Tonight on The Voice UK, it was the Semi-Final, and with only eight acts left in the competition, they all wanted to perform to the best of their abilities and make it through one more week.
With only a week to go until the winner is crowned, all of the contestants were trying their best tonight to reach the end of the contest. They were all singing tonight, and what a show it was. Us, the public, had all the power tonight, and only one contestant from each team would be put through to the Final.
The Voice UK kicked off tonight with all four coaches giving their opinion on how their acts would do. Sir Tom gave the best advice in our opinion: “They’ve just got to go out there and do the Full Monty!” We couldn’t agree more Tom. Full Monty Tyler?!
Ruth Brown from Team Tom was the first to perform tonight, and in her VT she said: “My mother has helped me through all the bad things.” Her song was The Voice Within by Christina Aguilera. Whilst she did sing in tune all the way through, she wasn’t announcitating her words properly, which is a big shame. Danny said: “It was an amazing performance. You’ve found your voice within.” Will said: “Your Dad must be proud of you, and you sang with fire. It was super super dope” Jessie J said: “I can’t wait to come to your sell-out shows as Wembley.” Her mentor Tom said: “She’s a beautiful girl. When you have a voice that Ruth has got, it changes everything, because your personality comes across so strong. When I started off, I talked to people, and with your voice, people look at you in a different way.”
Next from Team Jessie was Vince. In his VT, he told of his shock about being in the semi-final. We saw the both of them talk about song choices, and Vince chose his song all on his own. His song was Back To Black by Amy Winehouse. He sang it well, and EF wanted to here more of him. Tom said: “You did well there Vince, I love to hear you sing.” Danny said: “You’ve got a great tone to your voice, I really love your tone. It‘s very soulful.” Jessie was happy with Vince. Go Vince!!
Max Milner was next from Team Danny, and in his VT, we saw Danny praise him for his tone. His song of choice wasEvery Breath You Take by The Police. Accompanied by a small band, Max showed why he’s in the semi-final. He certainly has a great tone to his voice and stage presence. Will said: “Ahem..this is hard for me, cause I don’t want to say anything that will influence anything. Ok, I love that song, and you arranged it exactly like Police. So, I thought of Sting. And when you hear the music, you want Sting to sing it. You did it like Sting, but you hit a flat note, and I looked at Jessie and Jessie looked at me, and then I was like ‘uh-oh’. Max said: “I’ve done different things throughout the weeks, arranging everything, but tonight I just wanted to sing.” Jessie said: “Being on this show as artist, it’s not real if we’re going ‘That’s amazing’ every night. It’s real. I as a coach, want to be honest. I think it was safe, it was a great performance, but it was a little safe for the semi-final.” Tom said: “Well, I agree with some of the things they both said. For me, it was a little too close to what The Police did with it. I’d have loved to see you get away from that, and I know you can do it, as I’ve seen it.” Danny said; “I’m sat here stunned. I thought you sang amazing. I think you’re like a young Sting.” EF agrees.
Next up from Team will.i.am was Jaz Ellington. In his VT, we saw him go to a school and see young people. His song was Let It Be by The Beatles. From his first note, he caught our attention. EF loves this song anyway, so hearing Jaz, with his beautiful voice singing it was just lovely. Halfway through, a choir came in to add to the performance. It was breathtaking. This performance has made us want him winning the show. EF applauded from our sofa! Jessie said: “The second half of that was way stronger than the first half. The first half was a bit pitchy, but then again, it was great! I’d love to see you not in a suit!” Ooh-err!! Tom said: “You can tell with Jaz that he can sing with a choir, they blend so well. He entertained me, I really enjoyed it. I’ve heard a lot of people sing that song, a lot of people and Jaz made it his own.” Danny said: “I loved it. I said a few shows ago that I hope Will won’t go a middle of the road with you.” Will said: “I thought you did fantastic. It started off slow, but that was meant to, and it build it up. A climax on a climax.” Well done Jaz!
Leanne was next from Team Tom, and in her VT she told of how nervous she gets whilst waiting for the result. In rehearsals, we saw Tom telling her: “When you sing, you give me thrill, and that’s what I want every time you sing!” We learnt that she had a start of a recording contract ten years ago, and that it slipped through her fingers. Her song tonight was Whitney Houston’s Run To You. Dressed in a gorgeous pink dress, she sang her heart out on stage. She sang well, but every time you hear anyone sing Whitney songs, you can’t help but compare to the original. Well done Leanne. Danny said: “Ohh, the hair on my head and body are standing now! I felt you came out tonight and you’ve eclipsed everyone. Gorgeous lass!” Will said: “The words I want to use to explain right now…dope…dope…dope….dope…dope!” Tom said: “I always knew Leanne had the power from day one, but now she’s bared her sole.”
Becky Hill from Team Jessie was next to sing for us, and last week we saw her having some sort of panic attack after her performance. We hope she’ll be ok tonight. In her VT, we learnt how much she loves her parents and how her home town has supported her. This week, her song required emotion and feelings. Jessie told her: “I think this is the song that will show people you’re not just this crazy girl.” Her song was Like A Star by Corrine Bailey Ray. Becky was sat on stage, dressed in a cream-beige dress. She looked like a pop star. Comparing her performance to last week’s – totally different! It’s great to see her being so versatile. Tom said: “Light and shade! Frank Sinatra told me that! You’ve surprised me tonight, you’ve shown a lovely tone.” Danny said: “Again, I thought your voice was amazing. My only critique, semi-final time, I would have picked a different song. A bigger song. I don’t know that song, but flawless performance vocally.” Jessie said: “I think it’s really important to sing songs that everyone don’t know. It’s showcased her voice, and made her chill out.”
Bo Bruce was next, and EF was so excited to see her perform tonight. In her VT, we saw her talk about the delight of being saved by the public. She also struggled with acceptance in her past, so being voted by the public, she said: “I feel that the door is open, and I may have a chance.” Her song was Charlie Brown by the amazing Coldplay. Bo, once again, gave her own stamp on the song, and made it her own. She looked brilliant, and her voice also matched. The strobe lighting behind her added to the performance, and she looked right at home on that stage. Will said: “First off, hats off to Danny and you Bo, you really stepped it up. This is like…you made her a superstar that she is. I don’t know whose idea it was, but it was dope!” Jessie said: “I think all I’m going to say is I love your voice. I think you can sing anything, and make it sound…Bo…Selecta!” Danny said: “I can’t say how proud I am of you.” Will added: “The reason why I like you so much, I’m gonna be chilling in whatever country, and my friends will ask me if I’m going to see Bo in a stadium, and I will say Yes!”
Next up representing Team Will was Tyler James, and EF loves Tyler. Will he step up to the competition tonight? In rehearsals, we saw Tyler and Will discuss the song choice. Tyler said: “When Will suggested this song, I was quite shocked.” His song was Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. Interesting. Tyler was dressed in a pink suit, and was sat on the stage for the beginning. EF really hoped he’d pull it off. He did. You’ll have to watch this performance back to understand what we mean, it’s very hard to explain how he did it. EF liked it. Well done! Jessie said: “I think you did a great job in that song. You really did well. I know you’ve been suffering with the old throat. Vocally, going up and down was amazing.” Tom said: “Tyler has an unique sounded voice, and he did the falsetto perfectly. The transitions were perfect.” Danny said: “I like your suit. I really enjoyed it, and I heard you chest-belt it. Well done.” Will said: “I’m super-duper proud, we took our time, and we threw a whole bunch of ideas out there. I’m lost for words because I’m so happy.” EF could not agree more!
All eight were good in their own way tonight, EF enjoyed it. Our favourite performances though were Jaz Ellington and Bo Bruce. We really hope they’ll both make it through. If we had to choose who we weren’t so happy about, we’d choose Vince.
Also on tonight’s show, Cheryl Cole premiered her single Say My Name for the first time on television. Cheryl looked a bit like M.C.Hammer in her colourful dungarees. With her were a load of gorgeous male dancers. Well done Cheryl, though, we would have loved to see her sing live…! Talking to host Holly Willoughby, she said: “I love The Voice! It’s been amazing. My advice to everyone is, to don’t forget why you came on the show. Live the dream.”
The Voice UK: Results continues tomorrow night at 7.25pm on BBC One.
