‘The Voice’ Recap: Cee Lo Green Down to Just One Contestant
Karma’s a bitch. And no one knows that better right now than Cee Lo Green on The Voice.
After undermining Caroline Pennell on Monday night, the coach found himself in hot water when viewers threw his last two remaining contestants into the bottom three.
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It wasn’t surprising that Kat Robichaud once again scraped the bottom, considering she won last week’s newly instated Twitter save. Nor was it alarming that Blake Shelton‘s Austin Jenckes was also in jeopardy, as he was the only contestant who didn’t crack the top 100 of the iTunes songs chart again this week. But it was bewildering that Caroline placed so poorly, especially because she ranked fourth among the contestants in terms of iTunes sales with her version of “Leaving on a Jet Plane.”
If Caroline and Kat had both been sent home, scowl-faced Cee Lo would have had to skulk on the sidelines the rest of the season. But America (well, the half of it that gets the show live) saved Caroline from reality-show oblivion during a Twitter-based vote, sending Kat and Austin packing instead. Still, the near obliteration of Team Cee Lo in just the second week of viewer-voted eliminations begs the question: What went wrong?
Apart from the fact that neither Kat nor last week’s castoff Jonny Gray should have made it as far as they did, maybe America is trying to give Cee Lo a much-needed attitude adjustment. The move worked wonders for Usher last season, who also saw two of his contestants booted by week two – leaving him with just Michelle Chamuel, who plowed all the way through to the finals.
Cee Lo has seemingly been in a snit all season long, acting downright nasty toward Blake at times. Last week he said he was “pissed” when his acts landed at the bottom, and then there was this week’s spat with Caroline. Viewers typically don’t reward such actions with votes, so a slice of humble pie might be just what the doctor ordered.
Of course, that’s not to say the contestants are above reproach. Surely Caroline rubbed some people the wrong way by standing up to her coach, and mellow, wispy-voiced singers usually only go so far on this show (see: Melanie Martinez and Sarah Simmons). But you’ve got to hand it to her for trying to stay true to herself when Cee Lo seems to want her jumping around the stage to Avicii’s “Wake Me Up!” Now, only time will tell if they’ll be able to turn the tide and stay afloat.
In terms of the other teams, Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera each had a clean sweep to safety – and Team Adam still has all three original contestants. But he’s been the top dog before and wound up fumbling before the finish line. Perhaps the power of being named the sexiest man alive will help guide him to success this time around – if he can stay humble.
Previous recap: Caroline Pennell Stands Up to Cee Lo Green