The Voice Recap: Mandi Thomas Stuns With Lee Ann Womack’s ‘I Hope You Dance’
Tammy Ragusa
For the first time ever, there was no in studio audience for the
live rounds of competition, however, host Carson Daly was on The Voice’s
sound stage to facilitate the show’s progress. Meanwhile, each of the show’s
coaches appeared from their own home, as did each of the contestants as they
joined mega-mentor James Taylor for a virtual mass collaboration of his hit
single, “Shower the People.”
Carson checked in with the coaches first to find that they were all adjusting to sheltering in place quite nicely with Kelly Clarkson in Montana, Blake Shelton in Oklahoma, and Nick Jonas and John Legend in California.
The first thing Carson did after introducing the coaches was to
announce the winner of the pre-recorded four-way knock-out. And the winner
is…Michael Williams from Team Nick. That meant Nick would have five contestants
vying for a spot in the Top 9.
Team Nick
AREI MOON (29) – Boston, Massachusetts
Performed
“Finesse” by Bruno Mars
Nick:
“That was fantastic and the beautiful thing about it is we talked before your
performance about finding new and creative ways to embrace this format for this
live play-off and you did exactly that, making this your own, bringing that fun
vibe to it, the 90s influence and it just felt like exactly what I needed.”
RODERICK CHAMBERS (38) – Miami, Florida
Performed
“Lost Without U” by Robin Thicke
Nick:
“Just the falsetto aspects of that vocal performance require you to know what
you’re doing every step of the way and that was part of the game plan here…but
I will say, too, I could see this being one of the performances that Twitter
just blows up after this.”
ALLEGRA MILES (16) – St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Performed
“New York State of Mind” by Billy Joel
Nick:
“The growth that you’ve had over the course of this competition and with this
performance from your own home telling your story, not letting the nerves get
to you and all of the elements that makes this challenging, you owned it and
you brought it.”
THUNDERSTORM ARTIS (23) – Haleiwa, Hawaii
Performed
“Summertime” from Porgy and Bess
Nick:
“Unbelievable. This was the perfect way to kick off this live play-off…For
someone who can’t whistle, has never been able to whistle, I was envious of it,
but I also felt like this was the joyful thing that just lifted this thing off
in the perfect way.”
MICHAEL WILLIAMS (19) – Mason, Ohio
Performed
“Sign of the Times” by Harry Styles
Nick:
“We picked this song and obviously Harry is a phenomenal vocalist and a stylist
with his voice and you just set the bar high, if not higher.”
Team John
ZAN FISKUM (22) – Seattle, Washington
Peformed
“Blowing in the Wind” by Bob Dylan
John:
“You have such artistry, such a gift, such a journey you took us on with this
song. You showed us every part of your voice. You had so much nuance and subtlety
in all of the choices you made. Everything felt so intentional and purposeful.”
MANDI CASTILLO (33) – Memphis, Tennessee
Performed
“Corre” by Jesse and Joy
John:
“You make me so proud every time you perform, Mandi. You just do it so
flawlessly. You have such a beautiful tone, a beautiful vibrato, you execute
everything so perfectly and you’re so humble and unassuming. But then when you
sing, just so much passion and power come from you.”
CAMMWESS (21) – Blythewood, South Carolina
Performed
“Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers
John:
“You taking on this song was such a challenge, but you nailed, you knocked it
out of the park. I’ve got to talk about your tone because it’s so buttery.
Honey butter!”
MIKE JEREL (31) – Ashburn, Georgia
Performed
“All My Life” by K-Ci and JoJo
John:
“Mike, I just love your creativity. I love how you took this song that we’ve
all heard a thousand million times and made it your own. You put some of your
own chords on there, your own runs, your own arrangement. it was just really
cool and when you go for those big notes, I feel that power and it’s so
electric.”
Team Kelly
MEGAN DANIELLE (17) – Douglasville, Georgia
Performed
“Anyone” by Demi Lovato
Kelly:
“I’ve loved you since the blinds…You’re so special. Your tone, how you can
float through different genres, I would be shocked if you weren’t in the
finale.”
MICAH IVERSON (25) – Tokyo, Japan
Performed
“Your Song” by Elton John
Kelly:
“You’re one of the best vocalists in this entire competition. You are so
incredibly gifted, it is insane. That is a big song and the fact that you were
so effortless about it, you’re incredible.”
Kelly: “That whole setup was cool, like you’re looking in a mirror almost talking to yourself, that was such a cool vibe…I love this song for you, I love that you got to soar on those big notes. You can sing anything, that’s the amazing thing about you.”
CEDRICE (28) – San Diego, California
Performed
“Everything I Wanted” by Billie Eilish
Kelly:
“You’re so crazy-cool, man. I love what this show does for people, but you do
not need a show. You’re such a stand alone artist and human being…You are so
cool, I cannot wait to come to your concert, I cannot wait to buy your record.”
Team Blake
TODD TILGHMAN (41) – Meridian, Mississippi
Performed
“Glory of Love” by Peter Cetera
Blake:
“You are one of my favorite artists that I ever worked with in the 100 years
that I’ve done this show. You’re a blast to be around. You deserve to go all
the way.”
JOEI FULCO (22) – Lancaster, California
Performed
“Runaway” by Del Shannon
Blake:
“Your voice is infectious. When you hit the big notes and it starts to shred,
you have a combination of a gravelly, like a buzz sound in your voice that is
so unique and so fun to listen to.”
JOANNA SERENKO (18) – St. Louis, Missouri
Performed
“Rich Girl” by Hall and Oates
Blake:
“You didn’t really change up the groove of the song, the track was similar to
how Hall and Oates, but it’s a clear case of how unique you are. Your voice is
so different from anybody else’s, it literally became your song.”
TONEISHA HARRIS (44) – Roswell, Georgia
Performed
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” by Kelly Clarkson
Blake:
“I know this is a competition, so I’m just gonna say it. I think that’s the
best vocal performance of the night so far. I just think everything about the
way you approach singing, you really own the story, the personality and you
really have the chops to do it.”
Voting opened as The Voice began and on the follow-up show on Tuesday, May 5, one member from each team will advance based off of America’s vote and a second member from each team will advance as the coach’s pick. The remaining contestants will for the Wild Card slot to become the final contestant in the Top 9.