Yahoo News The Voice Recap: As the Knockouts Begin, It’s Steal or No Steal
Monday’s episode of The Voice not only served up the last of Season 24’s Battles, it threw out the first of the three-way Knockouts. The rules are mostly the same as in Season 22: John Legend, Gwen Stefani, Niall Horan and Reba McEntire group their team members in threes to try to out-sing one another. The coach then picks a winner, and the two losers are available to be saved by their coach or stolen by an opponent. Or — and this is new — each of the coaches can use their Supersave to keep an additional contestant in the competition (whether from their team or someone else’s). Got all that? Me, neither. Thankfully, I’m sure Carson Daly will explain it over and over again. In the meantime, let’s recap…
THE LAST OF THE BATTLES
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Team Niall: Huntley (Grade: A) defeated Brailey Lenderman (Grade: A-) on “Hold My Hand” | Initially, it seemed like Huntley had this Battle in the bag, what with Hootie & the Blowfish’s hit working so very well with his rough-and-ready voice. But the longer he and Brailey sang, the more clearly I heard that she was almost as good as he was; he was mostly just louder. As evenly matched vocally as they might have been, I’d still have to had to have given the win to Huntley. He owned the stage and just rented Brailey space on it.
Team Reba: Caitlin Quisenberry (Grade: B+) defeated Crystal Nicole (Grade: A) on “The Song Remembers When” | Tackling Trisha Yearwood’s classic ballad, Crystal went (and spectacularly so) into full-on storyteller mode. But the song was all but made for Caitlin, who imbued it with an ache reached through the screen to take our hearts in hand. Midway through, I remained on the fence… but damn, Crystal put so much emotion into it. It was a perfect song for Caitlin, yet Crystal made it entirely her own. She’d have been my pick.
Team Gwen: Kara Tenae (Grade: B+) defeated Brandon Montel (Grade: B) on “Have You Ever” — Brandon stolen by John | Paired by their coach because she felt that they were lane-mates, this dynamic duo started their Brandy cover on a pretty level playing field. But Brandon soon faded into the woodwork; his voice is strong and he knows his way around a run. Yet he still felt like Kara’s backing vocalist. John suggested that Brandon’s voice was the rarer of the two, but man, Kara stood out — so much poise, so much presence.
THE FIRST OF THE KNOCKOUTS
Team Reba: Jacquie Roar singing “Girl” (Grade: A) defeated Tom Nitti singing “(I Know) I’m Losing You” (Grade: B) and Alison Albrecht singing “It’s Too Late” (Grade: C) — Tom saved by Reba | After receiving feedback from Mega Mentor Wynonna Judd, Jacquie stepped up to the mic and turned Maren Morris’ hit into a confession that we were blessed to get to hear (and “blessed” ain’t a word I use freely; she was magnificent to the nth). Poor Alison mostly walked through Carole King’s classic, seeming to remember only toward the end that “Oh s—t, I’d better amp this up!” Finally, Tom tore through a rendition of the Temptations’ smash that screamed above-average karaoke. Dude’s a kickass singer, but song selection sure undermined him.
Team Legend: Kaylee Shimizu singing “Ain’t No Way” (Grade: A) defeated Mara Justine singing “Without You” (Grade: B) and Caleb Sasser singing “Jealous” (Grade: C+) — Mara stolen by Gwen or Niall (TBD) | First under the spotlight, poor Caleb turned out a snooze-worthy rendition of Nick Jonas’ hit. Was it OK? Absolutely. Better than OK? Zzz. Next up, Kaylee sang like a woman possessed. She went there and then redefined there and went there, too. Aretha-worthy? Nah. But a thrill nonetheless. Last up, Mara threw herself wholeheartedly into her power ballad — to the point that I could even overlook that studded costume. Was it flawless? Absolutely not. But in a way, the rawness of her performance was what sold it.
Whose performance left you teetering on the edge of your seat? Vote in the poll below, then hit the comments.
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