The Voice: Final 11 performers chosen
The remaining 11 performers who will compete in the live finals of The Voice have been revealed following the second 'battle rounds' show of the weekend. Those chosen on Sunday night's show join the nine who were picked on Saturday night's show, following a series of rounds in which the 40 hopefuls performed head to head in a bid to stay in the competition. First to make it through on Sunday night was singer Cassius Henry, who saw off competition from David Faulkner as the pair performed Michael Jackson's Beat It. Their mentor Jessie J told the pair, "I live for this. I live for seeing people who want to grow and get better, and you guys I am so proud of you both." Leanne Mitchell was the next to make it through on Team Tom Jones, after she and Barbara Bryceland had performed Lady Gaga's The Edge Of Glory, while Frances Wood fought off competition from Kate Read to become the latest member of Will.i.am's team to make it through. Meanwhile Aleks Josh became the first member of Danny O'Donoghue's team to make it through on Sunday's show, after he had duetted with children's entertainer Emmy J Mac. "I think you are further down the line than Aleks is," Danny told Emmy, "but I think I still have a lot to show Aleks in a way. So I am going to base my decision on my role on this show, which is a coach." Meanwhile there was a suprise in the next round when Jessie J chose Ruth-Ann St Luce over Ben Kelly - who had wowed all four judges at the blind auditions with his rendition of Rocket Man. She gave no reason for her decision, leaving Will.i.am to comment, "That's why home boy should have chosen my team, because I would have made the right decision." Tom Jones won his second finalist of the night next, choosing duo Matt and Sueleen Fletcher over soloist Lindsay Butler, while Danny chose Hannah Berney as his next finalist after she had performed the Robbie Williams hit Kids alongside Murray Hockridge. The other duo in the competition, Indie and Pixie, failed to follow in Matt and Sueleen's footsteps after losing out to 17-year-old Becky Hill - but there was better news for Adam Isaac, who fought off competition from Denise Morgan to become the last finalist from Tom Jones' team. There was another shock in store when Will.I.am chose 17-year-old Sophie Griffin as his last finalist over powerhouse vocalist J Marie Cooper - who had been expected to win their battle round. "This is hard, very hard," he said after the girls had performed Katy Perry's Firework, "but I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the person I was when I was 17, so I'm going to go with Sophie." The last place in the finals went to David Julien after he won his round against John James Newman - completing Danny's line-up for the live shows. "I've enjoyed the both of you immensely," Danny admitted before reaching his decision, "This is probably honestly the hardest decision I've ever had to make in my life." Next weekend will see the first live show of the series - with one act from each team being voted off. There will also be a performance from Lana del Rey, while the four judges will also take to the stage once again.
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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.
An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.