The Voice 25: Zoe Levert Team Legend breakout performance leads to a Knockout victory with Reba stealing Jackie Romeo
The Voice Season 25 wrapped up the Knockouts on Monday night with six competitive pairings, some that yielded breakout performances and shocking results. One singer who continues to surprise is 20-year-old Zoe Levert who faced 20-year-old Jackie Romeo, a strong vocalist. They were the final pairing of the night, leading to a dramatic steal. (Read our Recap)
During the mentoring session, coach John Legend told mega mentor Keith Urban that he loves the “crackle” in Jackie’s voice and noted that Zoe is his only country artist. Borth singers are John’s two youngest artists.
Jackie is singing “Love on The Brain” by Rihanna, telling John and Keith in rehearsal that this “pop, soul genre” is exactly the style she wants to be. She remembered hearing the song in the car with her mom who has sacrificed a lot for her to be there. Mom even sold her wedding ring which allowed Jackie to be in the studio. “She can sing,” Keith observed. He advised her to feel it, and John agreed, suggesting she “put more stank on her personality.” Jackie responded well, showing a lot of progress.
Keith Urban warned John Legend about a difficult decision
Zoe was a bit intimidated by Jackie’s power in rehearsal, but planned to “stay true” to herself. Zoe is singing “Cowboy Take Me Away” by The Chicks, saying she sits “in the singer-songwriter, folk kind of country genre.” The song reminds her of singing with her family in her backyard. She said, “I owe a lot of my songwriting style to them” about The Chicks. Keith and John advised her to go bigger sooner rather than later as the performance is only two minutes long, while John advised her to sing about her fiance Keith wanted her to visualize a “cowboy.” He was impressed by both artists in rehearsal warning John he will have a difficult decision to make.
Jackie is in command of her performance, bringing a bit of sass to the stage. Her tone is truly unique. However, her upper register is stronger than some of her low notes. She could probably hold some of the notes longer. Either way, she hit some impressive runs and notes, and her voice did have a star quality to it.
Zoe surprised when she beat OK3 in the Battles, but this performance was truly her breakout moment. Her voice is angelic and although less powerful than Jackie’s, there’s more feeling to what she’s singing. She has the storyteller vibe down pat. She also showcased more skill here than her previous performances, featuring some cool breaks in her voice, a nice vibrato, and she hit a few surprising notes. This was one of the best performances of the entire Knockouts. I would go with Zoe.
Team Legend chooses Zoe, while Team Reba steals Jackie
Reba McEntire praised both singers, telling Jackie she “commanded the stage.” She called Zoe’s runs “effortless.” Chance the Rapper called Zoe a potential “star,” and declared that Jackie “sang the mess out of that song.” Dan Smyers from Dan + Shay remarked to Jackie, “You were feeling it, in that moment you threw that mic stand, and I was like that’s what I’m talking about.” Shay Mooney called Zoe’s moment a “butterfly” moment comparing her to Taylor Swift. He would go with Zoe, calling her one of his favorites. John called Jackie “emotionally connected” while remaining “in control.” He told Zoe, “You sounded like a great artist who needs to be heard.”
John chose Zoe to move on to the Playoffs. He called her an underdog, but said she keeps “rising to the occasion.” Next, Reba stole Jackie, saying she can sing any genre. She’s thrilled to have her on her team.
Zoe and Jackie weren’t the only ones with great performances. Dan + Shay’s Karen Waldrup won her Knockout with a rock solid rendition of “Georgia Rain.” The other standout of the night was was a contestant eliminated from Team Chance, Alyssa Crosby, who nailed her Elton John cover of “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues.” With all these pre-taped rounds, there’s bound to be some disappointing results, but at least I was satisfied with John’s decision in this Knockout.
