When OG coach Blake Shelton, who had garnered a huge, loyal country audience for The Voice and coached six country singers to victory over the past 12 years, finally retired from the show, there was a lot of fuss about his replacement: one even bigger country music legend Reba McEntire. On Monday of this week, as the Season 24 Knockout Rounds began, The Voice upped the country star power by welcoming mega-mentor Wynonna Judd. And on Tuesday, two more Nashville veterans arrived to make up for Blake’s still-noticeable absence.
Country duo Dan + Shay will make Voice history next season, in spring 2024, when they become the first duo to join the coaching panel full-time (presumably sitting in some kind of buddy system, a sidecar-style double chair). ). . But they were at it for a full season earlier this week when current panelist Niall Horan couldn’t make it to his team’s Knockouts rehearsals in favor of training Team Niall’s contestants instead.
Niall’s absence, which he explained was due to his touring schedule, was glaring and just plain strange considering how committed the reigning champion coach had been so far. But Niall is sitting out next season (the Season 25 panel will consist of Dan + Shay, Reba, John Legend, and returning Season 23 coach Chance the Rapper), so the mentoring sessions would take place this week , as he told Dan + Shay over FaceTime “Good workout” for the duo.
And Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney were already a perfect fit. After Team Niall’s first three Knockout contenders took the stage and wowed everyone, John actually exclaimed, “Dan + Shay train these artists damn well!” if Niall wants to return to “The Voice” after his season 25 hiatus , it could be that he is permanently unemployed.
Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney of Dan + Shay. (NBC)
But before we get to Team Niall’s performances, coached by Dan + Shay… When we last left the show on Monday, Team Legend’s Mara Justine had just lost her hard-fought three-way knockout to Kaylee Shimizu, despite putting on a spectacular performance had performed an extremely challenging song, the Mariah Carey version of Badfinger/Harry Nilsson’s “Without You”. But Mara was still in the running because both Gwen Stefani and Niall ran out to steal her, and the episode ended on a cliffhanging note as Mara debated between these two trainers. It seemed likely that Mara would choose Gwen, who had made the more passionate and aggressive sales pitch. But no. Mara surprisingly chose Niall instead.
“I thought she was going to pick you!” A shocked John gasped at Gwen, and Gwen seemed crushed at the loss, sighing, “I didn’t know it was that important to me! I’m literally having a heart attack right now!” (Side note: Gwen, much like her hyperbolic husband Blake, tends to use the word “literally” quite liberally. Viewers can rest assured that she did not suffer a cardiac arrest on Tuesday.)
So now Mara is an official member of Team Niall… although depending on her new coach’s upcoming concert schedule, she may end up working with Dan + Shay instead. Meanwhile, here’s how Tuesday’s Knockouts unfolded:
TEAM NIALL: Nini Iris vs. Azán vs. Olivia Minogue
Self-proclaimed “dark pop” artist Nini had the most interesting cover, “Karma Police” (finally a Radiohead reality show cover that isn’t called “Creep”!), which she chose herself. And Wynonna agreed, loving the masterful way Nini built the tension until that crucial whistle, explaining: “Some of this darkness drives myself.” Britpop fan Niall seemed thrilled by Nini’s performance and probably regretted not being in town earlier to attend her rehearsal in person.
Azán glowed and sizzled on Anita Baker’s “Caught Up in the Rapture” (I have one word: sexxxxy,” an impressed Wynonna purred during rehearsals), truly feeling herself and actually engaged in the moment.
So the weakest link here was clearly the pop singer Olivia, who took a big risk with Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life” and didn’t do anything with the brand, but couldn’t quite cope with the operatic rock ballad and cried almost uncontrollably at the end of the song. Niall ultimately chose the singer, whose talents he described as “supernatural.”
WINNER: Nini Iris
TEAM GWEN: Tanner Massey vs. Chechi Sarai vs. Rudi
Nineteen-year-old handsome Tanner slowly started singing Shawn Mendes’ “In My Blood,” but its raw and heightened final chorus was a revelation when he finally got going; Gwen, who recently became Tanner’s trainer after stealing him at the Battles, admitted she didn’t know the boy had what it took, and Wynonna was so touched by Tanner’s performance that she reminded her how she felt “a year ago when my mom died.”
The weakest link of this trio was Chechi, who – despite possessing a voice that John described as “crazy” and Gwen as “that vintage thing” and which seemed tailor-made for the Jackson 5’s “Never Can Say Goodbye” – never did Her sweet and overly relaxed number gained momentum. In contrast, Rudi seemed to be the obvious standout here, performing Silk Sonic’s “Smokin’ Out the Window,” a hard-hitting and idiosyncratic showstopper that Gwen described as “so flashy and unexpected” and a “threat to everyone” in the competition .
But then Gwen explained: “This is bizarre. I kind of have a plan. I just want everyone to know that!” – before choosing Tanner. Luckily for Rudi, she had options as both Niall and Reba swooped in to steal her. Gwen also tried to use her saving throw, explaining that it was her “plan” all along to save Rudi. And luckily for Gwen, everything went according to plan.
WINNER: Tanner Massey / SAVED: Rudi remains on Team Gwen
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