The Voice kicked off its Knockout Round with nine artists advancing to the Live Playoffs, including several talented singers either saved by their own coaches or stolen by other coaches.

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The Voice's Knockout Round commenced during Monday night's two-four episode of Season 14 on NBC.

In the Knockout Round, a coach pits two team members against each other -- but unlike the Battle round in which the pair performs a duet -- the singers are able to sing separate solo songs in attempt to impress the audience.

The artists who won their respective Knockouts last night were Kyla Jade, a 33-year-old from Kansas who currently resides in Nashville, TN; Kaleb Lee, a 32-year-old from Kentucky who currently resides in Ormond Beach, FL; Mia Boostrom, a 25-year-old from Boston, MA; Spensha Baker, a 25-year-old from Boerne, TX; Johnny Bliss, a 26-year-old from New York, NY; and Jackie Verna, a 23-year-old from New Jersey who currently resides in West Chester, PA.

As in seasons past, each coach is allowed one "Steal," during this phase of competition, meaning Kelly Clarkson, Adam Levine, Alicia Keys, and Blake Shelton can choose one losing artist from anyone's Knockout to join his or her team instead of watching that contestant get eliminated.

The stolen artist on Monday night's show was Jackie Foster, a 22-year-old from California who currently resides in Boston, MA. She decided to join Alicia's team after losing her Knockout on "Team Adam," despite the fact Adam had attempted to save her.

A new twist for Season 14 affords each coach the opportunity to use one "Save," meaning Adam, Kelly, Alicia and Blake can each save one of their own team members from elimination. That means a coach may keep both of his or her team members -- the winner and the loser -- matched for one Knockout pairing.

However, if a losing Knockout artist is both saved and stolen following an excellent performance, the singer can choose whether to remain on the same team with his or her previous coach or test his or her luck with a new coach, who may be equally or even more interested and invested in the contestant.

The artists who were saved last night were Austin Giorgio, a 21-year-old from Rochester, NY, on "Team Blake," and Drew Cole, a 25-year-old from Connecticut who currently resides in Los Angeles, CA, on "Team Adam."

Drew decided to stay on his coach Adam's team even though Blake had tried to steal him.

For the first Knockout of the night, Kyla was paired with Jaclyn Lovey, a 16-year-old from Placerville, CA, on behalf of Blake's team. Jaclyn sang a sweet and angelic version of "Put Your Records On," while Kyla brought the house down with "You Don't Own Me."

Kyla received a standing ovation from all four coaches, and Adam insisted there has never been a stranger pairing on the show. Although Blake believed Jaclyn's voice was almost like a secret, Kyla owned the song and the stage from beginning to end -- and so Kyla was named the winner.

For "Team Kelly," Kaleb Lee went up against Justin Kilgore, a 30-year-old from Austin, TX. Justin performed "Shameless" and then Kaleb sang "Free."

Kaleb was called "a force to be reckoned" and "the real deal." The coaches, on the other hand, had trouble figuring out who Justin is as an artist, and Blake noted that nerves seemed to get the best of Justin in this round.

Blake admitted to Kaleb he had "screwed up" by letting him go in the Battle Round, and then Kelly named Kaleb the Knockout champion.

In a Knockout for Adam's team, Mia sang "Wade In the Water," while Jackie Foster performed "Bring Me To Life." They are two completely different artists, who were both "at the top of their game."

Blake said Jackie, "a rock chick," is "as good as it gets," but he noted that Mia was "brilliant" and he'd probably pick her as the winner. Kelly complimented Jackie's amazing range but dubbed Mia "a dark horse." However, Kelly admitted she'd choose Jackie as the winner.

Despite Mia's passion and the warmth in her voice, Alicia agreed with Kelly that she'd pick Jackie as the champion. Adam called the Knockout "a tie" and said they're "both amazing enough to be in the finale of this show."

With that being said, Adam declared Mia the winner and then immediately attempted to save Jackie.

However, Kelly, Blake and Alicia all tried to steal Jackie! Adam told Jackie to stay on his team since she loves rock and roll, but Alicia made the great point that rock stems from blues and from soul -- which are her specialties -- so Jackie surprised everyone and joined Alicia's team.

Up next was a Knockout for "Team Blake" between Spensha, who sang "Broken Halos," and Austin, who performed "Almost Like Being In Love."

The coaches seemed to agree that although Austin worked the stage, Spensha had won the Knockout. Adam advised Austin to show more "bad boy" if he advances in the competition, while he said Spensha has an "explosive combination" of musicality.

"We're down to the best of the best, and so this one is a tough one for me because you're two of my favorites," Blake announced, adding that Austin had passion but Spensha was more connected to her song.

In the end, Spensha won her Knockout but Blake thought Austin was special enough to save him and keep the artist on The Voice.

The next Knockout was for Alicia's team, and Johnny sang "Alive" against Miya Bass' performance of "Castle On the Hill."

Adam noted "Castle On the Hill" as a song choice "presented issues" for Miya, a 29-year-old from Jamaica, NY.

Blake agreed that Miya didn't live up to what she's capable of doing on the stage, and Kelly asked the artist to explore her potential more. Alicia thought both artists had "electric energies" during their performances, but she decided Johnny had poured everything into his Knockout and ultimately won it.

And last but not least, Drew faced off against Jackie Verna for a Knockout on behalf of Adam's team.

Drew performed "Slow Hands," and Jackie sweetly sang "American Honey." Both artists have made great strides in the competition so far, and Adam pointed out there was no correct choice here.

Adam announced Jackie as the winner since her voice has impact without sounding harsh, not to mention Adam loves having a country artist on his team.

Adam then pressed his button to save Drew; however, Blake attempted to steal Drew away from Adam because he's "an incredible vocalist and musician." Adam advised Drew "not to be seduced by that maniac," and then Drew opted to stay on "Team Adam" because he said he's "a loyal man."


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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