The Voice season 21 Knockout Rounds CONTINUE tonight with returning coaches Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson and John Legend. Pop star Ariana Grande joins the panel. Carson Daly returns as host. We’ll be live blogging all the performances as the coaches choose singers to advance to the LIVE SHOWS.
British pop star Ed Sheeran serves as Mega-Mentor to each coach, as they prepare their team members to face off against one another.
Like the Battles, team members will be paired up. But in this round, each singer performs a solo of their own choosing. After both artists sing, their coach choose which of the pair is eliminated, and which goes home. Each coach can steal ONE singer from another team!
The Voice 21 Spoilers: Week 1 Knockout Pairings and Song Choices
The Voice 21 Spoilers: Top 20 Contestant List – Knockout Pairings & Songs
The Voice Knockout: BrittanyBree vs Samuel Harness Team Legend Fight!
REMINDER: NO SPOILERS IN COMMENTS. Keep spoiler talk under spoiler posts above, thank you.
Tonight, it’s the 500th episode of The Voice. Whoo boy. After 10 years, says Carson, “We have become the most watched television show in a decade on a single network.” That sounds very specific. Everyone gathers on stage for some cake!
Brittanybree vs Samuel Harness – Team Legend
Brittanybree calls The Voice the best part of her life. Previously, she’s performed only in gospel spaces. But she wants to bridge the two worlds. John asks her to temper her phrasing to make it more tender and vulnerable. Ed thinks Brittanybree’s tone stands out. Samuel is adopted and he chose “Bruises” for the emotion behind the message. He met his birth mother and learned that she only gave him up so he could have a better life. Ed feels Samuel’s connection to the song. Don’t push it 100 percent, he advises, save some for later. John and Ed emphasize how important gigging is to developing craft. John worries that Brittanybree isn’t connecting.
Brittanybree – Best Part by H.E.R. & Daniel Caesar – Her tone is beautiful and phrasing so tasteful. Everything is perfectly placed. The performance is so smooth and sweet. This is a masterclass R&B performance. Just lovely. This girl, she came PREPARED to battle. But maybe TOO prepared. John had a point about allowing herself to be vulnerable.
Samuel Harness – Bruises by Lewis Capaldi – Samuel has a signature tone. There is no mistaking him for anyone else. Brittanybree is a better technical singer, by a mile. But Samuel is so connected to what he’s singing, it doesn’t matter if the performance is perfect. He finishes the song in tears. He felt that through and through.
The coaches give Samuel a standing ovation. Kelly loves Brittanybree’s “game face.” Kelly could tell Samuel believed every word he sang. She would pick Brittanybree ultimately, however. Blake thought Brittanybree had a killer performance, but Samuel had a MOMENT. He’d pick Samuel. Ariana calls Brittanybree “exciting.” But she would have to give it to Samuel. John thinks both singers are “so so good.” In the end, John picks Samuel because of his “palpable emotional connection.” Brittanybree is ELIMINATED.
I feel bad for her. She’s such a talented singer. And she wanted to move on so bad. Half-way through the coaches remarks, she knew that John would not pick her. She looked so upset. The Voice is so LOADED with soul singers this season, it’s unsurprising that one would be sacrificed.
John picks Samuel Harness, Brittanybree is eliminated
The Cunningham Sisters vs Hailey Mia – Team Kelly
Kelly stole Hailey from Ariana. She belatedly hands her a jacket at the mentor session. Thirteen years old, she purposely picked a mature song. Ed could tell she was nervous. He suggests she take a moment before a performance. Ed is impressed by her stage presence. The Cunningham sisters are also teens. They’ve sung mostly worship music. The song “really represents who we are,” they say. Ed wants to strip back the arrangement. Just to prove to the young singers there is always room to grow, he shows them a video of him at 14 singing horribly, horribly off key. Heh.
Hailey Mia – Arcade by Duncan Laurence – The “she’s only X age” trope on singing shows can be really annoying. But Hailey really is remarkably mature for a 13 year old. Most kids who audition for The Voice, or even AGT at that age aren’t quite ready yet. But her mature phrasing and self-confidence means she is ready right now. She’s going to be a phenomenal artist in a few years.
The Cunningham Sisters – Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) – In contrast to Hailey, the sisters sound young. Still, they are good. But they have pitch problems in spots, and are best singing in harmony. They also need to mature a little more to fully deliver the meaning and emotion of as song. They should have waited a few years to audition.
Blake calls the Cunningham sisters “favorites of mine.” But he would still give the Knockout to Hailey. Ariana compliments Hailey, her former team member. She goes on about how much Hailey has “grown” since the Battles. Ariana should just admit that she made a mistake and let go of a talented singer! John loved the sisters harmonies and appreciated Hailey’s mature angst. Kelly feels like a jerk choosing one! Kelly picks Hailey. The Cunningham sisters are eliminated.
Kelly picks Hailey Mia, The Cunningham Sisters are ELIMINATED
Ryleigh Plank vs David Vogel – Team Ariana
David impressed Ariana during his audition with a sweet rendition of her song. He went through a tough break up a few years ago. He explains how he connects more to big female pop anthems than to songs written by males. He’ll be stripping back this week. Ed loved the way he tuned and arranged the song. He doesn’t have notes to give him. Ryleigh resonates with Miley’s unapologetic personality. Ed suggests the key be taken down a half step.
Ryleigh Plank – Midnight Sky by Miley Cyrus – It’s a good song choice for Ryleigh, but I’m not sure it’s a great competition song. Her prior performances have been more emotional. This is a good vocal, but it just kind of lays there, until the very end when she hits some huge notes. Her falsetto is really beautiful. Nevertheless, based on her body of work, Ryleigh MUST advance to the live shows.
David Vogel – Lose You to Love Me by Selena Gomez – I know I’ve said this before. BUT I AM LOST IN HIS HAIR THAT LUXURIOUS HAIR. Having said that, David is the perfect heartthrob. He’s good looking AND angsty. His voice is lovely in the upper registers. He’s giving the song a big time aughts emo treatment. Think Dashboard Confessional. That solo acoustic guitar arrangement. Am I a sucker for it? Why, yes. Yes I am.
John calls Ryleigh a star. But singing the song acoustically set David up for success, says John. “Today I would pick David,” he says. Kelly called David’s performance “really really cool.” She calls Ryleigh “the whole package” and compares her to Annie Lennox. “You’re putting your stamp all over that thing,” says Blake, joking about David’s ability to fix his hair while playing. But in the end, he would go with Ryleigh. Ariana picks Ryleigh. But then at the last minute John steals David. John feels David will round out his team. “We have no one that sounds like him,” he explains.
Ariana picks Ryleigh Plank. David Vogel is STOLEN by Team Legend.
