This is a hard one, folks, and I don't just mean the rough quality of Adam's vocals on his performance with R. City. It's a night that should have been owned by Sia's awesome Cruella wig, but instead turns into a heartbreaking downer as my beloved Korin says goodbye with a rather difficult Instant Save performance. (Spoiler: she's not saved.)
For as much as the coaches constantly proclaim their awe in the ages of the performers, it's still easy to forget exactly how young they all are when they're doing well. But once the pressure gets to them and they start forgetting lyrics, it hits hard.
It's hard to watch the pressure get to Korin -- harder still to watch it happen twice more, and hardest to watch Carson and Blake struggle with trying to comfort her. And the thing about it is that it just as easily could have been any of the other nine performers (though I might enjoy it if it were Barrett); these kids are just kids, presented in primetime for our amusement. That's not to say that we shouldn't judge -- I'm definitely about to snark below -- but maybe we should say more nice stuff sometimes, too.
Now, here's the Power Ranking of the Top 9:
-
Braiden Sunshine
Pro: Your nanna thinks he's adorable.
Con: Is there anything really appealing about hearing Barry Manilow's voice coming out of a toddler's mouth?Saved By: Twitter
Team: Gwen -
Zach Seabaugh
Pro: His hips don't lie.
Con: Elvis has already left the building; do we really need another impersonator?Saved By: America
Team: Blake -
Amy Vachal
Pro: Anyone who covers *NSYNC gets my/America's support.
Con: "Bye Bye Bye" is not her best, and it could be that her niche is growing less tolerable.Saved By: America
Team: Adam -
Madi Davis
Pro: She's solid, and she has enough of a range to really switch it up and make the next few weeks interesting.
Con: She still needs to break out with a "wow" moment.Saved By: America
Team: Pharrell -
Emily Ann Roberts
Pro: She's as cute as a button and her vocals (and confidence) really have improved over the course of the season.
Con: She's a Life-Sized Boring Barbie.Saved By: America
Team: Blake -
Jordan Smith
Pro: Jesus is (probably) a fan.
Con: Jesus rolls with a boring crowd of predicable song choices.Saved By: America
Team: Adam -
Jeffery Austin
Pro: He's talented. And marketable.
Con: Gingers never really win, do they?Saved By: America
Team: Gwen -
Barrett Baber
Pro: Country music really will accept anyone, as long as they have the right boots/hat combo.
Con: Country. Fried. Macklemore. Think about it, folks. It's not good.Saved By: America
Team: Blake -
Shelby Brown
Pro: It's a really good time in pop culture to vaguely resemble Amy Schumer.
Con: She's going to need to really breakaway from resembling Emily Ann to truly stake a claim on the Country vote.Saved By: America
Team: Adam
Here's how the teams stand ahead of the Semi-Finals:
Team Adam: Amy Vachal, Jordan Smith, Shelby Brown
Team Gwen: Braiden Sunshine, Jeffery Austin
Team Pharrell: Madi Davis
Team Blake: Barrett Baber, Emily Ann Roberts, Zach Seabaugh
Will you miss Korin? How much longer do you think Braiden can hang on? And will Amy ever bring Backstreet back?