by Jessica Blackwell

AND the Knockout Rounds began as the competition inches closer to the Live Shows!  The Knockout Rounds give the season 7 contestants the chance to choose their own songs to perform and they had a special guest! Taylor Swift is on the show this week, working as an advisor with every team! As we know, as the competition progresses, it gets harder to hang on because the coaches have to be super selective about who they take to the live shows. WIth the coaches only having one steal, left the contestants had to work especially hard to impress them. The best performances of the night: 

Sugar Jones vs. Bryana Salaz - Team Gwen 

Both of these singers stuck to similar songs to their blind audition choices. Sugar went with another Beyoncé song, this time performing "Love On Top" and Bryana stuck with the typical tween pop song, belting out Demi Lovato's "Heart Attack." Although I favored Sugar's song choice, Bryana really showcased her range and control. Gwen chose Bryana to stay on her team, but Pharrell stole Sugar, so we'll be seeing her again. 

Danica Shirey vs. Katriz Trinidad - Team Pharrell

Danica chose to go with an oldie but a goodie, picking Whitney Houston's first number one hit "Saving All My Love For You." Being paired up against a much younger Katriz was nerve-wracking her, but luckily she has a big set of pipes. Katriz went with a more contemporary song, Alicia Key's "Superwoman" a girl power anthem. Danica went first and did a damn near flawless performance, hitting every note perfectly. It was written all over Pharell's face - he was clearly amazed. Not to be outdone, Katriz belted out her song and gave it her all. All the coaches lamented on how Katriz was so young and did a great job - but Pharrell chose Danica. 

Damien vs. Toia Jones - Team Adam 

Sometimes when contestants make a risky song choice, it doesn't end well for them. They get points for their bravery, but often it doesn't pan out enough to push them through to the next round. This was not the case with Damien, who chose to step outside of his R&B roots and sing a Lee Ann Rimes country song this week. He truly BLEW ME AWAY. I wasn't fond of Toia's song choice with Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" she had great stage presence but its a bit earlier in the game to choose a song thats vocally lazy. The song is more talking than singing, and its a really hard song to perform. She did ok, but she clearly struggled with being able to bounce around the stage and maintain enough breath to sing proclaiming that the song was for "skinny girls." Because she hit a large note at the end, all the other coaches thought she won this round, but Adam agreed with me and chose Damien. Whew! 

The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8pm EST on NBC. 

(Image Courtesy of NBC)