'The Voice' Knockout Rounds 2 recap -- Seven winners advance, plus stolen artist Adam Pearce

The Voice's Knockout Rounds continued Monday night and featured coaches Adam Levine, Jennifer Hudson, Blake Shelton, and Miley Cyrus advancing a total of eight talented artists.


In each Knockout, two members of a coach's team are pitted against each other, but each individual is able to sing a solo song of his or her own choosing -- unlike "The Battle Round" in which each faceoff is in the form of a duet and the coaches pick the songs. The goal for every artist is to outperform and outshine the opponent.

Winners of "The Knockout Round" advance to the show's "The Playoffs" in which the 20 remaining artists, plus four comeback artists, will perform for their coaches for only three spots on each team heading into live shows.

The seven winners in last night's The Voice broadcast were Team Miley's Brooke Simpson, a 26-year-old from Hollister, NC; Team Blake's Mitchell Lee, a 29-year-old from Columbia, SC who currently resides in Nashville, TN; Team Jennifer's Noah Mac, a 17-year-old from Dublin, CA; Team Blake's Keisha Renee, a 30-year-old backup singer for Nicki Minaj from Las Vegas, NV; Team Adam's Jon Mero, a 31-year-old from Des Moines, IA who currently resides in Atlanta, GA; Team Miley's Moriah Formica, a 16-year-old from Latham, NY; and Team Adam's Emily Luther, a 24-year-old from Woonsocket, RI.

Each coach is allowed to steal one artist from another team during this round.


The artist who was stolen in Monday night's broadcast was Adam Pearce, a 31-year-old from New Orleans, LA, who went from Adam's team to Miley's team.

All of the contestants got to work with this season's key adviser, first-season American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson, throughout "The Knockout Round."

Monday night's broadcast began with Miley pairing Brooke Simpson with a performance of "(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin against Stephan Marcellus, who sang "Impossible" by Shontelle. Miley paired these two together because they both have "huge voices" and are "amazing performers," so she thought it was a fair match-up.

After the performance, Adam said there's "no ceiling" for Brooke, later adding, "I'll see you in the finale when I cry because I wanted you on my team."

Blake agreed that Brooke "kicked the hell out of the song," but he pointed out how Stephan has "the X factor." Although Stephan's voice was enough to overpower his mistakes, Brooke's voice was out of this world, and so Miley named her the winner.


Next up was Team Blake's Anna Catherine DeHart, who performed "Breathe" by Faith Hill, and Mitchell Lee, who sang "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain. Blake paired these two artists because they both have unique tones to their voices and own the stage when they perform.

Miley noted Mitchell is "a seasoned performer" but she'd go with Anna Catherine in this case. Adam thought both performances had pitch issues, but he admitted he'd stick with Mitchell if he was their coach.

Blake said Mitchell made him feel "melty" but Anna Catherine represents a sound in country music that's missing today. With that being said, Blake advanced Mitchell because he can handle the competition better and knows how to work the audience.

Jennifer then paired Jeremiah Miller with Noah Mac. Jeremiah sang "Sorry" by Justin Bieber, while Noah delivered an impressive performance of "Hold Back the River" by James Bay. Jennifer had originally paired them because they're around the same age and are both contemporary artists, despite being very different from each other.

Going into the Knockout, it appeared Noah had the upper-hand because he made Kelly Clarkson cry in rehearsals, and Kelly even pointed out that Blake was "an idiot" for ever getting rid of him.


After the performance, Miley believed Noah had won the Knockout, as did Adam, who called Noah "a superstar" and unlike anything they've ever seen in the competition. Blake let Jeremiah down gently that his song choice was a "tall task" for his voice and tone, and then the coach confessed it was a huge mistake to have let Noah go in a previous round.

Jennifer then told Jeremiah that he needs to carve out his own lane in music and not sing songs by artists he actually sounds like. Jennifer named Noah the winner of the Knockout because he really proved his talent and performs beyond his years.

Another Knockout was between Kathrina Feigh's "Girl On Fire" by Alicia Keys against Keisha Renee's "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack for Team Blake. Blake paired them together because they're both big soulful singers.

Jennifer thought Keisha's vocal was beautiful and effortless, but she noted that Kathrina "sure did" set the room on fire. Blake admitted he had a lot to learn from Kathrina since she's such an incredible talent, while Keisha delivered a "thoughtful performance" that blew the roof off the place.

Because of that, Blake declared Keisha winner of the Knockout, saying her sound excites him and he can't wait to introduce her to the country music world.


A brief clip of a Knockout between Dylan Gerard and Jon Mero was then show. Jon won the Knockout on behalf of Adam's team after he sang "Blame It On the Boogie."

Miley then paired Moriah Formica with Whitney Fenimore. Moriah took the stage with "Behind These Hazel Eyes" by Kelly Clarkson, while Whitney performed "Calling All Angels" by Train.

Adam revealed that both ladies had "destroyed" their songs, but Moriah had a "beastly soul" for such a small package. Blake found the clarity of Whitney's voice to be shocking, but Moriah was so fierce it became obvious Miley probably wouldn't want to let her go. Jennifer agreed that Moriah had won the Knockout as well.

Miley was so nervous over this decision that she confessed she was sweating. While Moriah's voice and attitude represent rock music so well, Whitney's voice also has its strengths.

In the end, the winner was Moriah, and Miley believes she has a big chance of winning the whole competition. Adam was a little upset because if he had a "steal" left, he certainly would've used it on Whitney, his former team member.


The last Knockout of the night belonged to Adam Pearce with "Smoke On the Water" by Deep Purple against Emily Luther with "Glitter In the Air" by P!nk. The Maroon 5 frontman simply wanted to see who was going to show up for the performance and who was not.

Following the match-up, Blake gushed about how Emily's performance was absolutely incredible and she allowed for the moment to be her own. Blake thought she won the Knockout, but Jennifer thought Pearce was victorious. Adam explained that Pearce "runs hot" and embodies the spirit of rock and roll that everyone loves, but Emily is an amazing singer and a star.

The only thing Adam said Emily needed to work on was putting more of herself into her pitch-perfect vocal performances. With that being said, the coach decided to move forward on The Voice with Emily because she delivered a "showstopper" and he was "blown away" by her.

However, Miley chose to steal Pearce for her own team since she said he "belongs on a bigger stage with more production," which will be provided to him in the next round.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski