Blake Shelton says he's 'quitting' after his singers perform on 'The Voice': 'You three broke me'
Blake Shelton may be no stranger to cutthroat moments on “The Voice,” but even a seasoned veteran can get thrown for a loop.
Team Blake singers bodie, Kevin Hawkins and The Dryes vied for a continued spot on Shelton’s roster during the first round of the show’s first-ever three-way Knockout Rounds Monday night.
During the revamped Knockout Rounds, each coach groups together three of their acts for a trio of back-to-back performances, after which one contestant is chosen to advance in the competition.
Bodie dazzled the coaches with his cover of Post Malone’s “Better Now,” while Hawkins and The Dryes’ delivered stirring performances of “This Woman’s Work” by Maxwell and “Chasing After You” by Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd, respectively.
The challenge of declaring a winner proved to be overwhelming for Shelton. “I’m quitting the show,” he said. “You three broke me. I quit.”
Bodie emerged victorious as the knockout’s winner, but Hawkins was in for a surprise when coaches Gwen Stefani and Camila Cabello hit their “steal” buttons for a chance to bring the vocalist on their team.
“I’ve always thought that you had crazy star power,” Cabello said. “When you sing something and I feel something in my heart, I can’t let somebody like that go ‘cause I like people (who) are the whole package.”
In the end, Hawkins chose Stefani as his new coach.
Here’s what else went down during Monday’s episode.
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Team Camila singers Chello, Morgan Myles and Orlando Mendez didn’t make things easy for their coach with their heartfelt performances.
Chello performed a tender rendition of Justin Bieber’s “Hold On,” while Myles and Mendez served up all the feelings with their covers of “What the World Needs Now Is Love” by Jackie DeShannon and Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying,” respectively.
Chello’s sharp individuality immediately stood out to Cabello.
“You’re so unique. There’s nobody else like you, period,” Cabello said. “It’s very easy for people to fall in love with the whole package of you.”
Cabello was torn by the “tough decision” of choosing a winner. “I wish I could save one of you guys (or) two of you guys. I wish I could just save you guys,” she said.
Although Myles received critiques for her onstage delivery, Cabello saw a spark of potential and chose her as the knockout’s winner.
“There’s nothing she can’t do, and I honestly feel like she could win this season,” Cabello said. “She’s just such a true artist.”
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Kique, Destiny Leigh and Rowan Grace of Team Gwen lit up the stage with their white-hot performances.
Kique got the coaches up on their feet with his explosive rendition of Outkast’s “Hey Ya!” Leigh and Grace followed this up with emotionally-charged performances of “Impossible” by Christina Aguilera and Billy Joel’s “Vienna,” respectively.
“If this was a video game, you just skipped 20 levels today,” Cabello said of Kique. “For you to do a cover that was on the cutting edge of a song that was on the cutting edge was like ‘Inception.’ I felt like a star was born.”
Despite not hitting all the right notes, Leigh’s fiery performance earned praise from Stefani.
“You shocked me today,” Stefani said. “The way that you worked the stage, you were like, ‘Whatever happens with my voice is going to happen and I’m just going to give it all I got,’ and I really felt that from you.”
Stefani chose Kique as the winner of the knockout, but he wasn’t the only Team Gwen singer to make a strong impression. Before Grace could even leave the stage, Shelton hit his “steal” button, allowing him to bring the 16-year-old singer onto his team.
“There was no way I was going to let Rowan get out of here. I love her voice,” said Shelton, adding that she’s “an incredible addition to my team.”
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'The Voice': Blake Shelton says 3 of his singers 'broke' him