Dia Frampton performs on THE VOICE - Season 1 - "Semi-Finals" | ©2011 NBC/Lewis Jacobs

Network: NBC, airs Tuesday nights
Original Telecast: June 21, 2011

The final two weeks of THE VOICE are here and the contestants are dropping like flies as another four people (actually five if you count the Thompson Sisters) were given the boot and the remaining eight performed.

First the results …

Team Cee Lo had raspy powerhouse singer Vicci Martinez get the audience save, while Cee Lo went for his brother from another mother Nakia as his save. BAM! I was totally dead-on from last week’s predictions.

Team Adam had Javier Colon saved by the audience, while Casey Weston was Adam’s pick. Double BAM! Picked both of them too.

I do have one small beef. I feel like the show is being a bit disingenuous, because I believe Team Cee Lee and Team Adam knew who was making it through days ago. How else do they have footage of them working with their final two contestants? Did they prepare four contestants apiece, not knowing which one would make it through? That would be a total time suck, and you know they didn’t do that.

And the way host Carson Daly kept asking Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine whether or not they knew who was going home or not going home was absolutely embarrassing. Very phony. Sorry.

Anyway, on with the reviews of this week’s contestants …

TEAM ADAM contestants

CASEY WESTON
Song: “I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton
A very hard song to do and a very diva-esque song to do since Whitney Houston made it her own years after Parton. Levine kept bringing up the fact that she has to do her own take and not ape Houston, and Weston delivered. It was more country, than R&B ballad, which was good. And Weston added her own inflections and unique spin on this which is why she deserves to be in the final Adam two. However, I don’t think this is enough to carry her through the next round.
Grade: B+

JAVIER COLON
Song: “Fix You” by Coldplay
After last week’s powerhouse performance of “Angel”, he proved what a great voice he has. However, “Fix You” might be a little too far out of his comfort zone and it didn’t help that his vocals were buried in the mix with the backing vocalists. Still, he has charisma and clearly the vocal chops, and even though Weston did slightly better, Colon is more well-rounded and better suited to move on to the Final Four rounds.
Grade: B

TEAM CEE LO contestants

VICCI MARTINEZ
Song: “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence + The Machines
Clearly, she wants to win this thing and she gave an amazing physical and vocal performance on this track. She’s really good and it’s clear why the show is positioning her as a frontrunner. The other great thing about THE VOICE over AMERICAN IDOL is its willingness to allow out-of-the-box songs for its contestants. Florence + The Machines would be a liability on IDOL, but on THE VOICE, it gives the show it’s own unique, well, voice. She’ll make it to the Final 4.
Grade: B+

NAKIA
Song: “What Do You Want From Me?” by Adam Lambert
Here’s another song that most people aren’t familiar with, even if it is by a former IDOL runner-up. Nakia clearly owned this song, playing to his strengths and really showcasing what a great performer he is. I’d much prefer to see him in the final Four than Martinez, but I think Martinez has the slight edge
Grade: B+

TEAM CHRISTINA contestants

BEVERLY McCLELLEN
Song: “The Thrill Is Gone” by B.B. King
I wish I liked this performance better. Her vocals were great, but the bluesy nature of the song confined some of McClellen’s own special personality. I think she has a unique look and a great voice, but this song didn’t do her any favors.
Grade: B-

FRENCHIE DAVIS
Song: “Like a Prayer” by Madonna
This felt like leftover AMERICAN IDOL posturing, even though Davis has big pipes. “Like a Prayer” has been overdone on both IDOL and recently reworked on GLEE, so the Davis performance feels like an also-ran. Yes, she sang the song out of the park. Yes, she is an incredible diva. No, she was not the standout of the night. While others clearly made a song their own, she just sang a classic Madonna song well. However, after all the votes are in, I think she’s going to have the slight edge of McClellen to make it into the Final Four (though, if I was voting, McClellen would make it through).
Grade: B-

TEAM BLAKE contestants

DIA FRAMPTON
Song: “Losing My Religion” by R.E.M.
And the winner of THE VOICE is … Dia Frampton. Here’s a fully formed artist and performer who can take a song and totally transform it. She did it with Kanye West and now she does it with R.E.M. She is phenomenal and has so much confidence on stage – plus she’s unique. She deserves to win, and it’s clear she’ll be in the Final Four next week. Plus, I’d by an album for her and that’s more than I can say about the other performers.
Grade: A

XENIA
Song: “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” by The Script
Really, there weren’t any bad performances this week and Xenia is another one of my favorites with her jazzy-like vocals. She takes this song by the alternative band The Script and makes it her own. She definitely looked more comfortable than she did on “Price Tag” though she did hide behind her microphone the entire time (which is why I docked her a half grade). I think Xenia has potential, but she needs a couple of years to grow and get more comfortable on stage. She has one of those beautiful voices that will only get better as she gains confidence. With only one choice to make it to the final four from Team Blake though, it’s clear that Dia will make it through.
Grade: B

So let’s recap: My predictions are Vicci, Dia, Frenchie and Javier.

I think as the show reboots and reworks itself next season, in order to stretch things out and make it more interesting, they should allow more performances by the artists. One way to do this is to have an audience save one week for the final four, let the other three perform, and then the following week let coach pick their save. It would make it more dramatic and not feel as forced.

Anyway, results are tonight – let’s see if I can pick all four once again.

UPDATE: Who was chosen for the final four? CLICK HERE

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