Music icon Sting sat in on bass for the contestants’ collaborations on his own songs.
The Voice was filled with moving performances Monday, the first night of the Live Shows. The eight contestants still standing gave their all to win the votes of America and make the final five.
Shye, a teenager from Bethlehem, Pa., gave perhaps the most memorable, with her gorgeous take on Brandi Carlile’s “The Joke.”
Although viewers will make the decision about performances for the first time this week, coaches Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, Reba McEntire, and Michael Bublé still weighed in. And they were stunned.
“I see the record now,” Stefani said of the music the contestant would release.
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Shye’s evaluation from McEntire was just as complimentary, The “Fancy” artists said that she “mesmerized” her.
But the highest praise came from Shye’s own coach, Bublé, who is, of course, gunning for a win.
“Barbra, Adele. Celine. Shye,” he said of Barbra Streisand, Adele, and Celine Dion. “No pressure, girlfriend. I never hear anybody in any competition that sounds like you.”
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Snoop, who has become a regular crier on the competition, teared up during his singer Jeremy Beloate’s rendition of “I (Who Have Nothing)” by Tom Jones.
Stefani was quite moved by Jan Dan’s performance of Journey’s “Open Arms,” too. “I don’t have a prepared, like, comment right now, because I’m shaking,” the No Doubt singer said. As far as she was concerned, “Every single note was perfect.”
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The final eight contestants not only had the chance to sing one more song before the vote, but they also had the rare opportunity to sing onstage with Sting. The Police frontman played bass for pairs of contestants, as they performed his hits, including “Every Breath You Take,” “Fields of Gold,” “Roxanne,” and “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free.”
After viewers vote, the list of eight contestants remaining will be slashed to five on Tuesday’s episode. Four will be the top four vote-getters, and the others will be the sole winner of the season’s Instant Save. In all then, five artists will move forward to next week’s final two shows, with the winner of the entire competition — and a recording contract — being named Tuesday, Dec. 10.
