by Jessica Blackwell

 

After last night's mediocre performances, I was looking forward to some great ones for this round! Here are the best performances of the night. 

 

Mary Este

I usually don't put someone on my list of great performances unless they end up on a team, but I really feel the judges made a mistake when they didn't turn around for her. She's 18 years old, and with some development, I believe she could be amazing. She actually sounds like a young Christina, and I was VERY surprised she didn't turn her chair. Even though she got denied, she serenaded the judges with a rap she wrote about the show. Sigh..maybe she'll come back next year. 

 

James Irwin

He tried out last season, but didn't get any chairs to turn around. Looking for that second chance that Shakira told him to try for, he came back determined to get a  coach to push that button. He performed an eclectic arrangement of "Losing My Religion"  and EVERY chair turned around. He spent his down time working on his voice and signing techniques and it paid off, as he was the ONLY contestant in Voice history to be denied and then come back to a four chair turn. He chose Adam as his coach, since he's a rocker at heart. 

 

Olivia Henken

Many contestants come to the Voice because they are insecure about their looks and like the fact that the judges can't make a decision based on their appearance. For this contestant, it was the opposite. She's been looked over in the music industry because she's a pretty blond country singer, and resembles all the other popular blond country singers. She performed a version of Carrie Underwood's "Two Black Cadillacs" that started off shaky but ended very strong. Working with her coach will be a chapter in blond ambition because she chose Christina! 

 

R. Anthony

He started out performing with a gospel trio, but stopped touring to have a family and be a great dad. He performed "Hall of Fame" and sounded AMAZING. It looked as if Christina was going to be the only one to turn her chair around, but Cee-lo pressed his button at the last minute and stole him! Cee-lo just might win with this one. 

 

Justin Chain 

After living through a life threatening car accident that broke his back, this guy was looking to make the most of his second chance at life. He's super country, and the other judges knew they didn't have a chance with him, so they didn't even try. He's moving on in the competition on Team Blake, his rightful home. 

 

Ashley Dubose

She was THE performance of the night!! This single mother was just looking for a break in life, and she may have found exactly that! All four judges turned their chairs for her stellar performance of Rihanna's "Diamonds." Cee-lo even went so far as to say that Rihanna would feel that she did the song justice. She decided to join Team Adam, making all the other coaches jealous. 

 

Next week the blind auditions continue and the competition gets fierce as the teams start filling up. Stay tuned! 

 

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

 

(Image Courtesy of NBC)