Vicci Martinez wowed the crowd, the judges, and hopefully, the voting audience back home with a stage-stalking performance of Dolly Parton‘s classic song ‘Jolene’ on ‘The Voice’ tonight.
The Washington-based singer-songwriter, who hunched over her guitar, was gradually revealed from the darkened stage with the help of dramatic lighting. She soon ditched the guitar and confidently strutted across nearly every foot of the stage while delivering a slow-burning take on Parton’s desperate plea for a woman to leave her man alone: “Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene / Please don’t take him / Just because you can.”
The song has been a go-to song at concerts by indie-rockers the White Stripes in recent years, but when the band kicked in behind Martinez, they didn’t go that direction, or follow the original country stylings of Parton. Instead, they favored more of a latin-influenced rhythmic approach as she roamed the set, which was adorned with candles very much in the style of the Police’s classic Wrapped Around Your Finger video.
Her coach, Cee Lo Green, grinned his approval as his peer and competitor, Adam Levine praised Martinez’s “soulful, raw, honest performance.” Blake Shelton concurred with his positive review, declaring “she truly is explosive…I’m a huge fan.” Christina Aguilera, as usual, said the most, declaring among other things that “it was a very heartfelt performance … I liked the ambiance, it was sexy.”
Then it was time for her temporary boss to weigh in with the final review, and to sum up, she got straight A’s: “You did such a wonderful job, you took my advice, you walked that stage like a professional. Your voice is so big, so powerful, so commanding. I’m glad that I was able to listen to you and allow you to be your own person (and pick that song), it was a great choice.”
http://popcrush.com/vicci-martinez-dolly-parton-jolene-the-voice/
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