The Voice Recap: Night 1 of the Playoffs Eliminates Half a Dozen Singers — Including Two Standouts
It was decision time for Kelsea Ballerini and Adam Levine in Monday's episode of The Voice as Season 27's Playoffs forced them to cut their five-member teams down to two contestants apiece. (John Legend and Michael Bublé land in the hot seat next Monday.) After hearing the performances, I thought that the coaches' decisions would be pretty cut-and-dry. But no, as always, they surprised me. (It that a contractual obligation?) Read on, and we'll discuss how it all went down.
TEAM KELSEA BALLERINI
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Iris Herrera, 'White Horse' (Grade: B+) | On Chris Stapleton's hit, Iris served rock-star realness, turning her rasp up to 11 and looking as comfortable on stage as a guest artist rather a contestant singing for her life. She got a little messy at the end, but even that worked; rock-'n'-roll's supposed to be out of control, right?
Jaelen Johnston, 'If You're Reading This' (Grade: A-) | Though I was pretty salty when Kelsea kept Jaelen over Hailey Wright in the Knockouts, his take on Tim McGraw's heart-tugger made me altogether regret being so crankypants. His performance was stunning — nuanced, emotional, damn near perfect.
Alanna Lynise, 'Nobody Gets Me' (Grade: A) | Damn! Alanna navigated SZA's hella-complicated ballad with just incredible finesse. Her vocal dipped and soared, and every step of the way, she looked utterly engaged. 'I believe in you so much,' her coach exclaimed afterward. After that performance, how could anyone not?
Tinika Wyatt, 'I Can Only Imagine' (Grade: A+) | 'Pristine' is the best word I can think of to describe Tinika's MercyMe cover. She started off so note-perfect, you could've convinced me that she was AI-generated. But as the song grew and she unleashed her passion, I was knocked all the way out by the emotion her powerful pipes packed.
Darius J, 'Hey Ya!' (Grade: B-) | Before hitting the stage, Darius said that he wanted to milk every moment for maximum fun — and he definitely showed us a good time. The guy is a party in a wide-brimmed hat. But vocally speaking, and it pains me to say it, he was shown up by the rest of Kelsea's team.
Advanced to the Semi-Finals | Iris Herrera, Alanna Lynise
Eliminated | Jaelen Johnston, Tinika Wyatt, Darius J
TEAM ADAM LEVINE
Lucia Flores-Wiseman, 'In My Life' (Grade: A+) | From note No. 1, I was like, 'Oh my God!' Lucia was so very much in her element that her vocal went down like the sweetest glass of lemonade you've ever heard. If that makes any sense. Even if it doesn't, the takeaway here is that her performance was beyond flawless.
Conor James, 'Pink Pony Club' (Grade: B-) | I was really taken with the light touch that Conor brought to the opening lines of Chappell Roan's smash but couldn't help noticing that there was no light in his eyes, no intention. And as song got bigger and bigger, I felt like Conor's vocal became less and less impressive.
Kolby Cordell, 'Finesse' (Grade: B-) | Man, I really wanted to love Kolby's Bruno Mars cover. But it was a mixed bag. On one hand, he brought a lot of energy to the stage. On the other, his vocal went back and forth from genuinely exciting to unfortunately disappointing. Perhaps a case of good singer, questionable song selection?
Ethan Eckenroad, 'The Night We Met' (Grade: A) | Like Lucia, Ethan is a total original. On Lord Huron's ballad, he made a compelling case for why he should advance (even if, as John Legend noted, he 'meandered' on stage). Every note that he sang felt like it was soaked through with feeling, whether he sang it in a whisper or all but roared.
Britton Moore, 'Somewhere Only We Know' (Grade: B) | Britton acquitted himself nicely on his Keane cover but also also teed up a reminder that he is very young and still has some room to grow. (Poor kid looked scared s—tless.) He could become the next Shawn Mendes, he just isn't quite there yet.
Advanced to the Semi-Finals | Lucia Flores-Wiseman, Kolby Cordell
Eliminated | Conor James, Ethan Eckenroad, Britton Moore
So, how are we feeling about Kelsea and Adam's decisions? I was shocked that Kelsea cut Jaelen; not only had he given a strong performance, but he was the last country artist in the competition. Seemed like a questionable strategy to me. And what the hell else could Tinika have done to impress her coach? She brought the house down!
As for Adam, as enamored of Ethan as he was, I was stunned that he got the chop — and for Kolby? He'd given an energetic performance, for sure, and he's a likable fella, but is he The Voice? Eh, not so sure about that.
Vote for your favorite performance of the night below, then hit the comments with your reactions to the coaches' picks.
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