By Andrea Magrath


Soul star: Ruth Jones was the standout performance of the evening on The Voice

She may have been the last contestant on stage, but Ruth Brown was far from the least on The Voice tonight.

The 20-year-old Londoner finished the first of the audience-voted live shows on the highest of notes, bringing the house down with a dazzling rendition of Get Here (If You Can) by Oleta Adams.

The judges, Jessie J in tears, were unable to give their review of Tom Jones' final team member for several minutes thanks to the audience stomping their feet and roaring their approval.

Scroll down for video

Sensation: The 20-year-old was the last performer of the evening but far from the least, dazzling with a rendition of Get Here (If You Can)

Once the noise died down, Ruth's coach said: 'I've heard a lot of singers in my life and this girl comes from somewhere else. She's wonderful.'

An emotional Jessie J said: 'I watched you with so much admiration and pride. Your voice is natural. It doesn't feel like you are singing anyone else's song.'

Danny compared Ruth to singers like Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner and Mariah Carey.

Stunning: The judges were on their feet and Jessie J was in tears following the song, with the audience continuing to cheer and stomp their feet for several minutes

'You make me proud to be here,' said will.i.am. 'I don't know if people would have seen you the way they're seeing you if you had gone on any other show.'

There were a number of standout performances by powerful vocalists throughout the show, which saw Tom and will.i.am's teams go up against each other.

The first contestant up was Joelle Moses, one of will's team. Joelle and will were shown clashing over her song choice during rehearsals, with Joelle not keen on a lot of her mentor's suggestions.

The jazz man: Jaz Ellington was another standout performer, with his rendition of Etta James' At Last

She ended up with I'm Goin Down by Mary J. Blige, and wowed the audience with her impressive vocal range.

'You nailed it!' her proud coach said afterwards. 'You were concerned that you were going first, but you can't worry about that... You are the bar setter.'

Next up was Tom's contestant Sam Buttery.

'Sometimes all you can do is sit, stare and be in awe of somebody': Jessie J and the other coaches were full of praise for the singer

The singer with a quiff to rival Jedward's divided the judges with A Little Respect by Erasure, performed with a troupe of bright backing dancers.

Danny was impressed, telling Sam: 'There is a great, great singer there. The falsetto was incredible. You are setting the bar really high.

'I was truly entertained,' will added. 'I just like watching you. The high note you hit at the end was dope.'

Powerful: Joelle Moses kicked off proceedings with a stunning version of I'm Goin Down by Mary J. Blige

But Jessie didn't like the troupe of backing dancers who performed with him, feeling it distracted from his performance. 'Your vocal is great,' she said, 'but I would have preferred to see just you onstage.

'The show is The Voice, and I want to just talk about your vocals. I don't think you needed all that.'

Frances Wood, will.i.am's second team member, sang Chaka Khan's classic Ain't Nobody.

'I'm so proud,' said will. 'You came and you entertained, you smiled and loved it. You got rid of all your nerves - you did it.'

'It's called The Voice, I don't want to see dancers': Sam Buttery impressed with his performance, but Jessie J was unimpressed by the 'distracting' routine behind him

Jessie said that after watching the performance she wished she'd turned around during the blind auditions: 'It's nice being able to see how much you've grown. In the blind auditions I didn't turn around for you, but now I wish I did!'

'It's very bold to sing a Chaka Khan song. But you did it, and didn't try to copy it,' Tom opined. 'You did it in your own way.'

Danny wasn't completely won over by the young singer, commenting: 'The dance moves were a bit stiff and you were a little pitchy at the start, but as you got more comfortable you got better.'

'I'm so proud': France Wood impressed her coach will with Chaka Khan's Ain't Nobody, while Jessie said she regretted not turning around during auditions

Tom's next contestant, Adam Isaac, was the first contestant to play an instrument during his live performance.

He performed All My Life by the Foo Fighters, and had the audience going wild.

Complimented as having the stage presence of a frontman, Adam commented how pleased he was to be able to sing a rock song on Saturday night television - perhaps a dig at the show's more pop-friendly competitors.


Rock on: Things took a different turn when Adam Isaacs shook the night up with All My Life by the Foo Fighters

Ouch! will said he'd wished Adam had rocked out harder on his guitar, but the contestant explained that he'd overdone it during rehearsals, and fell off the stage, injuring himself

will was put in his place when he reviewed that Adam's guitar-playing was a little demure. 'There was a lot of energy, the band was rocking, your voice was screaming, but the only thing that was missing was the energy on your guitar,' he said. 'It looked like you were playing it gently, but if you had really rocked out, it would have been bananas, apples, oranges and mangoes.

But Adam explained that his performance during rehearsals was so energetic that he ended up falling offstage and chipping a bone in his arm, which impressed will to no end.

Jessie advised the singer to relax his jaw during his high notes, but said 'You sang the **** out of that.'

New style: Leanne Mitchell was taken out of her comfort zone by coach Tom Jones when he gave her Pink's pop hit Who Knew? to perform

Fan-favourite Jaz Ellington was as stunning as ever in his rendition of Etta James' At Last, rivalling Ruth for the performance of the evening.

He had all four coaches on their feet for the first time of the night. 'His name is Jaz, ladies and gentleman, he is the Jazz Man,' his coach will said afterwards.

'Sometimes all you can do is sit, stare and be in awe of somebody,' said Jessie. 'That is one of my favourite songs. I'm so proud to be a part of this show and support talent like yours.

'He is perfect,' Tom said of the singer. 'He is a singing teacher, he teaches people-' to which Jessie interrupted, 'Teach me, please!'

Pop classic: The singer transformed the well-known song into a far more vocal-led, powerful rendition

Leanne Mitchell was taken out of her comfort zone by coach Tom Jones when he gave her Pink's pop hit Who Knew? to perform.

The singer transformed the well-known song into a far more vocal-led, powerful rendition.

'When I first heard it, i wasn't sure about the song choice,' said Jessie. 'But you won me over, you didn't sing it like Pink.'

Northern Irish 17-year-old Sophie Griffin, the youngest of the contestants, sang Titanium by David Guetta and Sia.


Youngster: Northern Irish 17-year-old Sophie Griffin, the youngest of the contestants, sang Titanium by David Guetta and Sia

Change of heart: Danny admitted that he preferred the other contestant in Sophie's battle round last week, but that he'd been won over

Her coach will said that he was proud of all his team. 'Each one of you so far has come out and done your best, performed just like you were at your house in front of your families. There may be cameras here but behind those cameras there are families at home together watching.

'Your range is incredible, and that song is so current, it's on the radio now, so kudos for tackling that,' said Jessie.

Danny admitted that he preferred the other contestant in Sophie's battle round last week, but congratulated will on doing a great job with the teen singer.

Harmony: On and offstage couple Matt and Sueleen performed Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac

On and offstage couple Matt and Sueleen performed Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac.

Matt made headlines this week for revealing that he'd refused show bosses' request to cut his long grey beard, calling into question the programme's selling point that they were only concerned with the contestant's voices, and not appearance.

'Listening to you guys sing I was just imagining you putting out your own music and writing songs and touring,' said will. 'I can't wait to hear that, the world needs singers like you.'

Fans in high places: Tyler's coach will.i.am said he could see himself touring with the contestant, who sang Bring Me Higher Love

Tom revealed: 'At first they weren't sure about doing the song, but I'm so glad they agreed because I think it's the perfect song for these two wonderful singers.'

Danny said: 'You may sleep in separate beds but your voices are married in harmony together.'

Tyler James, known for being Amy Winehouse's best friend, sang Bring Me a Higher Love.

His coach will.i.am said that during the song he imagined them going on tour together, and afterwards could picture groupies going backstage and skipping his dressing room to go see Tyler.

Showing them how it's done? The coaches Danny, Tom, Jessie and will started the night off by singing Beautiful Day by U2 - but their performance was easily eclipsed by some of the contestants

'I loved the simplicity of it,' said Jessie. 'You seemed so comfortable. It's hard for guys to sing up that high, but it was amazing.'

'If I had been his coach, I would have done exactly the same as will,' said Tom. 'Perfect song choice. I've never heard someone sing something so strong in falsetto.

Danny added: 'I could go on iTunes now and download that and listen to it. That was a brilliant version of that song.






source:dailymail