‘The Voice’: Reba McEntire Performs “Going Out Like That,” Top 8 Revealed
It’s that time in the season where the coaches start echoing the same sentiment: Despite the fact that The Voice is a competition show, and despite the fact that Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Pharrell Williams and Christina Aguilera all wooed their contestants with promises of “I can win this thing with you!”, there are no real winners or losers at this point in the competition. All of the contestants will go on to do great things with the help of their coaches, like such fine, non-winning alumni as RaeLynn, and…RaeLynn.
While it’s true that The Voice coaches can’t exactly pull examples like Jennifer Hudson, Kellie Pickler, Adam Lambert or even Daughtry out of their consolation banks like those Idol judges over on easy street, they’re still sticking to the party line that everyone’s a champ. It does make for a sweeter send off than the much more realistic “cya never” text on a sponsored Sprint device.
Before getting to said send off, there’s the matter of time filler contestant performances to get through!
First, Pharrell performs Gavin DeGraw’s “I Don’t Wanna Be” with his team members Sawyer Fredericks and Koryn Hawthorne. I don’t want to be a total monster, but the performance can best be summed up by the other coaches’ polite head bobbing that looks absolutely instrumental in keeping them awake through the song.
Team Adam joins remaining team members Deanna Johnson and Joshua Davis to sing Steve Miller Band’s “The Joker.” It’s better than both Deanna and Joshua sounded in their performances Monday night, and it’s slightly more energetic than Team Pharrell’s efforts.
County icon-slash-Voice advisor Reba McEntire shows them all how it’s done when she performs “Going Out Like That.” Talk about being fabulous at 60! The ageless Reba sounds incredible, rocks a black leather top and jacket, and her flaming red hair hasn’t aged since the early ’90s. Meanwhile, fan-boy Blake Shelton lip-syncs from his chair like a total mouth-breather.
Amidst plenty of assurance that there are no real winners or losers, the winners and losers are announced.
GOING ON TO THE TOP 8
Team Christina: India Carney, Kimberly Nichole
Team Pharrell: Sawyer Fredericks, Koryn Hawthorne
Team Blake: Meghan Linsey, Corey Kent White, Hannah Kirby
“I don’t think we’ve seen the best from my team,” Adam says after Carson Daly reveals that his entire team is in the bottom three.
“Sucks to be you right now,” says everyone else, practically quoting Beyoncé with their sympathetic eyes.
INSTANT SAVE PERFORMANCES
Team Christina – Rob Taylor: Rob Taylor sings Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.” It’s a safe choice for the emotional singer, who again cries through most of the results. It’s certainly a solid effort for Christina’s first team member on the chopping block.
“This is a guy that sings from his heart and his soul,” says Christina. “If anybody deserves to be here, it’s Rob.”
Team Adam – Deanna Johnson: In her second foray into the Instant Save performances, Deanna Johnson sings Sammi Smith’s “Help Me Make it Through the Night” (nothing subtle about that plea). It’s the best Deanna has sounded in weeks, yet the worst the wardrobe department could have possibly made the beauty look. What the stylists have against Deanna that they put her in a white lace bell bottom jumpsuit that can best be described as “Coachella Wedding” is just beyond.
“When you have your back against the wall, and you’re about to be sent home, you do your best work,” says Adam.
Team Adam – Joshua Davis: Joshua Davis also takes the literal approach, singing Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down” for his save. He again suffers in his lower register, and his coach splits his praise with his competition.
“This guy works so hard, I feel a special kinship with this dude, and I feel like he’s incredibly talented,” says Adam “I believe that this guy, and Rob and Deanna are all amazing,” he adds.
Saved: Adam’s praise fail doesn’t hurt Joshua Davis, who advances to the Top 8. It’s a pretty big surprise, but then again: they’re all winners!
Going Home: The least-winning of the winners are Team Christina’s Rob Taylor and Team Adam’s Deanna Johnson, who make their tearful exits from the Top 10.
Those two might be leaving the Voice family, but there are some even more exciting Voice family members returning to advise the Top 8! No, not Cassadee Pope (she’s probably super busy) — rather, Usher will advise Team Adam (get ready for pushups); Gwen Stefani advises her Voice bestie and fellow blondie, Pharrell and Christina; and Cee Lo returns with his menagerie for the Odd Couple pairing with Blake Shelton.
Shakira, meanwhile, is unavailable. She’s in Spain living her best life. The Top 8 and Voice homecomings return on Monday!
