The Voice UK - Live Show 2 - Jessie Vs Danny, round one.

TEAM JESSIE J
1. Toni Warne - Proud Mary (Ike & Tina Turner).
Delivering some very affected vocals that weren't to my taste, Toni certainly hit every note she aimed for, but I found it all a bit shrill.

TEAM DANNY O'DONOGHUE
2. Max Milner - Free Fallin' (Tom Petty).
Whilst his vocals had a nice vulnerability, his melodic decisions took some of the impact out of the song. It was competent, but a bit dull.

TEAM JESSIE
3. Ruth-Ann St. Luce - Promise This (Cheryl Cole).
Jessie has a lot to prove here, as Ruth-Ann was dreadful in both her audition and her battle. Choosing a Cheryl Cole song was wise, as nobody will come off second best by comparison. Well, in reality it was a mixed bag. There were a few notes that sounded amazing, but quite a few more that had me reaching for earplugs. Out come the "considering you're only 18" excuses from the coaches. It's a resounding "no" from me.

TEAM DANNY
4. Hannah Berney - Cry Me A River/Cry Me A River (Ella Fitzgerald/Justin Timberlake).
A cheap decision from Danny. Hannah's voice deserves a lot better and ended up drowned out in production. Ironically, they were probably the strongest vocals so far but this may have cost her votes. Out comes the word "brave". Uh-oh. Jessie criticises Danny's choice of dancers, something she did last week. Great, she's going to be one of THOSE judges. *COUGH* Louis Walsh *COUGH*

TEAM JESSIE
5. Vince Kidd - Always On My Mind (Elvis Presley).
I didn't have a problem with his hip-hop-lite arrangement, it was his horrific trills, runs and yodels that made this so excruciating. There's "making it your own" and then there's pissing all over it. Hated, hated, HATED it.

TEAM DANNY
6. Aleks Josh - Dream A Little Dream Of Me (Mama Cass).
It was a bit of a Bublé impression, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm not a fan of the double bass, but his vocals were nicely smooth and he certainly did the song justice.

TEAM JESSIE
7. Cassius Henry - Paradise (Coldplay).
This song is a real anthem; one that gets the crowd going, an opportunity for a singalong. Cassius basically took all of that out of the song and as a result proved he is completely out if his depth. It was great in theory, but disappointing in practice, as he clearly doesn't understand what makes that song special. The guy is talented, but it was a dreadful misfit of a song choice.

TEAM DANNY
8. David Julien - Sweet Disposition (Temper Trap).
The very tough vocals weren't flawless, but still excellent. The staging worked nicely, and he worked it and the crowd in exactly the way Cassius didn't. My favourite performance so far.

TEAM JESSIE
9. Becky Hill - Good Luck (Basement Jaxx).
Sounding far more impressive in the rehearsals than it did onstage, she put a lot into her performance, but seemed to be feeding off the audience reaction, rather than the song itself, resulting in her grinning inanely whilst singing angry rants. Bizarre. There's a smoky tone to her voice that I do like, though, and will hopefully be used to better effect in a future, better, song choice.

TEAM DANNY
10. Bo Bruce - Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush).
Placing her rendition somewhere between the Kate Bush and Placebo versions, Bo has one of those character voices, as opposed to a belter. It didn't set my world alight, but given the emotion she'd attached to the song, she did remarkably well not to break down.

RESULTS

TEAM JESSIE
Bottom two: Toni and Ruth-Ann.
I'd rather have seen Vince in the bottom over Toni, but Ruth-Ann definitely deserved to go.
Jessie saves Toni. At last, Jessie's taken the hint (or seen the blatantly obvious) about Ruth-Ann.

TEAM DANNY
Bottom two: Max and Hannah.
Danny has a far stronger team than Jessie, so it's more a case of the other three being stronger than these two under-performing.
Danny saves Max.