The Voice 9: The Knockouts Part 3

The final Knockouts episode is upon and while there wasn't a clear standout performance, there were still some decent ones worthy of America's attention. The real star though of the Knockouts was Rihanna's impressive ability to mentor. Not only was her critiques and advice spot on, but she said it in a way that makes you believe that she knows what she's talking about. Oh, and her ear for these hopefuls' vocals was stellar. Hands down, my favorite mentor ever on The Voice US.

On with the show!

TEAM ADAM

Shelby Brown
Jesus Take The Wheel
She didn't take any big risks with her take on this Carrie Underwood hit, but Shelby proved how muscular her instrument can be. I thought she nailed those high notes with enough strenght without losing her rich tone. 7.5

James Dupre
Sure Would Be Cool If You Did
There's nothing wrong with James' performance. In fact, he sounded good with an admirably consistent pitch. He was just too unfortunate to be paired with Shelby. 6

WINNER: Shelby Brown

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TEAM PHARRELL

Mark Hood
Stand By Me
Too. Much. There's no denying Mark's vocal ability, but this was a tad overwrought. Some of his runs were annoyingly unnecessary, his tone sounded nasally in parts, and the whole performance just came off disjointed. He's just way too lucky to be paired with Siahna. 6.5

Siahna Im
Back To Black
Was the song too big for her? She way way off key during the verses, her notes were wobbly when she tried to belt, and she looked uncomfortable. I heard her sing better. 4.5

WINNER: Mark Hood

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TEAM GWEN

Jeffrey Austin
Turning Tables
Covering Adele is a tall order, but while it wasn't particularly outstanding, Jeffrey managed to pull off the performance quite nicely. His vocals were mostly on point, his flasetto was solid, and the grit to his voice added dimension to his performance. 7.5

Kota Wade
Barracuda
Why was she shouting at us? This was unpleasant to my ears. Stop! 4

WINNER: Jeffrey Austin

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TEAM BLAKE

Emily Ann Roberts
Cowboy Take Me Away
She does remind me so much of Danielle Bradbery. Not the most exciting performer, but has this beautiful clear tone that carries the performance to something oddly compelling. I have a feeling she'd last a lot longer than I expect. 7

Nadjah Nicole
A Woman's Worth
I admit, there's something about her that's very forgettable and generic, but I can't really disregard her solid performance of this overdone Alicia Keys song. Her falsetto was particularly good. 7

WINNER: Emily Ann Roberts

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TEAM PHARRELL

Evan McKeel
Dare You To Move
Not sure what to feel about this performance. Yes, he landed his notes right where it should be, but there's something about it that didn't connect to me unlike his previous performances. I don't know. 6

Tim Atlas
Torn
Based purely on tone and quality of voice, I'd say I prefer Tim over Evan. He's not as strong as Evan, but the texture to his voice was enough to make him more interesting. If you know what I mean. 6.5

WINNER: Evan McKeel

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Regina Love
Midnight Train To Georgia
Why this song? I've heard this song being covered a million times and while Regina definitely brought the sass and vocal horsepower to the numbers, I couldn't really enjoy this as much. Vocally, it was powerful, but that's about it. 7

Riley Biederer
XO
It wasn't perfect - she hit a couple of wonky notes throughout the performance - but I appreciated the song choice, her unexpected runs, and her decent falsetto. 7

WINNER: Regina Love

Steal: Riley Biederer (Team Pharrell)