by Jessica Blackwell

 

It seems like just yesterday that the contestants on The Voice were singing their hearts out, waiting for one of the coaches to turn their chair around, and now we're in the semi-finals, down to five contestants. This week, we got to learn a bit more about the lives of the artists as they traveled home to see their family and perform in their home states.  As with last week, each contestant performed two songs. One chosen by their coach, the other by them - as a dedication to a special person in their life. 

 

As a surprise to Amber and Danielle, Adam arranged for the artist whose song they chose to perform that night to wish them good luck with a video message. Danielle received her message from Tim McGraw and Amber's was from Katy Perry, who commended her for tackling such a difficult song to perform. Though Adam was clearly trying for the best coach award, Usher was going for best coach performance when he performed "Twisted" and showed the artists what they have to look up to. 

 

Here is a rundown of each artists trip home and their performances:

 

The Swon Brothers

Their visit home to Muskogee was so amazing that they performed "Turn the Page" by Bob Seger as a dedication to all their fans down in Oklahoma who supported them and voted for them. I guess after getting their own week, yes week, named after them, they were thankful! For their second song, they performed "Danny's Song"by Kenny Loggins wowing the crowd with this slow ballad. In addition to making history on The Voice, they were also given the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame Rising Star Award. 

 

Danielle

She was welcomed home by her high school's marching band and a pep rally organized just for her. Besides that amazing surprise, she also got her wish to perform at a baseball game fulfilled when she got the opportunity to sing at a Houston Astros game. She performed "Please Remember Me" By Tim McGraw for her first song, and did a great job. For her dedication, Danielle sang "Who I Am" by Jessica Andrews for her mother and best friend and made everyone in the audience emotional as she finished up the song standing next to her family in the audience. 

 

Amber 

She went home to Dallas, Texas to see her family, old job, and to perform for her local fans. She got a huge welcome from her hometown and she was given the key to the city and a day named after her. It may not be a week, but it's something!  Her "Firework" performance was dedicated to her best friends back home, who signed her up for The Voice and have supported her every step of the way. It was a nice dedication, but I really don't think it was the best song choice for her. She did much better with her other performance, "Sad" by Maroon Five - which was as Usher would put it, amaze balls. 

 

Sasha

She is the only one in the Top Five that has children, and I know it's so hard for her to be away from her babies. On her trip home, she stopped to perform at her old stomping grounds, Village Underground. Inspired by seeing her family, she dedicated Whitney's classic "I Will Always Love You" to her children, and what a dedication it was! This is a very difficult song to sing - after all it's been sang by two of the greatest women in music history - Dolly Parton and Whitney Houston. For her second performance, she took it up in tempo and back in time, singing Donna Summer's "Bad Girl". 

 

Michelle

When returning to her hometown of Amherst, she was greeted by a house full of friends and family member who couldn't wait to see her. Then she took a trip back to her old job and to Fenway Park to sing "God Bless America" before at a Red Sox game. It was nice for her to be able to return to her old life for a bit, but I'm sure glad she came back to the show! For her first performance of the night, she sang "Clarity" by Zedd, and sounded as amazing as ever. She was the only contestant to dedicate her choice song to her coach. She sang "Time After Time" in dedication to Usher, who has become like family to her. 

 

At this point, all the artists are such professionals and they're banging out awesome performances. Tomorrow night, we find out which two contestants are going home, bringing us that much closer to finding The Voice! 

 

The Voice airs Mondays at 8pm EST, and Tuesdays at 9pm EST on NBC. 

 

(Image Courtesy of NBC)