Kelly Clarkson with her team members, Jeremy Rosado, Girl Named Tom, Katie Rae, Hailey Mia and Gymani. (NBC Photo)
The remaining artists on Team Kelly performed in The Voice live playoffs Monday night.
Three advance Tuesday, two based on fan voting, one via a coach’s save.
Here are my song by song grades.
Girl Named Tom, “Creep” by Radiohead — “I wish I was special,” this cover ended. Girl Named Tom is special. And the group with the best chance ever to win The Voice. “Creep” has been done countless times on a singing show. But this trio — Bekah, Caleb and Joshua Liechty — makes everything sound fresh. And is sure doesn’t hurt that Bekah would have no trouble competing and doing very well on The Voice as a soloist. Grade: A
Katie Rae, “Stormy Weather” by Lena Horne — Katie delivered another splendid vocal, full of soul and grit and complete with pitch perfect delivery. My only question is the song choice. The song dates to the 1930s and even Lena’s version came out in 1956. Was it the right song to earn the votes needed to advance? I’m not so sure. Grade: B
Gymani, “Say Something” by A Great Big World — Gymani, on the other hand, put her own stamp on this song, oft-tackled on singing shows. The opening was spot on, but nothing compared to the emotion and vocal Gymani delivered once she reached the chorus. She made a great case for deserving to advance with this performance. Grade: A–
Jeremy Rosado, “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars — Kelly called this her favorite performance from Jeremy so far. There’s no doubt he’s invested in everything he’s singing and he picked a song that allowed him to show off his range, complete with that prolonged glory note toward the end. I still think his chances are enhanced by the fact that gals outnumber guys in this year’s voting round. Grade: B+
Hailey Mia, “Traitor” by Olivia Rodrigo — I was never a fan of The Voice dropping its eligibility to 13. Hailey might make me change my mind. She sure didn’t look or sound 13 belting out this current hit. And in addition to a fine vocal, she delivered the song with emotion. If Hailey doesn’t advance by vote, Kelly — well aware of the appeal young singers have on the show — might be faced with a very tough choice during Tuesday’s show. Grade: B
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I am also not a big fan of the eligibility age being lowered. It should be raised to 21 with a high school diploma/GED as a requirement and a college degree (either 2 or 4 year) preferred so school comes first. Also, the voice isn’t fully developed until the late teens/early adulthood. I know there are some mature youngsters, but it’s rare. That’s why there should be a separate kids/young adults show for anyone 7-20 with age groupings for 7-9, 10-12, 13-15, 16-18, and 18-20. Boys and girls should be separated as well (especially in older age groupings) for fairness in competition. What was the minimum age before it was lowered and when did that happen?