The Voice coaches Kelly Clarkson and Niall Horan advanced four artists -- two each -- to the live semi-finals round after their entire teams performed during the Season 23 episode that aired Monday night on NBC.

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After Team Kelly and Team Niall took the stage one at a time for The Playoffs round, Kelly and Niall could only choose two acts each to represent them in the live semi-finals at the end of the two-hour episode.

Of her five team members, Kelly made the "really hard" choice to save D.Smooth, a 25-year-old from Birmingham, AL, and Holly Brand, a 22-year-old from Meridian, MS.

"D.Smooth has tugged at strings in my heart and I've loved him since the Blinds. He has such a cool gift y'all and stands out to me," Kelly explained.

"And with Holly, she's very exciting for me, because she's got this whole twist. She can do whistle notes and R&B pop runs. There's just something super special about her, and I don't think people realize how gifted she is yet."

Kelly added of her Top 8 members, "I think they're both going to dominate, not only in the semi-finals but I think they'll both make the finale. Team Kelly is probably going to win it all y'all! My team is so good!"

Kelly therefore eliminated Ali, a 24-year-old from Walnut, CA; Cait Martin, a 33-year-old from Atlanta, GA; and Neil Salsich, a 34-year-old from Louis, MO.

Of the five acts on his team, Niall decided to advance Ryley Tate Wilson, a 15-year-old from Montgomery, AL, and Gina Miles, a 19-year-old from Paxton, IL, to the next round.

"I have to advance Ryley Tate to the live shows. He's never put a foot wrong on that stage since Day 1. He's an incredible talent. He is the future of our music industry," Niall explained.

"I moved Gina forward to the live semi-finals because her growth has been so obvious. Gina is such a superstar. She smashed the Playoffs and she's ready for the live shows and beyond. She's going to have an amazing career."

Niall added, "They're going to capture the hearts of the nation, and I believe the winner of The Voice Season 23 is on my team."

By selecting Ryley Tate and Gina for the live shows, Niall ousted Michael B., a 29-year-old from Los Angeles, CA; Ross Clayton, a 33-year-old from Mcloud, OK; and Tasha Jessen, a 21-year-old from Colorado Springs, CO.

Kelly and Niall made their decisions after each artist performed on the show for the four The Voice coaches, including Blake Shelton and Chance the Rapper.

For Kelly's team, D.Smooth took the stage with "Location" by Khalid.

Chance called the performance -- which featured a lot of improving -- "insane," and he said he hadn't been worried about potentially losing The Voice "until now."

Blake said D.Smooth had lived up to his name, and Niall pointed out how it was D.Smooth's best performance so far on the show. Kelly added how D.Smooth had made the song his own and surprised her every time he sang.

Holly Brand sang "Bring On the Rain" by Jo Dee Messina.

Blake thought Holly did "a killer job" and took some risks, and Niall was glad to see a new side of the contestant. Chance praised Holly's amazing voice and great control.

And Kelly told her team member that she had shown a different side of her voice and brought viewers to a hopeful place. Kelly called her voice "ridiculous."

Cait Martin performed "Alone" by Heart.

Niall thought it was a "phenomenal" song choice and that she had "pure and clean notes," and Chance said she "killed it" and brightened up the room.

Blake noted how Cait tackled a "monster" but she got a little off pitch in some of her runs, and Kelly complimented the singer's huge voice and how she should feel "badass" for delivering a solid rendition of that song.

Neil Salsich sang "Have a Little Faith In Me" by Joe Cocker.

Blake announced how he was "rooting for" Neil, and Niall was impressed by the passion he had put into his "magical" performance.

"I think you could win the whole thing," Chance declared.

Kelly said the stage seemed like "home" for Neil, like it's his purpose in life. She thought he did an incredible job with that song.

Ali performed "Never Alone" by Tori Kelly and Kirk Franklin.

Niall was giggling out loud because he thought the song was so good, and he admitted he'd sent Ali through, personally, if she were on his team.

Chance gushed about how Ali was "phenomenal" and "fire," and Blake said she was able to accomplish her vision, although the song got away from her at times.

"We all love you. It's hard for me to imagine you not going forward," Blake shared.

Kelly complimented Ali's interesting, cool and different runs, and she pointed out how Ali had "moved" and inspired her.

On behalf of Niall's team, Gina Miles performed "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak.

As Blake was up and out of his chair, Chance praised Gina's lower register and Kelly called her rad.

"If you don't put her through, you are not only fired from this show, you are not my son anymore!" Blake shouted at Niall. "That was my favorite thing I've heard in a long time. I loved it."

And Niall agreed that Gina has a unique and distinct tone to her voice that people don't hear often. She apparently gave him goosebumps with her performance.

Ryley Tate serenaded the audience with "When the Party's Over" by Billie Eilish.

Chance told Ryley that he's amazing and showed so much control, adding, "I think it would be a shame if you didn't move to the next round. I'm in full support of you going to the next round."

Kelly admitted she was "very scared" of Ryley potentially winning The Voice because he's just "so good," and Blake dubbed the performance "unbelievable" -- all of the different parts of his voice.

"You know you've got to put Ryley through. Don't mess around with this. Stop experimenting. This is not the time for you to goof around," Blake told Niall.

Niall boasted about Ryley's maturity and handling a difficult competition so well.

Ross Clayton sang "With Or Without You" by U2.

Kelly said Ross sang with "ache and longing" and it was "so good," and Blake called the performance "incredible" and "powerful."

"Come on Niall, you know you've got to put Ross through. Everybody knows it!" Blake said.

Chance thought it was Ross' best performance on the show, and Niall praised Ross for conquering one of the greatest rock songs of all time.

Tasha Jessen took the stage with "Here" by Alessia Cara.

Blake gushed about how Tasha was on "a 10" from the start of the song. Chance said the way she started out was "a little rocky" but then she took total control over the song, which took confidence to pull that off.

Kelly dubbed Tasha "a very talented artist," even though she didn't think it was her best performance because the song had gotten away from her a little bit.

And Niall admitted the song was always going to be a big task, especially when it came to breathing control. Niall said he was very proud of the artist.

Michael B. took the stage with "The Joke" by Brandi Carlile.

Kelly was brought to tears by Michael's "beautiful and booming" voice, and Blake said he hadn't seen anyone else pour more of him or herself into a song this season.

Chance announced how he was "Team Mikey B.," and Niall congratulated Michael on his connection to the lyrics.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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