Jennifer & Miley listen in on Blake and Adam’s trash talk before taping “The Voice: Season 13” Knockout Rounds. (Photo property of NBC)
By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com
The Voice: Season 13 is halfway done with the Knockout Rounds.
Before we get to tonight’s recap, here are the artists that will be competing in next week’s Playoff Rounds:
Team Adam: Addison Agen & Adam Cunningham (stolen from Team Blake)
Team Miley: Ashland Craft & Janice Freeman
Team Jennifer: Davon Fleming & Shi’Ann Jones
Team Blake: Esera Tuaolo & Chloe Kohanski (stolen from Team Miley)
Now that the original Voice coaches used their last steals, both Jennifer Hudson and Miley Cyrus will be extremely picky about which artists will receive their coveted steal. Which of the remaining coaches used their steal tonight? Who was the lucky artist to win that steal? Read on to find out!
Miley paired Brooke Simpson and Stephan Marcellus together for the first Knockout Round of the night. She dedicated her cover of Aretha Franklin’s “Natural Woman” to her husband, Ray, who stood by her. It was intimidating for Brooke because key adviser Kelly Clarkson covered the song perfectly on American Idol. Kelly was very impressed with Brooke’s performance, while Miley wanted her to add swag. Stephan Marcellus tackled Shontelle (and James Arthur)’s “Impossible” for his Knockout Round performance. Kelly and Miley recommended that Stephan changed the melody by a half-step lower, which put him at the same vocal range as James Arthur. During the Knockouts, Brooke delivered a spectacular cover, while Stephan gave me chills with his performance of The X Factor UK: Season Nine winner’s single. Despite receiving a standing ovation from his former coach, Miley decided to advance Brooke to the Playoffs.
Blake decided to pair Anna Catherine DeHart and Mitchell Lee together. Anna sang Faith Hill’s “Breathe,” while Mitchell Lee chose Edwin McCain’s “I’ll Be.” The graphic designer perfectly captured the essence of the tune, and I like hearing the tenderness in his voice. Meanwhile, Anna had pitch issues all over the place, and the performance was cringeworthy. Thankfully, Anna was sent home as Mitchell took his spot on Team Blake’s playoff team.
Noah Mac and Jeremiah Miller were Team Jennifer’s contemporary artists. Noah Mac tackled James Bay’s “Hold Back the River,” which moved Kelly Clarkson to tears and Noah was genially shocked by Clarkson’s compliment. Meanwhile, former wrestler Jeremiah Miller covered Justin Bieber’s “Sorry.” I have to apologize to Jeremiah because that performance was abysmal. If anyone wanted to see how to sing that song, watch Team Christina’s Bryan Bautista bring the house down when he performed the song in Season 10! However, Noah Mac delivered a spectacular performance that blew me away and gave me a strong case of the goosies. I agreed with Jennifer’s decision to advance Noah to the Playoff Rounds.
While Blake tried to psych out Kelly, Kathrina Paige and Keisha Renae were shocked to see the Season 14 coach right next to Blake. Kathrina tackled Voice: Season 12 winning coach Alicia Keys’ “Girl on Fire, ” and she blew me away during the Knockout Rounds rehearsal as Kelly mocked throwing shoes at Kathrina. She also advised Kathrina to go lower and try to make do an original spin on the song. Meanwhile, Keisha chose Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance’ and dedicated it to her daughter. Kathrina pulled a valiant effort, but Keisha pulled out the win when she delivered a haunting performance of “I Hope You Dance.”
Miley’s rockers (Moriah Formica & Whitney Fenimore) faced off for the rock spot on her team. Moriah got nervous when she performed “Behind These Hazel Eyes” in front of Kelly Clarkson. The future Season 14 coach was impressed by the performance and thought that Moriah sang it better than her. While there were a few bum notes, Moriah delivered a fantastic performance that won her a spot in the Knockout Rounds. Meanwhile, Whitney tackled Train’s “Calling All Angels, ” and it was a just okay performance.
The final battle of the evening was Team Adam’s Emily Luther and Adam Pearce. Adam tackled Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” and for the second time in the competition, he did not perform without the guitar. Emily Luther decided to sing P!nk’s “Glitter in the Air.” While Kelly compared Emily to a combination of Karen Carpenter and Florence Welch, Adam wanted her to feel the song. Adam Pearce is slowly becoming one of my favorites over the season, I love his energy, and his vocals are insane. Meanwhile, Emily Luther’s voice reminded me so much of P!nk’s superb vocals that left me gobsmacked. As Adam decided to keep Emily, Miley stole Adam Pierce!
Tomorrow night, all eyes will be on Jennifer Hudson as she uses her final steal to conclude the Season 13 Knockout Rounds!
