It was a night of solid performances and shocking decisions. The battles were superior on night two, but there were two or three decisions that left me scratching my head…What did you think?
On the whole, you have to take into consideration that the people performing are the Top 48. It’s not like Australian Idol, where you have to wait until the Top 12 just for a few solid performances. There’s at least 10-15 great contenders already in the competition.
Taga Paa VS Cam Tapp
Song: Eric Clapton – Change The World
Quality: 8/10
Who Won: Taga Paa
Who Should Have: Taga Paa
Notes: Kicked off with a great performance. Taga Paa showed huge range but huge nerves. Cam Tapp displayed a seasoned voice but lacked the heart of Taga.
Viktoria Bolonina VS Peta Jeffress
Song: Prince – Purple Rain
Quality: 7/10
Who Won: Viktoria Bolonina
Who Should Have: Very close, but Viktoria Bolonina.
Notes: Say what you want about Delta, she knows what she’s talking about. Viktoria’s strength and weakness both lay in her manic singing – she was passionate but flawed. Peta had the consistency but wasn’t as convincing.
Anthony Dellamarta VS Michael Duchesne
Song: Stevie Wonder – Living For The City
Quality: 8/10
Who Won: Michael Duchesne
Who Should Have: 50/50
Notes: Easily the closest match thus far. As Keith pointed out, it was splitting hairs. Neither have showed potential to win the contest but Duchesne showed improvement.
Nick Len VS Lakyn Heperi
Song: Angus & Julia Stone – Big Jet Plane
Quality: 7/10
Who Won: Lakyn Heperi
Who Should Have: Nick Len
Notes: “Teen heart throbs”, despite Nick being 21? Nick had the bigger battle; the song was geared more towards Lakyn’s voice than Nick’s. Lakyn’s performance was HIDEOUS. I’m not saying this because Nick is my friend, but Lakyn has a moan when he sings that sounds like he may belong on the special bus. You can see Lakyn below after his triumph.
Sarah Lloyde VS Danni Da Ros
Song: Mariah Carey – Hero
Quality: 9/10
Who Won: Danni Da Ros
Who Should Have: Sarah Lloyde
Notes: Gutsy bloody choice of song. Sarah Lloyde has already improved on low notes since audition. To be fair, they were both amazing. Danni had a soft quality but Sarah nailed those big notes. Fact: Sarah Lloyde was better. Fact: Danni Da Ros has been around since the invention of music and has never made it. Fact: I’m pissed off.
Glenn Whitehall VS Jimmy Cupples
Song: Birds Of Tokyo – Plans
Quality: 8/10
Who Won: Jimmy Cupples
Who Should Have: Jimmy Cupples
Notes: There was no faulting Jimmy Cupples tonight, he was almost perfect. Glenn did connect more with the audience but it’s still called The Voice, not The Connection.
Mali-Koa Hood VS Laura Bunting
Song: 4 Non Blondes – What’s Going On
Quality: 8/10
Who Won: Laura Bunting
Who Should Have: Mali-Koa Hood
Notes: While Laura had a much better audition (and did put up a fight), Mali-Koa nailed this from go to whoa. It is an absolute farce that Laura was picked.
Chris Sebastian VS Yshrael Pascaul
Song: Katy Perry – Firework
Quality: 4/10
Who Won: Chris Sebastian
Who Should Have: Chris Sebastian
Notes: Delta was SPOT ON, the song choice was appalling, as were their performances. The fact that it was the last battle of the night, left me feeling like I’d just walked out of Requiem For A Dream – The Musical.
