By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Three of the four metro Atlanta locals have been knocked out of "The Voice," two on Tuesday night.
Both Nick Hagelin of Atlanta and Peyton Parker, a Kennesaw native, were cut by their coaches in this pre-taped episode. On Monday, we lost Marietta's Angie Keilhauer. They all miss the live rounds.
This leaves just Jessica Crosbie of Marietta, who will perform in an episode next week.
Peyton had a tough fight against veteran country crooner Adam Wakefield. Peyton did a lovely version of the Dixie Chicks' "Travelin' Soldier" but Blake preferred Adam's more penetrating, soulful Sam Cooke cover.
"It's a heavy song," Peyton said on the show, "but it's kind of in the vein of what I want to be as a songwriter and singer. I can relate. I've been away from my family and boyfriend for so long."
Miley Cyrus is a mentor and asks her to add higher harmonies to give. (Hearing her sing it shows that she is truly a good singer.) "This song ends up staying in one place. Country music does that a lot. You just need something to break it up and have a moment."
Christina Aguilera heard nerves in Peyton's performance. "I heard some cracky moments," she said. Pharrell Williams loves her voice but thinks she could do pop, too. Adam Levine said the crack was an emotional issue, not a bad thing. Blake said the crack was no big deal. "Your voice is unbelievably beautiful," he said, while Adam's voice is "dirty."
"Peyton had a good night but Adam had a great night," Blake said.
He picked Adam, eliminating Peyton. And nobody picked her up in a save fashion.
In a follow up interview, Peyton said she was suffering from an upper respiratory infection, which led to her voice cracking.
"It wasn't my best performance but I wasn't ashamed of it," she said. The infection "lowered my range a lot. I'm really good at controlling my voice and making it do what I want it to do. It had a mind of its own that day!" '
For now, Peyton plans to write songs, put an album together and book gigs. You'll be able to see her sing the National Anthem at an Atlanta Dream game this summer.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
The next knockout round featured Hagelin vs. Moushumi.
Moushumi, a former med school student, is an indie pop singer. Hagelin is pure R&B pop.
Moushumi opted for Halsey's "New Americana."
Former ballet dancer Hagelin, given his falsetto, chose Robin Thicke's "Lost Without U."
"It's the lane I want to be in," he said.
"It's a good song for his voice," Miley said.
"The only thing I'd ask for is more projection so we can get your real tone and get to know you better," Pharrell said.
Moushumi sounded assured and pretty. Nick commanded the stage more and rocked his falsetto. It is clearly a close call for Pharrell.
Adam to Nick: "You have a way of engaging a crowd that's unique... I was missing a little smoothness in the falsetto but overall, it was pretty good."
Blake: "You're a natural performer. I would choose Nick."
Christina: "At the beginning, kind of choppy. I would have liked a little more flow and smoothness. I liked how you interacted so well with the audience."
Pharrell felt he wanted more from Moushumi. "Nick, the first four lines were not as strong as they were in the rehearsal. But your transition got stronger and stronger. Your crowd participation went over really well. A good job."
Pharrell picked Moushumi because there was more for him to do with, whatever that means. "There is no one on the show like her," he said.
He felt Nick didn't quite do as well as he did in the rehearsals. If he had, Pharrell would have picked him.
This was taped several weeks ago and Nick, in a follow-up interview, has made peace with it. He said on the show he was more nervous during the rehearsals yet Pharrell preferred him then. He didn't feel that nervous singing in front of the coaches but when he watched it back, he admits some of his performance was "a little shaky." But he didn't think it was awful. "I'm more indifferent," he said. "It wasn't my most amazing performance but I wasn't disappointed either."
Nick also wondered if picking a song that was so close to what he does falsetto-wise made it so he wasn't showing other aspects of himself. But Pharrell told him it was good for him to perform a tune that is in his lane and defines him as an artist.
For now, he's doing what Peyton is doing: recording music and prepping to tour to take advantage of his "Voice" exposure before it fades.
"They didn't montage me at all," Nick said. "I'm grateful they gave me all that airtime."
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