Over 2,000 hopeful singers applied for The Voice of Ireland, with 150 making it to the blind auditions, 48 to the battle rounds, 24 to lives – and last night the voting public were faced with just 12 contestants to choose from.
Despite being dressed in their Sunday best (Bressie filled that grey suit out well), the coaches couldn’t disguise the fact that they were feeling nervous. With just three contestants left on each team, it really was anyone’s game. Check out the lucky contestants that sailed through to the semi-finals below:
TEAM BRESSIE: Conor Quinn has come on leaps and bounds in the competition, and last night he looked like a true rock star on stage. I loved how he had a permanent smile on his face throughout his routine of Primal Scream’s Get Your Rocks Off, and his dance moves (if we would call them that) were adorable. Conor worked the stage and brought some swagger and energy to the opening number. While, I felt that the song choice didn’t do Conor’s voice justice, he still delivered an entertaining and fun performance. The standing ovation was well deserved. See you in the final Conor!
I would be very surprised if Conor Quinn wasn't in the final
Pat Byrne gave his best performance to date with a sexy and seductive rendition of With A Little Help From My Friends. At one stage I thought he was going to burst on stage (he was pulling some freaky faces), but it was all in the name of passion. His husky voice also seemed to go down a treat with Sharon who said that she likes the “gritty, dirty guy” that he becomes on stage. Pat (and his threaded eyebrows) stole the show. It’s a shame that Pat and Conor are on the same team! Poor Bressie will be stuck in a pickle of a situation next week.
Pat Byrne looked like he was about to burst - all in the name of giving a passionate performance
TEAM KIAN: Sharon Gaynor surprised me with her song choice of Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah. It was heartfelt, emotional, and above all, flawless. She hit every note with such ease and grace, while commanding the attention of the audience (you could hear a pin drop). Sharon’s angelic voice gave me goosebumps. I couldn’t agree more with Bressie when he said: “That was your finest moment in the show so far, it was simply beautiful.”
Sharon Gaynor gave her best performance to date with a stunning version of Hallelujah
For weeks now I have described Jim Devine’s performances as being bland, lacklustre and forgettable. Last night, he left a lasting impression in my mind (it was about time), with his terrific performance of I’m Already There. He finally brought emotion and passion to the stage, while looking like he was enjoying himself. Sharon hit the nail on the head when she said: “It takes a brave man to show his emotion and vulnerability. You had a husky but gentle tone in your voice that I hadn’t heard before. It was just beautiful.” It looks like Jim Devine was the dark horse of the competition after all.
At last Jim listened to the coaches and brought passion and emotion to his performance
TEAM SHARON: Vanessa Whelan took us back to basics this week with a classic opera song entitled None Shall Sleep (Nessun dorma). Once again, I struggled to find fault with her performance. It was professional and pitch perfect. I still can’t understand how this singing sensation hasn’t been discovered and snapped up by now. By the amount of Twitter and Facebook comments regarding Vanessa’s performance, it looks like she is a hot favourite to win. Even the coaches didn’t have any criticism with Kian saying: “Amazing, wow unbelievable! That was stunning,” while Brian said “It was extraordinary. I wish you all the luck in the world.” Bressie had the cheesiest comment of the night stating: “You are a Kleenex singer. Everytime you sing someone cries. You are in a different league.”
I struggle to find fault with Vanessa Whelan's performances each week
What on earth was Kim Hayden thinking singing Britney Spear’s Everytime? Each week I rely on Kim to bring the fun-factor to the show, but this week her beaming smile and energetic dance moves were nowhere to be seen. I am a huge fan of Kim, but unfortunately I thought that she sounded out-of-tune in parts, lacked passion, and looked a bit nervous. Kian said: “It was a very difficult song, and it was a lot better in rehearsal. It was a little bit too forced,” while Bressie pitched in: “It was far better than your Coldplay performance. I admire you for doing it, but you need to work on your breathing.”
Kim Hayden picked a questionable song choice of Britney Spear's Everytime
TEAM BRIAN: I couldn’t get over the audience’s reaction to Richie Hayes. The cheers and applauds he received were deafening (and that was before he started to sing). He looked like a pop star in his leather jacket. His song choice of Aerosmith’s Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing sounded like it was written especially for him. I find it extremely difficult not to fall for Richie’s charming ways. I agreed with Bressie when he said: “You should waltz into the final.” Keep up the good work Richie!
Richie Hayes is a star in the making!
Alan Fitzsimons veered away from his poptatic song choices, and tried his hand at singing a ballad. Daniel Beddingfield’s If You’re Not The One has been done so many times on reality singing shows, and I feared that Alan would struggle to pull the song off. Overall, the performance was just okay. He had a difficult time hitting some of the high notes, and it sounded like he wasn’t quite sure which direction he wanted the song to go in. Bressie said: “You definitely had some phrasing issues there,” while Sharon said: “You struggled with the falsetto parts, it wasn’t your best performance.”
Alan Fitzsimons failed to impress with his version of Daniel Beddingfield's If Your're Not The One
Unfortunately we waved goodbye to four contestants:
Keira Byrne from Team Bressie was sent home following her rendition of Danny Boy
Liam Geddes from Team Kian's journey came to an end last night. He sang Heaven by Emelie Sande
Tallaght man Kevin Keeley from Team Sharon sang Bruno Mars hit track I think I Want To Marry You
Brendan Keeley sang his own song which stayed in the charts for 18 weeks in 1995
With just one week to go until the semi-final, the contestants are in touching distance of the Universal Music record deal.
Who will you be voting for to be crowned The Voice of Ireland 2012?
Laura Delaney
