by Jessica Blackwell

 

The Knockouts continue tonight as Team Blake and Team Usher left it all on the stage as they tried their hardest to advance in the competition. 

 

Savannah vs. Justin - Team Blake

For his first pairing, Blake chose these two because they are both country pop artists and he wanted to see which one was the strongest. Savannah chose to perform Justin Beiber's "As Long As You Love Me" and mix it up a bit. Her version of the song sounded totally different from when the Biebs sings it, but it was still great. She gave it her own twist, and it worked for her.  Following her lead, Justin chose another young pop star's song; "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus. True to his gospel roots, he gave a soulful, passionate rendition of the song and really showcased his vocal range. He really struck a chord with the judges when he hit that high note in the end, so Blake chose to move on with him. 

 

Josiah vs. Jess - Team Usher 

Usher was looking to see which one of these similar acts had more character when he paired them together. Josiah took the stage to sing Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" and while his vocals were great, I didn't care for the musical arrangement and his tone. For anyone that knows this song, they know that it's a haunting, sad melody about a broken heart. He made it his own and I can appreciate that, but I putting an upbeat tempo and mood to this song wasn't a good choice for me. On the flip side, the crowd seemed to like it. For her song choice, Jess picked "Give Me Something" by James Morrison because it reminds her of her relationship with her alcoholic mother. She did an awesome job, but Usher wanted her to give a little bit more to the very personal song. Adam felt like these two should have done each other's songs, and I didn't think either of them did an exceptional job. Usher chose to send Josiah to the live shows, and sent Jess home. 

 

Holly vs. Luke - Team Blake 

Both are powerful vocalists with gospel backgrounds, so Blake wanted to see who was the stronger artist. True to her country roots, Holly chose "Live Like You're Dying" by Tim McGraw. She proved that she is a force to be reckoned with her VERY powerful version of this song. She has an amazing voice, and I can certainly see her in the top five of this competition. In an interesting choice, Luke chose to sing Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" for his knockout performance. He gave it an acoustic, R&B feel, and I thought it was awesome. This round was so good that they judges were literally arguing over who they thought won, but at the end of the day, the choice was all up to Blake. Although he felt that Luke did an awesome job, he chose to continue with Holly. The other judges didn't appreciate his choice, but when Holly is topping the charts like Carrie Underwood, they'll understand. 

 

Audrey vs. Michelle - Team Usher 

Usher took these two indie ladies and was looking for a great performance in order to move one of them to the live shows. To demonstrate her uniqueness, Audrey performed the rap song "How to Love" by Little Wayne. During rehearsals, Usher wanted her to be more passionate so he stood in front of her face and made her sing like she was singing a love song to him. Despite the difficult rehearsal, Jess managed to do a good job. For me, the clear winner was Michelle who performed "Raise Your Glass" by Pink. The song fit her personality, and she gave a rousing performance. Her energy paid off in the end, because Michelle will be moving on to the live rounds! 

 

Danielle vs. Taylor - Team Blake

Creating what he called a "deadly combination", he chose these two to compete against each other to see who would come out of their shell. Danielle picked the faith driven "Jesus Take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood. I had to remember that this was only her third big performance and that made her great performance even more awesome. Taylor made a bit of a darker choice with Rihanna's "Russian Roulette". Taylor knows what it's like to be eliminated, but she was thankfully stolen by Blake. To prove that he made the right choice by saving her, she left it all on the stage. She may not have picked the right song, but she gave it her all. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be saved by Blake a second time, because he chose to move on with Danielle. 

 

C. Perkins vs. Vedo - Team Usher

Usher wanted these two R&B artists to knock each other out, so he paired them together. Usher famously saved C. Perkins at the last minute after he lost his battle, so he has a lot to prove. He took the stage to perform "She Ain't You" by Chris Brown and while he gave it his best shot, he has a long way to go as a singer. He missed a lot of notes and made the performance a little hard to watch. Vedo, the soulful singer who lost his mom after the Blind Auditions, chose to dedicate his knockout performance to her. Singing "Everything I Do" by Bryan Adams gave him the opportunity to pour his feelings into the music and it really paid off. Usher correctly chose Vedo to move on to the live shows. 

 

Grace vs. The Swan Brothers - Team Blake

Grace wanted to prove she was not only a country artist but a blues artist, so she chose to sing Tina Tuner's "Can't Stand the Rain".  Although I like Grace, I felt her performance was just ok.  The Swan Brothers performed the classic, "Drift Away" by Dobie Gray and did a great job. Their performance was better, but I wanted Blake to pick Grace so we could see more from her. Unfortunately, Blake chose The Swan Brothers, making them the first duo to go to the live shows since season one. 

 

Cáthia vs. Ryan  - Team Usher 

Breaking away from her latin roots, Cáthia performed Kelly Clarkson's "Mr. Know It All" and sang on TV for the first time in english. She put her heart and soul into her performance and showcased her vocal range nicely. Ryan picked "I Don't Wanna Be" by Gavin McGraw to express how much he's changed and grown as a person recently in his life. He did an ok job, but in my opinion, Cáthia took this one. Usher agreed, and she's moving on to the live rounds! 

 

Alright, it's survival of the fittest and the weaklings have been knocked out! Here's the lineup representing for the live rounds: 

 

Team Blake: Justin, Holly, Danielle, and the Swan Brothers. 

Team Usher: Cáthia, Josiah, Michelle, and Vedo. 

 

Stay tuned for the Live Playoffs! 

 

The Voice airs Mondays at 8pm, EST on NBC. 

 

(Image Courtesy of NBC)