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‘The Voice’ recap: Michelle Obama welcomes the Top 10 to the stage

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Even first ladies and vice presidents’ wives get a kick out of “The Voice.” At least, it seemed that way when Michelle Obama and Jill Biden showed up on the show. They came to pay tribute to military service members, veterans and their families and to mark the start of Military Appreciation Month and the fifth anniversary of Joining Forces, their initiative to support those families. And while they were at it, they went ahead and introduced this season’s Top 10 singers.

Welcomed by Carson Daly as “two very special fans of ‘The Voice,’” Obama and Biden strolled onto the stage and were saluted not only by the coaches but also by an audience filled with U.S. service members, veterans and their families.

“It’s only because of our military’s service and sacrifice that we all have a voice,” Daly noted.

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“We are so excited to be kicking off this anniversary with all of you at ‘The Voice,’ and we are particularly excited to be here with extraordinary military families,” Obama said. She and Biden, who called their support of military families “personal,” really did appear to be genuinely enjoying themselves.

Eventually, however, it was time for the show to go about its usual business. After the Top 10, introduced by the first lady, sang Dierks Bentley’s “Home” in tribute to service members and their families, each returned to the stage to show his or her vocal firepower in hopes of remaining in the battle one more week.

Some seemed to surrender to the pressure, and others summoned their strength and fought on.

Here’s how it all went down:

Daniel Passino (Team Pharrell): Landing in the bottom two last week seemed to have cost Passino his confidence. Despite his coach’s efforts to buck him up, Passino gave an off-pitch, albeit impassioned, performance of Aerosmith’s “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” Adam Levine tiptoed around Passino’s performance, instead giving him a pep talk about success not happening overnight. Christina Aguilera commended Passino on the way he put his “heart and soul” into every performance. Even Passino’s own coach, Pharrell Williams, admitted that he’d “heard pitch issues,” but suggested that, ultimately, Passino “pushed” through and saved it. We’ll see.

Shalyah Fearing (Team Adam): This 16-year-old singer brought a fearless, full-on attack to Emeli Sande’s “My Kind of Love,” a performance her coach had predicted would buy her a “ticket to the finale.” Blake Shelton described the performance as “ragged and edgy” and “kind of wild,” saying that zone was where he thought Fearing thrived. Williams said Fearing was “on fire in the inside.” Levine said he wanted to see Fearing continue to turn it up to 11 every time she performed, and he begged the audience to vote her through so she could sing Mary J. Blige’s “No More Drama” next week.

Nick Hagelin (Team Christina): This winsome former ballet dancer, Aguilera’s “comeback” artist, has proved popular with audiences, but his performance of Michael Jackson’s “I Can’t Help It” may not have helped him on that front. Or — who knows? — perhaps, despite its flaws, it did. The coaches were moderate with their praise: “Good” seemed to be the operative word. Williams told Hagelin that he represented “the possibility that things can change,” that even when you’ve heard a “no,” the “yes” could be “right around the corner.” Shelton said that Hagelin had, at times, sounded a great deal like Michael Jackson. Aguilera agreed and said he had “killed it.” She thanked America for supporting him and giving him confidence.

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Hannah Huston (Team Pharrell): The goofily appealing and gorgeous Nebraska preschool teacher — who, her coach observed, “gives you a reason to love her every time she performs” — took a risk by tackling Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” but darned if it didn’t totally pay off. She … killed … it. Definitely her best performance to date, both in terms of vocals and presence. Levine said she was on a great trajectory, but then offered some niggling critique before concluding that the performance was “99% amazing.” Williams countered that, in his estimation, Huston’s performance had been “1,000% amazing” and urged America to vote her through.

Laith Al-Saadi (Team Adam): Perhaps the season’s most unlikely success story, Al-Saadi showed off his blues chops and his guitar prowess with B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone,” prompting both Levine and Williams to rise to their feet. Shelton, though, seemed less than thrilled with the ratio of Al-Saadi’s “absolutely incredible” guitar playing to singing, estimating it to have been around 50/50. The country coach advised Al-Saadi not to “underestimate” his vocal strength, complimenting his “range” and “power,” and suggested that, moving forward, Al-Saadi emphasize his singing. Levine disagreed, calling the performance “probably the best show of musicianship I’ve ever seen on this show” and saying Al-Saadi’s “voice” and “musicianship” worked “in tandem.”

Paxton Ingram (Team Blake): Ingram followed up last week’s breakthrough performance with what Shelton joked was “an easy song”: Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.” His grasp on pitch was a little iffy in parts, but Aguilera still called it “awesome” and admired Ingram’s “drama” and “presence.” Shelton said he was “in the zone” and coming into his own as an “artist.”

Mary Sarah (Team Blake): Shelton’s young blond country singer (there seems to be at least one on his team every season), played to her traditional base with Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man.” Levine called it a “major song” that suited Mary Sarah well, telling her she had “seriously knocked our socks off.” Shelton expressed satisfaction that his singer had “just engaged the entire country audience out there … not to mention all these soldiers,” predicting that it would be “a good night” for the singer, presumably in terms of votes and downloads.

Bryan Bautista (Team Christina): Speaking of playing to your base, Bautista offered a nod to his Dominican and Puerto Rican roots and displayed his range with “Promise” by Romeo Santos (featuring Usher), which he sang partly in Spanish. Aguilera warned him that he would have to be super-accurate about pitch on the Spanish parts, but in fact it was in the English section that he veered off. Oh well. The coaches dug it anyway. Williams said he’d shown his “vocal ability” and suggested that the “Latin community” would be “losing their minds” over his performance. Levine said he’d continued to “get better and better” and had really “clicked” into the song in the second half. Aguilera called it “phenomenal” and admired the way he continued to “showcase something different” every time he performed and urged voters to “show him the love.”

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Alisan Porter (Team Christina): Porter’s song choice, Patty Griffin’s “Let Him Fly,” was, she said, a representation of the “hardest time” in her life — when her addiction was reaching its peak and a relationship was ending. She left the guy and shortly after that, she said, he died. The performance itself was tasteful, heartfelt and beautiful. Levine said that it was “the mark of an artist” to use “everything in their life — good and bad — to speak through the music,” and commended her on artistry. Shelton said he’d always been a “big fan” of Porter’s, but that now that she was performing country songs, he “really, really, really” loved her. Aguilera told Porter she was “proud” of her “for being courageous enough to show” her “vulnerability” and to “share such a personal heartfelt story” and “pull the curtain” on her “truth.”

Adam Wakefield (Team Blake): In tribute to his girlfriend and in an effort to “step up his game performance-wise, as his coach put it,” Wakefield tackled Ray Charles’ “I Got a Woman,” playing the heck out the piano and giving Al-Saadi a run for his money in terms of displays of musicianship. Shelton, Levine and Williams gave him a standing ovation. Williams said he blended Southern rock, country and “so much soul” and again repeated his prediction that Big Machine records would get behind Wakefield, calling him “the next thing.” Shelton called Wakefield’s performance “unbelievable” and his “favorite” of the night. “You literally just blowed my brains out,” he said.

We’ll soon find out if the audience shares the coaches’ assessments.

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