The Voice recap: Top 9 revealed in first-ever live remote elimination show
It's The Voice's first-ever live remote elimination show! And what a doozy of a cut to have as The Voice navigates live feeds from all 17 artists who competed last night, plus our four judges. As a reminder: We're cutting the artists down to a Top 9. The artist on each team with the most votes from America's overnight vote will automatically go through. Then, each coach will have a big decision: Of their three (or four, in Team Nick's case) remaining artists, they can select one to save. And then from the remaining artists on each team, the one with the higher vote totals will make it to the Wildcard Instant Save Round and sing for the final spot in the Top 9.
This is nerve-wracking! First of all, there's no way 21 live feeds from all over the country are going to go off without any type of glitch and we know that especially after we watch the package of coaches Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Blake Shelton, and Nick Jonas, and all of the contestants, trying to assemble the big production kits they were sent to get set up at home. It's also nerve-wracking because this is the first time we'll really see who some of the fan favorites are. You never know how people will vote, guys!
First, let's get to the results team-by-team.
NBC
TEAM BLAKE
America's Vote: Todd Tilghman
Coach's Save: Toneisha Harris
Instant Save Contestant: Joanna Serenko
Eliminated: Joei Fulco
TEAM LEGEND
America's Vote: Cammwess
Coach's Save: Zan Fiskum
Instant Save Contestant: Mandi Castillo
Eliminated: Mike Jerel
TEAM KELLY
America's Vote: Micah Iverson
Coach's Save: Megan Danielle
Instant Save Contestant: Cedrice
Eliminated: Mandi Thomas
TEAM NICK
America's Vote: Thunderstorm Artis
Coach's Save: Allegra Miles
Instant Save Contestant: Michael Williams
Eliminated: Arei Moon, Roderick Chambers
WILDCARD INSTANT SAVE ROUND
Team Blake: Joanna Serenko // "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight"
Joanna has been great at song selection throughout, and this James Taylor song is no different. She always manages to take classics and make them feel new again. Blake loves how smooth and warm her voice is, and although "accurate" isn't the most exciting word, it's a high compliment for any contestant on this show. It's not the most memorable performance, but it's so effortless.
Team Legend: Mandi Castillo // "True Colors"
This is a tough song choice since Tayler Green completely annihilated this song in her Knockout, but Mandi makes it her own. Like Joanna, she just has so much confidence in what she's doing and all of her performances make her seem like a pro. John calls it "beautiful" and once again applauds Mandi's passion and vocal choices. Oh and also, that big note toward the end of the song? Money.
Team Kelly: Cedrice // "Breathin"
Cedrice's choice to go with an Ariana Grande song doesn't lend itself to as moody of a performance as her Billie Eilish one last night, but it does show off a different, playful side. It's not the best vocal showing we've seen from her, but her coach Kelly Clarkson reminds Cedrice that she is undeniably "a star." Once again, it seems like this might all come down to song choice.
Team Nick: Michael Williams // "To Love Somebody"
Like Mandi, Michael picks a song that allows him to show off what his voice can do. It's not as electrifying as the last time he sang for his life in the four-way Knockout, but that seems like a given with the circumstances everyone's working with. Still, Michael really understands his voice — which coach Nick calls "angelic" — and knows that sprinkling in a power note or two will go a long way.
After the live Instant Save vote, Joanna Serenko wins and takes that final spot in the Top 9. That means we have to say goodbye to Mandi Castillo, Cedrice, and Michael Williams, along with our other eliminated contestants from earlier in the evening. We are getting down to it people! Any big surprises tonight? Who looks like they could go all the way?
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