Live blogging The Voice: 6/7/11

Oh, hey! This is actually going to be live today.

Intense black-and-white shot of Adam.

LOL. It starts with the Adam Levine singing "Bohemian Rhapsody." Fun fact: this is the song I tore my ACL to. It really is the most dramatic song ever. Adam is doing well with the "Mama just killed a man" section. "We Will Rock You." I can't decide who is more endearing singing this song, Cee Lo or Blake Shelton. Oh boy, Adam is guitaring. Nicely done, Mr. Levine. What the hell is Christina wearing? And what is she doing to "We Are the Champions?" I wish I could bottle the awkward costume combination happening right now. Cee Lo's in sweats, Adam's in a t-shirt and jeans, Blake is going for a vest/tie/jeans combo, and Christina is wearing some sort of pin-up costume with a Forever 21 silver jacket.

Oh, good. We get to relive "the emotional journey" so far. What's with the transition noises between cuts? When is that going to start sounding dated? It already sounds obnoxious on 30 Rock and How I Met Your Mother.

It already sounds like Christina is going to give some more "just over sing it, here I'll show you how" advice in this super long preview of the season.

Okay, 2 artists have to go home, but 2 will be saved. This seems a little So You Think You Can Dance-y. I guess only 2 teams go per week. Good times. Discussing the teams: Christina has some intense drag make-up going on. Blake: "How do people have kids?" I don't know, man. He's winning me over. I might have to picture him next week. Adam/Cee Lo "trash talking" or something.

I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR TECHNOLOGY AND HASH TAGS.

So to clarify, Team Christina and Team Blake are going this week.

Raquel Castro is first up and she's singing Ke$ha's "Blow." Are there dancers!? Wow, she's dancing, too?

Raquel's performance: Predictably, she's already off-pitch a little bit. In other news, she's harnessing Amy Grant with that hair. I'm disappointed she's not trying to sing the autotune parts, but this makes this a really boring vocal performance, she just keeps yelling "Blow" before dancing awkwardly.

Judges critiques: Cee Lo says it was wonderful. It was exciting, I guess. Adam: impressed that she can sing and dance. Fair enough. Blake: "Damnit." Says she's one of his favorites. Yawn. Christina: super cheerleader, talking about ladies and ridiculous outfits. Fun fact: you don't have to wear 324987 inch heels. Oh good, voting numbers.

Commercial break.

Jared Blake is going to sing "Use Somebody." I love singing this song in the car. It's just so fun to figure out how to sing "somebody" like Anthony Caleb Followill does. "Somebod-yeah!"

Jared's performance: Pretty good so far. It's a good song, I have to admit. GUITAR THROW! Good thing he has about a dozen wallet chains. I already like this guy better than Raquel, despite his headband and creepy front row flirting.

Judges critiques: Christina: I can't hear her words past her orange glow, although she points out he started out shaky. Cee Lo: encouragement. Adam: that was the perfect song. I agree. Blake: encouragement with a Southern accent.

Commercial break.

Beverly McClellan's up next singing "I'm the Only One" by Melissa Etheridge. This is the most predictable choice ever. Apparently she has a cold. It'll just make her more gruff.

Beverly's performance: some sort of Scottish Military look tonight? She sounds good, but this isn't very exciting, mostly because it's not 1993. I've heard this song enough times, and it sounds exactly like Melissa's version.

Judges critiques: Cee Lo: Beverly is one of his favorites because she's so natural and her presence. Adam: "The one that got away." He's looking very tan today, too. Blake: blown away. Says she's looking sexy and hot. Hmm. Okay. Christina: trying to trash talk. She's terrible at it, and Adam is all, "WTF?" And then Blake maybe just swore? Thanks, censorship.

Commercial Break

Dia Frampton is singing "Heartless" by Kanye West. Interesting choice. Oh, and she's going to play the piano as well. Blake thinks this will help relieve her nervousness.

Dia's performance: Yay! This is bringing out a little sass in her contrasting with her outfit that is late-60s/early-70s adorable. Well done.

Judges critiques: Christina: Interesting, wasn't expecting it. Saw the fighter come out. Cee Lo: greatest rendition of that song he's ever heard, and he's going to call up Kanye. Adam: Most refreshing and unique thing on the show so far. AGREED. Blake: favorite moment on The Voice. What a proud coach.

Side note: I wish I could pull off bangs like Dia.

Commercial break. The Marriage Ref is back?

Team Christina is having dinner with her girls. ~Character building moment~ Telling them to leave out dance steps. Why are they dancing? Why did that become a thing? I think it's from, I don't know, the 60s? The Temptations probably weren't the first, but around there.

Team Christina performance: "Lady Marmalade." Gross. Christina's part in that song has always been my least favorite because she can't blend with other singers at all. Beverly is owning this performance. She's not going crazy with the melody like the other girls, and she has a refreshing voice compared to the other girls. What the hell is everyone wearing? Christina's about to bust her breasts out all over the place. At least Frenchie has a cute, tasteful dress. ACK! MELISMA-OFF. I just threw up. PLEASE BE OVER NOW. Stop trying to trash talk from the stage, Christina.

Twitter updates. Oh.

Commercial break. Gwen Stefani still exists? They're already casting for season 2 of The Voice?

Xenia is singing "Price Tag" by Jesse J. They've got a choreographer for her to "loosen up." Aww, I love Blake coaching Xenia.

Xenia's performance: She's offering a little face tonight. I can't express how cute I find her. She doesn't have a big voice, but it's interesting. I love how Blake is singing and dancing from his chair like a show mom. Aww, he comes up and hugs her at the end. SO. CUTE.

Judges critiques: Christina: Xenia has become one of her favorites. Christina has picked up on the good reality show journey that the editors created. Cee Lo: enjoyed it. Adam: liked seeing Xenia have fun. Blake: "America is watching a star being born." What a proud coach.

Commercial break.

Lily Elise will be singing "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie. UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHH. This song is the worst. Christina is trying to coach her into showing a "softer side." Blah blah blah "vulnerability."

Lily's performance: These back-up dancers are distracting, but it might be for the best. This song is the worst. She sounds good and she even did an almost-cry face. WHAT. Her vocals got a little weird when she was trying to emote. Oh, no. She's pulling a "She's Out Of My Life" at the end.

Judges critique: Cee Lo: "little, darlin'" Adam: advocating for no dancers because she did better once they were gone. YES YES YES. Blake: Hated the "mimes" in the background, but ended up liking her song. Christina: so proud. Talking about the symbolism of the dancers. Barf. Lily represented control and restraint? Sometimes? Whatever. Choose a better song next time, lady friend.

Twitter break. Why is the Tech Girl wearing a jump suit? :(

Commercial break. Awkward ad about NBC being the broadcaster of the Olympics through 2020. Because that's relevant in an Olympic off-year.

Team Blake gettin' together for lunch. Talking about performing and fame and Miranda.

LOL. Team Blake is performing Maroon 5's "This Love." The grin on Adam's face is super cute. Xenia and the country dude whose name I forgot (Patrick, apparently) are harmonies. It's an interesting mash-up, but I like Blake Shelton's team is totally owning Christina's team. Jared is singing the creepy sexual lyrics. Now Jared and Dia are harmonizing. Dia is so sassy in her flats. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE PRACTICAL FOOTWEAR. Blake brining it home with the bridge. Classy choice to let his team shine before him. OMG, how TALL is he? Adam gives a standing O. Adam says: Excellent song choice (lulz). Points out how tall Blake is.

Commercial break. According to answers.com, Blake Shelton is 6'5". I believe it.

Patrick Thomas choses "I Hope You Dance" for his sister. Barf. Mostly for the song. Sisters are awesome. Blake wants him to bring more emotion to his precise singing.

Patrick's preformance: Sporting a formal cowboy hat. The only way I can describe this performance is Beauty Pageant Bland. Nothing interesting is happening, and there is a lot of vibrato. At least he nailed the key change.

Judges critiques: Christina: sill waiting for him to take off his pants. Trying to start some sort of bromance stuff. ????? Cee Lo: consummate professional. Strong contender. Adam: classy, sophistacted, strong performance. Blake: Patrick is a pro and classy. Too bad he was so blaaaaaaaaaaaaand. Although it may have been the super bland song.

STOP READING TWEETS ON THE AIR.

Commercial break.

Paul Mirkovich is the musical director, and is playing one of the keyboards. His wikipedia page is hilarious.

Frenchie Davis is up, and she chooses "When Love Takes Over" by David Guetta. Christina advocating for "precise and clean." LOL.

Frenchie's performance: What is with Christina's girls choosing songs where they keep singing the same words over and over? At least this is better than "Blow." She has great volume dynamics (soak that in Christina). And for once the background dancers didn't pull my focus. Solid performance.

Judges critiques: Cee Lo: "You make me happy." Adam: She made him love that song. Also, "Damn, girl." Blake: making a distinction between dancers and mimes. "Power singer." Christina: talks about how controlled Frenchie is. Capital "T" Truth.

Voting is now open. I find Blake's team much more interesting during the performance review. Who are you voting for/would you vote for if you cared enough to vote?

Next week: 2 artists are kicked off, and Team Adam and Team Cee Lo perform. I think Team Adam has almost as interesting of a mix as Team Blake, so I'll be excited to see that next week. Til then.

Live blogging The Voice: 5/31/11

Yeah, I'm a day late again. Deal with it.

Gratuitous Adam Levine. You're welcome.

Adam Levine has Jeff and Casey left. I'm overwhelmed by Casey's Rihanna-red hair and...romper? Adam chooses "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me." Good choice. Apparently Casey makes her own costumes. I believe it. I just got a sewing machine this last Christmas. Maybe I should make my own crazy shit to wear when I go to karaoke.

Practice: Adam singing is lovely. Aww, these Jeff and Casey sound good so far in the practice.

Pre-show self-pep talks: ridiculous, but at least these two didn't say anything that makes me vomit.

Performance: This sounds good! I think I might go with Jeff because he has the more resonant voice.

Judging: Reba couldn't keep her eyes off Jeff, Blake couldn't keep her eyes off Casey. Christina: bland comments. Cee Lo sides with Jeff. Coach Adam is all "both of you are awesome"ing and advisor Adam whispers to him dramatically. COMMERCIAL BREAK. WHO WILL WIN? He chooses Jeff. Well done. He's so Gary LeVox lovable.

_______

Blake Shelton has Xenia and Sara left and chooses "I'll Stand By You." HOLY CRAP HE'S 89457 FEET TALLER THAN BOTH OF THEM. Anyway, he says that since they're both bashful, he wants to see who will stand out. Fun.

Practice: Reba says "piana" for "piano." Reba is so fabulous. Can I be her when I grow up? Oh. Blake and Reba made Xenia cry.

Performance: Xenia's voice is so sweet and interesting. Sara is harnessing all the powers of American Idol melisma. Barf. Xenia better win this. This is an interesting combination. Xenia doesn't have much volume, but she's more pleasant to listen to than Sara.

Judging: Christina picks up on Sara's "pitchy"ness. Cee Lo's equally impressed. Adam: there were nerves flying around everywhere and it wasn't the right song for them. Blake's all: just deal with the song. Reba: talking about how nervous and scared they both were. Blake chooses Xenia! YES! Blake, you give me life.

_______

Christina Aguilera has Lily and Cherie and is having them sing "Since You Been Gone" since it's neither of their genres. What a crazy song. It's hella high.

Practice: As pointed out by my sister, I do know who Sia is. Or at least that one song. WOW. Lily's hitting those notes. These harmonies that Christina has her team do always sound terrible.

Pre-show self-pep talks: Extra ridiculous. Blah blah blah I used to be a back-up singer.

Performance: Lily is donning some sort of hood thing. Too bad she can't find the right pitch. Cherie actually sounds good on this chorus. Color me impressed. Lily is trying, but it's a little out of her range and her vocal runs aren't helping.

Judging: Adam: new energy, sound fantastic. Apparently Cherie helped write a number one song for Reba or something. Cee Lo is snapping. Sia says Lily's high note was spectacular: false. Completely off-topic critique: Christina likes Lily's shorty shorts and heels combo. Lily wins. LAME. Christina has terrible taste sometimes.

_______

Cee Lo has Emily and Curtis. Emily is freaking out because she is friends with Curtis. Suck it up, woman. Cee Lo chooses "Need You Now." Cee Lo gets all philosophical about the song. I have to admit I like the song. LOL, Curtis has some heartbroken baseball story.

Practice: Yes! Building up the Emily-Curtis shipper. Good work, "The Voice" editors. I kind of have a crush on Curtis just like Emily. Hahahaha, Cee Lo is stirring up some method-acting. Love it.

Pre-show self-pep talks: Emily is so crushing hard on Curtis. Curtis is all, "Women aren't worth it."

Performance: Curtis is nailing the harmonies, and he totally looks like Timothy Hutton. LOVE. Their harmonies are pretty good, although not ~magical~ because Emily is a little off. Oh wait! Awkward duet eye contact! Curtis is my choice. OH! Battle round make-out at the end! LOLOLOL. Reality show magic!

Judging: Blake gets punny: "duet, not do it." Adam: jealous of Curtis' baritone. Christina: Emily was shaky, but had a lot of strong notes. Monica: just can't choose. Cee Lo: Emily out of her comfort zone and Curtis is comfortable. CURTIS WINS! YES! My Timothy Hutton fetish will carry on.

_______

Preview: It's live next week, folks, and on at an earlier hour. Boyfriend will be out of the country by then, so I'm pretty sure I'll have nothing better to do than watch it live. There's also a special coach performance: amusing. I think I'll miss the dueting. That was pretty entertaining and creative. I'm afraid of American Idol-like hijinks will ensue. I'll just hope for the best!

Live blogging The Voice: 5/24/11

I know. I'm a day late. It's okay. I'm still going to live blog this kind of terrible show. Also, since I'm watching this online instead of as it airs, I've given up on time-stamping.

Blah blah blah flashbacks.

Christina chooses Raquel and Julia. They both look like high school students. And they get to sing "Only Girl in the World." Excellent. Also, Raquel is so tiny.

Oh. It turns out they're both babies.

I'm totally jelly that they have the range to sing this song because I love this song. Also, "S&M." It was stuck in my head all last night when I kept waking up. This terrible anecdote is way better than the advice sessions with Christina and Sia (who I'm still all "who?" about).

Pitch problems in rehearsal!

Performance: Raquel is totally off-pitch. Okay, she's doing better now. Nope. She's flat again. Julia is holding things together a little bit.

These harmonies are the worst.

Cee Lo, that is falseness, Raquel was the worst. Blake, you are correct, Julia was better. Adam, false, they are not even. Raquel is totally cute, but FLAT. Christina, who are you going to choose????

Uggggh. Raquel wins. Lame.

_____________

Alright, Blake chooses Dia and Sarah B. to sing "Can't Hurry Love." Interesting combination. I'm just glad Blake is willing to shake things up with differing voices and random-ass oldies songs.

Sarabee makes my vocal folds sympathy hurt. And she's a little too crazy with the vocal runs. Dia is the cutest and has sweet, pure tone. My preference is pretty obvious.

God bless Blake Shelton for telling Sarabee to calm down with the over-singing.

Performance: Dia is a little is a little scoopy. It's kind of obnoxious.

Sarabee is Janice Joplin-ing. It's kind of obnoxious.

People keep talking about the odd pairing.

Reba telling Dia she is awesome for "staying true to herself." I love Reba.

Blake is so real. And he chooses Dia because Sarabee was so crazypants with the vocals.

_____________

Adam's turn! Rebecca and Devon are chosen to sing "Creep" by Radiohead. Were these kids even born when this song was released? Oh, apparently Rebecca knows this song. It probably seeped into her brain the moment she put in those purple highlights.

Devon is not doing well. Buck up, little camper!

Apparently Rebecca is a folk singer who lives in her car. Is she Jewel?

Performance: Devon found the melody. Way to go, buddy!

Omg, these two are so cute together. And their harmonies sound nice.

I DON'T KNOW WHO I WANT TO WIN, THEY MAKE RADIOHEAD ADORABLE.

Blake is telling him to never separate these two. Agreed. Christina says Devon stole the show. Cee Lo also likes Devon because he doesn't look like his voice. Adam is swearing adorably.

Devon wins! Awww. He'll need to find another chick to have cute baby-chemistry with.

_____________

Cee Lo picks the sisters Tori and Taylor Thompson versus Kelsey Rey. Nice name. I'm expecting Kelsey to OWN. "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield. LOL.

Gosh, these sisters are probably going to suck, but at least they don't have some sort of "I'm judged because I'm so beautiful" complex like Kelsey.

"Sisterly love amongst them." -Cee Lo

Performance: It's like Forever 21 threw up on the stage.

Kelsey sounds pretty good. The sisters actually aren't that bad.

Awww, they all three have harmonies. I just got goosebumps. This is embarrassing. Why is Natasha Bedingfeld so damn catchy?

Kelsey is so bland. I might have to side with the sisters.

Adam is overwhelmed by cuteness. Agreed. Blake says the sisters sound better than the audition (true) and that Kelsey was the more seasoned singer and would choose her. Christina goes with the sisters.

Cee Lo took off his sunglasses dramatically and then put them back on. The Thompson sisters win! I'm kind of happy for them.

Previews: Final battle round next week before they go LIVE. "Sun Going Down on Me"--yes! And apparently the season's most surprising moment. Side-eye.

I just hope to enjoy some more heart-meltingly adorable moments like this:

Live blogging "The Voice" 5/17/11

Hello, blog readers (most likely related to me directly or through marriage). I'm back for more mediocre reality TV, so let's get to it.

Adam Levine with advisor Adam Blackstone.

:02 Oh, it's just taken 2 minutes for the show to actually start. Cee Lo choses Tje and Nakia. These are two really weird looking dudes.

:03 Tye is wearing a denim vest. Nice.

:04 Good thing they unsaturated the colors of the flashbacks so we know this isn't the present day.

:05 Cee Lo chose Ne-yo's "Closer." Have I ever declared my love of Ne-Y? No?Let it be known that Ne-Yo is pop perfection.

:07 I hate the adjective "pitchy."

:08 Aw yeah, the performance is warming up.

:09 This is going to be a tough call, but I'd go with Tje because of his adorable fro.

:10 First thing out of Adam's voice, "So much hair." Agreed.

:11 Carson Daly is holding both the guys' hands. It is incredibly awkward

COMMERCIAL BREAK

:15 Nakia wins! I'll miss Tje's hair, but at least there's a bearded guy in the running.

:15 The duo Elenowen and Jared Blake are up to sing "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." I'm curious how they turn this duet into a trio-duet.

:17 I want to punch this hipster couple, they are too cute. Owen is a little too Ryan Gosling in Blue Valentine. I officially want to punch him.

:19 Blake Shelton wanting these people to blend. Awkward combinations!

:20 DRAMATIC MUSIC FOLLOWED BY COMMERCIAL BREAK.

:25 Jared is surprisingly fun and gritty. Elenowen are sickening and not in a good, drag queen sort of way.

:26 The male half of Elenowen is not very good. He just has a hot wife. And the hot wife fails at the key change.

:28 Blake chooses Jared! Great choice. Now Elenowen can go back to their co-op.

During this commercial break I'll just address the ridiculous tweets at the bottom of the screen from the coaches. Essentially, they all say, "EVERYONE WAS AWESOME THIS DECISION IS HARD." But it's so hip and NOW to use tweets, so they're using it anyway. Thanks, family friendly programming.

Also, there is an ad for "The Sing-Off." I don't know how I feel about a full hour of a cappella.

:34 Javier and Angela are chosen. Angel is wearing a random headband wrapped around her skull and a denim vest. I want to slap her.

:35 "Stand By Me"? Really, Adam? I expected better. At least he's advocating for simplistic vocals. This song can get out of control fast.

:38 Ugh, this performance is getting real showboat-y real fast.

:39 BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDD.

:41 Javier wins. Thank goodness. That girl was embarrassing.

:46 Christina picks Beverly and Justin. She also picks "Baba O'Riley" for the song. Whaaaaat? Christina, why are you awesome?

:48 Ack! Melisma attack!

COMMERCIAL BREAK

:54 I already want "Baba O'Riley" to end.

:55 The harmonies are kind of nice since they have to actually sing the melody during this part.

:56 This guitar solo is the best part so far. WHY IS THERE SO MUCH SINGING HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?

:57 Adam says, "Murderize." 10 points.

:58 Beverly wins. She's kind of a badass, so I'll go with it. I really had no preference on this one.

Previews: "ONLY GIRL IN THE WORLD"! Yes and yes. Looks like I'm still watching this next week.

This may be my summer album

Much like Local Natives' album Gorilla Manor took over my summer last year, I'm pretty sure Fleet Foxes' album Helplessness Blues will define this summer.

1) "Montezuma" - Let's not beat around the bush, I'm a choir girl, and the background harmonies resonate just like a boys' choir in this song. The "oh"s that underscore "Oh man that I used to be" are just heavenly.

2) "Bedouin Dress" - I woke up with this song stuck in my head, from the filler guitar riff, to the violin(?) solo filler, to the bouncy "ooh"s. It's a good album for vowels.

3) "Sim Sala Bim" - Witchcraft? I don't know. It's folky and dynamic and I love it. It reminds me of Zeppelin's "The Battle of Evermore", but with less LoTR and more Biblical references.

4) "Battery Kinzie" - This song takes a turn for the Simon & Garfunkel. The consistent harmonies and snappier tempo are pure 60s folk rock.

5) "The Plains/Bitter Dancer" - One of their longer songs, this song has a few movements. The first is mesh of vocal prettiness. The second is a Crosby, Stills, Nash, and/or Young harmony-driven mid-tempo piece marking the comeback of the rock flute. The third is another vocal pretty party, but this time with more sass.

6) "Helplessness Blues" - It's like if Bob Dylan and Paul Simon collaborated on a song and then Simon and & Garfunkel performed it. Meaning, interesting lyrics with an actual melody, and beautifully performed. But what really makes this song perfection is the breakdown at the end where the vocals go from full harmonies to solo Robin Pecknold and back again.

7) "The Cascades" - Instrumental titled for the mountains I can see if Seattle is actually sunny. Again, very Zoso.

8) "Lorelai" - Not this love song, it's full of realizations and regret, maybe. Anyway, it's beautiful.

9) "Someone You'd Admire" - This song is precisely what it feels like to be lying awake at 3am thinking too much.

10) "The Shrine/An Argument" - Another song with movements, this song is some sort of ode to a former relationship. The first movement contains the grittiest vocals I've ever heard from Robin Pecknold, and I wish I could hear more of it. In fact, this haunting part reminds me a little of Traffic's folkier forays. Then the second movement is a chugging train of anger. Yes, I just wrote that sentences. The third movement is just a complete loss of center, complete with disconcerting prog rock woodwind solo. I guess it's a deeper break-up song than "Without You."

11) "Blue-Spotted Tail" - I hate to compare again (that's not true, I'm just using the same example), but solo Paul Simon with a tinge 21st century hipster. Maybe the Shins? But mostly just solo Paul Simon.

12) "Grown Ocean" - New comparison? Fine. Brian Wilson-like precision.

Overall assessment: Similar flavor to their previous work, but more adventurous. I can see echoes of late-60s/70s harmony-driven folk rock and brilliant but sometimes distancing prog rock. I'm just glad it leans more toward the folk rock end with a dash or two of pop. Great album.

Live blogging "The Voice"

First of all, I need to confess that I've been watching "The Voice." It's kind of like a nicer "American Idol" in that they cut out all the truly crazy before they start filming, thus cutting out the schadenfreude. But mostly, I have a regrettable crush on Adam Levine who is one of the...choosers/coaches? Anyway, here we go:

:02 Review of what's happened so far. Blah blah blah, battle rounds, Carson Daly's generic voice. Hopefully I won't have to watch him awkwardly hug someone today.

:04 Christina Aguilera is surprisingly endearing.

:06 "Tone, pitch, and face."

:07 I want to know where they get this mood music. Is there a bank of music where reality shows get their music?

:08 Personal story involving the Grammy's. Bored.

:09 "Single Ladies"= yawn.

:11 Adam Levine is sporting a beard. This is delightful.

:12 Blake Shelton is making a Rocky reference. I would love it if he would narrate my life.

:16 Oh good, Frenchie won. Honestly. She's a class act.

:17 "Burning Love" by Elvis. Lol Blake Shelton.

:18 Gay Mormon! Reba! This show has everything!

:20 Blake and Reba are so wise: you're not required to do runs even if you're good at them.

:25 "Burning Love" at least is a weird choice, if not that much more interesting to listen to than "Single Ladies."

:27 I'm overwhelmed by these two guys breakin' it down.

:29 The country kid Patrick is going on. Poor gay Mormon.

:30 Adam has chosen "Leather and Lace." I LOVE THAT SONG. Ahem. I'm just glad this is a guy-girl duet.

:31 Adam once again extolling the virtues of simplicity.

:33 Stevie Nicks: "a bad bitch." Amen, Adam.

:38 This girl Casey sounds like a ditz when she talks.

:39 Except she sounds good as a singer. The guy is okay.

:40 ~Harmonies~

:41 Christina's rocking some animal print. She makes me like it.

:43 Literally went to a commercial break righat after Adam says, "So-" New levels of cheap suspense.

:47 Casey wins the round. Awesome.

:48 Cee Lo is wearing a lot of red. Literally every aspect of his outfit is red except his necklace.

:49 Monica is Cee Lo's advisor! Where have you been?

:50 "Less Than Perfect" is the worst song choice so far. Pink hasn't been good since "You Make Me Sick," am I right?

:56 Vicci and Niki are doing there best with this boring song. Mostly, they are are both short people.

:57 Awwww, they did some duet eye contact.

:58 Vicci wins. She's adorable and a little sassy.

:59 Group hugs?

Previews: "Stand by Me": gross. Cee Lo saying, "There will be blood": I'll go with it.