moves on.

9. Raquel - Carried her team. It was off at times but solid for the most part. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Definitely her best and closer to what I waa expecting from her based on pre-lives material. Good job.

 

Didnt do it for me fully, both good and bad news here.

 

10. Shadale - Her singing was on point, but her choices and phrasing were distracted. I felt there were empty moments in the performance due to that. Still, props for the good singing.

11. Gymani - It was solid, but her tone and intepretation didn't really work for me on this song.

12. Katie - The parts I could hear were solid, but bandzilla + song choice ( a great song, just not for her) didnt help her.

13. Peedy - Did better than what I was expecting, especially considering how he moved around the stage. Still, the Elvis thing has worn out its welcome and he got bandzilla'd hard a couple of times.

14. Jershika - WTF was this song for her? She should have gotten a more jazzy one to showcase those gorgeous lows. She did what she could, but this went nowhere and got really pitchy at the end.

15. Holly - Good start, but it was breathy and she was under pitch for some time, and the big note was flat. Not her best by a long shot.

 

Talented individuals, but it wasn't their night at all.

 

16. Lana - She handled uptempo better than I imagined, but her tone, which is not my cup of tea + pitch issues didnt make this one that enjoyable to me.

17. Samuel - The biggest dissappointment of the night for me. WTF was that song choice? On top of that, bandzilla kicked in and he just looked miserable throughout. Love this guy but this just didnt work at all.

18. Jim and Sasha - Jim started off nice, but as the harmonies kicked in (and bandzilla too), it went really off the rails quickly and never recovered.

19. Bella - Nope.

20. Ryleigh - Bigger nope.

Edited November 9, 2021 by Misirlou

[BrokenHearted]

1. Gymani

2. Hailey

3. Wendy

4. Paris

5. Jershika

6. Girl Named Tom

7. Libianca

8. Shadale

9. David

10. Raquel

11. Katie

12. Lana

13. Jeremy

14. Holly

15. Joshua

16. Peedy

17. Samuel

18. Jim & Sasha

19. Bella

20. Ryleigh

[Anybody354]

9 hours ago, Someone648 said:

The way y'all talked about the cast tonight I would've thought we got 20 versions of Caribbean Queen

Yes, the majority underperformed - but I only truly saw one trainwreck tonight.

 

YES.

1. Jershika Maple (9)

2. David Vogel (9)

3. Libianca (9)

 

Actually good, varying levels of under/overperformed

4. Wendy Moten (8.5)

5. Girl Named Tom (8.5)

6. Jeremy Rosado (8)

7. Gymani (8)

8. Raquel Trinidad (8)

 

Did decent

9. Paris Winningham (8)

10. Holly Forbes (8)

11. Lana Scott (8)

 

Underperformed for a variety of reasons

12. Jim & Sasha Allen (7.5)

13. Samuel Harness (7.5)

14. Shadale (7.5)

15. Hailey Mia (7.5)

16. Bella DeNapoli (7.5)

 

Bussed and uninterested

17. Joshua Vacanti (6.5)

18. Katie Rae (6.5)

 

Flopped, sadly.

19. Peedy Chavis (6)

20. Ryleigh Plank (5)

Dang, let me say that these are some strange rankings. Bella, J&S, and Samuel above Joshua and Katie? And Samuel above Shadale? I think your biases played into these rankings.

[longtimelurker]

1. LiBianca - never heard of this song before, but she made me love it in 2 minutes, literally the only performance I could see myself rewatch daily, she's also such an underrated vocalist

2. Hailey - she showed so much poise and confidence for her age, and this is the first time I realize how emotional and pretty her tone is

3. Paris - every time he performs, he's way better than I remember him being

4. Joshua - was so happy when I realized it was Ben Platt's version, he did a solid job while the audience swooning when he said "you" made this the most unintentionally hilarious performance of the night for me (also I need that jacket)

5. Katie - love this song and her soulful rasp on it

6. GNT - their personal worst, and it wasn't even that bad like everyone made it out to be, their harmonies held up nicely despite the nerves of the liveshow

7. Jershika - never would have expected this song, but I loved it (the end was messy though)

8. Shadale - she was good, I was just a bit disappointed with the overdone song choice

9. David - the song sits almost entirely at the top of his range so he sounds a bit strained, but I enjoyed this way more than his KO (unrelated but when he sang "since '98" I realized we're of the same age and that put a lot of things into perspective)

10. Wendy - overall solid but quite underwhelming for a pimp spot performance, she looked like she didn't break a sweat singing one of the biggest power ballads of all time and idk but for me that's not necessarily a good thing? also the truncated time limit doesn't work for a song like this, there's no effective build up

11. Jim & Sasha - the harmonies didn't gel that well and both were off-key at parts, but overall they weren't as bad as I remember from watching live, maybe I should abstain from reading the live discussion threads from now on

12. Peedy - he's suspiciously good looking in ways that normal people are not, and he actually benefits from going after the trainwreck that is the entire team Ariana, but yeah upon rewatching it didn't hold up, still pretty fun though

13. Gymani - her thing of taking melodically straightforward song and changing it up is not gonna work for every song, it didn't work on pov and it didn't work on this one either

14. Bella - the arrangement didn't bother me, it was pretty cool actually, I always appreciate creativity, hit or miss, but boy did things go off the rails quickly after that key change, she was consistently flat. Valiant effort of her to do something new, but maybe she should arrange it so that the notes aren't always at the top of her range because that can get screechy

15. Jeremy - this song is one of the few I utterly despise, and his pitchiness didn't change my mind

16. Holly - the middle part was decent, but the start and end had major pitch issues, still not getting the hype for her 

17. Lana - she was... just fine, and that's not good, will Blake save her for being the only country singer though? 

18. Raquel - her being arguably the best on her team is definitely something because I cringed all the way through this performance... I just hate the way she bends the melody and gives Shi'ann a run for her money, this song is not supposed to be sung like that

19. Samuel - I had a sore throat watching that

20. Ryleigh - the key is too high and she struggled mightily with it, gotta give her props for the confidence she exudes while performing though

[Sachin Jain]

Guys you need to stop being mean about the Peedy/Elvis thing and how it’s getting old. By this logic Wendy sounds just like Whitney every time and Wendy is a frickin superstar

 

[KingKongWoo]

11 minutes ago, Sachin Jain said:

Guys you need to stop being mean about the Peedy/Elvis thing and how it’s getting old. By this logic Wendy sounds just like Whitney every time and Wendy is a frickin superstar

 

True, everyone has inspirations in music. He is clearly inspired by Elvis, but anyone who thinks he sounds like an Elvis impersonator has never listened to Elvis sing

[Someone648]

1 hour ago, Anybody354 said:

Dang, let me say that these are some strange rankings. Bella, J&S, and Samuel above Joshua and Katie? And Samuel above Shadale? I think your biases played into these rankings.

If they were biased, Bella would’ve been above Hailey and Samuel and Bella would’ve been much higher lol.

 

Katie and Joshua are only that low because they were uninteresting and unenjoyable for me. I found something enjoyable about each performance for everyone above them.

[Anybody354]

54 minutes ago, Someone648 said:

If they were biased, Bella would’ve been above Hailey and Samuel and Bella would’ve been much higher lol.

 

Katie and Joshua are only that low because they were uninteresting and unenjoyable for me. I found something enjoyable about each performance for everyone above them.

I guess everyone has different tastes. And yes, you ranked your favorites below others that weren’t your favorites.

[Mistake006]

12 hours ago, Someone648 said:

Bussed and uninterested

17. Joshua Vacanti (6.5)

18. Katie Rae (6.5)

I think the is the first time I’ve disagreed with you lmao. Love to see Libianca in the top 3 though, that was an underrated performance

[Dai]

Let’s be honest, we are all biased af (although some people are clearly less subtle than others lmao) If everyone was objective (which is impossible in the first place when it comes to music), we would all have the same ranking.

[Mistake006]

1. LiBianca

2. Girl Named Tom

3. Jershika Maple

4. Katie Rae

5. Paris Winningham

6. Gymani

7. Joshua Vacanti

8. Hailey Mia

9. Jeremy Rosado

10. Wendy Moten

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
11. Shadale

12. Raquel Trinidad

13. Jim & Sasha

14. David Vogel

15. Holly Forbes
16. Ryleigh Plank
17. Peedy Chavis
18. Lana Scott

19. Samuel Harness
20. Bella DeNapoli

[KingKongWoo]

My biased and silly opinions:

 

1. LiBianca

2. Joshua

3. Paris

4. Hailey

5. Wendy

6. David

7. Peedy

8. Jim and Sasha

9. Jeremy

10. Girl Named Tom

11. Lana

12. Shadale

13. Katie

14. Jershika

15. Holly

16. Gymani

17. Raquel

18. Samuel

19. Bella

20. Ryleigh

[Tooner]

1. Wendy

2. Gymani

3. Raquel

4. GNT

5. Libianca

6. Hailey

7. Shadale

8. Jereshika

9. Holly

10. Katie

11. Lana

12. Joshua
13. Paris

14. Jeremy

15. David

16. Samuel

17. Peedy

18. Jim and Sasha 

19. Bella

20. Ryleigh

 

[Voice]

.

Edited November 9, 2021 by Voice

[AliXRose]

13 hours ago, Someone648 said:

I would've thought we got 20 versions of Caribbean Queen

 

10 hours ago, FloorWax said:

Most epic voice crack since Kyndal Inskeep.

We love a throwback shade, gosh I miss season 17 so much 

[VintageVoice]

Excellent All Around

1. Paris Winningham - this wasn’t autotuned, y’all, and it was still flawless. Good for him.

2. Wendy Moten - fabulous vocals and song, just not the right song to do in only two minutes. Still a queen, though.

3. Libianca - a breath of fresh air on the show, just not quite as likely to get her a vote as the two above her.

4. Hailey Mia - I know I’ve been skeptical about her age being a potential holdback (live TV is stressful as hell and most of the cast has been singing longer than she’s been alive), but I was very thankful to see her prove me wrong.

 

Very Good

5. Jeremy Rosado - he wasn’t pitch perfect but man, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel everything he was saying when he sang.

6. Girl Named Tom - an unorthodox song choice, but they did very well with it (and their harmonies held up live, too).

7. Joshua - it was an excellent mix of theatrical and emotionally compelling.

8. Gymani - she sounded great, especially later on in the song, but it took a moment for her to find her footing.

9. Shadale - excellent song and had pretty solid moments throughout, just suffered from following Hailey last night.

10. David Vogel - enjoyed this more on the rewatch, but the lack of hair flipping that I noticed in said rewatch made it click on why I felt like something was missing when I saw it live.
 

Decent 

11. Lana Scott - I actually really enjoyed this??? Sassy and uptempo, but didn’t feel like a bus even though it could’ve been one.

12. Peedy Chavis- it was all fun and games til he slid in the leather pants; props to committing that hard, but I winced because that’s gotta hurt. Entertaining for sure, though.

13. Katie Rae - decent, but forgettable.

14. Holly Forbes - some pitch issues on the runs, but otherwise solid throughout.

15. Jershika Maple - I’m suing NBC over the song choice, but she killed it regardless.

16. Raquel Trinidad - pretty, but very sleepy.
17. Samuel Harness- pros: tone. Cons: the song choice.

 

Potential Was There

18. Ryleigh - it wasn’t that bad up until that one note (y’all know the one). Props for the “go big or go home” mentality though.

19. Bella DeNapoli - that Gwen song is near and dear to my heart, but I didn’t like the arrangement at all.

20. Jim and Sasha Allen - that was really something; props to Sasha for giving it his best effort despite being as sick as he was, at least.

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by VintageVoice

[peachfuz]

I think it's really easy to walk away from a night as typically rocky as the playoffs and be all like, "this was the worst The Voice has ever been!" when most of the performances were really just okay. That's not to say we didn't watch what might be the worst showing a full team has offered up during the Playoffs in twenty-one seasons, but hey, not everyone can walk away from the first live performance night a Cam Anthony or a Carter Rubin. The number in parentheses next to each contestant's name was where they placed for me on my pre-Lives rankings after Knockouts.

 

Not a Single Crumb Left Behind

1. Gymani (6) - "Say Something" - I canNOT express how happy I am that Gymani took the risk of going for a more emotional, intimate song last night. The end result was palpable, the vocal equivalent of a lion's roar in the dead of night; the way she exploded on the chorus without whiffing a single note, not even the highest or hardest ones, was just absolutely breath-taking. And I'll be more than happy to make peace with a vocal that was otherwise not completely perfect if it means we get a performance that was so raw and fiery, so intricately sung. I was so nervous for her to sing live after Pillowtalk, y'all. Grade: A

2. Paris Winningham (4) - "I Wish It Would Rain" - As someone who has proudly been calling this guy one of his favorites since his first audition, watching the dude deliver a note-perfect, church-ready rendition of a song I really would like to hear on this show more made me feel like a proud father to this 30-something dude I don't even know, and that's saying something. Dude had to be stealing from the devil with how much soul he brought to the table, and he did so without missing a single note. He is ready for this game. - Grade: A

 

Has Me Coming Back For Seconds (okay, Thirds)

3. Wendy Moten (1) - "I Will Always Love You" - On-key and passionate? Sure! Packed with soul and emotion? Without a doubt. One of the best vocals of the night? By all means. Predictable and underwhelming for someone who has so much more potential than a song we've heard a million times on this show? Uh... yeah. It was nearly perfect technically, and she's so unbelievably poised, but Wendy is an industry professional! This is not the time to break out the Grace Kinstler songbook! She's fantastic, but she's not gonna win on just done-to-death ballads and R&B hits. Perfect vocals get you to the finals, but, 19 times out of 20, originality is what gets you the crown. - Grade: A- 

4. Girl Named Tom (2) - "Creep" - Without a doubt the most wicked arrangement of the night, I admit I probably have to give a few extra points to how awesome it was to make up for some pretty vocally spotty areas. Everyone was pretty quick to harp on the brothers while completely overlooking Bekah basically collapsing on her high belted note during the bridge? Aight, then. That misstep aside, this performance was pretty necessary for us at home to know for sure that Girl Named Tom can pretty much nail the intricate harmonies we've come to know and love on the live stage without getting drowned out by the band. I think all of us needed that big of reassurance, right? - Grade: A- 

5. Katie Rae (20) - "Stormy Weather" - Right as I was bemoaning Katie Rae's limitless potential and mourning the fact that such a talented singer had been robbed of a true "moment" for the entire show thus far (and no, her fantastic battle with Bella Denapoli doesn't count–that battle was swallowed whole by Bella, we can all agree on this, right?), she broke out the exact genre I was dying for her to do–smoky jazz–and delivered what was easily her best performance yet. Not always perfect, sure, but husky and bold and so, so rich. Did I mention she was dead last in my pre-Lives rankings? Whoopsie! And the Anna Grace award of Season 21 of The Voice is most likely going to... - Grade: A- 

 

Tasted Better Than It Smells

6. Samuel Harness (5) - "So Sick" - Let me be clear; a bad song choice, even an absolutely terrible, nonsensical one, does not a bad performance make. An artist as ingenious and smart as Samuel can make lemons out of lemonade, and the resulting pitcher we got last night was one that was juicy and sour... even if I wish he didn't leave the pits in the cup. That's to say that, after a pretty rough start, Samuel broke free of the chains of a pretty awful song for him and delivered a really strong vocal in spite of that. Bus or no bus, that has to be something, right? I mean, if he can overcome getting screwed by producer song choice and turn the situation around (where many other successful reality singing contestants have failed)... all I'm saying is that it's a little soon to call Samuel's Voice run a lost cause. Sometimes you ride the bus, sometimes the bus hits you... but every now and then, you have someone who starts driving it. - Grade: B+

7. Libianca (12) - "Woman" - I have no doubt in my mind that Libianca is gonna walk away from tonight's results shows the least deserving eliminated contestant from all four teams–with the PV likely coming down to Paris and Wendy, Blake is sure to lean towards the pristine Lana or the charming Peedy. Which is a damn shame considering Libianca did the unthinkable and made a Doja Cat song actually pretty palatable! The slinky, smoky things she did with the melody cannot be understated, and nor can the melodic choices and the mid-song breakdown that made me sit up and go, "oh-kay!". I mean, yeah, she kind of botched the glory note, but you could say that about half of the people that sang tonight, wink wink. - Grade: B+

8. Jeremy Rosado (8) - "When I Was Your Man" - Jeremy's vocal was easily one of the night's more impassioned, on-key, and emotionally charged, and the end result was pleading and oh so on-point. I'd just like to have a nice long talk with the team behind the arrangement who decided to make this poor guy speed run the damn song. I know the Voice any percent victory run is a tough thing to accomplish–just ask Javier Colon!–but the performances shouldn't suffer for that, y'know? Still, really solid work otherwise. - Grade: B+

9. Jershika Maple (3) - "Beggin'" - This was the perfect setup for a performance to get me cracking my television screen with a precisely-thrown leather boot, and I was more than ready to do so after how kickass Jershika's vocal was last week. Which is why I was kinda disappointed to be pulling for socks instead. Yes, the energy and the vocals were pretty well-kept, but Jershika's intonation kinda suffered as a result. Still, it was really rock-solid for the most part (if not a little shaky in a few places where she really shouldn't have been), and a voice like that not cracking the Top 13 would be a real disappointment.  - Grade: B

 

Good Texture, But Better With Salt

10. David Vogel (10) - "Slow Burn" - Mm, I wish I had more to say about this performance after how much I loved David's reworking of "Lose You to Love Me" a few weeks back. It was certainly daring to flip a female country song this way, and the end result definitely did many things well, but I can't help but feel this performance was ultimately somewhat undercooked, like they didn't finish arranging and rehearsing the song in time for it to be performed. And David, I hate to say, can't rely on flipping songs by female pop-adjacent artists for the entire competition, right? Here's hoping he gets the chance to break out something a little different, or else I'm afraid he may veer into one-trick pony territory. - Grade: B

11. Joshua Vacanti (13) - "Yoü and I" - On the topic of one-trick ponies, is Joshua's Broadway shtick all he's got up his sleeve? I'd like to say no, but, ultimately, Yoü and I was a vocal that can be summed up as technically strong, impressive, a solid showcase of range, and completely unmemorable paired with his last three performances. His battle rounds duet was far from vocally sound, but it was so daring, sung with so much reckless abandon that it still ended up being one of my favorites. That's the side of Joshua I find myself craving more, but I have to ask myself if belty ballads are all we're gonna get from the guy for the remainder of his tenure on Team Legend. - Grade: B

12. Lana Scott (17) - "Next Girl" - Considering she's (mercifully) the only traditional country artist still standing in the competition, I was pleasantly surprised by how... well, pleasant Lana's performance was. Yeah, I'm definitely not a fan of her tone, I've come to find–a little too Alabamian whine for more taste–but I don't think she missed a single note during her entire performance. I'm just afraid she's the median of the performances we saw tonight–passable in every aspect, but not particularly noteworthy in any of those categories.  Not to downgrade her or mitigate her talent–only to state that being unmemorable might be a little more dangerous in this competition than being straight-up laughable. - Grade: B

13. Hailey Mia (18) - "Traitor" - I will give this to Hailey, someone who I've been extremely tentative about during this competition so far; she got a pretty much perfect song choice, didn't veer off pitch, and ended off her extremely strong team showing pretty well. Still, there are so many spots, little things that I just can't really palate about her performance last night, from her melodic decisions to the yelly glory note, that she ended up kind of veering away from the top of my rankings in spite of that. Still, I applaud the producers and/or Kelly for being smart with their song choice and not turning her into another Miss America pageant yeller like so many teens on this show have tried to be. - Grade: B

 

Missed A Few Steps In The Recipe

14. Holly Forbes (11) - "Torn" - On the one hand, Holly didn't do half bad considering how awful the song choice seemed on paper; the intimate songwriter quality of her voice is actually one I really enjoyed during the first half of the song, and she was miles ahead of her teammates in term of intonation and power. On the other, it's impossible to ignore how far she veered off pitch during the second half, especially on an admittedly kind of ugly glory note. That would not have gotten her those four chairs a few months ago. Still, being the best of the worst team has to count for something, and I can't imagine she won't be around for a few more weeks on that merit alone. - Grade: B-

15. Raquel Trinidad (15) - "Don't Know Why" - Although I'd like to wager Raquel was the only one of Ariana's six artists to suffer from pitch issues, Raquel's strange sidestep into her Norah Jones rearrangement, while definitely a step in the right direction, felt veeery underbaked–for every run or riff she nailed, there was another that was sloppy and, frankly, unnecessary. She didn't quite collapse in the way I feared she would, thankfully, but there was a quality of under rehearsal here that also struck me during David Vogel's performance. And I'm afraid she really needed to nail it to have a shot at a Public Vote against Ariana's forsaken trinity, so... I honestly have no idea how her chances are. Which really blows, 'cuz she's got boatloads of potential. Sigh. Happens to the best of them, I suppose. - Grade: B-

16. Shadale (7) - "Love On The Brain" - I really wanted to adore this performance the way I adored Shadale's striking take on "Impossible" last week, but adoration can only stretch so far on a performance that sacrificed about 30% of the vocal consistency for stage presence and energy. And I hate to bring comparisons to the table on this show, but the feat of topping both Wé McDonald and Chris Blue on this song is one of Olympian difficulty, one that I'm afraid Shadale failed to do so in her attempt at raising the roof tonight. I loved seeing her really perform the hell out of the song in a way that artists before haven't been able to do (I still mourn the loss of a live performance by Arei Moon pretty much every day!), but the vocal suffered for it, and that's... never a good sign, especially when we're dealing with an artist like Shadale who, unlike Will Breman or Idol's Qaasim Middleton, has put forth incredibly strong vocal performances so far. Needless to say I'm... a little nervous for her. - Grade: C+

 

Grandma's Meatloaf

17. Jim & Sasha (16) - "Hey Jude" - I can't help but feel a little bad for the father & son duo on how bloody the producers' borderline-successful assassination attempt on their chances at the Top 13 ended up being–not only was Sasha sick, but the assignment of a song like "Hey Jude" in a competition like this is, if I can recall correctly, illegal in some countries. The result was not pretty–the two really tried to wallop the song best they could, but you can't really knock a wall down with a pair of drumsticks. Still, it was a valiant effort, and one made better by just how damn joyful Sasha Allen is onstage. Seriously, kid's like a goddamn golden retriever, I love how much heart he put into it despite how rocky the vocal ended up being. And give 'em credit where credit's due–they were far from the worst on their team last night. - Grade: C

18. Peedy Chavis (19) - "Proud Mary" - I'll give Mr. Chavis one point of credit for the sake of not being too relentless on someone who I haven't really liked this entire season so far; I respect the risk that comes with dealing with a song like Proud Mary as a male artist. That said, not all risks are good risks, and Peedy's first live venture this season was equal parts lethargic and way too much, which... I didn't even know that was possible before last night. It wasn't a train wreck, but it was awkward and unimpressive, and killed pretty much all intrigue that I may have had in his performance ability. Elvis Presley this kid is not. - Grade: C-

19. Bella Denapoli (9) - "The Sweet Escape" - I'd like to imagine this performance was actually a pretty great idea on paper–taking a just-barely-vintage, only-somewhat-well-known pop song and giving it a haunting, sultry reimagining is precisely what got so many of us to love Bella during the auditions. Of course, landing the high notes she reached for and cooking up an arrangement that made melodic sense was the difference between "Damaged" and... well, I don't wanna bring to mind damage again, but there's not much else I can say. This was rough–not quite a hot mess, but still really strained and unpleasant. The amount of whiffs at vocalization she ended up producing can be counted on more fingers than I think I have on my person. Still... body of work has to count for something, so I can't imagine she's the most in danger on her team. That honor has to go to someone else, methinks. Speaking of which... - Grade: D+

 

Chugging a Bottle of Vinegar, Having Mistaken It For Vodka

20. Ryleigh Plank (14) - "I'm Your Baby Tonight" - The sheer hubris it takes to tackle a Whitney Houston song like this that's so far out of a singer like Ryleigh's range–and yes, a very good range doesn't necessarily justify jumping straight to the Whitney Houston songbook, producers!–is something I don't think I can really forgive Ariana or the producers for doing to poor Ryleigh. It sucks to see such a talented vocalist just flat-out collapse onstage, but there's no looking past it; I can forgive a botched glory note or even a voice crack glory note, but when more than half of your performance is consistently sharp, something is very wrong. Ryleigh is far from talentless, but the decisions made on this performance–and her inability to stay on track–led to this being one of the more painful live performances on this show I've seen since the sheer horror of Caribbean Queen. Ryleigh deserved way better, y'all. - Grade: D-

[caburr1982]

In my opinion they all Killed it and stole the show and all are deserving, so tough to pick. but....

 

TOP TWELVE (GOING STRAIGHT THROUGH TO THE LIVE SHOWS)

1 Girl Named Tom

2 Wendy Moten

3 Raquel Trinidad

4 Gymani

5 Bella DeNapoli

6 Ryleigh Plank

7 Katie Ray

8 Lana Scott

9 Samuel Harness

10 Jershika Maple

11 David Vogel

12 Paris Winningham

 

MIDDLE FIVE (IN DANGER OF GOING HOME) - INSTANT SAVE ROUND

 

WON INSTANT SAVE (SAVED BY THE VOTERS)

13 Holly Forbes

 

LOST INSTANT SAVE (ELIMINATED)

14 Hailey Mia

15 Shadale

16 Jim and Sasha Allen

17 Peedy Chavis

 

BOTTOM FOUR (ELIMINATED IMMEDIATELY)

18 LiBianca (I Love her and want her to advance, but in an all-time stacked female department, Im afraid she'll be the Forgotten One! :()

19 Jeremy Rosado

20 Joshua Vacanti

Comeback Wildcard Winner

 

Also whoever ends up in Last place tonight might be the best last place artist ever, this season is so stacked and these playoffs are proof