RECAP: Eight Contestants Perform in the Semi Finals

After four more contestants were sent walking, it was the semi-final round on NBC’s The Voice, leaving eight finalists.  Members from Team Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine were chosen to join Frenchie Davis and Beverly McClellan on Christina Aguilera’s team and Xenia and Dia Frampton on Team Blake Shelton.  We also got to see a special performance from Adam and Christina called “Moves like Jagger" and Blake's hit "Honey Bee," where he was joined by his contestants.

While last week our predictions were off, we got it right this week.  Raspy rocker Vicci Martinez was saved by America from Cee Lo’s team, and Cee Lo chose to save risk-taker Nakia.  Curtis Grimes and Tori and Taylor Thompson were sent home.

On Adam’s team, the soulful Javier Colon moved to the top eight thanks to America.  Adam decided to save the strong vocalist Casey Weston.  It was the end of the road for Jeff Jenkins and Devon Barley.

In a show where they seem to do more talking than singing, it was finally onto the live round where the top eight fought for four spots consisting of one contestant from each team.  Votes from America will be added to the judges' votes. 

Here’s what went down in the semi-final round:

Frenchie from Christina’s team was up first singing “Like a Prayer” from Madonna and really needed to step it up in order to beat Beverly.  Christina, who was rocking a strange hairstyle, thought that the song really showcased Frenchie’s vocals.  Although her soulful version was original, she’ll need a few prayers in order to advance.

Nakia from Team Cee Lo performed “Whataya Want From Me” from Adam Lambert.  Stepping out of his comfort zone, Nakia gave a raw, stripped down version of the song.  So what do we want?  To definitely see more from Nakia.  Also to note, Adam said he wasn’t familiar with the song, which was originally a hit by Adam Lambert, who of course is an American Idol alum. Coincidence?  Was this a jab at the rival show?  Who knows.

Dia from Team Blake sang an acoustic version of R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion.”  Bringing her guitar to the stage, she pulled out the same stops that she did in the live round, changing up the song.  Blake said that Dia has a “vision,” and we hope that America envisions Dia in the next round.

Casey from Adam’s Team performed “I Will Always Love You” from Dolly Parton and Whitney Houston.  Butting heads with Adam at points, we will not always love Casey.  After this ear-bleeding performance, we hope she’s eliminated.

Up next was the edgy Beverly singing B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone.”  Showing us that she can slow it down and still rock it out, we hope that Beverly will advance.

Javier from Team Adam gave a rendition of Coldplay’s “Fix You.”  Being up against the aggressive Casey, we’re sure we’ll move on. 

From Team Blake, the shy Xenia was up next with The Script’s “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved.”  We were skeptical of Blake’s choice with Xenia, and this week she proved why.  She’s a good singer but she doesn’t believe in herself enough.  She got lost in the performance, and so did we.

Wrapping the semi-final round was Vicci who performed Florence + the Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over.”  The judges thought that this was one of the best of the night, and so did we.  While Vicci’s competition with Nakia is stiff, she’s most likely to advance.  We’re still on Team Nakia, though.

 
Here is who we think should advance:

Christina’s Team: Beverly McClellan
Adam’s Team: Javier Colon
Cee Lo’s Team: TIE Vicci or Nakia
Blake’s Team: Dia Frampton

The results show will be held on Wednesday at 8 p.m., where we’ll hear more “excitement” from host Carson Daly.

Images: Lewis Jacobs

Katherine Epstein (@CitadelNow) for Citadel Digital © 2011