It was an eventful night of steals, saves, and all-around killer performances on The Voice Monday night (November 13) as the third round of Knockouts packed the ultimate punch.
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The night saw each coach – Reba McEntire, Niall Horan, Gwen Stefani, and John Legend – pit three of their team members against one another in the Three-Way Knockouts. The competitors, each bringing to the stage a song of their choice, were tasked with giving it their all in the hopes of moving on to the Playoffs.
The vocalists saw the assistance of country icon and Season 24 Mega Mentor Wynonna Judd along the way. However, it was ultimately up to their coaches to decide which performer of the three would continue on in the competition. To add to the night’s drama, each coach also had the option to steal or save a vocalist if they so chose.
First up in the night was Team Legend who placed Tampa, Florida’s Deejay Young against Seattle native Lila Forde and Carolina-raised Stee.
Deejay’s soulful rendition of Mint Condition’s “Breakin’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)” was punctuated by sensual vocal runs and the occasional dance move, earning the decree of “powerhouse” from coach Reba. Lila followed, giving a dreamy cover of James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain.” Stee rounded out the trio of performances with “Pretty Wings.” His sturdy R&B display proved a powerful take on the Maxwell hit that, in the end, got the coaches on their feet.
Legend said how proud he was of his three team members, but ultimately chose Lila as the winner of the round. It was goodbye to Deejay, but it wasn’t over for Stee, who was immediately stolen by Team Gwen.
Team Niall was next, and for his Knockout round, the pop star chose the Virginia natives Claudia B., Huntley, and Noah Spencer to go head-to-head in a hometown battle.
Sporting her piano chops, Claudia B. wowed with her goosebump-inducing take on the jazzy Norah Jones ballad “Don’t Know Why.” Huntley arrived on her heels to deliver an attitude-fueled performance of “Wanted Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi. Soon after, Noah Spencer toned things down with his heartfelt and reflective version of the Steeldrivers’ “Where Rainbows Never Die”.
It was a tough decision for Niall who ranked the three Knockout performances as some of the best, but he ultimately chose Huntely as the victor of the showcase. It was almost farewell for the other two talents until the coaches buzzed in. John Legend opted to steal Claudia while Niall chose to save her. Claudia chose to stay on Team Niall in the end. Noah, too, was saved by the coaches when both John and Reba smashed their save buttons, and he went to Team Reba.
Team Reba then followed as the country star pitted Ms. Monet, Ruby Leigh, and Rachele Nguyen against one another.
From Ms. Monet came a thrilling rendition of The Emotions’ “Best of My Love,” her velvety pipes making her a tour-de-force. Then, Ruby shared her version of LeAnn Rimes’ early hit “Blue,” the competitor’s yodel-flecked performance being one for the books. Rachele came next, dipping her toe into the realm of country with her confident take on “Die From a Broken Heart” by Maddie & Tae.
Reba chose Ruby to continue in the competition while it was goodbye to Ms. Monet and Rachele.
Gwen’s team capped off the night’s performances as she played CORii, Kara Tenae, and Kristen Brown in the round.
CORii brought with her an edge to Paramore’s “Ain’t It Fun”, her give-it-all performance an infectious display. Kara delivered on her rendition of “Leave (Get Out)” by JoJo, fueling the heartbreak hit with an unquenchable honesty and fire. Kristen marked the final vocalist of the night, belting out a passionate showcase of Martina McBride’s “This One’s for the Girls”.
At the close of the night, Kara reigned supreme over the other two performers; and while it was the end of the road for CORii, Team Legend stole Kristen at the last minute.
And to think the competition is only getting started. Things will continue to heat up with more Knockouts taking place Tuesday night (Nov. 14) on NBC.
