The live competition on The Voice continues in earnest tonight, when each of the Top 12 will sing their hearts out in hopes that America will vote and keep them on for another week.
In case you missed last Wednesday’s show, here is a list of the Top 12, who are also featured in the photo gallery, broken down by team:
Team Adam: Shelby Brown, Jordan Smith, Amy Vachal
Team Blake: Emily Ann Roberts, Barrett Baber, Zach Seabaugh
Team Gwen: Jeffrey Austin, Braiden Sunshine, Korin Bukowski
Team Pharrell: Madi Davis, Evan McKeel and Mark Hood
Having made the journey this far, those remaining are getting savvy as to what works and what doesn’t to stay in the game. And song selection is a big part of who goes on and who goes home.
Barrett Baber tells Parade.com that he takes song selection very seriously. In fact, he says he had a plan in place before he even got to the Blind Auditions in case he got a chair to turn. The reality turned out to be a four-chair turn.
“Song choice separates the men from the boys to use a bad cliché,” the country singer from Arkansas says. “That is the thing where people stumble. We’ve heard it from producers and from former contestants that song choice is key. I think moving forward, I am going to continue my process, which is to sit down with every idea and think it through, and then really rely on the expertise of my coach, who has won this thing a bunch of times.”
Jeffrey Austin agrees that making smart song choices is the thing that is going to get him through the show.
“The No. 1 piece of advice I’ve gotten from Gwen is to do what you are great at, and show all the facets of that,” the Chicago native says. “But for you to do something one week and do the completely opposite the next week is not going to benefit you. America and the coaches are falling in love with what you are doing, so they want to see a progression of that. They don’t want to see something completely out in left field.”
That is also a concern of Evan McKeel’s because he likes to try a lot of different kinds of music and doesn’t have a favorite genre.
“I like to experiment and change gears a lot,” says the singer, who calls Richmond, Virginia, home. “But that can be dangerous, especially on a show like this where people want you to have consistency. They want you to have a niche. Pharrell has been helping me sing a lot of different kinds of music, but still have aspects of the performance and aspects of my singing that are the same. He has helped me with the idea of painting with so many different colors but using the same brush.”
That said, Emily Ann Roberts hopes to spread her wings a bit in the coming weeks — if she makes it through.
“Personally, I think I have stayed in a little bubble with the stuff that I’ve been singing,” says the Knoxville, Tennessee-based singer. “I want to break out of that and show different sides of me on stage. That is how I want to move forward in this. Yes, I love the sweet simple music, but there is a sassy side to me, too.”
And speaking of getting playful, 15-year-old Braiden Sunshine, the youngest competitor this season, says he had a lot of fun with his makeover.
“I never would have done that to myself,” says the Lyme, Connecticut, high school student. “I never would have taken that risk. The fact that Gwen pushed me to do that was really cool. It worked out really well. I couldn’t see, but that’s just a side note. I’m going to get contacts.”
As for Jordan Smith, who also got a four-chair turnaround at his Blind Audition, making it through the Live Performances has been a blessing because he knew that people weren’t going to expect the sound that he makes coming from someone who looks like him.
“I am really grateful to be in a place where being different and being yourself is not only encouraged, but is celebrated,” says the high-voiced singer from Harlan Kentucky. “I push myself to join in that celebration… The biggest part is remembering who I am and putting every bit of who I am into my music and not being afraid to let my heart show.”
The Voice airs tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
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