‘The Voice’: Christina Aguilera & The Coaches Duet With Their Team Members

Robbie Daw | June 29, 2011 9:43 am

Good lord, how much action can possibly be packed into one episode of a reality singing competition? The Voice tested the limits of such a feat last night. There was nothing short of the following: the Top 4 contestants debuting original songs; the Top 4 performing duets with their coaches; the coaches belting out Queen & David Bowie’s classic “Under Pressure”; performances from Pitbull, Ne-Yo and Brad Paisley; a sneak peek at Katharine McPhee’s upcoming series Smash; surprise appearances by Rodney Jerkins and Linda Perry. Read on! Since we already covered the original songs our semi-finalists Javier Colon, Dia Frampton, Vicci Martinez and Beverly McClellan rocked here, let’s just jump right into the four hopefuls’ duets with their respective judges.

Better yet, let’s just watch them…after this clip of Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton covering Queen and Bowie’s “Under Pressure.”

Truth be told, this wasn’t the most shining moment for the coaches with regards to their joint performances. Adam seemed a bit unsure of himself while taking the bulk of the vocals, Xtina was off-key in a few places and Cee Lo didn’t seem all that familiar with the tune in general. But damn if that Blake Shelton don’t have a purrty voice!

Okay, the duets (which, with the exception of Xtina and Beverly, took us back to the ’80s):

Adam Levine and Javier Colon do Michael Jackson’s “Man In The Mirror”

Blake Shelton and Dia Frampton do Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down”

Christina Aguilera and Beverly McClellan do Christina’s “Beautiful” (with the song’s writer Linda Perry on guitar), followed by a preview of Katharine McPhee’s upcoming NBC series Smash

Cee Lo Green and Vicci Martinez do Pat Benatar’s “Love Is A Battlefield” (with Cee Lo recycling his Glastonbury outfit)

Just a few thoughts: we can overlook Xtina opting for, ahem, her own song. But why did she have to try to out-sing Beverly, when it was the rock diva’s time to shine? Also, we expected a bit more from Dia’s otherwise straight-forward, safe performance. (She’s already proven she’s adept at spicing up modern-day classic songs with her own unique arrangement.) And Adam and Javier, best to leave Michael Jackson to Michael Jackson.

We say Cee Lo and Vicci stole the night, as far as the duets are concerned.

So who do you think is going to win The Voice in tonight’s finale? Have your say in our poll in the right sidebar. And while you’re scratching your noggin trying to decide, check out Pitbull and Ne-Yo teaming up for their current #2 single on the Hot 100, “Give Me Everything”: