The Voice: Night 1 of the Knockouts Leaves Us Seeing (and Hearing!) Stars
Thanks to the sneak-peek video that The Voice released ahead of Night 1 of Season 25’s Knockouts, we knew that at least one of the evening’s sing-offs was going to be standing-O-worthy. But nothing could have prepared us for the pretty damn outstanding evening of performances that we had in store. How many were “Wow!”-worthy? Read on, and we’ll discuss.
The Voice’s Best Performances of All Time, Ranked: The Good, the Badass and the Downright Amazing
Team Reba: Asher HaVon performing “Unbreak My Heart” (Grade: A) defeated Tae Lewis performing “Nothin’ On You” (Grade: A+) — Tae stolen by Dan + Shay | After hearing Asher utterly slay Toni Braxton’s classic ballad, I didn’t think Tae stood a snowball’s chance in hell of winning the Knockout. Asher’s performance was shrewdly modulated, beautifully controlled and just a fantastic demonstration of the flexibility of his voice. But then Tae got up there and knocked it not just outta the park, all the way into the next park. Not only were his vocals on point, but his performance was more than impressive, it was thrilling. (Check ’em both out at the top of this post.)
Team Dan + Shay: Olivia Rubini performing “Tiny Dancer” (Grade: B) defeated Frank Garcia performing “El Triste” (Grade: A+) | Holy smokes! By the time Frank was done, I was like, “This kid’s not good or even great, he’s phenomenal.” His performance was polished and powerful, emotional and exciting, and those vocals — extraordinary. Forget The Voice, he could win Eurovision with those pipes! In turn, Olivia delivered a perfectly good rendition of Elton John’s golden oldie. The trouble with her — for me, anyway — is that I always get a vibe of insincerity from her. Alas, all the coaches except for Chance preferred her to Frank. Gutted.
Team Legend: Nathan Chester performing “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” (Grade: A) defeated Val T. Webb performing “Sweet Love” (Grade: B) | If you’d told me that Nathan had been beamed in from another era, I’d have believed it, he so perfectly inhabited the oldie that he covered. Charisma turned up to 11, he served an incontrovertible reminder that he is the complete package: amazing voice and a gift for manipulating it, plus stage presence for days. Singing second, Val delivered a lovely take on Anita Baker’s hit, and she certainly gave it her all. But whereas Nathan made me think, “Damn, this is better than the original,” Val just… didn’t.
Team Chance: Serenity Arce performing “Unfaithful” (Grade: B) defeated Dani Stacy performing “Jaded” (Grade: C) | First in the spotlight, Dani fell into the trap that Mega Mentor Keith Urban had warned her of — of being “too Miley” on her Miley Cyrus cover. Dani wasn’t terrible or anything, she just sounded like she was doing an OK Miley impersonation. On Rihanna’s hit, Serenity once again tapped into the intensity and rawness that makes her performances so memorable. Was it a perfect vocal? No. (Even her coach said so.) But when she’s up there looking for all the world like the emotion’s tearing her up inside, you, or at least I, hardly notice. She’s a real contender.
Team Reba: Josh Sanders performing “Wild as Her” (Grade: A) defeated Ashley Bryant performing “Heads Carolina, Tails California” (Grade: B+) | Singing Voice Season 8 contestant Corey Kent’s hit, Josh killed. Period. His voice was packed with great grit and fire. I don’t even know how he survived those spectacularly raspy long notes. (Somebody get that man a lozenge, quick!) On Jo Dee Messina’s oldie, Ashley was absolutely charming. I actually liked her performance a lot more than I expected to. It just paled in comparison to Josh’s. He was whiskey, she was a wine cooler.
Team Dan + Shay: Anya True performing “Runaway” (Grade: A) defeated Kyle Schuesler performing “Say You Won’t Let Go” (Grade: A-) — Kyle stolen by Chance | OK, I know I’m giving out A’s right and left tonight, but s—t! This was a pretty good coupla hours of performances, right? Another standout was Anya, who could’ve definitely reeled in Season 23 winner Gina Miles’ fans with her take on Aurora. It was gorgeous and haunting, and she seemed entirely in the moment on stage. On James Arthur’s ballad, Kyle went from appealingly low-key to altogether committed, singing with a clarity and power that would’ve made you run back from the kitchen if you’d gone for a snack. I’m still ticked that Frank didn’t get stolen, but I can’t say that Kyle wasn’t deserving.
Whose performance rocked your world Monday night? Are you as peeved as I am by any of the eliminations? Vote in the poll below, then hit the comments.
