‘The Voice’ Recap: Ariana Grande Thanks John Legend for Stealing Her Artist During Knockouts
Elizabeth Morris/NBC Reading Time: 3 minutes
The Voice Season 21 returned for the next round of the Knockouts on Tuesday night, as the coaches were once again joined by Mega Mentor Ed Sheeran. Team members went up against each other to determine who would move on to the Live Playoffs.
Tonight’s episode featured a tense match-up between some of the youngest artists in the competition this season, as well as a last-minute steal that had Ariana Grande thanking fellow coach John Legend for keeping her rejected artist in the competition.
This also marked the 500th episode, with host Carson Daly announcing that it’s the most-watched show of the decade on a single network. The coaches celebrated with an adorable cake. Blake Shelton, who’s been a coach in all 21 seasons, had a gigantic slice to himself backstage during filming.
Kelly Clarkson Puts Three Teen Artists into ‘The Voice’ Knockout
During Tuesday’s show, coach Kelly Clarkson chose to pit the Cunningham Sisters against Hailey Mia for the first Knockout round. Clarkson stole Hailey from Team Ariana in the Battles. Notably, all three of these singers are young teenagers. Hailey is 13, while the Cunningham Sisters are 14 and 15.
Hailey chose to sing “Arcade” by Duncan Laurence, showing off a voice beyond her years. The Cunningham Sisters held their own with a performance of the worship song “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” by Hillsong UNITED. During rehearsal, Mega Mentor Ed Sheeran shared a video of himself when he was 14, singing out of tune. The girls got a kick out of it.
The coaches were blown away by both performances. Ariana Grande was particularly impressed by her former artist Hailey, asking, “What is happening?” during the critique. Clarkson shared how hard it was to choose between them, especially as a mother.
However, she ultimately chose to keep Hailey Mia on her team, meaning the Cunningham Sisters were eliminated from the competition. Unfortunately, none of the coaches chose to steal them for their own teams.
SEE ALSO: BLAKE SHELTON EATS CAKE TO CELEBRATE 500 EPISODES OF ‘THE VOICE’
Ariana Grande Thanks John Legend for Last-Minute Steal
The final knockout of the night was on Team Ariana. Grande paired Ryleigh Plank with David Vogel. Both artists embraced their own unique style of performance, and it paid off. Ryleigh performed “Midnight City” by Miley Cyrus, saying she relates to the star’s attitude about being herself.
David, meanwhile, put his own spin on the Selena Gomez song “Lose You to Love Me,” playing acoustic guitar. Clarkson was obsessed with how David moved his long hair out of the way while singing, and she also expressed how cool she thinks Ryleigh is, comparing her to Annie Lennox.
Both singers delivered incredible performances that really showed off who they are as artists. It was a tough decision for Grande, but she ended up choosing to keep Ryleigh on her team. However, it wasn’t the end of the road for David, as John Legend hit his button to steal him.
Grande was relieved that someone chose to keep David in the competition. She thanked Legend, telling him she was “thrilled” that David would stick around. It goes to show what a connection The Voice coaches can create with their artists, if they’re this happy to see them continue on another team.
The final round of The Voice Knockouts for Season 21 takes place next Monday before we prepare for the live shows.
