The Voice 26: Shye Shines in Semifinals with Emotional “The Joke”
The Voice Season 26 Live Shows began on Monday night (12/2) with the Top 8 performing both solos, and duets with each other on Sting songs with Sting himself joining them on stage. With only two weeks of live shows, performances need to make a lasting mark. A few performances did just that, but as always with the live show rounds, the vocals are sometimes messier than the taped rounds. That was the case Monday night, but an 18-year-old singer from Glen Cove, New York, named Shye from Team Michael Bublé brought the house down with Brandi Carlile’s “The Joke”.
In rehearsals, Shye is joined with her sister Shalyn. In earlier rounds, Shye wasn’t 18, so her sister accompanied her. Shalyn says, “She is the only person I would drop everything for” about Shye. Shye remarks that Shalyn has been with her through dark times including when her mom was sick. Shalyn shares a scrapbook of Shye’s The Voice journey with her. Michael calls Shye “the truth” when describing her. Michael even says his sisters have threatened him because they think she should win. Shye relates to the meaning of “The Joke” and feels the song’s style is where she wants to go as an artist. Michael calls her “pitch perfect” but wants the band to drop out for the last line, so she can deliver the message of the song.
“I see the record now”
Shye began the song showcasing her voice’s gorgeous and unique low tone. She employed her own embellishments and runs into the song to truly make it her own. The performance showcased a greater range than her previous performances and that is mostly due to the song being much more difficult than anything she has tackled to date. She hit some climatic notes in a very impressive manner and lets all her emotions out. Shye has been consistent throughout, but she is peaking at the right time with this performance.
Gwen Stefani called herself a fan saying, “I see the record now” and called her voice “timeless.” Reba McEntire loved it, describing her voice as “round, it’s full, it’s pure, it’s crisp, it’s big-bodied down at the low end.” Michael compared her to Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, and Adele, noting how special her sound is.
Shye should soar through to the next round as well as a few other singers who excelled on Monday night. Fellow teen singer from Team Gwen, Sydney Sterlace closed the first hour in a compelling fashion with an angelic rendition of “when the party’s over”, and Team Buble’s Sofronio Vasquez may be a bit old-school, but he nailed Elvis Presley’s “If I Can Dream”. The standout duets of the night came from Sydney and Shye on “Fields of Gold”, as well as, Team Reba’s Adam Bohanon and Team Gwen’s Jan Dan on “Roxanne.” But I’m not sure it will be enough to keep either of the “Roxanne” singers out of the bottom. It seems crazy that this will be the first vote and at the same time will determine who will make the finale.
