'The Voice' Season 2, Episode 10 Recap - 'Live Performances, Week 1'

The polish of the recorded shows are gone, and it's time for the live shows. What does that mean? Fewer witty comebacks from our mentors, certainly, as they can't be edited to look more clever than they are. Also, much more awkwardness from Carson, if last season is any indication.

Also, apparently more beard for Adam, and that hat that Christina was wearing is finally gone. It has been replaced, though, by another one of Cee Lo's wigs, and for that I am grateful.

Carson seems to have stepped up his energy a bit this year, as he enthusiastically interviews the judges. They're all very excited about their teams, but for today it will be just Team Blake and Team Christina.

Jermaine Paul will be the first one up today, and he'll be singing "Livin' on a Prayer" for some reason. I guess this is the Blake touch, making Jermaine sing 80's pop/rock songs. He does well enough with it, but it sounds like he's really straining on the chorus after the key change. Probably not the best song to showcase what Jermaine can do.

Christina notes that she isn't so sure about the song choice. Actually, she more says that it was a terrible song choice. Blake things it'll be on the top ten on iTunes. I think that's a stretch, but your support is admirable, Blake.

Team Christina's first contestant will be Chris Mann, the opera singer. Christina gives him "Bridge Over Troubled Water," which should be plenty dramatic for Chris, though his big voice will be a shock to a Simon & Garfunkel song. Here's the thing about Chris: he sings very well, but it's always going to be opera with him. There's probably a small market for that, the sort of stuff that Josh Groban does, but he probably won't be a huge pop star or anything.

Cee Lo and Adam have nothing but nice things to say, and of course the same goes for Christina. Does Blake get a say-so?

RaeLynn is up next, and she remains probably the purest country singer in the competition, so naturally Blake gives her "Wake Up Call" by Maroon 5. What is going on with this guy? Not every singer has to subvert a popular song to their own genre. She certainly sings it with a lot of conviction, but her forced twang on her vowels is unbearable. "Dawn't you cayurr abawt moieee eenymawr" just sort of gets in the way of the timing of the song.

Christina calls her a "sassy little thang" after RaeLynn runs to Adam and gives him a big hug, then runs back up on stage and glares out into the audience with a look that either broadcasts sex, cutesy innocence, or the hunger for human flesh. She's a little intense, is what I'm saying.

Christina's rapper-turned-hybrid singer Moses Stone is up next, and he'll be mashing up "Power" and "Stronger" by Kanye West. The plan is to keep incorporating some singing in with the rapping... and apparently a lot of dancing as well. Moses sounds a bit out of breath in all of it, and the rapping is a bit more like yelling, but it's entertaining.

Adam says he thinks Moses actually has more potential as a singer than a rapper. Blake stutters his way through talking about rap, which is clearly not his area of expertise. Cee Lo loves it.

After a brief Betty White promo, it's time for Naia Kete. She wants to do a reggae version of "Turning Tables" by Adele, but Blake thinks it'd be a better idea to do it more like Adele and ditch the reggae idea. That may have been the right choice, as Naia can put enough Naia-ness into it without having to go reggae. She definitely rings of Dia Frampton, and may be the one to watch on Team Blake.

"Um, it was cool," says Christina, who thinks that Naia should have gone for the reggae thing. Blake thinks it was time to prove she was more than that. I think I'm Blake on this one.

Lindsay Pavao is up next, and it looks like her buzzed hair has grown out enough to be a little less Flock of Seagulls at this point. Lindsay chooses "Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye, and I'm on board with it until the word "dubsteppy" comes out of her mouth. This song is perfect as is. Do not mess with it. The result here is a very butchered version, edited for length and rearranged like crazy. It's sort of what I imagine the song would have been like if it had been all Kimbra and no Gotye. I like Lindsay, but I disapprove of this arrangement. Boo, I say. Boo!

Adam says he missed the "power" that he feels in the chorus. Agreed, it was a little one-note. Christina blankets her in praise, but Lindsay looks severely troubled the whole time. It's noticeable enough that Carson actually asks her if she's okay. She nods and finally smiles.

Jordis Unga will step up for Team Blake, and will be doing "Alone" by Heart. Not the most original song choice, but chances are it'll work pretty well for her. She hits the high notes just fine, but the runs are a bit shaky. She's missing something, but I'm not sure what it is.

Cee Lo loves it, Blake praises her, and that's all we have time for apparently. Christina had a couple of seconds of puzzled staring.

On to Sera Hill, who will be singing "Find Your Love" by Drake. Interesting. There's a chance to make it her own and be creative here, but I wonder if there's enough melody for her to show off. As it turns out... no, there isn't. The chorus just comes off as repetitive. The very awkward staging doesn't help: it's like a Madonna video on stage, with Sera and her female back-up dancers in suits, surrounded by a group of shirtless male dancers.

Blake doesn't have much to say about the performance except about the "male strippers" on the stage. "I know that was your idea," says Blake to Christina. "You know you loved it," she responds. See? Now that we're past the taped rounds, it's all gay jokes. Classy.

Erin Willett is up next, and she'll be singing "Living For the City" by Stevie Wonder. If you'll remember, her dad was with her at the blind auditions, but he passed away right around the taping of the battle rounds. Her performance is solid, and she practically has an entire play going on behind her with the dancers.

Cee Lo, who is still halfheartedly trying to make some kind of character happen but never really committing to it, thought it was great. Blake calls it the "best vocal performance of the night."

Ashley De La Rosa, who is a high schooler and seems to have charity work as her hook, is up next for Team Christina. Ashley reaches back to the 90's for Alanis Morrissette's "Right Through You," which Carson intros as "Right Through It." She has a strong voice, but the performance is very karaoke. There's little effort to make it her own, and she seems a little shaky on using a mic. She's drowned out by the guitars at points.

Adam notes that Ashley is "the most improved" and was less a 17 year old and more a woman tonight. Christina also lauds her, and Carson makes a big deal about Adam and Christina getting along.

Charlotte Sometimes will be singing Paramore's "Misery Business," and Blake has nothing but good things to say about her. She has not impressed me thus far, and her bids for attention don't help her case any. She softens the song a bit, which works somewhat.

Adam notes some pitch issues, and Christina surprisingly has nothing but praise for Charlotte. "It was dramatic," she says. Yeah, that sums Charlotte up pretty well. Blake calls her a "true artist." I'm not so sure that sums her up.

Jesse Campbell will close out the night, and I'm still a bit weirded out by his backstory. So his wife left, and he and his daughter ended up homeless and sleeping in a car? I understand the whole follow your dream thing, but at some point you have to man up and get a job, dude. Anyway, Jesse sings "What a Wonderful World" by Louie Armstrong. He could certainly show off more, but there's something to be said for restraint. At least the note at the end was big.

Cee Lo still tries to make this wig thing work ("your voice is almost as beautiful as my hair" he says, which elicits more laughs than it's worth). Adam says "you're the dude to beat."

Who do you think owned the night?