‘The Voice’ season 24 episode 18 recap: Team Reba and Team Gwen compete in ‘The Playoffs Part 2’ [LIVE BLOG]

Tonight on “The Voice,” coaches Reba McEntire, Niall Horan, Gwen Stefani and John Legend each have a “super save” enabling them to return an artist from any team to join them in the playoffs in hopes of making the Live Shows. The six artists remaining on Team Reba and Team Gwen hold nothing back as tough decisions are made.

The four-time Emmy Award-winning musical competition series returns with the strongest vocalists from across the country invited to compete in the show’s newest season, which premiered September 25 on NBC. The show’s innovative format features five stages of competition: Blind Auditions, Battle Rounds, Knockouts, Playoffs and Live Performance Shows. 

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Below, read our minute-by-minute “The Voice” recap of Season 24, Episode 18 to find out what happened Monday, November 27 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite artists on NBC’s long-running reality TV show, which coach you’re rooting for and who you think will ultimately join “The Voice” winners list for this 24th season. Carson Daly hosts the Emmy-winning program.

Keep refreshing/reloading this “The Voice” live blog for the most recent updates.

8:00 p.m. – “Previously on ‘The Voice’!” In episode 17,  Team Niall took the stage. After Nini Iris (“River”), Claudia B. (“Talking to the Moon”), Huntley (“Daylight”), Julia Roome (“True Colors”), Mara Justine (“You’ve Got the Love”) and Alexa Wildish (“Fields of Gold”) sang their hearts out, Niall made the gut-wrenching decision to eliminate Claudia, Julia and Alexa. Let’s see how things play out on Team Reba and Team Gwen!

8:01 p.m. – Right out of the gate, Reba let us know that Tom Nitti had to leave the competition “for personal reasons” so she’d only have five artists performing for one of three spots. First up was Jordan Rainer with “Boondocks,” a song that she and Reba both referred to as “swampy music.” Reba liked that Jordan played the banjo on the track, but gave her feedback that the arrangement might be improved if she plugs in an a capella moment as well.

8:06 p.m. – Niall told Jordan that she has “natural stage presence” and “everything is perfect every time.” Gwen thought the song choice was “right on the nail” because she had so much control over it. John added that Jordan differentiates herself because she has “a clear sense of who you are.” Reba got choked up telling Jordan that she represents country music really well because of her talent and versatility.

8:10 p.m. – Reba called it “an undeniable decision” to bring Ms. Monét back to the competition because she’s so different from everyone else on her team. For her next performance, Ms. Monét chose “Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do).” In rehearsal, Reba didn’t have notes for her, but wanted to make sure that she “communicates with the audience” from the stage.

8:14 p.m. – John had the concern that Ms. Monét was doing “a lot of things” and thinks she should have scaled it back a little bit. Niall thought that she “took a lot of confidence” from the act of coming back because he noticed it was her most assured performance. Reba told her that she’s proud that she came back because she has so much to teach everyone that listens to her sing.

8:20 p.m. – All of the coaches were excited that Jacquie Roar was taking on “The Chain” this week because, as Niall put it, it’s “one of the best songs of all time.” Jacquie decided to turn the song on its head by giving it a rock country spin as a solo instead of keeping it as a rock group song. Reba worked with Jacquie on ideas for choreography in order to have a “firm, strong gesture” that matches the song.

8:25 p.m. – John called it his favorite Jacquie performance because she was “so tasteful” in the arrangement of the song. Gwen offered some regret that she let Jacquie go from her team and complimented her on the ability to “turn up the gears” consistently throughout the song. Reba was impressed with Jacquie’s control over the performance like they discussed in rehearsal.

8:32 p.m. – Reba’s latest stolen artist, Noah Spencer from Team Niall, went with “Jolene” for his next performance, but not the famous Dolly Parton one. Reba had to give Noah direct tips about paying attention to the audience because she noticed that he performed to everyone in the rehearsal space except for her.

8:36 p.m. – Niall said that Noah’s voice is “so unique” and the song was perfect for him to show off all the different sides of it. Gwen noticed a “mysterious energy” about him when they’re speaking, but he becomes “so available” when he’s singing and that makes him a “great artist.” Reba said that Noah “turned it up” since rehearsals and that makes her really proud of him.

8:42 p.m. – The final artist to perform for Team Reba was the 16 year old Ruby Leigh with “Long Long Time.” Ruby wasn’t sure if she could connect to the song about love, but she focused on putting in the work to connect to the song. Reba also wanted to pay attention to Ruby’s breath at the end of her lines by having her hold more of it in at the beginning.

8:47 p.m. – Gwen was “blown away” and suggested that a record from Ruby could actually save the world. John was impressed that Ruby conveyed the message of the song at such a young age and called the power of her voice “stunning.” Niall got emotional because he says it’s the best version of that song he’s ever heard and noticed her dad watching her from the audience. Reba said that Ruby “has it all together” and her performance was “stellar.”

8:49 p.m. – Carson brought the five members of Team Reba back to the stage to hear which three Reba decided to take with her to the live shows. Those artists were Jordan, Jacquie and Ruby.

8:57 p.m. – Gwen started her playoffs round with Stee who she stole from Team Legend to try his hand at “Shut Up and Dance,” a song that he’s done quite often with his band at home. Gwen thought that Stee could be a little less theatrical with the song and find some room to bring “edge” to it instead.

9:01 p.m. – John appreciated that Stee showed again that she can “do anything” and he does it all “so effectively.” Reba said “ditto” to what John said and added that Stee makes “everyone feel good.” Niall noted that he had everyone in the audience on their feet with that song and that’s why he’s such a favorite of everyone on the show. Gwen pointed out that the song is harder than a ballad and she was happy to see the edgier side to him in the performance just as they discussed.

9:08 p.m. – Bias decided to sing “Where I Find God” for this round because he liked that it shows who he is as an artist, “reserved.” Gwen noticed that Bias had his eyes shut when singing in rehearsal and while it fits the song, he still needs to make eye contact during the stage performance.

9:12 p.m. – Reba called it “a great performance” because the crowd was in it with him. Niall liked that he showed a “toned back” side to him today and advised Gwen to take Bias through to the next round. John added that it was his favorite performance from Bias because he “took us to church” by communicating with the audience with the “exact right delivery.” Gwen said that the way he did the song was “absolutely perfect” tonight.

9:19 p.m. – Gwen had to fight to keep Rudi on her team in the knockouts, but Rudi was happy to accept Gwen’s save so that they could continue to work together. For this round, Rudi chose “My All” and decided to sing it in both English and Spanish. Gwen really liked the way Rudi was performing it during the Spanish parts and advised her to not let it just be about the vocal.

9:25 p.m. – Niall called it “really, really special” and said that she gets better as the song goes on. John acknowledged that it’s a challenging song and that in the beginning she sounded like she was trying to catch her breath. Reba thought the “low end” of her voice was incredible and the beginning of the song was “so sexy.” Reba called Rudi’s style of singing “so intricate” and thinks she has a gift to interpret lyrics.

9:31 p.m. – For Tanner Massey‘s next performance he took on “Impossible,” a song that Gwen thought was perfect for him because it straddles alternative and pop. Gwen’s advice in rehearsal was to “not crunch down so hard” on his voice because he was sounding “a little bit pinched.” She said that just listening to the song will “lead you to the truth” of the lyric.

9:35 p.m. – John wasn’t sure that Tanner was on top of the song at the beginning, but he hit a high note unexpectedly later on that gave the audience a chance to connect to him. Reba called him a passionate performer with “a great chance.” Niall appreciates Tanner’s “will to learn” as an artist. Gwen understood why the beginning of the song didn’t go off well and admitted that it made her sad, but she thinks he’s “grown a lot” already.

9:42 p.m. – For her Super Save, Gwen chose to bring back the “so unique” Lennon Vanderdoes who was let go from Team Niall. Lennon chose to sing “Falling Slowly” because of the emotion and “underdog” vibe to it that fits his position now. In rehearsal, Gwen pointed out parts where his voice was falling off and cautioned him to make sure that the audience can hear him clearly.

9:46 p.m. – Niall said that the song was made for Lennon and was so happy that Gwen brought him back because his knockout performance was deserving. John called it “truly beautiful” and “so consistent” because they can see clearly who he wants to be as an artist. Reba agreed that there’s no one like Tanner in the competition and that’s important for being on the radio. Gwen called “the whole performance” beautiful and “artistic.”

9:52 p.m. – The last artist of the night was Kara Tenae with her version of “Rain.” Gwen wanted parts of the song to be “more intentional and rhythmic” and so that’s what they worked through during their rehearsal time together.

9:56 p.m. – Niall called it his favorite performance of Kara’s because she “never over performs” and always does it “like it’s meant to be.” John thought the song was “so good for your voice” and thinks it was “savvy and beautiful.” Gwen appreciates that Kara is “eager to learn” and was impressed that she remained “that in control” of her voice while moving around the stage.

9:58 p.m. – For her decision to take three artists to the live shows, Gwen selected Bias, Kara, and Tanner.

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