Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Christina Eagle performs ‘My Church’ en route to earning a save from Snoop Dogg and steal attempts from three other coaches on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Christina Eagle and Sloane Simon earned saves as The Voice kicked off its knockout round for Season 26 Monday night.

In this fall’s knockouts, three singers from a team are pitted against one another, singing solos of their choice with the winner advancing to the Top 20 playoffs.

Each coach can save one artist during the knockouts. Each coach can also steal a losing artist from another team.

Snoop Dogg used his save to keep Christina Eagle; Michael Buble used his to rescue Sloane from possible elimination.

Winning knockouts on Monday were Austyns Stancil, Adam Bohanan, Cameron Wright and Jose Luis.

Two singers were also stolen. Gwen used her steal to land country singer Jake Tankersley from Team Snoop. Michael used him on 14-year-old Jaukeem Fortson, previously of Team Reba.

Here’s a recap.

EVERYONE ADVANCES

TEAM SNOOP DOGG

The match: Austyns Stancil (“Dance with My Father” by Luther Vandross) vs. Christina Eagle (“My Church” by Maren Morris) vs. Jake Tankersley (“Going, Going, Gone” by Luke Combs)
The background: Jake, 31, turned 4 chairs in the blinds, then won his battle. Christina, 23, was also a battle round winner. She was a 1-chair turn in the blinds. Austyns, 34, is the 4-chair turn artist Snoop stole from Team Gwen.
The feedback: All three singers received well deserved high praise from the coaches. Michael Buble was the only coach to voice a preference, giving the edge to Austyns. Jake was then stolen by Gwen.
The outcome: A three-way knockout in which all three singers survived! Snoop awarded the win to Austyn. He saved Christina, though he had to fend off steal attempts by all three of the other coaches. Then, Gwen and Reba both tried to steal Jake. He opted to join Team Gwen, recalling that Gwen used her block to try to land him in the blinds.
My take: Wow, here’s a knockout that demonstrates the importance of song choice. Austyns went for emotion in a tribute to his late father and delivered. Christina countered with a soulful, fun performance that was a perfect showcase for her vibrant on-stage personality. That left Jake with the third most entertaining knockout performance. In spite of a fine vocal. And in spite of the fact that I think he has the most long-term potential on the show. Happy to see him survive. Thrilled to see Austyns and Christina rewarded for outstanding performances.

THE COACHES GOT IT RIGHT

TEAM REBA

The match: Adam Bohanan (“Colors” by the Black Pumas) vs. Cassidy Lee (“Love Me Like a Man” by Bonnie Raitt) vs. Jaukeem Fortson (“God Only Knows” by King and Country)
The background: Jaukeem is the youngest singer on the show, auditioning at age 13. He turned 3 chairs in the blinds, then won his battle with Tsola. Cassidy, 28, was stolen by Reba after a Team Michael battle. She turned 1 chair in the blinds. Adam, 40, was also a 1 chair turn; he then won in the battle round.
The feedback: I loved the way Snoop Dogg summed up this knockout, saying: “This is the first time I ever went to a bar and a club and a church right after. And, I mean, it was a hell of an experience.” He gave the edge to Jaukeem. Michael thought Adam won the knockout.
The outcome: Reba named Adam the winner. Michael then swooped in and stole Jaukeem. Cassidy was eliminated.
My take: Honestly, I was pleasantly shocked when Reba named Adam the winner. Jaukeem just turned 14 and deserved tons of credit for the confidence, vocal prowess and passion he displayed in his performance. Based on his age and Voice fans’ support of very young contestants, I figured he had a big edge entering the knockout. But I agreed that Adam delivered the best performance of the three. He was soulful, spot on and did a great job of building to an impassioned ending. Cassidy, by the way, was solid as well.

A WELL-DESERVED SAVE

The match: Cameron Wright (“You’re All You Need to Get By” by Marvin Gaye, Tami Terrell vs. Sloane Simon (“Can’t Catch Me Now” by Olivia Rodrigo)
Special note: Tanner Frick was the third member of this knockout. A 4-chair turn in the blinds and a new member of Team Michael after a battle round steal, he dropped out after knockout rehearsals.
The background: Cameron, 34, turned 4 chairs in the blinds, then won his battle. Sloane, 19, turned 2 chairs in the blinds. She lost her Team Gwen battle, but all three of the other coaches tried to steal her afterwards.
The feedback: Two more impressive performances received praise from the coaches. Other than Michael, only Gwen expressed a preference, saying she thought her former team member, Sloane, should have won.
The outcome: Michael named Cameron the winner, saying he couldn’t not advance him on a show called The Voice. He then saved Sloane, rewarding both singers with a spot in the playoffs.
My take: Of the two performances, Sloane’s was my favorite. There was a haunting beauty to her vocal, and she’s a singer who absolutely lights up the stage. Cameron certainly showed off great range, and impressive power for someone who sings that high. But I wasn’t a fan of that arrangement of the song. That said, I won’t argue with Michael’s logic. The show is called The Voice and Cameron’s is one of the most special and unique this season.

THE COACH GOT IT WRONG

The match: Camryn Brooks (“Glitter in the Air” by Pink) vs. Dean Jones (Nutbush City Limits” by Tina Turner) vs. Jose Luis (“We Can’t Be Friends” by Ariana Grande).
The background: Camryn, 24, and Jose, 21, are 4-chair turns artists from the blinds who won their Team Gwen battles. Gwen stole Deon, 32, from Team Reba. He turned 1 chair in the blinds.
The feedback: Again, all three singers receive well-deserved praise from the judges. Besides Gwen, Michael was the only coach to offer an opinion, declaring the he’d award the win to Jose.
The outcome: That’s exactly what Gwen did, calling Jose a star. Camryn and Deon were eliminated.
My take: Jose turned in a solid performance. And with a few twirls of the cape he was wearing, he certainly displayed showmanship and a knack for the dramatic. But his performance was actually my third favorite among the three. Camryn, who has such a rich, lovely tone, had been one of my favorite singers on the show and turned in another splendid performance. And Deon literally took the stage by storm with a frenetic performance. Because the show is called The Voice, I would have given the edge to Camryn.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F–U4hNAqXY

Saved during the battles, Sloane Simon was saved again at the end of her knockout round match Monday night. (NBC Photo)