When I ranked the Top 8, I wrote that if the show ended last week, Matthew Schuler should win. Easily.
The first bit of bad news for Matthew is that the show did not end last week
Matthew Schuler during the Top 8 performance Monday on The Voice. (NBC Photo)
The second bit of bad news is that he and Christina Aguilera fell into a common trap Monday night.
They concentrated so much on choreography and production that Matthew’s vocals suffered.
Boy, how did they suffer? Watching the show back, it was clear the West Chester University student turned in the weakest vocal on Top 8 night.
Viewers noticed, too. They did not exactly flock to iTunes to buy Matthew’s latest effort.
When voting ended today, he checked in at 85 on the iTunes singles chart, 29 spots behind seventh-place Ray Boudreaux.
That big clang you just heard. That was a big dent being hammered into Matthew’s front-runner status.
Because while he was sliding, Jacquie Lee turned in perhaps the best vocal of Season 5, bouncing back strong from her own off week.
Will Champlin turned out to be the most popular on iTunes. Cole Vosbury and James Wolpert did very well on the charts, too.
And a week after looking oh, so vulnerable, Caroline Pennell delivered nicely on “Dog Days Are Over,” perhaps earning herself a Top 6 spot.
So who’s in danger tonight?
Well, you’d hope Matthew wouldn’t get eliminated over one lousy performance. Especially after all the impressive ones that preceeded it.
But once you eliminate Ray Boudreaux — most likely to depart tonight — you still need two artists to make up the bottom three.
It’s not easy to figure out who else might be in need of that instant save.
But, suddenly, the next three weeks look a whole lot more interesting, don’t they?
For a look at last night’s song by song grades go here. For a look at where all the artists landed on iTunes today, head here.
We start off with a performance by Ellie Goulding, joined by James, Will and Matthew. The guys aren’t allowed to do much. Heck, if they opened up, I’m pretty sure they would have drowned out Ellie.
The second group number of the night has all eight contestants, singing “Will the Circle be Unbroken,” during which they get to do much more. Until a choir breaks in. Not sure why we need them. Pretty sure The Voice’s talented Top 8 could have pulled this off without assistance. Tessanne, however, seems determined to out-sing everyone on stage.
Performance number three of the night is one from Cee Lo Green that I’d rather forget and a song I won’t be downloading. The Voice is certainly proving this should have been a half-hour show.
Next the Top 8 return for another performance.
And the results begin:
These artists are safe —
* Will Champlin of Team Adam, who had the most successful tune on iTunes today.
* Cole Vosbury of Team Blake, who had the second-most successful song on iTunes today.
* Jacquie Lee of Team Christina, who delivered last night’s best vocal.
* Tessanne Chin of Team Adam, who has been consistently strong all season.
* James Wolpert of Team Adam, the lad from Lancaster.
And that leaves a bottom three of Caroline Pennell, Ray Boudreaux and Matthew Schuler.
Saved via the instant save was Matthew Schuler.
Eliminated from the competition are Caroline and Ray.
Not surprised by that outcome. Based on his performances since the show began, Matthew deserved the save.
But Caroline turned in the best performance last night.
And that leaves Cee Lo without a contestant in the competition while Adam has all three of his still on the show.
Caroline Pennell Cole Vosbury Jacquie Lee James Wolpert Matthew Schuler Ray Boudreaux Tessanne Chin Top 8 Will Champlin
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4 Comments
I dont think Tessanne Chin wanted to out sing everyone. She got talent it is obvious. I do get the feeling that because she is not from the USA she is being pick at. Vote for the contestant base on their talent regardless of where they are from. I would love to see all three of Adam team members going into top three, they can sing.
Christina, you have your work cut out for you this week. Choose tge correct music/song that will showcase Matthew’s vocal talent. Don’t screw up like you did Monday night concentrating on all that superfluous choreography. Let Matthew shine as he did with Hallelujah! You seem very biased toward Jackie. Are you a coach or simply a fan? Following your much needed radical weight loss, you’ve appeared to be kinder, more sensitive and genuine. Somewhat taken with yourself, nonetheless. Now coach Matthew the way you need to. Jackie is not the only member of your team needing professional attention.
I do agree that I Could hear Tessannee above the others near the end of the song but to say she was trying to ‘out sing’ the others is a bit harsh, please remember all this is reherased a head of time and they are only singing the parts they are assigned in group performances.
Being that she is a fellow Jamaican i would like to thank Arianna for her comment on behalf of Tessanne, her voice and performance has nothing to do with where she is from, focus on ‘her’ performances which is what counts… its not a competition when its a group performance so if they want to put their heart and souls in it, so let it be. Let her and all their voices be heard and America will decide the outcome.
The song selected for Matthew was not fit for his performance or vocal talent. I don’t know how Cristiana came up with that song or what she was thinking…or was she? There was too much focus on choreography and not the talent this young man has as a vocal singer. It seems that his coach is putting more coaching toward Jackie. Christina you don’t think America sees this? Did you want Jackie to shine and not Matthew? Do your job as a coach and coach him. Sometimes I wonder if Matthew’s talent iwas being sabatogage.