‘The Voice’ recap: Josiah Hawley and Kris Thomas get cut

“The Voice” voters showed good judgment as usual on Tuesday night’s elimination show. After Blake Shelton and his wife, Miranda Lambert, soberly began the evening with their song “Over You,” which they dedicated to the Oklahoma tornado victims, the audience sent home the right two singers as the Top 10 shrank to the Top 8.

That was good news for everyone except Team Usher’s Josiah Hawley and Team Shakira’s Kris Thomas – and of course Usher and Shakira themselves. Call it the curse of the newbie, but the two eliminations mean the show’s two newest coaches now have only one team member apiece. Meanwhile, veteran coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton still have their full teams of three – with nary a single contestant from either team having been voted off yet.

The decks were stacked in Levine and Shelton’s favor starting way back in the blind auditions, when – due to reputation or raw persuasiveness – they frequently won the best talent. But since then, the “Voice” vets have played the game brilliantly – picking the right singers and the right songs, and helping their singers sing those songs the right way – while the rookie coaches have made some missteps: Why did Usher pick the so-so Cathia over the solid Ryan Innes back before the live rounds? Why did Shakira remain so loyal to the thinly talented Garrett Gardner? Or Usher to Hawley, for that matter?

Ah, mysteries. But it’s no mystery why Hawley and Thomas were sent packing this week: They were the weakest singers in a strong field. Male model Hawley seemed to be better at making smoldering James Dean eyes at the camera than at singing, and on this week’s performance show his voice had seemed particularly to lack support – unless you count the support from Usher, who never seemed to give up on the pretty performer.

And while high-voiced dude Thomas was a talented vocalist, with an especially impressive upper range, he wasn’t really that confident or compelling a performer. That had been quite apparent Monday night, when his attempt at cool, sexy swag failed to progress much beyond his velvet jacket.

It’s hard not to feel a little sad for Shakira and Usher, though. After they learned they’d each lost another singer this week, just as they had last week, the two coaches, who’d each performed earlier in the evening with their teams, reached across the chasm between their chairs and grasped hands. No one likes to lose. Not even global superstars. We’ll see what next week brings.

Do you think the right singers were sent home?

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‘The Voice’ recap: The top 10 try to prove they’re worthy

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‘The Voice’ recap: Garrett Gardner and Vedo head home