The Voice Recap: Niall Horan Dumps Season 24’s Surefire Winner on Night 1 of the Playoffs
Oh, Niall Horan. What were you thinking? As Season 24’s Playoffs got underway on The Voice Tuesday evening, the former One Direction heartthrob’s team competed for the chance to advance to the Top 12. And all six — including the Super Save artist that he was allowed to bring back after her elimination — did pretty damn terrifically. There was almost no wrong way that he could go… except one. He had among his contenders a singer who stood head and shoulders above the rest. That she should continue on wasn’t merely obvious, it was, like, mandatory. Yet he cut her and instead kept two contestants who basically travel in the same lane. (Facepalm.) Read on, and I’ll tee up how it all went down before you sound off.
Nini Iris, “River” — Grade: A | Though Bishop Briggs’ hit isn’t a huge song but a mammoth one, Niall knew what he was doing assigning it to Nini; her voice was more than humongous enough to rock it. In addition to all the firepower that she let loose, she demonstrated enviable finesse. When she was done, her coach said that in the industry right now, “there’s no big belters that have such control and such a uniqueness.” Erm, Briggs might disagree. And Dorothy. And Pink. And so on. Maybe he’d run out of superlatives?
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Claudia B., “Talking to the Moon” — Grade: A | Wow. From the start of Claudia’s Bruno Mars cover, she sang with such feeling — not to mention beauty — I would’ve believed it if you’d told me that Bruno had covered her, not the other way around. There wasn’t a false note in the entire performance. Gorgeous and then some. She could be the next Katie Melua. Claudia’s voice is “smooth as butter,” Reba marveled. Needless to say, Niall was extra glad that he had saved the contestant during the Knockouts.
Huntley, “Daylight” — Grade: A | Tackling David Kushner’s ballad, Huntley started off giving us more nuance than we (or just I?) generally associate with him. Then, as the song grew, so did his vocal to the point that it became a gloriously rich roar. I know he’s not everyone’s cuppa tea, but man, can the dude sing. Also, how good is Team Niall? Three competitors in, and I think you’d have a tough time arguing that any of them didn’t deserve the A that I gave them.
Julia Roome, “True Colors” — Grade: B+ | Niall’s Super Save artist, who’d delivered such a KO during the Knockouts, turned out a fantastically vulnerable rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s ’80s classic. Was it vocally perfect? Not all the way through, but we can probably chalk that up to the 13-year-old really feeling it, not just singing it. Loved the emotion in which her breathy cover was steeped, but for my money, the three contestants who preceded her had outdone her.
Mara Justine, “You’ve Got the Love” — Grade: A | I suspected that when push came to shove, Niall was going to stick with fan favorite Nini over Mara. (Not that he could’ve known at the time who would become a fan favorite.) But you have to admit, Mara gave a performance that was equal to her teammate’s in, if not bombast, quality. (Don’t you?) On top of that, Mara seemed 200% connected to the Florence + the Machine song that she was singing. Honestly, had I been in Niall’s loafers, I’d have kept Mara as my female belter extraordinaire over Nini.
Alexa Wildish, “Fields of Gold” — Grade: A+ | Until tonight, I was sure that Alexa was going to win Season 24. Much more than just “nostalgic-sounding,” she sings like she’s living every word that comes out of her mouth. Her Sting cover, which she also performed at her grandmother’s memorial, was nothing short of magnificent. Lovely. Poignant. Impossibly pitch-perfect. There’s so much heart in her voice, it sounds in the ears like a reassuring hand feels on the back. So good, she’d probably sound amazing singing my bar tab. How Niall could dump her, I have no idea. Is this where questionable taste meets questionable strategy?
Niall’s Picks | Huntley, Nini Iris, Mara Justine
Eliminated | Claudia B., Julia Roome and — how is this even possible?!? — Alexa Wildish
I can’t have been the only one shocked that Niall eliminated Alexa and kept both Nini and Mara, can I? Vote for your favorite performance of the night below, then answer in the comments.
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