Don’t panic you didn’t have one too many drinks after work and sleep through until Saturday night, tonight Friday night is all right for singing!. Over the next two hours the 12 remaining acts will each perform for a place in next weeks semi-final. Tonight also sees the return of the ‘Fast Pass.’ After the three acts from each team have performed the superstar coaches will each choose one act to progress straight through to the next round, leaving two on each team to go head to head in the public vote.
Before the artists take to the stage we are introduced to our coaches; Jessie J sporting a short blond do, Danny O’Donaghue, original sex bomb Sir Tom Jones and will.i.am. Miss Holly is rocking an old school Hollywood red number and Reggie also looks sharp in his suit of course.
Kicking us off is Team Jessie; Matt, Sarah and Ash. Jessie says that the artist getting the Fast Pass will be the one that ‘blows her mind’. First up is Matt – one of EF’s favourites and the guy “that looks more like Will’s brother than Will’s brother”. OMG Matt in a VT with cute puppies! How can we resist!! Matt performs ‘Wonder’ and with a slow start we are a little worried about his song choice. Matt has so much energy and is so likeable, we really hope he has done enough to get through. The coaches commend him and say that he has set the bar high.
It’s adorable Ash’s turn now. Ash got Jessie’s Fast Pass last week. In his VT Ash talks about his confidence issues but his performance of ‘Lego House’ seems pretty confident – he certainly has ‘the voice’ but will the public vote for him? Jessie looks pretty teary after his performance and says ‘that was the best vocal performance we have seen on The Voice ever.’ Will says Ash is the real deal.
Sarah is our final Team Jessie act. Sarah worked really hard last week to earn her place in this round and she’s not taking any chances this time – she brings out the ‘I love my mum’ card and everything. Disco diva Sarah is performing ‘Love Sensation’ in some Sandra Dee spandex trousers. We hate to admit that EF isn’t too sure about the performance, it doesn’t really sound like something we could imagine hearing on the radio like Matt or Ash’s but Tom says that the song showed her range tremendously.
Sticking to her guns, Jessie gives her Fast Pass to Ash so he is definitely in the semi-final next week. The public will now vote between Matt and Sarah. In the mean time they get to join Reggie in the V Room *EF snickers*.
Up next is Team Tom; Alys, Joseph and Mike . Alys gives a very mellow, serene take on ‘Is This Love’ by Bob Marley. Tom says she is ‘a beautiful singer’. Will applauds Alys for her bravery in taking a risk on such a well-known song.
On to Joseph. We love his mum because she gave Tom Jones spring rolls! Joseph hopes to impress with his rendition of ‘Higher and Higher.’ It certainly impresses EF. We love an up-tempo number! Danny says he is an ‘oddity but in a good way’ and Will says he is his favourite Team Tom act.
Tom’s final singer is Country cool kid Mike. We love it when he wears his Dappy hat. Tom says that he gave him the Fast Pass last week is not just because he deserved it but because it would give him confidence – let’s see if it works. Mike performs a County take on ‘When I was Your Man’ and we have to admit that he scrubs up pretty well. He has such a timeless voice; he is certainly different from anyone else on the scene at the moment. Jessie comments on how good Mike looks and the great song choice but thinks that he needs to work on his facial expression and performance a bit more.
Tom gives his Fast Pass to Joseph! We were expecting him to stick with Mike but that’s a good surprise. Alys and Mike will go head to head for the remaining place on Team Tom.
Team Danny now: Mitchel, Karl and Andrea. Love Danny is his glasses!! Angela is up first and keen to impress. She is singing ‘Ho Hey’ and they have decorated the stage with some crates and fiddles, as you do. It’s nice to hear Andrea sing something more lively and it’s a very charming performance. Will is proud that he got the crows to sing the ‘heys’! Andrea could be a surprise fast pass here!
On to Mitchel – our resident rocker (who clearly loves his hair straighteners). Mitchel, the baby of the competition, is performing ‘Radioactive’ and it’s a great song choice for him. Mitchel works the stage like a pro and Danny does an excellent hand waving ‘composer’ dance. Mitchel says ‘Jesus Christ’ and Holly has to apologise – woops! Wow, maybe Mitchel is the Fast Pass – Team Danny has really upped their game!
Karl next, Danny’s Fast Pass from last week. As we all know, Karl is no newbie to the industry – he has been signed and dropped twice – he sees The Voice as his last chance. Karl is singing ‘A Thousand Years’ and we find it slightly dull actually, although he does give it some oomph at the end. Danny says that ‘he delivered’ and that it was ‘electrifying.’ Tom says it was a ‘powerful performance.’
Danny has a tough decision to make but opts to put Andrea straight through to the next round. So the public will vote between Karl and Mitchel.
Team Will is up last: Cleo, Leanne and Leah. Will says they are ready to ‘slice and dice because they sing real nice’. Up first is Essex lady Leanne, who we are reminded currently she shares a room with her Mum (we still find this weird). Leanne looks amazing tonight and is singing ‘Where Have You Been’ and it’s a BIG vocal performance. Of all the acts so far tonight, Leanne seems the most like a pop star. It’s so good that Will has to take his glasses off: that good people. Danny and Jessie felt that it wasn’t the best song choice but Tom says she ‘sung the stuffing out of it’.
Cleo now: former pop star, Mum of two and trained chef – she’s a busy lady. Eeek Cleo is singing ‘Imagine’ not a song we would choose for this kind of competition. Will says that she sang it wonderfully and Jessie commends Cleo’s range. Danny says ‘she blew it out of the ball park’ but we are not convinced.
Closing the show is Belfast babe and EF fave Leah. We absolutely loved her Minnie Ripperton last week. Tonight we learn that Leah’s parents seem lovely. Leah is singing ‘I Will Survive’ What! Will.i.am why are you picking such karaoke classics?? Luckily Leah can make anything sound INCREDIBLE – Gloria Gaynor wouldn’t even recognise it. Wow this is insanely good. By far the best performance tonight (and maybe ever on The Voice). Plus Leah is rocking a fab 60’s Twiggy look. Its official, we totally want Leah to win!
There’s really no choice for Will – Leah is in no doubt the deserving winner of a Fast Pass to the Semi Final. We will be back at 9.30 to see who will be joining her. In the mean time, here is a performance by the final four from last year! Tyler James is first with a snipet of his very catchy single, followed by everyone’s favourite eccentric dresser Vince Kidd, on to etheral songstress Bo Bruce and then last years winner Leanne Mitchell. It’s good to see the class of 2012 in action again!
