‘The Voice’: Watch Nick Jonas Perform “Chains” & See Who Made It Into The Top 10

Caila Ball-Dionne | April 15, 2015 5:44 am

Will The Voice ever invest in a decent sendoff song? It’s simply tragic see these contestants get the boot without so much as a Daniel Powter “Bad Day” serenade, a la vintage Idol, or at least a barbershop quartet style performance with coaches Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and Pharrell Williams singing “It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday.” Even a sendoff line, like “Pack your mic and go,” would be better than the energetic Voice theme coming on to play the losers out. Come on, NBC: there’s got to be something sad in your arsenal for the perfect sendoff!

Despite the utter lack of buh-bye music or one-liners, the results show must go on. Before the Top 12 can become the Top 10, though, a few performances make up for the absent sad score.

First is Nick Jonas, who is basically a series regular at this point. The Season-7-performer-turned-Season-8-mentor-turned-Season-8-performer sings “Chains,” which, incidentally, a contestant sang in the Top 20 (an eliminated contestant, but still). A squad of SWAT team-inspired dancers join Nick and makes the performance so preposterous that it’s entertaining.

The frequent Voice guest is still a few singles short of coach potential, but could he be jockeying for a chair that might free up in the future? Or just regular self-promotion? Only time will tell.

Blake Shelton performs Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour” with his team members Meghan Linsey, Hannah Kirby and Corey Kent White. Not pointing any fingers (Blake), but someone noticeably misses a few cues, totally throwing off the camera guys. Meanwhile, Hannah tries to get a dance movement started, but the rest of the team isn’t having any of it. It really is The Voice at its finest.

Christina Aguilera, on the other hand, has whipped her team into shape for a performance of “Hotel California” by The Eagles. Kimberly Nichole, India Carney and Rob Taylor flank the queen as she dramatically taps her fingers on her red mic. All impress, and harmonize perfectly. It’s looking better and better for a deeply Aguilerian finals this season!

Speaking of an Aguilerian finals, let’s get to those results!

TOP 9

Team Christina: It’s no surprise that all three Team Christina members sail through to the Top 10. Kimberly Nichole, India Carney and Rob Taylor secure their spots on the Dream Team for the next round.

Team Pharrell: Team Pharrell’s not looking too bad either! Both Sawyer Fredericks and Koryn Hawthorne are voted into the Top 10.

Team Adam: Life doesn’t go as well for Adam in the initial round of voting. Only Joshua Davis gets a nod forward to the next round.

Team Blake: Mediocre coach performance be damned! All three Team Blake members – Meghan Linsey, Hannah Kirby and Corey Kent White – are part of the Top 10.

INSTANT SAVE PERFORMANCES

Team Pharrell’s Mia Z sings Allman Brothers Band’s “Stormy Monday” for a bid at the Top 10. The bluesy number is fine, but the whistle tone where it’s not designed to be wears a bit thin.

“Let’s support different kids of music. This is blues; it’s different,” says Pharrell, who points out Mia is soaring on the iTunes blues charts.

Team Adam’s Brian Johnson sings Lonestar’s “Amazed.” Of the three Instant Save performances, it’s the strongest by far.

“The fact that this guy’s up here singing at this point trying to try to save himself is crazy to me, because you’re so talented,” says Adam. “If you’re voting for a voice – the show is called The Voice – vote for this guy.”

Also for Team Adam, Deanna Johnson sings “It Will Rain” by Bruno Mars. The nerves are back in full force, making for a pitchy performance, but Adam focuses on her journey.

“She is petrified when she gets up there, and she questions herself, and she doubts herself. To see her come this far has been an amazing thing,” says Adam.

Everyone loves a comeback: Deanna Johnson goes from turning no chairs, to moving on to the Top 10. Luckily for her, voters seemed to focus on overall season performances, and not the Instant Save bid.

The Top 10 perform on Monday, with new mentors Dave Stewart for Team Adam, Ryan Tedder for Team Pharrell, Mark Ronson for Team Christina and Scott Hendricks for Team Blake.

Are you digging this Top 8? Or should Brian Johnson or Mia Z have advanced over some of the others? Sound off in the comments below.