The Voice Trims Down Contestants, Retains Favorites
The second round of eliminations on The Voice was show as usual as it trimmed down its contestants.
Jimmy Cupples, Taga Paa and Laura Bunting were sent home after wallowing at the bottom of the charts. Their exit did not come off as a surprise, as they were expected to go when mentors Joel Madden and Keith Urban cut down their group to four singers.
Meanwhile, fan favorites Darren Percival and Brittany Cairns earned a trip for next week as they breezed towards the next round. The viewers' votes came via Facebook, telephone, SMS, and iTune downloads. Each iTunes download account for two votes, making it a crucial factor every week.
Percival's interpretation of Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home) got in theARIA singles chart at 12, while Cairns' cover of Different Worlds garnered heavy downloads which propelled her to the top 50 ARIA singles chart at number 7 this week.
Urban, who appeared live via satellite from LA, used his picks on Diana Rouvas and Adam Martin that took them to the next round.
"There are never easy decisions by any means... and I hate that I am not there right now," Urban told his team.
Viewers selected Sarah De Bono and Lakyn Heperi to appear on the next round. Judge-mentor Seal criticixed Heperi's cover of Forever Young.
Meanwhile, singer Carmen Smith was went packing from the show after the show's producers found out that she had committed unfair advantage. Producers claimed she had breached the spirit of the show after she appeared as a backup singer in a music video of Guy Sebastian's new single Gold.
Smith's exit prompted Madden to send only one singer home, which turned out to be Bunting. Madden used his deciding votes to keep Prinnie Stevens and Ben Hazlewood.
The winner of reality show will receive a recording contract together with $100,00 cash prize.