Voice of China Season 4 Episode 12: Cross Battles Between All 4 Judges

Ooh la la, here we are, at the second last episode of The Voice of China Season 4. Already?! Yes, they sure eliminated the contestants fast enough and we are left with the final 10 now. In this episode, each of the ten contestants will perform one song. Their performance will be given points by 27 music producers and music critics (50%), public assessment team made of audience and media representatives (50%) - at this moment, the camera pans over to Wang Feng's triumphant face (find out what happened on Episode 11). The contestants with the top 5 scores will advance into the finals of The Voice of China.

In the first section of the episode, each of the judges draw lots to decide the line-up priority. Harlem gets the first choice - and he picks Zhao Da Ge. Next, Jay Chou picks female rapper Chen Zi Tong (Queen T), Wang Feng goes and introduces Bei Bei as his representative in this round. Na Ying chooses Sun Bo Lun. 

Packing on the retro blues just like her usual style, Zhao Da Ge doesn't deviate much from her sultry personality in her performance. It is a classier song for sure, but somehow it reminds me of a performance in a hotel ballroom event where no one really pays attention to the singer. It is quite obvious that Harlem worked his magic for her marked improvement, but she doesn't appeal to me. In all honesty, I think there are more deserving candidates than Zhao to be in the top 10, so naturally I am slightly biased against her. 

Straying away from her usual rap style completely, Chen Zi Tong strives to prove that she can sing beyond rapping. She did not do a single line of rap. I find that she has always shown a little glimmer of talent in her pure singing throughout the few performances she did in this competition, so she never really had to do this. She shines brilliantly in this song by Alicia Keys. This is the first time we can hear her voice in an extended amount of song; it is exceptionally clear and layered. Great job there.

Even though Bei Bei continues to sing another of Wang Feng's song, this song is slightly differently performed as compared to the rest of his songs and her other performances. It doesn't require a constant heavy input of emotions, beginning with a few gentle, delicate verses before exploding into a more impassioned ending. I like how Bei Bei has a very well-put-together 'branding' but finds versatility within that. There is a quiet improvement in her, even though she has always been regarded to be really good. Jay Chou even invites her to be a special guest at his concert. It is note worthy that Bei Bei has only 18 votes from the media team (as opposed to 20 and 23 for Zhao Da Ge and Chen Zi Tong respectively). Yet, she has gotten remarkably much more from the public audience assessment team. I guess the rumours aren't baseless.

I really like Sun Bo Lun particularly because he has a magic touch to fill every song with so much appropriate emotions but yet, not too overpowering. He draws people in easily with his voice, and I watched this performance from start till end with undivided attention. I guess it might have something to do with age which this competition desperately lacks now, and he is one of the few who can really do this readily.

I must say I am pleasantly surprised by her transformation, and the precisely suitable song for her that managed to display the really skillful rhythm of her voice. She performs the most rock, fierce version of herself yet, albeit in a rather non-mainstream fashion. One of the media representatives comments that she has great potential as a singer.

Isn't it stressful to sing this song by a contestant from the previous Season 3, Rose Liu Ming Xiang? I found it a really risky move to take, especially it has already been done to near-perfection in vintage before. Li Xin Ni tries to outdo her senior in another way, jazzing it up with a sophisticated way. When she sings, I have a strange imagery of strolling down the streets of London on a rainy evening, quite a misfit with what the song is about. I think it's a case of a wrong song choice.

Huang Yong, similar to Bei Bei, has forged a certain branding for himself - a rather aloof and free wanderer. He sounds like an extension of last week's performance, 流浪, and seemingly doesn't break out of his rut. That is not necessarily a bad thing as some people who can't get enough of his style, yet at this stage of the competition, most of the audience and judges are looking out for versatility and mainstream appeal. Of course, the media dislike for Wang Feng seems to reflect in the music producers and critics voting again as Huang Yong suffers a disproportionate low vote from them. I mean, 7 votes?! That's ridiculous. After all, he got a much higher vote from the public audience. I think at this point, everyone is crying from feeling extremely aggrieved for Huang Yong.

I love Na Ying's choice of songs so much! Zhang Lei singing 思念谁 is an instant tear-jerker combination. Instead of an emotionally-loaded way, Zhang Lei sings the song in his special way... a very simple, light way, but somehow it brings out a really sad story. We shouldn't forget his amazing minyao performance during the previous cross battle within his own team too which won over so many hearts across the audience of Voice of China. He has an incredible lead ahead of the rest (Chen Zi Tong in 2nd place as of now, at 89.1%).

Total from music producers and music critics: 25 votes

Total from public assessment team: 348 votes

Score: 94.6%

9. Tan Xuan Yuan 谭轩辕 - Carrie by Europe

Here comes my favourite contestant of Voice of China (being impartial is not a forte of mine). Disturbing mispronunciations apart, the strong flow of his voice even at the highest notes is impressive and amazing. He is also the rare few that remains quite unaffected by nervousness or stage fright, which makes the audience relaxed and enjoy his performance too.

Total from music producers and music critics: 21 votes

Total from public assessment team: 338 votes

Score: 85.8%

10. Li An 李安 - 再回首 by 苏芮

Bouncing back confidently from his rather weak performance in the previous episode, he manages to perform the re-choreographed the classic 再回首 and stamps his own mark on it. I almost forgot what the original sounds like (it is completely different except for the lyrics), and this feels like a new song by Li An. I am guessing that much of this is owed to the brilliance of Jay Chou, his mentor. Of course, there are obvious strains of Jay's style in the nuances of this performance especially towards the end. Jay sure looks really proud of his student. I am happy to see Li An's voice put to good use finally.

Total from music producers and music critics: 19 votes

Total from public assessment team: 353 votes

Score: 84.2%

Top 5 contestants in Voice of China:
Chen Zi Tong (Jay)
Bei Bei (Wang Feng)
Zhang Lei (Na Ying)
Tan Xuan Yuan (Harlem)
Li An (Jay)

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