As The Voice continued its Season 23 Battles Tuesday night, three more acts reached the end of the road — including one whose quirky personality had already endeared her to viewers during the Blind Auditions. Who got the chop — and who was sent home along with her? Keep reading.
Team Niall: Ross Clayton (Grade: B+) defeated Laura Littleton (Grade: C) on “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” | Paired by their coach because they’re both kinda country — as are Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty on their classic — the contestants sounded fine together. But apart, Ross really shone, taking to heart Niall’s advice to leave himself room to grow and get grittier as the song went on. Laura, on the other hand… I mean, you’ve gotta love her personality. But beyond the constant wobble in her voice — and a little of that goes a long way — I didn’t hear anything in her performance that was as “intoxicating” as the coaches did.
Team Chance: Magnus (Grade: B) defeated Alyssa Lazar (Grade: C+) on “Your Song” | Before rehearsal, Chance explained that he’d pitted these two against one another because he liked the blend of different styles — like Magnus’ soulful one, Alyssa’s rocky one. But on stage… eh. Not sure it entirely worked. Alyssa, who’d already been given short shrift during the Blinds, wasn’t at all bad — and even had some quite good moments (that growl!). She just couldn’t compete with the overall richness of Magnus’ voice. It sounded like “a warm, cozy home,” Blake said. Alyssa, he added, used too much vibrato. Even Chance questioned his team members’ choices on their duet.
Team Kelly: Marcos Covos (Grade: C+?) defeated Sheer Element (Grade: B+?) on “I Could Fall in Love” | Hard to grade this Battle as we heard what, like a single line of it? Anyway, in that snippet, Marcos was serving overwrought lead vocals a la Season 22’s Omar Jose Cardona; Sheer Element, providing heavenly, harmonious backing vocals — which, again, based on a coupla seconds, at least I preferred. Kelly, not so much. (Which means that Season 16 returnee Jej Vinson now holds the distinction of being eliminated from The Voice twice.)
Team Blake: Kylee Dayne (Grade: B-) defeated Mary Kate Connor (Grade: B) on “Anti-Hero” — Mary Kate Playoff Pass’d to the Playoffs | Though both contestants sang prettily enough, they also sang pretty… well, dully. It takes a lot to make this TayTay hit sound listless and limp, but yup, they managed to do it. If one stood out over the other — they were at their best when harmonizing — it was Mary Kate, whose voice is a little sharper (in a good way) and therefore cut through the music to make at least a marginally bigger impression. (A bit flummoxed as to how she warranted a Playoff Pass, but Team Chance’s Mariah Kalia didn’t even get a Steal Monday.)
Did anyone really knock your socks off Tuesday? Even one sock? Pick your favorite in the poll below, then hit the comments.