The Voice 23: NOIVAS and Tasha Jessen fight for a spot on Team Blake Shelton
The Voice Season 23 Knockouts kicked off on Monday night (April 17) with country singer and actress Reba McEntire as the mentor. (Read our Recap)
In the round, coaches paired up team members, who sang solos of their own choosing while the other watched. Afterward, the coach picks the artist to go through to the Playoffs. The remaining singer can be stolen by another coach.
One of the hottest matchups Monday night took place between Team Blake Shelton members NOIVAS and Tasha Jessen.
In rehearsal, NOIVAS is thrilled to see Reba, noting he used to watch her show. Tasha responded to meeting the country Icon with tears in her eyes.
NOIVAS put a spell on the audience
NOIVAS opts to do a mix between the Nina Simone and Annie Lennox versions of “I Put A Spell On You”. He mentions how Nina “immersed herself into the music.” In rehearsal, Reba exclaims, “holy crap” regarding NOIVAS’s range and presence using eye contact. Blake advises him to work on the head voice and chest voice transition. Reba advises him to remove the last adlib.
NOIVAS begins the knockout with a dramatic opening. In the decade since he competed on American Idol, his range has blossomed and his control has improved. He does a lot of vocal growling throughout the performance. His stage presence is one of his biggest strengths as he prances across the stage and even adds a little laugh. At the end, he starts to oversing a bit with over-the-top growls. He closes it nicely with a few big notes, a jazzy scat, and a transition to his head voice. Overall, it’s a very dramatic but impressive vocal.
Tasha takes the audience to church
Tasha decides to sing Hozier’s “Take Me To Church” as she loves the songwriting, which reminds her of her husband to whom she dedicates the song. She notes the culture shock of moving to America and how Western music isn’t listened to much in Pakistan. In rehearsal, Reba finds her big voice shocking. Blake is concerned about the key with the low notes. Reba shares with Tasha that she has a video in her mind of how she will perform and that helps her on stage. She suggests that the singer make them think “you are there just for them.”
Tasha starts with great conviction and a gentle vocal. Her lower notes sound gorgeous on this performance. At the chorus, she seems to lack the power that we usually hear on this song and her tone is a bit thin. She also has a few tuning issues. Her emotion feels less dramatic and real in comparison to NOIVAS. She hits a few nice piercing belts. She closes in a very strong manner. I find her more believable, and would lean towards choosing Tasha.
We’ve got a steal!
Niall Horan jokes that NOIVAS will “need to pay for a floor cleaning bill. You just scraped up that stage with that mic stand.” He says Tasha took the song to another level, and would choose her. Chance the Rapper loves Tasha’s control in her lower register, and he jokes that he felt NOIVAS’ lyrics coming towards him. He would lean towards NOIVAS. Kelly Clarkson says to NOIVAS, “we are all fans of you” and that Tasha “shocked” her with a “perfectly raw and beautiful” performance. Blake said NOIVAS “took the word knockouts literally”, calling his talent “shocking and fearless.” He calls Tasha surprising, and says when people like Tasha audition he wonders “how in the hell has this person not already made it.”
In the end, Blake chooses NOIVAS. Niall steals Tasha. “She smashed it,” he says, especially after NOIVAS’ impressive performance.
Overall, this knockout was really strong. Kylee Dayne also delivered a strong vocal on “All By Myself,” and the knockout of the night belongs to Cait Martin and Kala Banham who both gave some of the better knockout vocals in recent years.
