#5 Jordis Unga VS. Brian Fuente

Photo Credit

In the second battle for Team Blake.  Jordis and Brian were peired to sing "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette.  Both Jordis and Brian are rockers.  This song poses a challenge for Brian because it is meant for a female vocalist.

Kelly Clarkson helped coach Brian in preparation for the battle, while Miranda Lambert helped coach Jordis.  Although Brian had some doubts about singing a song meant for a female, he sounded good while practicing and just needed to be confident in his voice that he can hit the higher notes he needs to.  Jordis on the other hand has the voice but was psyching herself out during practice, she has the power to overcome that though.  Based on their practices, Brian seemed to be the stronger vocalist going into the battle.

Jordis started the song strong and confident, setting the bar for when Brian joined in.  He reached the level Jordis had placed the song and might have surpassed it because he sounded more unique in his parts.  They both sounded good, but they probably could have sounded better.

Christina thought the whole performance was pitchy but decided to go with Jordis.  Adam agreed, while Cee Lo like Brian's stage presence and aggressiveness.  Based on Blake's desire for a rocker, I think his choice will pay out in the end even though the performance was a poor showing from both contestants.

SPOILER ALERT!! This is the full performance, including critiques and Blake's final decision.

So what did you think of their performance?  Who would you choose?

#2 RaeLynn VS. Adley Stump

photo credit

While Blake sees these two as his country girls, I believe they have very different voices.  Adley (right) is a power house vocalist who could probably sing more than just country and surprisingly has only been singing for 10 months, though you would know it by her voice and stage presence.  RaeLynn (left), on the other hand, is very country.  She has an air of innocence about her and a voice to match in a higher register with a strong country twang.

In preparation for the battle, Blake brought in Miranda Lambert (RaeLynn's "idol" in a way) to help work with RaeLynn and Kelly Clarkson to work with Adley.  Blake tasked the girls of singing Free Fallin' by Tom Petty.

The battle began with RaeLynn's soft voice and strong twang really setting the tone for the performance.  When Adley joined in her deeper tone really added to the performance.  For a power vocalist, Adley was able to reel her voice in, proving she can be soft and smooth as well.  Her voice, its deeper quality and smoother twang, entranced me during her solos.  Although RaeLynn's country twang really made her solo portions unique because not many singers have that quality to their voices.  During the chorus, Adley was able to let her power show more but in some cases it overpowered RaeLynn's so her harmonies were not distinguishable, even with her naturally higher pitch.

When it came time to critique, Christina started off impressed with RaeLynn's talent at the young age of 17, but thought Adley's power and confidence on stage made her the stronger performer.  Cee Lo agreed with Christina's choice of Adley, while Adam preferred RaeLynn based on her uniqueness.  Adam also stated that it would come down to preference for which style Blake wanted to keep around.  While Blake and my choices differ, I am sure his choice will do very well in the following round.

SPOILER ALERT!! This is the full performance with critiques and Blake's final decision.

Let me know your thoughts and who you liked more.