The Voice Recap: It’s Duet-or-Die as the Battles Usher Five Contestants to the Exit
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Night 4 of The Voice’s Season 24 Battles teed up a handful of genuinely jaw-dropping performances (a couple of which you can watch below). But the episode also marked the end of the line for five members of John Legend, Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefani and Niall Horan’s teams. Which ones? Read on…
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Team Reba: Ruby Leigh (Grade: A) defeated Al Boogie (Grade: B) on “Jolene” | After being warned by Reba in rehearsal that they weren’t connecting with the audience — in that instance, her — the country duo ripped their own hearts out on stage, not just singing but giving full-bodied performances. They sounded great together, with Al’s low rumble of a voice beautifully complimenting Ruby’s more piercing tone. But the Battle altogether belonged to the 16-year-old four-chair turn, whose range allowed her to be even more expressive and emotional than her teammate.
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Team Gwen: RUDI (Grade: A) defeated Joslynn Rose (Grade: B+) on “My Immortal” | Though the opponents’ coach all but admitted that Evanescence’s ballad worked in Joslynn’s favor, Gwen was also right that it didn’t hold RUDI back at all. She rose to the occasion and kept on rising. So although at first I leaned toward Joslynn — love that cry in her voice, that ache — by the end I was all the way in favor of RUDI winning. Where Joslynn’s voice shrank, RUDI’s grew — to the point that she deserved to have her name typed in all caps the way she does!
Team Niall: Noah Spencer (Grade: B) defeated Reid Zingale (Grade: B-) on “Lego House” | The rehearsal for the twosome’s Ed Sheeran cover suggested that Noah was at an advantage; the vocal just seemed to come more naturally to him than Reid. In the moment of truth, yeah, the Battle was Noah’s from the start. Reid has a lovely but unmemorable voice — as John put it, “His tone just didn’t grab me” — and kinda gives off backing-singer vibes. Noah, on the other hand, has that “Listen up!” growl in his bag of tricks and carries himself like a born frontman.
Team Legend: Taylor Deneen (Grade: B) defeated Azán (Grade: B+) on “Do It” — Azán stolen by Niall | Before rehearsal, John explained that he’d paired Azán and Taylor because he could imagine assigning them the same songs independently of one another. But despite the fact that they traveled in the same lane, they weren’t moving at the same speed. Taylor has a fine voice and did, as John advised, step up the personality on stage. However, Azán just has “it.” She’s captivating to watch, alive from the inside out, and having as much of a good time as she’s showing us. “I feel like you belong up there,” John said. Agreed! Can’t believe John chose Taylor over her.
Team Niall: Alexa Wildish (Grade: A+) defeated LVNDR (Grade: A) on “Everything I Wanted” | Paired by Niall because he saw these contestants as his two storytellers, LVNDR and Alexa told a tale that should have ended with neither of them going home. Their Billie Eilish cover was truly gorgeous, with LVNDR’s vocals rolling in as softly as fog and Alexa delivering a performance that was so pure and emotional and beautiful, it made me think of Karen Carpenter. No wonder Alexa was in tears by the end.
Team Gwen: Jenna Marquis (Grade: B-) defeated Claire Heilig (Grade: C-) on “Flowers” | We only got the smallest taste of this match-up, as it was given the quickie treatment. But even in a matter of seconds, it was easy to hear that quirky Jenna was giving the far more ear-catching performance. In that little snippet, she sounded perhaps over-stylized, but ya can’t say she didn’t make you look up and go, “Who is that?”
Team Legend: Kaylee Shimizu (Grade: A) defeated Elizabeth Evans (Grade: A) on “traitor” — Elizabeth stolen by Reba | Tackling Olivia Rodrigo, Kaylee and Elizabeth were incredibly well-matched in terms of vocal firepower. (Hear for yourself below.) What’s more, every time I felt like the ear-bending oddities of Elizabeth’s voice gave her the edge, Kaylee would chime in, taking a whole different but no less compelling approach to her delivery. And they were characters on that stage — individual and intriguing characters. Were I in John’s shoes, knowing that Voice viewers don’t always respond to the unusual, I’d have given the win to Kaylee, too.
Who really wowed you Monday night? Any decisions leave you befuddled? Vote for your fave below, then hit the comments with your critiques.
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