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‘The Voice’ Live Playoffs: Five Voice Contestants To Watch For

By Toni Matthews
Published on: 12:17 PST, Nov 9, 2015

Tonight is the night. We’re due for some great performances on The Voice as the Season 9 Live Playoffs begin. After calculating and speculating as to who the top (and bottom) artists will be, it will be great to sit back and watch to see who delivers.

The thing about live singing competitions is that no matter how great the voice or the talent, nerves can get in the way. Sometimes voices crack, words are forgotten, and you’re left with so much second-hand embarrassment. What’s been good about The Voice since I’ve been watching is that truly terrible performances become rarer and rarer as the show progresses. Hopefully, tonight will be when the talented Voice hopefuls rise to the occasion.

There are a few I have my eyes on, especially after calculating for who is most likely to go through and which singers are in danger of going home. With that in mind, here are the singers to watch during The Voice Live Playoffs.

I am curious to see how Jordan Smith can top his previous performances. He came on to The Voice with a fantastic cover of Sia’s “Chandelier.” I shouldn’t have to tell you that Sia is a ridiculously hard artist to cover. He’s also managed to tackle Adele, and co-sang a Sam Smith song. Now, I’m left wondering what direction he’ll go from here.

The only thing that could hurt Jordan at this point would be song choice, but then I’m struggling to think of how this would be a problem. He probably could sing the phone book and still be voted into The Voice Top 12.

I mentioned previously that I felt Darius Scott was in danger of going home. This seems to defy logic because, well, the man is a brilliant singer. As much as we’d love sheer talent to dictate who goes and who stays, once America becomes involved, these singing competitions turn into popularity contests. Given how many people have viewed his YouTube video performances and his social media following, I feel like heading into the live shows, he might be in trouble.

The good news is the judges still have a say. Voice coach Pharrell Williams made a gross error of judgement during his first season when he opted to let go of an obvious R&B vocal talent in blatant favor of someone America couldn’t stand (and got rid of the next week). I think Williams will likely not make this error twice. I am looking to see if this Voice hopeful can shine bright enough to beat the odds. Even if the Voice audience passes on him, Pharrell will hopefully make the right call.

I adore Regina Love because I’m familiar with and appreciate “soul music.” I’ll say it’s a lost form of R&B music that many modern musicians lack the spiritual authenticity to convey. While I did enjoy “Midnight Train To Georgia,” I’m hoping Regina allows for a more subtle performance. Something soft without so much shouting.

She actually has a beautiful lower register that she doesn’t always rely on as much as she could afford to. Personally, I’d like to see her sing something like, “Kissing You” by Des’ree. It would allow Love to have a stand-out moment on The Voice and show off her range. Although Regina was saved by Gwen in the past, who was apparently moved by her, I’m not sure how well she’s going to fare during the Live Playoffs. If we can see something truly new, it will boost Regina’s chances of sticking around.

Jeffery Austin pretty much came into existence for me when he sang “Turning Tables” during the Knockouts. I somehow managed to forget this Voice contestant was even around. Shame on me! He’s an amazing singer and criminally underrated. The problem with being talented during a Voice season where so many people are magnificent is sometimes people slip through the cracks. It doesn’t help that poor Jeffery was “montaged,” giving him less of an opportunity to make the Voice audience familiar with him.

Hopefully, this week Austin will get the chance to make up for lost time with a strong impression — and another good song choice.

I’ve got an eye on Blaine Mitchell for a purely cynical reason; I suspect he’s going to be around longer than he should be. There’s always an overrated, good-looking male singer who stays on the show at the expense of better-talented artists. Of course, he happens to have some stiff competition on his team, including a country artist. Adam Levine wants nothing more than to beat rival Voice coach Blake Shelton with a country artist. Should Shelby Brown put on a show-stopping country performance, it may mean we say goodbye to Blaine.

As such, it may mark the first time we had a truly talented Top 12 without a mediocre singer there for the sake of fangirl votes. I don’t think I’m going to be that lucky…but we shall see.

Which performances during The Voice Live Playoffs are you looking forward to? Be sure to share your thoughts on this week’s performances in the comments.

[Image via NBC]

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