Bri Stauss & Chris Watson, “Make You Feel My Love” by Bob Dylan(/Adele)
Vocal Performance: A
Whoa, talk about an immediate tone shift the second Bri started singing. For once, this is a song I genuinely love, so that undeniably helped, but these two are just in a different ballpark than Trevor and Jamie. And good god is Chris just a silky smooth singer – not even a contest, he blows Trevor out of the water. Sure, I may like a bit more pep à la Mudi, but these two exemplify the power of softer, yet purposeful singing. Their harmonies are just pleasant to listen to – Bri quietly sneaks in her insane falsetto range in these verses, and this duo continuously embodies “less is more” throughout all their performances on Listen to Your Heart.
Oddly enough, it’s difficult to imagine these two paired with any other counterpart and for them to flourish whatsoever. Matt could have been a stand-in Sheridan to Julia, Rudi, and Natascha could duet with the nearest mansion kitchen appliance, but Bri and Chris have a softness that only is complimented by their respective partner.
Interpretive Routine: B-
Legitimately, it pains me to even continue this Listen to Your Heart category with the roster we have left. To be fair, Bri and Chris have consistently failed out of this category week-by-week, but at least they have SOME vocal prowess to make up for it. I wish there were tangible ticket sales to base any of these educated opinions off of, but their tour would have been a great retreat locale for your neighborhood chapter of Insomniacs Anonymous.
~Romance~ Level: A
These two ultimately exude romance through the SONG itself. The only other couple up to this task was, well, Mudi – I’ll be rewatching their “Shallow” rendition on repeat if anyone needs me. Outside of these two couples, every other duo on Listen to Your Heart has had to force the chemistry on stage; you can genuinely sense a connection just from hearing them sing together alone. Heck, even Kaitlyn and Jason stole a mid-performance kiss. For once, their stripped-back approach really worked here – they just left the song alone and let their voices do the…talking. Overall, a stark contrast from Jamie and Trevor’s performative foreplay.