The Voice Season 24’s Knockout Rounds continued on Tuesday, November 13, and one of the matchups saw Team Reba’s Ms. Monét, Ruby Leigh, and Rachele Nguyen facing off for a chance to advance to the Playoffs.
Videos by American Songwriter
Ms. Monét, who at age 51 is the oldest singer in the competition, was going up against two of the show’s youngest singers—16-year-old Leigh and 17-year-old Nguyen.
[RELATED: Former Backup Singer Ms. Monét Owns ‘The Voice’ Stage with Powerful Steve Winwood Cover]
Ms. Monét brought her best to the stage with a soulful and sassy rendition of The Emotions’ chart-topping 1977 hit “Best of My Love,” but was it good enough to help her move on to the next round?
During the rehearsal segment, Ms. Monét explained to coach Reba McEntire that she chose “Best of My Love” because it was “a good personality song to show who I am, and you can’t help but smile when you sing it.”
Ms. Monét, who hails from Pittsburg, California, and is a professional backup singer, then noted in an interview clip, “I sing gospel and R&B and pop. This song is a representation of who I am as an artist.”
She also revealed that her mother had been a singer who had gotten a record deal when she was 19, but her mom’s father wouldn’t allow her to pursue a career because she didn’t sing gospel.
“So she lives vicariously through me,” Ms. Monét added. “My mother allowed me to be the artist and the woman that I am. That’s why I haven’t given up.”
“Ms. Monét is a powerhouse, and I think she picked a great song,” McEntire noted prior to the performance. “She knows how to command attention.”
Mentor Wynnona Judd, meanwhile, praised her for her “velvety voice,” adding, “She’s seasoned and I connected with her, ‘cause I think as we get older as women we think maybe are we not as relevant. But I think this could be her time.”
For her performance, Ms. Monét hit the stage in a black dress with sparkly silver stripes and proceeded to get the coaches and the audience clapping along as she wrung soulful notes out of the pop/R&B classic. She displayed her vocal range by delivering some deep growling runs and injected a couple of surprising high-pitched notes into her rendition.
Leigh and Rachel followed with impressive performances of their own, as country powerhouse Leigh tackled LeAnn Rimes’ “Blue” and Nguyen sang Maddie & Tae’s “Die from a Broken Heart.”
Coach Niall Horan was the first to comment on the contestants, praising all three for their “insane” performances.
“Ms. Monét, she is a badass, this woman,” the Irish pop star enthused. “Everything you do is just so tasteful, cool, hit with just perfection.”
It was then Coach Gwen Stefani’s to give her feedback.
“Ms. Monét, I’m just wondering who’s gonna massage your feet after that performance, because … you were leaping out of your shoes,” Stefani said. “To be able to be that captivating, it was really, really well done.” However, Stefani chose Leigh as the winner of the round.
The next coach to comment was John Legend.
“Ms. Monét, you’ve always been excellent, but this was like a tour de force,” he said. “How can someone sing this well and do all the things that they’re doing… Beyoncé can do it, a few people can do it, but not very many. Flawless.”
Finally, it was time for McEntire to decide who won the Knockout.
“You three ladies were all so incredible,” she began before turning her attention to Ms. Monét.”
“All of the things that you did on stage were tasteful,” McEntire declared. “That whistle note, you did it and you just went on and completely slayed us all.”
Unfortunately for Ms. Monét, McEntire chose Leigh as the winner of the round. Horan said afterward that he would have stolen Ms. Monét if he had a steal, noting, “Every single time she comes out here, she puts on ridiculous vocal performances.”
McEntire added in a post-performance comment, “I just wish there was some way we could keep ’em all, at least bring them back. It’s just so hard to send them home.”
Knockout rounds continue on Tuesday. The Voice airs on Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
Photo by: Tyler Golden/NBC
