'One of the best artists I have seen in the UK': Will.i.am praises his contestant Leah McFall as he and Tom Jones choose their final three on The Voice
By JAYMI MCCANN
It was a tough night for Tom Jones and WIll.i.am on The Voice as they struggled to decide on their final three contestants.
But, Leah McFall, was given an ego boost as mentor Will.i.am described her as one of the greatest singers to come out of the UK, adding that she is 'The best thing since sliced bread'.
The 23-year-old Belfast girl stood agape as she was selected top be fast tracked through to the finals, whispering 'Oh my Goodness.'
Leah McFall was stunned when she Will.i.am fast tracked her through to the final stages of The Voice
The wannabe star was described as 'The best thing since sliced bread' by her team leader
Will.i.am was amazed by the 23-year-old's talent as she performed 'Loving You'
She later proved why she had earned her place, singing 'Loving You' by Minnie Riperton The unique star clearly impressed with the song, as her dad cheered when she hit the high notes and Jessie J stood head in hands with amazement.
The emerging star was not the only fast track tonight, with Tom Jones choosing country music singer Mike Ward.
Tom said that the 23-year old was : 'In a unique position because there are no home grown country singers in great Britain. He could be the one.'
Alice blew the judges away with the tone of her voice when she performed in front of them
Alice sang 'Everybody's got to learn sometimes' to applause from the audience and judges
Cherelle did not impress as she fell into another key while she was singing
Jamie wowed the judges with his soulful performance bu did not make it through to the final stages
Tom's team started the night with his first three Alice, Cherelle and Jamie battling for a place.
First up was Jamie Bruce, making all of the judges dance with his rendition of 'Papa Was a Rolling Stone' by The Temptations.
The 34-year-old was praised for his voice, but Charrelle Basquine wasn’t so successful.
She veered into the wrong key as she attempted Beyonce’s 'One plus one' making the juudges question what had happened when she finished.
Alice, however, blew the audience away with her soft tone as she sang 'Everybody got to Learn Sometimes', making her the clear winning from this knockout round.
Tom put country singer Mike through to the next round as he was able to fast track him
Ragsy dedicated his performance of a Stereophonics song to his friend, their former drummer Stuart Cable
Despite being shy Joseph gave a winning performance as he was put through the the next round
Next came the boys, with Joseph, Ragsy and Adam competing to get through.
Tom stole Adam Barron from Jessie J and was pleased with his choice. The 27-year-old sang 'Maybe I'm Amazed' by Wings, to great applause. Jessie J said: 'Out of all three of you I think your performance was the most believable.'
Rocker Ragsy, Tom’s fellow countryman, sang Stereophonics dedicating it to his friend ex-drummer Stuart Cable.
Joseph Apostol was the winner however, as he blew the audience away with 'A Song for You' by Donny Hathaway.
An unusual song choice, he was criticised for not reaching his own highly set standards but Tom said: 'Even though it wasn’t the best he can do that performance was good enough to get him through.'
Moni performed another Stevie Wonder song, but was eliminated when his execution was not as good as rehearsals
Moni's energetic performance just wasn't good enough for mentor Will.i.am
Jordan was forced to defend himself when his musical theatre style was criticised by Danny
Despite initially choosing a Christina Aguilera song, Leanne wowed the audience by singing 'Alone' by Heart
The singer was shocked when she discovered that she would be performing next week for the judges
Next up, was Team Will, and the judge didn’t seem impressed with his protegees’ song choices.
Jordan Lee Davis chose the theatrical 'It's All Coming Back to me Now' by Meatloaf, causing Will.i.am to say 'You want to be popping but you don’t wanna be Mary Poppins.'
But, his performance stayed away from the theatrical, causing Will to support his contestant when Danny criticised musical theatre.
Moni Tivoni chose 'Masterblaster' by Stevie Wonder, a choice that Will believed was too predictable for the singer. But, after his impeccable execution in the rehearsals Will soon changed his mind, admitting he was wrong.
Despite this, Will decided that Moni's performance on the night was not up to scratch, saying that even though he had already settled on Moni, he couldn't choose him.
As he struggled to choose a contestant, Jessie J offered her fellow judge some advice, saying 'Go with your heart. And so he did choosing his next performer.
Cleo gave a powerhouse performance of the Michael Jackson song 'Leave Me Alone'
Jessie J gave Lem encouragement as he went to perform, but she was shocked when he was not selected by Will.i.am
Jessie J and Will.i.am disagreed over who he should pick between Lem or Cleo
John's performance was strong, showing the judges why he deserved to have made it this far into the competition
Leanne Jarvis, 25, picked 'Hurt' by Christina Ahguilera, but soon chose it after Will's criticism. He added: 'Leanne was open minded enough to come back and sing alone by heart. And sounds fantastic doing it.'
As the Essex girl performed 'Alone' by Heart, the powerhouse impressed Will enough to be put through to the final, but not without some criticism from Jessie J who thought the choice was safe.
In his second knockout he had to choose between John, Cleo and Lem.
John performed Something’s Got a Hold of My Heart with other judge describing him as having a ‘good unique voice.'
Former Cleopatra star Cleo celebrated back stage as she went though to the next round
Leah gave a spectacular performance of 'Loving You' to conclude the show
The singer has said that her love for fashion goes hand in hand with her musical talents
Lem received encouragement from Jessie J who said: ‘Pull yourself together, come on.’ He started 'As Long As You Love Me' by Justin Bieber showing the soulful, delicate tone in his voice.
Former Cleopatra star Cleo gave Michael Jackson song Leave Me Alone a go, knowing that she was taking a risk. But, dressed in purple and orange she caused controversy.
After Jessie J criticised Cleo, saying that she 'Fell Flat' Willi am retaliated saying: 'I don’t know who in the world has the right to tell you what you did wrong or right when that execution was just flawless.'
jessie retaliated, bluntly saying: 'If it was my decision, hands down its Lem.'
But, Will admitted that he 'Had to put Cleo through'
The knockouts conclude tomorrow night with Jessie J and Danny O'Donoghue's teams.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2334490/The-Voice-2013-One-best-artists-I-seen-UK-Will-praises-contestant-Leah-Tom-Jones-choose-final-three.html#ixzz2V5jsArCQ
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook