There was no room for error as MBC's The Voice entered its third round of live shows this weekend. With only the top talent left, contestants upped their game, experimenting with new styles of music and even different languages to impress the viewers and coaches.
The talented teams of four were whittled down to three after the toughest sing-off's to date.
Saber Al Rubai's team kicked off Friday's tense show with crowd pleasing performances. Lamia Zaidi's version of 'Allem Lukak' won her praise across the panel, while Egyptian rising star, Samer, matched the rave reviews with his performance of Wael Jassar's 'Ghariba Al Nas'. After popular contestant, Qusay Hatem, was taken through by the viewers vote, both Lamia and Samer won the support of their coach and made it through to the next stage. While all of Saber's team stuck to more traditional tunes than some of their fellow competitors, Lamia Jamal was criticized for playing it too safe with a performance of Nancy Ajram's song, 'Meen Dah Ili Naseek', and was soon sent packing.
In Assi Helani's corner, the 'Arab Knight' sent his all-male vocal troops on stage for some daring performances. Showing that he meant business, Mori Hatem, took on Enrique Iglesias' 'Hero'. And the risk paid off, with Assi declaring the young Lebanese singer a 'dangerous' competitor. Hassan Bldg and Elie Asmar flexed their vocal muscles to wow the crowd but their performances were overshadowed by Murad Buriqi's version of 'Ally Gharah'. The Moroccan artist caught the attention of his coach, who called him a 'king on stage'. And it seems the audience agreed as Murad won the viewers vote. Assi was left with a tough choice that eventually saw him booting Elie out of the competition.
Next to the stage was Kazem Al Saher's all-female team. Showing the crowd the meaning of girl power, these vocalists proved they're not afraid to take some risks, as all of the team delivered a daring mash-up of English and Arabic songs. Noor Arkosa was called a 'butterfly on stage' after her performance of Andrea Bocelli's 'Time to Say Goodbye' and Umm Kalthoum's 'Ana Fi Intitharak'. Not to be outdone, Ruba Khoury followed suit with a performance of Gloria Gaynor's 'First Be a Woman' and Carole Samaha's 'Majnonah'. Chris Jr. and Yousry Mahnoush then showed off their singing and language skills with their own vocal mash-ups. After a round that saw all contestants upping their game, when it came to the voting, many were sad to see Ruba leave the competition.
In usual Sherine Abdel Wahab style, the Egyptian superstar made sure her team ended the show with a bang. Fred Ghannam's performance of Portugese song 'Nosa Nosa' made his coach proud and also impressed viewers who voted him through to the next round. Sherine was left with a tough choice between fellow Egyptian, Abdel Azim Golden, the last female standing, Inge Amin, or semi-professional singer, Muhammad Adli. The pop princess eventually decided to wave goodbye to her fellow countryman and Abdel left the competition.
As the show heats up, the coaches and their teams are ready to pull out every vocal trick in the book to beat off the competition in Friday's show.
Did you lose one of your favorite contestants this weekend? What do you think of the final teams of three? Leave us your comments below!
