'The Voice' coaches advance eight artists as "Knockout Round" kicks off

The Voice coaches advanced eight artists with the commencement of its "Knockout Round" during Monday night's Season 9 broadcast on NBC.


The "Knockout Round" kicked off Monday night as Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton and Pharrell Williams began pairing off members of their teams to duke it out over one spot in each matchup. The contestants were each allowed to sing a solo -- a song of their own choosing -- in the hope of outperforming their opponent.

During the "Knockout Round," each coach is allowed only one steal for his or her own team. An artist can only be stolen by another coach after losing his or her respective faceoff.

All the contestants were guided and assisted by The Voice's newest key advisor Rihanna.

For "Team Adam," Andi & Alex performed "Stupid Boy" against Blaine Mitchell, who sang "Hold Back The River." Both artists received standing ovations from all four coaches. Blake admitted he screwed up by letting Blaine go during the "Battle Round," and Pharrell said Blaine had "a moment." In the end, Adam picked Blaine as the winner because his talent is powerful.


Gwen paired Braiden Sunshine with Ellie Lawrence. Braiden sang "Feeling Good" and received a standing ovation, while Ellie performed "Cool For The Summer." Adam was impressed by Braiden's improvement in the competition, and Blake joked around that Braiden entered the competition as Harry Potter and is now Michael Buble. Gwen picked 15-year-old Braiden as the winner considering the fact that Ellie didn't have as much control over her song.

Blake forced Barrett Baber to sing against fellow country artist Blind Joe. Barrett performed "Colder Weather" and Blind Joe sang "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys." Pharrell explained how Barrett took everyone on "an emotional excursion," and Gwen pointed out how Barrett knows who he is and is already established. Taking Blind Joe's nerves into account, Blake picked Barrett to advance.

For "Team Pharrell," Amy Vachal performed "A Sunday Kind Of Love" against Madi Davis, who sang "A Case Of You." Adam revealed it's "impossible to replicate what Amy does," but Madi apparently snuck up on Blake and the smoothness of her voice inspired him to take a mental bubble bath. Though Pharrell insisted both girls won the Knockout, Pharrell selected Madi as the winner, calling her "a 16-year-old beautiful harmonious bird."

However, both Adam and Blake opted to steal Amy. Blake argued she's a star and one of his favorite artists ever to appear on the show. Adam countered with the fact Amy could win the whole thing and he knows what to do with her. Amy ultimately decided to join Adam's team.

Blake also paired Chance Pena singing "Demons" with Ivonne Acero singing "Part Of Me." Chance's choice of song was criticized because it didn't really show off his vocal range. Ivonne, on the other hand, sang straight to Gwen's heart and Adam told her that she had experienced an emotional breakthrough. With that said, Blake chose Ivonne as the winner since she "mastered the art" of losing her nerves and "singing her tail off."


The last Knockout of the night was between Jordan Smith with "Set Fire To The Rain" and Viktor Kiraly with "If I Ain't Got You" for Adam's team. Blake said Viktor knocked it out of the building but Jordan delivered one of the greatest vocals he's ever heard live in his life. Pharrell confessed both guys could make it to the end, and Gwen joked about how Jordan is a freak of nature because his vocals are so "mind-blowing."

Although Viktor tackled his song and did an amazing job, Adam wanted Jordan on his team going forward because he's "a unicorn." Adam said it's always a profound moment to hear Jordan sing and no one has ever really affected him through song the way Jordan always tends to.

With that said, Gwen opted to steal Viktor for her own team because she was amazed by his gift.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski