Ricky Manning turned in one of the most celebrated performances of Season 7 on The Voice Tuesday night. But he still needed a steal to advance to the live rounds. The 19-year-old from Cape Coral, Fla., performed Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball.” How well did it go? Adam Levine called it “ridiculously incredible.” Gwen Stefani called…
It’s only night two of the knockout round on The Voice, and already two of the four available steals in this phase of the competition are gone. Soulful songstress Sugar Joans got one last night, courtesy of Pharrell Williams. Taylor Phelan got the other after Pharrell perhaps unwisely matched two of the best guy singers…
There’s a surprising name at the top of the iTunes chart for The Voice this morning. Jessie Pitts, 18, of Birmingham, Ala., was sitting at number 120 on the iTunes singles chart with her splendid version of Elton John’s “Your Song.” That’s surprising because Monday’s knockout round episode of The Voice featured at least four…
Pharrell Williams opted to pit two of his best male singers against one another when the knockout round began on The Voice Monday night. It led to an agonizing decision for the first-time coach after Luke Wade and Taylor Phelan both provided strong performances. Luke sang “Rich Girl” by Hall and Oates and was declared…
The pairing seemed a bit strange: Bryana Salaz, a 16-year-old aspiring pop singer, against the soulful style of 24-year-old Sugar Joans. But their knockout round match worked out just fine for both artists. Bryana, showing nary a hint of nerves on stage in spite of her youth, belted out “Heart Attack” by Demi Lovato and…
Two weeks ago, Blake Shelton decided to advance James David Carter despite a splendid performance by James’ battle round partner. James proved Blake’s faith was well deserved with another sterling performance Monday night in the knockout round. James sang “You’ve Got a Friend” by James Taylor, delivering a country version of the song and showing…
Damien Lawson has been one of the most consistent male performers on The Voice in Season 7. And he delivered another sterling performance Monday night, an emotional version of “How Do I Live” by LeAnn Rimes that earned him a knockout round win and a spot in the show’s live playoffs. Damien was pitted against…
Jessie Pitts is one of the newest members of Team Blake. Nevertheless, she’ll be representing the team when the live shows begin on The Voice in two weeks. Jessie scored a knockout round win over Tanner Linford Monday night. She displayed her unique tone while singing Elton John’s “Your Song” and received high praise from…
DaNica Shirey advanced to Top 20 on The Voice Monday night. The first York County contestant on NBC’s hit singing show, Shirey scored a Team Pharrell knockout round win over young Katriz Trinidad. She sang Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love for You” and received praise from The Voice judges. Blake Shelton called her “a…
The knockout round returns to The Voice tonight after a one-season absence. Last spring, The Voice opted for a pair of battle rounds instead of a knockout round. I prefer this format much better; I suspect contestants do, too. The battle round is a strange beast. Teammates are asked to compete against each other while…
