'The Voice' recap: Matthew Schuler leads Top 10

Top 10 Night on “The Voice” was filled with surprises – but not necessarily the good kind.
The idea of playing around with these singers’ images seems a little premature since the bulk of America is still trying to remember which one is Cole Vosbury and which one is Austin Jenckes. Their coaches should be focusing on letting them establish an image first, which apparently in “The Voice” bubble has already happened.

Here’s how the night played out:

AUSTIN JENCKES, “Your Love”: Um, what has Austin done to make Blake Shelton angry? Last week, he got a Travis Tritt song. This week, his coach said he wants to make the most of Austin’s emotional voice so he gave him The Outfield’s “Your Love.” Really? Adam Levine says he wanted to feel more of the passion earlier in the song, which makes sense. Austin has a distinctive voice and he needs to be doing songs that play that up.

JACQUIE LEE, “Clarity”: Coach Christina Aguilera gave her Zedd’s “Clarity,” which Jacquie struggled with a bit at the beginning. Making her sound so vulnerable for so long at the start was a big risk that didn’t necessarily pay off at the end, though the segment with the choir was quite lovely. Not sure she’s so firmly entrenched with fans that she can stray so far from her power, but she did a good job.

WILL CHAMPLIN, “Love Me Again”: Coach Adam Levine gave Will the new John Newman dance song, which was a good idea aside from the song’s repetitive nature toward the end. It was a good performance, but Will has far more passion than this.

CAROLINE PENNELL, “Leaving on a Jet Plane”: Coach Cee Lo Green gave her a chance to soar with “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” which plays into her sweetness. Cee Lo said that she has some still-untapped power, which is true. As nice as the song was, it kind of fluttered to a close instead of actually taking off.

COLE VOSBURY, “To Be With You”: After a shaky start on the Mr. Big song, he got to a good place at the end and will likely do well with introducing a new generation to the ‘80s guitar ballad. However, it was a weird pick “to get the girls on board,” especially after his great performance of “Adorn” last week. Cee Lo said the only thing that bothered him was the way the backing band looked like they were part of “American Horror Story: Coven.”

TESSANNE CHIN, “If I Were Your Woman”: Coach Adam Levine talked her into doing the Gladys Knight classic to “solidify her presence as a contender.” No doubt she’s a contender after this, as she let her Jamaican accent and soulful power out. After a string of almost-there performances on the show, she was the first to get there.

RAY BOUDREAUX, “You Are the Best Thing”: Coach Blake’s decision to give Ray Boudreaux the Ray Lamontagne song was smart, letting Boudreaux show what he does best. It may have been the first time Boudreaux sounded like a potential star. “Just perfect,” Shelton said.

JAMES WOLPERT, “Without You”: He powered through the Harry Nilsson classic, only wobbling at the very end. His short mic stand landed a joke from Blake, only to have his coach Adam talk about how it was a nod to Freddie Mercury, adding “I will kill you right now.” Wolpert did well with a tough song.

KAT ROBICHAUD, “We Belong”: Coach Cee Lo gave her the biggest production of the season so far for the Pat Benatar song, with her memorably ending standing on top of the piano. This is one of the few times were holding back on the notes for the bulk of the song paid off with a triumphant ending. It probably won’t be enough to save her this week, though.

MATTHEW SCHULER, “Beneath Your Beautiful”: At this point, Schuler seems to be pulling away from the pack. His version of the Labrinth song was sweet, while remaining powerful. And it once again reminded everyone that he is the one to beat, making the charming song feel effortlessly his.

POWER RANKINGS
1. Matthew Schuler
2. Tessanne Chin
3. Cole Vosbury
4. Caroline Pennell
5. James Wolpert
6. Ray Boudreaux
7. Will Champlin
8. Jacquie Lee
9. Kat Robichaud
10. Austin Jenckes

BOTTOM THREE: Austin, Kat, Jacquie (actually, Caroline was in the Bottom Three instead of Jacquie and got "Instant saved.")
WILL BE CUT: Austin, Kat (Jacquie gets “Twitter Saved”)
SHOULD BE CUT: Austin, Kat
ACTUALLY CUT: Austin, Kat