The Voice recap: John Legend and Camila Cabello battle for a top Team Blake artist
These 3-way Knockouts haven't been as agonizing as it seems like they were set up to be — the best singers in the competition really are rising to the top. Things are moving along so smoothly, in fact, that The Voice is cool with speeding through a Team Camila Knockout between Eric Who, Reina Ley, and Jaeden Luke in between the two highlighted Knockouts of the evening. I feel bad for Reina Ley and Jaeden Luke here — we don't even get a short clip of what they're singing! Instead, we learn that Eric Who performs the hell out of Elle King's "Ex's and Oh's." There was crawling on the ground, guys! That's commitment. Camila Cabello calls him "one of the best performers of the season" and hands him the big W. Let's see who else will be joining Eric when the Live Playoffs begin.
Team Legend: Ian Harrison, "Cough Syrup" by Young the Giant vs. Omar Jose Cardona, "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons vs. Morgan Taylor, "I Got You (I Feel Good)" by James Brown
Tyler Golden/NBC
Oh wow, this is a tough pull for Morgan Taylor and Ian Harrison — Omar Cardona has seem poised to make it into the live rounds since his Blind Audition. The guy can sing his butt off! His song choice here isn't my personal favorite of his, but he really shows off what he can do — his range and control are in full display. As Camila Cabello puts it, Omar has "this giant dragon in [him] but [he] know[s] how to tame it." Ian Harrison, who John Legend stole from Gwen's team, does his best and really gets to show off who he is as an artist, but there's no real wow factor in this performance. John tells him that while the vocals were great, he needs to work on telling the story of the song through his body language, too. Morgan Taylor, meanwhile, gives her best performance to-date: In rehearsals, John is impressed by how well this new arrangement really works for her vocals, which remain soulful and emotional. He thinks she "nailed it" in the actual performance, but there's no stopping Omar. John loves how he really built up to the big moments at the end — he knew when to hold back, too, which made for a great "journey" for the listener to go on. Omar Jose Cardona wins this Knockout.
Team Blake: Bryce Leatherwood, "Colder Weather" by Zac Brown Band vs. Jay Allen, "Prayed For You" by Matt Stell vs. Kate Kalvach, "Anyone" by Justin Bieber
Tyler Golden/NBC
Mr. Leatherwood is the first to go in this matchup of three artists who clearly know who they are and take the stage with the confidence to prove it. Bryce has been sailing through rounds by simply being himself: An old school country artist through and through. Look at that hat! And that belt buckle! That's country, baby. He does have pitch problems in both rehearsals and during the final performance, but both John and Blake Shelton say they're pretty easy to brush off since he checks off so many other boxes. He's not the most exciting country artist we've had on this show, but he is solid. That's a word I would've used to describe Jay Allen before this performance. In rehearsals, Blake advises Jay to be a little less intense while singing this love song, which is ultimately pretty joyful. He seems to lighten up a little, but then something strange happens where his vocals drop — it almost sounds like he forgets the lyrics — and later he explains he was so overwhelmed with emotion when he saw his fiancee in the audience. It pretty much knocks him out of the running.
Then there's Kate Kalvach who absolutely nails this Justin Bieber song. I had chills! I was tearing up! She infuses so much emotion into her voice without overdoing anything. Her vocals are spot on from start to finish. Both Camila and John (who still have steals, by the way) are up on their feet. John calls her performance "a revelation" and Camila tells Kate that even after she picked Blake over her in the Blinds, she remains one of Camila's favorites in the competition. And then Blake puts his experience on The Voice to good use — it's obvious that both Camila and John want to steal Kate, so why not stick with his country guy? Blake hands the win to Bryce Leatherwood. John and Camila can barely hold back before pressing their buttons for Kate Kalvach, who decides to go with Team Camila, since the pop singer had fought so hard for her in the first round. This is a great get for Camila Cabello.
TEAM STANDINGS
Team Legend: Parijita Bastola, Omar Jose Cardona
Still to perform in Knockouts: Emma Brooke, The Marilynds (save), Kim Cruse
Team Gwen: Kevin Hawkins (steal from Blake), Kique
Still to perform in Knockouts: Cara Brindisi, Justin Aaron, Daysia, Sasha Hurtado (steal from Camila), Alyssa Witrado, Kayla Von Der Heide
Team Camila: Morgan Myles, Eric Who, Kate Kalvach (steal from Blake)
Still to perform in Knockouts: Steven McMorran (save), Jaeden Luke (steal from Blake) Reina Ley, Eric Who, Devix, Andrew Igbokidi
Team Blake: bodie, Rowan Grace (steal from Gwen), Bryce LeatherwoodStill to perform in Knockouts: Austin Montgomery, Eva Ullman, Brayden Lape
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