'The Voice' Playoffs recap: Blake Shelton and Jennifer Hudson advance Keisha Renee, Red Marlow, Chloe Kohanski, Davon Fleming, Noah Mac, and Shi'Ann Jones

The Voice's Blake Shelton and Jennifer Hudson had their teams perform in "The Playoffs" before eliminating three out of six team members each during Monday night's Season 13 broadcast on NBC.


"The Playoffs" kicked off with 12 impressive performances from the members of Blake and Jennifer's teams.

In addition to the five artists per team who had survived the previous rounds, Blake and Jennifer each also got to select a "comeback artist," someone whom they believed deserved a second chance in The Voice competition.

After his team's set of performances, Blake decided to advance the following three artists to live shows: Keisha Renee, a 30-year-old former backup singer for Nicki Minaj from Las Vegas, NV; Red Marlow, a 40-year-old construction company owner from Rogersville, AL who currently resides in Dickson, TN; and Chloe Kohanski, a 23-year-old singer from Mt. Juliet, TN.

Blake thought Keisha's talent is undeniable, while working with Red just makes a lot of sense given their  shared country roots and similar sound. Blake also admitted that advancing Chloe was a "surprise" to him and he "never saw that coming."


Blake's revealed that choosing among his team members was the toughest situation he's ever found himself in across 13 seasons of The Voice.

The artists whom Blake decided to eliminate were Mitchell Lee, a 29-year-old woodworker and aspiring dentist from Nashville, TN; Esera Tuaolo, a 48-year-old former pro NFL football player from Hawaii who currently resides in Minneapolis MN; and his comeback artist of the season, Natalie Stovall, a 35-year-old musician from Columbia, TN who currently resides in Nashville, TN.

The three artists Jennifer will be taking with her to live shows next week are Davon Fleming, a 25-year-old worship leader from Baltimore MD; Noah Mac, a 17-year-old from Dublin, CA; and Shi'Ann Jones, a 15-year-old from Paducah, KY.

Jennifer thought Davon represents The Voice perfectly, while Noah has starpower and is an incredible entertainer. Jennifer also followed her heart in wanting to keep Shi'Ann on her team.

Jennifer therefore ousted three talented singers: Chris Weaver, a 29-year-old worship leader and drag queen from Freeport, NY; Hannah Mrozak, an 18-year-old esthetician from Richfield, WI; and her comeback artist of the season, Lucas Holliday, a 26-year-old convenient-store cashier from Lansing, MI.


The Voice broadcast began with Jennifer's entire team of six members performing songs the coach had selected for them one at a time. 

Davon sang "I'm Changing" by Jennifer herself from the movie Dreamgirls, and he received the only standing ovation of the night from all four coaches. Adam admitted he "hated" the performance only because Davon isn't on his team.

"I'm pretty sure you're going to the lives baby," Miley noted, before Jennifer complimented Davon on conquering one of the most challenging songs vocally. 

Adam later told the cameras backstage that Davon "belongs in the finale."

Hannah then took the stage with "Learn To Let Go" by Kesha. Adam confessed it was hard to let Hannah go from his won team but she was in a great place now. Blake was "mesmerized" by her performance, and Jennifer said that Hannah "blew me away."


Lucas performed "The Beautiful Ones" by Prince and the Revolution.

"I don't know what the hell just happened right now. All I know is I want to see it again and again and again," Blake gushed to the contestant, before Jennifer added that Lucas delivered the difficult song with excellence.

Shi'Ann sang "Tattooed Heart" by Ariana Grande, and Blake said she's his favorite artist on someone else's team because there's something very special about her. Jennifer called her artist's talent "undeniable" and "life changing."

Chris performed "California Soul" by Marlena Shaw, and Miley said he came onto the show "A+" and stayed "A+" the whole time. Adam insisted to Jennifer that she should never let Chris go, but Blake and Jennifer agreed that Chris had yet to show a softer side of himself and tap into an A-Z journey for his listeners.

And last but not least, Noah took the stage with "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins.


"Team JHud, you've got yourself a finalist for sure," Miley said, paying a compliment to Phil's lower register.

Adam felt that Noah was the "only real true breakout" star of the show, adding that he had become a frontrunner. Blake confessed he was a "dummy" for letting Noah go in a previous round, and then Adam was later shown telling the coaches privately that Noah is "going to win probably" because "he's amazing."

First up for Blake's team in the Playoffs was Red with a performance of "Chiseled In Stone" by Vern Gosdin. Jennifer said she hopes to go to one of Red's concerts someday, and Miley wishes that Red was on her team because she thinks he "has a really great chance of winning this show."

Chloe performed "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper. Miley called the contestant "a punk rock queen," and then Blake said her signature sound kept people on the edge of their seats throughout the whole performance.

"Dangit Chloe, you're really good," Blake said, almost with surprise and a little frustration.


Natalie sang "Callin' Baton Rouge" by Garth Brooks, and Adam joked it was "the Blakiest performance" he's ever seen. Adam, however, said watching Natalie perform with pure bliss was "infectious," and Blake loved having a talented musician on the show.

Esera took the stage with "How Do I Live" by LeAnn Rimes. Jennifer admitted the vocal was "slightly pitchy at first," but he brought it home, and Adam agreed that nerves probably played a role in that for Esera. But Blake appreciated Esera's "remarkable" range even though he had yet to master technique.

Mitchell Lee then performed "Heaven" by Bryan Adams. It wasn't Jennifer's favorite performance by him, saying she would've liked to hear it in a different key, but Blake thought Mitchell couldn't have belted out the song any higher.

Blake seemed to initially want to keep Mitchell on his team because of his ability to work the stage, but the coach ended up going in a different direction.

And last but certainly not least, Keisha closed out the show with "Love Can Build a Bridge" by The Judds. Jennifer wanted Blake to keep her just so that she can continue hearing her beautiful voice.

"I'm not sure Blake is dumb enough to let you go," Adam said.


Blake didn't argue with Adam, as he thought Keisha brought the performance to a whole new level.

"The Playoffs" continue on November 14 and November 15 with the members of Miley Cyrus and Adam Levine's teams performing for a spot to stay on The Voice. At the end of this round, only the Top 12 will remain heading into live shows.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski