‘The Voice’ Recap: The Knockouts Begin with a Double Steal
Greg Gayne/NBC Reading Time: 3 minutes
The Voice Season 21 returned for the first round of the Knockouts on Monday night, as the coaches were joined by Mega Mentor Ed Sheeran. Team members went up against each other to determine who will move on to the Live Playoffs.
Unlike the Battles, the Knockouts have each singer performing their own song. The coaches must choose one winner out of each of the pairs, with the other singer facing elimination if no one steals them. In this round, each coach can steal one artist from another coach’s team.
There were two steals during Monday night’s show. In one case, two coaches hit their buttons for the chance to have an artist on their team. The final decision came down to the artist in question.
‘The Voice’ Coaches Use Their Steals as Knockouts Begin
The first steal of the night happened after Team Ariana artists Raquel Trinidad and Katie Rae went up against each other. Katie delivered an emotional performance of “Hold on to Me” by Lauren Daigle, while Raquel showed off her sassy stage presence on “Valerie” by the Zutons.
The coaches loved the passion Katie brought to her performance, and they praised the runs Raquel did during her song. In the end, coach Ariana Grande chose to keep Raquel on her team. However, Katie got to stay in the competition thanks to Kelly Clarkson, who said she loved Katie’s tone and stole her for her own team.
The final Knockout of the night also ended with a steal. The sibling trio Girl Named Tom went up against Holly Forbes on Team Kelly. Holly performed “Superstar” by Delaney & Bonnie, putting her all into the performance. Girl Named Tom sang “Witchita Lineman” by Glen Campbell, in honor of their father who is battling cancer.
Girl Named Tom showed off some amazing harmonies and ethereal vocals. Clarkson chose to keep them on her team. Meanwhile, John Legend and Grande both hit their steal buttons for Holly, who chose to join Team Ariana.
SEE ALSO: YOU BE THE JUDGE: IS ARIANA GRANDE A GOOD FIT FOR ‘THE VOICE’?
Wendy Moten Blows the Coaches Away Again on Team Blake
During Monday’s show, Team Blake artist Wendy Moten continued to prove herself as a frontrunner in this season’s competition. She performed “Ain’t No Way” by Aretha Franklin in her Knockout against Jonathan Mouton, whom Blake Shelton stole from Team Legend in the Battles.
The coaches were visibly amazed by Wendy’s performance. Their jaws dropped and they stood up to cheer her on. Jonathan undoubtedly has an incredible voice, and he really gave it his all with his performance of “I Can See Clearly Now” by Jimmy Cliff, but going up against Wendy is practically an impossible task.
Grande told Wendy she “blew it out of the water,” while Clarkson said artists like her are “the reason why I’m sitting here.” Unsurprisingly, Blake Shelton chose to keep Wendy on his team, meaning Jonathan was unfortunately eliminated.
Sabrina Dias Plays Two Instruments During Knockout Performance
One of the most memorable performances of the night came from Team Legend artist Sabrina Dias, who went up against Joshua Vacanti. Sabrina sang Mega Mentor Ed Sheeran’s song “Photograph,” playing both guitar and drums while she sang.
As Grande pointed out, Sabrina managed to handle both instruments without letting her vocals get lost. She deserves a lot of credit for juggling so many things at once and still sounding amazing. However, it wasn’t enough to keep Sabrina in the competition, as Legend chose Joshua as the winner.
His choice is understandable, since Joshua has such a unique and powerful voice. But it’s sad to see Sabrina leave. Clarkson gushed about how cool she is, but unfortunately she already used her steal earlier in the show on Katie Rae.
The Knockouts continue tomorrow night and next Monday before we prepare for the live shows this season.
