The 15 Best Performances of The Voice Season 5

This was a good season for the karaoke, Lazy Susan, celebrity-infused competition. For the first time in just about any reality show I've seen there was a top 12 where everyone deserved to win (although, everyone who goes on this show deserves to win just for putting their hopes and dreams up on display for our amusement, but what can you do.) This season marked the return of the original four coaches (which includes a rambling Christina Aguilera). There was less country music (season 4 was a country extravaganza, for better or worst), and *spoiler alert* a Jamaican born, mixed-raced diva was crowned the winner. To celebrate the end, here is a list of the best performances from the season. They're not in a specific order, because to rank them would be sadomasochistic.

-"A Case of You" by James Wolpert

This is probably the most stripped down performance of the season, which is intimidating for a young singer in a stadium full of a thousand people, but that is the way this Joni Mitchell song should have been performed. It was reserved with a few high notes picked perfectly. Man oh man, did this performance make me feel things.

-"Adorn" by Cole Vosbury

Cole proved that he could sing everything. He auditioned with the theme song from "The Jeffersons", and later, sang Garth Brooke's "Shameless" (I think Blake was trying to steer Cole to the country side like he did with Cassadee Pope.) To prove he could sing anything and make it his own, he chose Miguel's smooth jam "Adorn." Cole sang it with his signature rasp and kept the song rightfully soulful.

-"And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" by Jacquie Lee

All of the heavy-hearted songs Jacquie sang lead to this moment for her, which was singing the most agonizing, break-ups songs from Broadway, and also, one of the hardest to sing, and she sang it like a pro. This was one of those moments where it seemed like the firewords were deserved.

-"Angel" by Jacquie Lee

Jacquie proved time and time again that she had the pipes, but did she have the experience and control to pick more settle moments? She answered those concerns with "Angel", which became one of the more tender moments of the season.

-"As Long As You Love Me" by Caroline Pennell and Anthony Paul

I'm surprised that I liked this rendition of this lame Justin Bieber song so much, but Cee-Lo, Caroline, and Anthony turned it into a haunting ballad. While Anthony may have been the more skilled vocalists of the two, he was the one who had to kick it up to match Caroline's venerability and emotional intensity. In the end, it may not have been the loudest of the Battle rounds, but it was the most successful.  

"At Last" by Will Champlin

The Voice likes to keep a lot of songs in their signature gender (as noted last season, when a male contestant auditioned with a Katy Perry song, and Adam stated that the gender shift messed with his feelings of the performance.) This is lame, because that limits a lot of song possibilities, and we wouldn't have Will singing "At Last", which was undoubtedly his best performance. Will tried to hit every high note possible, and the weird thing is he kind of sounded like Etta James if she was a guy. It was a pretty slick performance.

-"Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Tessanne Chine

Tessanne sang a lot of huge songs throughout the competition, including "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston, but I think her best diva moment came from the Simon and Garfunkel ballad because she channeled some personal demons for her performance that made the snetiment more potent. 

-"Cosmic Love" by Matthew Shuler

 

This performance could end up on the list for the vocal slide alone, but the rest of the performance was dramatic and spot-on.

-"Electric Feel" by Preston Pohl 

I can't tell if the song is just awesome or Preston is that good, but this performance has a wicked vibe that feels retro and modern at the same time. I think it has to do with the song's worldly beat and Preston's raspy voice.

-"Hallelujah" by Matthew Schuler

 

In two ways, "Hallelujah" is one of those overdone songs: someone sings it every season of every singing competition, and they always put everything in the production to make it a "moment". The grand effect only happens if the musical cues fit with the lyrics, and Matthew did hit the right notes at the right time, making it a passionate rendition. 

-"I Put a Spell on You" by Jacquie Lee

Jacquie's first live performance gave us a clue as to the rhetoric we will come to expect from her from now on, which was bluesy songs about heartache and larger than life notes, and even though she's sixteen and probably never experienced such pain, she was able to become invested in the song.

-"Let It Be" by Tessanne Chin and Adam Levine

This performance seemed less like a duet between a competitor and their coach, and more like a performance between two well-established entertainers. The reggae groove at the bridge was a nice touch, too.

-"Sail" by Kat Robichaud

The week before Kat performed this, she showed a softer side of herself, but fans were like, "We want rockin', kick-ass Kat!" And boy, did she bring. Too much for most to handle, I think, because lyrics like "maybe I should kill myself", and "blame it on my A.D.D." may be too dark for the Voice audience. You can't say you didn't ask for it. (Also, the crowd surfing, while short and obviously staged, was still kind of sweet.)
 
-"The Way I Am" by Caroline Pennell

There have been a lot of soft-sung, anti-diva singers throughout the seasons. There seems to be a token one every season. Caroline proved to be the best one so far because of her ability to actually hit the big, powerful notes, as proved in her performance of "The Way I Am", when she riffs towards the end, and it's pretty and pretty magical. She may seem shy, but she knows what she's doing.

-"Underneath It All" by Tessanne Chin

I feel like the Voice shies away from more fun, groovy numbers for bigger, emotional moments. This can turn the show into a shouting match, so I love moments like "Underneath It All." Tessanne's performance of the faux-reggae No Doubt song made it sound legit and bossy.

Honorable Mention: "Do What U Want" by Lady Gaga and Christina Aguilera

I didn't look at any of the performances done by the established singers, but I have to say that this one is kind of awesome. It's kooky (surprise!) and the two women sound good together. I didn't really like this song until I heard this rendition of it. If only Lady Gaga could replace R. Kelly with Christina.

The Icebook

I recently had the pleasure of viewing The Icebook at the Arthur and Mata Jaffe Center for Book Arts in Boca Raton, FL. Created by directors and designers Davy and Kritsin McGuire, this stop in Florida was the only American stop of their world-wide tour. The McGuire's created a pop-up book that can take projections, with the end result being a fairy tale on a minute and charming scale. It is unlike anything that I have seen or even heard of and captures wonderment that I imagine existed when "peep show" devices were being used at the dawning cinema.

The film follows a lonely man (portrayed by Davy) on a cold night who gets a magical message coming out from one of his books, created by the Ice Queen (played by Kristin.) Every scene transition takes place with the turn of a page. The first scene shows the front of the man's house, and we see him turn on lights, make his way through the house, and pick up fire logs on the porch. The actor, the lights, and the snow are all projections, while the house itself is a paper pop-up. This is a true 3-D film, unlike the phony bologna 3-D films that are rampant these days. The actors interact with the pop-ups, placing items on top of pop-up shelves, walking through the paper forest, or jumping in a pop-up boat. The work had to have been meticulous in order for everything to sync together, but the McGuires were able to create the full effect that they were shooting for.

There are many striking moments in the 17-minute film (do I call it a film?) Our protagonist journeys in a boat, where he encounters a lightning storm and icebergs. Through manipulation of the the light, and the movement of the background, the stationary, lifeless paper boat sails. It is whimsical and is nothing short of black-and-white perfection. The protagonist makes his way towards the Queen's castle, which is grand in size, as we see can barely make out Davy walking along the castle's grounds. These set pieces are clear, and subtle; not once did I feel like they were shoving their medium in my face. The pop-ups and projections are blended so well, that I forgot what I was looking at, until the very end, when the lights turn. Still, I had a sense that the action was happening right in front of, that this book had come to life. It was a surreal experience.

The story's silent, accompanied with music and sound effects, but contains no intertitles. The story doesn't coddle the viewer, and much of the motivations and results will have to be left up to them, but that is how silent films usually work. They're the universal storyteller, which explains why the McGuires have been able to tour the world with their production.

As I've said before, The Icebook brought to mind the history of film and the inventive and fantastic experiments that came about with the new medium. At this time, The Hobbit is showing in theaters, which has gained special press because it filmed at a rate of 48 frames a second, instead of the usual 24. Does it really matter? No. Will you be able to watch other films despite their slow 24 frame rate? Yes. While I admit I haven't seen the film, this is just another technological "enhancement" that is made to sell tickets. There was a time when innovative film techniques changed the way you viewed the film, like adding sound or color, but mainstream filmmakers are finding it harder to create that cool admiration. Where you can find it is on a smaller, local scale: at museums, galleries, local theaters, and exhibits to showcase the narrative, poetic, and mechanical properties of film.

That's what The Icebook does. The intimate size and the dimensional quality create a dreamlike environment made for fantasy. The McGuires have stated that a fantasy, dreamy storyline is too spot on the nose, and will try something more edgy and different. There are unless possibilities, really. A crime noir filled with pop-up city streets and smokey alleys would be neat, or a period piece featuring a home-sick soldier with his lonely wife trying to take care of their pop-up farm. Whatever their next pop-up theater show is, let's hope they come back to Florida.