The Voice Recap: Night 2’s Knockouts Put Three Singers Down for the Count — Plus, Niall Horan Replaced?!?

Six more singers stepped into the metaphorical ring on The Voice Tuesday night. But only three stepped back out of it still a part of the competition. Which ones? Read on, and we’ll separate the real Knockouts from, eh, the Light Taps.

Of course, before we got to any new KOs, we had to resolve Monday’s cliffhanger. Dropped by Team Legend, Mara Justine passed on a chance to work with Gwen Stefani to instead be coached by Niall Horan, who was subsequently MIA for his own trio’s rehearsal. Mind you, he secured a fine couple of stand-ins…

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Team Niall: Nini Iris singing “Karma Police” (Grade: B+) defeated Olivia Minogue singing “Bring Me to Life” (Grade: B) and Azán singing “Caught Up in the Rapture” (Grade: A) | Owing to Niall’s touring schedule, this threesome was advised not only by Mega Mentor Wynonna Judd but Season 25 coaches Dan + Shay. Happily, the change did nothing to slow Azán’s roll. She sounded gorgeous on her Anita Baker cover — comfortable, confident and blessed with enviable range. Following Azán into the spotlight, Nini delivered a spirited take on Radiohead. Her vocal was big, emotional and attention-getting, but man, I can’t see her getting viewer votes with dark pop once the show goes live. (Can you?) Last up, Olivia was fine on the moody verses of Evanescence’s hit, but she kinda faded into the background on the chorus — like she wanted to go massive but could only get as far as sizable. And was it just me, or did she kinda lose it at the end?

Team Gwen: Tanner Massey singing “In My Blood” (Grade: B-) defeated Rudi singing “Smokin Out the Window” (Grade: B+) and Chechi Sarai singing “Never Can Say Goodbye” (Grade: C-) — Rudi saved by Gwen | After an iffy start, Tanner finally caught fire on the chorus of his Shawn Mendes cover, cranking up the angst and intensity to the point where we could almost overlook the fact that his vocal was only pretty good, not great. Next up, Chechi… Oh dear, Chechi. She is a much better singer than this performance would leave you thinking. So many pitch issues, they could’ve been collected in volumes. (Not even the whistle notes at the end could make me forget what had come before.) Finally, Rudi took the stage and just radiated star power. Perhaps not the most challenging song in the world, but she sold the living daylights out of it.

Whose performances Tuesday surprised you in a good way — and not-so-good ways? Vote for the standout below, then hit the comments.

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