Team Gwen went head-to-head on a recent episode of The Voice, with contestants Joslynn Rose and Rudi battling it out with a rendition of “My Immortal” by Evanescence. The battle opened with the quintessential melancholy piano before Joslynn Rose kicked off the song.
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The opening phrases initially felt a little weak for the two singers, who were dipping into a lower register than it seemed they were used to. They did harmonize on the chorus well, and a look at coach Gwen Stefani showed her nodding and smiling as her mentees kicked up their performance. The camera panned to the other judges, Reba McEntire and Niall Horan, but they didn’t give any clues to their thoughts as the two singers battled it out.
“My Immortal” was released in 2003 and made famous by frontwoman Amy Lee’s breathy, ethereal, yet strongly controlled vocals.
Rudi headed into the bridge before the final chorus, where the song needed a strong voice. Near the finale, the two seemed to become more confident, and the addition of a heavier drum beat aided their performance.
John Legend first addressed Joslynn Rose. “I really loved how you started the song,” he began, “you were in control, it felt really poised and like you were ready to seize this moment. You really do have a beautiful voice and your tone is so lovely.”
Legend then addressed Rudi, saying, “I felt like you were coming into your own, it was just powerful, and clear, and really impressive.” John Legend’s verdict: “I would lean towards Rudi,” he said, looking to Stefani, “if I were making the choice myself.”
Reba McEntire—whose team recently wowed everyone with a Dolly Parton rendition—gave her thoughts next. “Joslynn, I loved it when you opened your eyes when you were singing,” she started. “When you first started singing and it was that low register, I thought you did a really good job of the control of it. I would have been all over the place,” she admitted. McEntire then addressed Rudi, saying, “Your vocals are wonderful, great stage presence. You both have very powerful voices, so congratulations on that.” Reba McEntire’s verdict: “If I had to choose right now, I think I’d choose Rudi.”
Next, Niall Horan chimed in, adding to McEntire’s comments to Rudi. “That was phenomenal, it was pretty much flawless,” he said. “It felt like you were climbing a mountain the whole way through the song, and it kept going, and going, and going. And it was such an impressive sing.”
Horan then addressed Joslynn Rose. “The way you started out there,” he said, “was just brilliant. To have that poise, to take front and center and sing the way you did was really beautiful, especially for your age. Like, to stand up here and sing in that register at the start of a big song like that is not easy to do.”
But, it was up to Gwen Stefani to make the final decision between the two. “I just want everyone to understand,” she began, “first of all, this song is hard.” She then went on to compliment Joslynn, saying, “she has this real alternative personality in her voice, she has so much control over her dynamics.”
Turning to Rudi, Stefani said, “What I was really impressed with is she was so tasteful within the genre of this song to not over-sing. She could have tried to put all these runs all over it. She just did enough that we were reminded that she knows how to do that.”
Then, it was time for Stefani’s final, difficult decision. She commented on the fact that the two singers were so different that picking a winner “doesn’t really seem fair.” Eventually, she went with who she thought was “ready to compete in this show,” and chose Rudi, who will move on to the Knockouts.
“Rudi knows when to do a little trick and when not to,” said Stefani in her closing remarks. “She is very tasteful in the way she uses her voice. I had to go with Rudi because I just think she’s ready for what’s to come in the competition.”
Photo by Tyler Golden/NBC
