The Voice‘s cutthroat rounds are usually a lot more difficult than this. Thanks to a few surprising audience choices, though, all four coaches find themselves having to rescue some of their early favorites from the chopping block.
TEAM BLAKE:
Blake Shelton‘s team is first on the chopping block, and while he says he “never knows what to do in these kind of situations,” America definitely makes it a little easier for him this time. The two who are saved by voters are Kirk Jay and — surprise! — Chris Kroeze, which means Dave Fenley’s apparent fan favor wasn’t working so well for him last night when everything was tallied up. First of all, WHAT? How? This makes no sense. Perhaps his Willie Nelson song just wasn’t convincing to those audience members who’ve just tuned in for the live rounds? ‘Cause otherwise, Dave should be a shoo-in at this stage. Nevertheless, Blake’s sweating a little less over his decision here tonight because there’s just no way he’s going home above Michael Lee, Natasia Greycloud, or Funsho.
Advancing for Team Blake: Kirk Jay, Chris Kroeze, Dave Fenley.
TEAM ADAM:
Adam Levine might’ve talked a bit of game when he promised them that winning this round isn’t necessary to enjoy success, but once it’s his turn to make some tough decisions, he doesn’t like it one bit, no no. Perhaps it’s because he expected Tyke James to get voted through so that he wouldn’t have to send someone home in his stead, but alas. After DeAndre Nico and Reagan Strange are given the go-ahead by voters, that leaves Tyke up for elimination alongside Kameron Marlowe, Steve Memmolo, and Radha. He seems to truly struggle with the decision — my guess is that he was also hoping to see Kameron go through after a solid performance — but he has to give Tyke a shot to see what else he’s got.
Advancing for Team Adam: DeAndre Nico, Reagan Strange, Tyke James.
TEAM JENNIFER:
Jennifer Hudson‘s shoe-throwing came in handy for at least one of the singers last night. MaKenzie Thomas was on the receiving end of the footwear tonight and gets the first green light from the couch crowd. Right on her heels, though, is Kennedy Holmes, whose placement in the “pimp spot” probably didn’t hurt her chances of leaving the last impression with voters, either. That leaves Colton Smith, Franc West, Patrique Fortson, and early favorite Sandyredd, and while JHud might be inclined to save one of the two soulful fellas, she knows she’s got the best shot keeping Sandyredd around to rock it out to the rafters.
Advancing for Team Jennifer: MaKenzie Thomas, Kennedy Holmes, Sandyredd
TEAM KELLY:
Last but not least, Kelly Clarkson‘s given exactly one minute to choose a keeper after the Backstreet Boys’ “Chances” eats up all the remaining minutes (worth it, though?). The good news for her is that the votes also left one of her obvious favorites in contention for the exit sign, so she didn’t have to war with herself for too long. Chevel Shepherd and Sarah Grace are voted through by audiences at home, so there’s just no question Kymberli Joye will get her coach’s vote of confidence, even if that does mean sending home Abby Cates, Keith Paluso, and Zaxai.
Advancing for Team Kelly: Chevel Shepherd, Sarah Grace, Kymberli Joye
THE COMEBACK STAGE:
For those of you who’ve largely avoided Kelsea Ballerini’s little subcontest, she managed to whittle her comeback contestants down to two — Ayanna Joni and Lynnea Moore — and the two go head-to-head for an instant save bid from voters.
Ayanna’s performance of Ariana Grande’s “No Tears Left to Cry” is spirited, sure, but the technical aspects of it are way behind the curve at this stage in the competition. Meanwhile, Lynnea’s take on Ella Mai’s “Boo’d Up” is similarly unpolished, albeit less enough so that she’s earned this win pretty handily.
Saved: Lynnea Moore, who chooses Kelly Clarkson to be her coach.
TEAM STANDINGS:
Adam Levine – DeAndre Nico, Reagan Strange, Tyke James.
Blake Shelton – Kirk Jay, Chris Kroeze, Dave Fenley.
Kelly Clarkson – Chevel Shepherd, Sarah Grace, Kymberli Joye, Lynnea Moore.
Jennifer Hudson – MaKenzie Thomas, Kennedy Holmes, Sandyredd.
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- The Voice recap: The top 24 perform live for your votes
