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Last week saw the live shows commence as each team fielded three contestants who performed under the scrutiny of their rival coaches and the public vote. Each team was forced to cut one contestant with Pauric, Daisy, John and Kedar being the unlucky four to lose out. Tonight, the other twelve contestants will perform where once again, each coach will be forced to choose one of their bottom two artists to send home. Who won't survive the first cut?

Recap and videos after the JUMP...




Team Dolores

Mariah Butler

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'Mama's Broken Heart' by Miranda Lambert - 7.5/10 - Country gal Mariah was perhaps the biggest surprise of the battle rounds, she really came into her own in the battle with a song that wasn't really her style. Dolores says that Mariah has improved a lot since the blind auditions and hopes that she will be able to overcome nerves on stage. It's a very strong performance I must admit, Mariah is a likeable girl with a lot of talent and this is a good performance. Pretty great comments overall, it was a safe song choice but it was well executed so no complaints. Mariah will be safe tonight.
Mariah gets 21 out of 30 (8,7,7)


Peter Whitford

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'Space Oddity' by David Bowie - 6.5/10 - Peter's three way battle was perhaps the most controversial of the battles, for starters the trio chosen was a bit strange and the song choice was a little bit odd. He hopes that he will be able to impress his coach with this song choice. It's an unusual song choice, I like David Bowie but Peter has a very marmite tone of voice so I'm not entirely convinced of his cover of the song. I thought it was a better vocal than her battle round performance but I'm still not sure that he's good enough, I feel like the other acts in Team Dolores are stronger.
Peter gets 20 out of 30 (7,6,7)


Emma Walsh

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'Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)' by Kelly Clarkson - 6/10 - Emma was Dolores' steal in the battle rounds. Dolores had to steal her because she was just so good in her battle with Ciara apparently and Dolores felt that it would have been unfair for her to go home. Emma is a strong singer but her biggest problem is that I don't think Dolores really knows what to do with her and her song choice was a bit lazy. This is a song which requires a lot of vocal ability, especially as it's pretty upbeat and although Emma is a strong singer, she goes out of breath a few times during the performance and loses her control, I wasn't a fan of the performance personally. I don't think the song choice was particularly good for Emma's voice and although 5 seems like a low score, I get why Jamelia is so harsh, it wasn't a particuarly good vocal performance.
Emma gets 20 out of 30 (8,7,5)


Team Jamelia

Aisling Connolly

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'Strong' by London Grammar - 8.5/10 - Jamelia's steal act Aisling gave a very impressive battle round performance, taking on the Pink and Nate Reuss track 'Just Give Me A Reason' against Jay Boland and putting up a good battle. I'm glad that Jamelia is respecting Aisling's roots and giving her an indie pop track, this is a really nice pick for her actually. The song doesn't really have a big moment which is perhaps a little disappointing but vocally, it's pretty stunning. She handles every note with ease and her tone sounds great on this song. I'm really surprised when Dolores gives her a 6, I don't think that performance was worthy of a 6 at all, vocally it was so strong and Dolores gives no real reason for giving it a 6, perhaps she's bitter because Jamelia marked Emma so harshly? It's unusual, Dolores seems to be quite inconsistent with her scores.
Aisling gets 22 out of 30 (8,6,8)


Martin McInerney

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'Staying Alive' by The Bee Gees - 6.5/10  - Martin has a very unique tone and is a strong singer, his battle round performance was pretty good. I'm not sure about this song choice, it's a bit of a strange one, the arrangement is very interesting but I don't really like his vocals this time. They sound kind of weak and off and at times he sounds pitchy. It's not a bad performance but it's not a great one either, I reckon he could be in trouble tonight unless Remy messes up big time, Martin just doesn't really stand out to me. I don't really know where he would fit into in the market. 
Martin gets 21 out of 30 (7,7,7)


Remy Naidoo

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'How Long Will I Love You' by Ellie Goulding - 7/10 - Remy is such a captivating performer, she may not be the strongest vocalist technically but she's certainly one of the most viable pop stars. This song choice is spot on, it has an emotional feel to it which really fits Remy's sincerity as a performer. She goes a bit overboard on the vibrato on her end notes, it's not a big issue but it is a bit annoying because she does it so much but I think she's a great singer with strong performance skills and I really think that she has a good chance of making the next round, it's between her and Martin I believe but I'd like to see Remy making it through as she has a lot of potential.
Remy gets 20 out of 30 (7,6,7)


Team Bressie

Padraig Byrne

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'Dream Catch Me' by Newton Faulkner - 5.5/10 - Padraig is probably the contestant I remember the least of the final 24, he has a good voice but he's a very forgettable performer and his voice isn't distinctive enough to make him stand out from the crowd. He's singing a song that I do actually like but I'm not sure that it's the wisest choice for him as it doesn't allow him to stand out at all. He starts off out of tune but improves as the song goes on however he has no star quality on stage, he's just a very standard performer, decent singer but doesn't have the ability to make the song his own or do anything unique or different with it. I'll be surprised if he makes it through to be honest as it wasn't a great song choice or performance.
Padraig gets 17 out of 30 (6,6,5)


Jamie Stanton

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'I Don't Want To Be' by Gavin De Graw - 9/10 - Jamie is a very interesting singer, he's very much a rocker but Bressie has thrown him somewhat of a curveball with this more pop rock track, providing it was Bressie who chose the song. It's absolutely superb, Jamie is a very strong singer with a good rock tone but I still wasn't expecting as much of this performance as what he actually delivered, the interaction he had with the audience was faultless, his vocals were great, he has superb stage presence. This is easily the best performance of the night so far, he has shown that he is more than capable of putting on a show and it was a really good performance.
Jamie gets 23 out of 30 (7,8,8)


Ciara Donnelly

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'Take Me To Chuch' by Hozier - 8/10 - I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I have heard this song before, it's totally new to me so I'm a little bit surprised to hear it and not recognize it at all. I love Ciara's voice, she has such an incredible bluesy tone with a quirky indie feel which really makes her a unique, stand out performer. This song is a little bit odd but I still like the performance, she has a fantastic voice with her superb bluesy rasp coming through in the vocals again and she is another one who has good performance skills, she connects with the song but more importantly she connects with the audience. She definitely, ahem, took it to church and then some.
Ciara gets 22 out of 30 (7,8,7)


Team Kian

Paddy Molloy

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'Story Of My Life' by One Direction - 7/10 - Paddy is a good singer and he proved that in his battle even though he was slightly out of tune at times. I'm yet to see him as a unique artist though, he hasn't really found a niche or a style that fits him and I'm still confused when Kian gives him this song. It's not a bad song, there are far worse One Direction tracks he could be given but it doesn't really do anything for me. He sings it well, his vocals are strong and he manages to hit all of the notes pretty much spot on but it's extremely middle of the road and generic, I don't get anything unique or different from it, it's just a decent male pop vocal. Nothing extraordinary.
Paddy gets 21 out of 30 (7,7,7)


Craig McMorrow

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'Fly Away' by Lenny Kravitz - 6/10 - Craig is a good singer but like Paddy, I'm not so sure that he has really made a mark on the competition quite yet. Perhaps tonight will be that night? No, sadly it seems not, I like this song but Craig's vocals are just alright, he makes a few mistakes, nothing majorly bad but definitely not a particularly fantastic vocal performance from Craig. I don't know why but he just doesn't connect with me at all, his performances leave me cold, they're technically okay but there just have no star quality and I don't think he really connects with the audience when he's singing. 
Craig gets 18 out of 30 (6,6,6)


Danica Holland

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'Do What U Want' by Lady Gaga - 7/10 - Danica has an absolutely stunning voice so why she is being given this song is beyond me, it's way below her and the cheap dancers are little more than a distraction. It's quite a full on performance, the fact that people apparently left half way through due to the dancers is a bit ridiculous though, it wasn't that bad. Danica has a good voice but she looks a little awkward on stage, to be honest though I don't think any of Team Kian has really impressed me in the live shows, they all have a long way to go, she's a good singer and did her best considering a fairly poor song choice but she has a lot still to work on.
Danica gets 20 out of 30 (7,7,6)


Results

Up first is Team Dolores and topping the votes was unsurprisingly Mariah Butler! The other two are forced to face their coach, Dolores chooses to send home Peter Whitford meaning that Emma Walsh is still in the competition.

Next up is Team Jamelia, topping the votes was Remy Naidoo! Delighted for Remy but thought that Aisling would have that vote in the bag. It's alright though as Jamelia sends Martin McInerney home meaning Aisling remains in the competition.

On Team Bressie, topping the votes is Jamie Stanton which puts Ciara and Padraig at risk, of course he sends Padraig Byrne home meaning Ciara is put through.

Finally, for Kian, it's between Paddy, Craig and Danica with Paddy Molloy topping and Danica being saved by Kian who sends Craig McMorrow home.

Eliminated:

Peter Whitford
Martin McInerney
Padraig Byrne
Craig McMorrow
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