Idol Chatter & Voice Views

DEK of Hearts — Dylan John, Emily Clapp and Kollin Bailey — react to coaches’ feedback during the knockout round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Four more contestants advanced to the knockout round as Season 28 of The Voice continued Monday night.

Knockout round winners included the country-pop trio DEK of Hearts, Trinity, Ryan Mitchell and Rob Cole.

DEK of Hearts received a mic drop from Niall Horan, meaning they’ll be in the running for a performance at the Rose Bowl.

Each coach will nominate on act for that honor. Snoop Dogg and Reba McEntire still have to do so. Michael Buble awarded his mic drop to 14-year-old Max Chambers last week.

Eliminated from the show on Monday were Kayleigh Clark, Conrad Khalil, Jack Austin and Marty O’Reilly.

The knockouts will continue on The Voice through the end of the month. A recap follows. The links take you to a profile of each contestant.

See also …
How The Voice is ruining Season 28

TEAM NIALL

The match: DEK of Hearts vs. Kayleigh Clark
The background: DEK of Hearts (Kollin Bailey, Emily Clapp and Dylan John) turned four chairs in the blinds singing “Heads Carolina, Tails California). They then won a battle over Jack Austin. Kayleigh, 20 of Sumrall, Miss., turned four chairs in the blinds singing Sugarland’s “Stay.” She won a battle over Camille Tredoux.
The songs: “Blue” by Leann Rimes for Kayleigh. “What If I Never Get Over You” by DEK of Hearts.
The feedback: Reba praised Kayleigh’s performance, but said DEK or Hearts’ harmonies carried the day. Snoop praised Kayleigh’s yodel and called DEK of Hearts’ harmonies “magic.” The Voice didn’t let us hear from Michael. Niall complimented all four singers and called the match a complete 50-50.
The outcome: Niall named DEK of Hearts the winner, then pushed his mic drop button for the group. Kayleigh was eliminated.
My take: Kayleigh has a country voice as big as that turquoise ring she wore on her right hand. She delivered an especially great ending, but I’m not sure that song was the best choice, yodelling opportunity or not. Really great opening from DEK of Hearts, featuring the vocals of Emily and Dylan. Then the harmonies kicked in, taking the performance to another level. I don’t know how you could possibly eliminate a trio so unique this early in the competition.

TEAM REBA

The match: Ryan Mitchell vs. Conrad Khalil
The background: Conrad, 28, of Newark, N.J., turned a single chair in the blinds, singing “Caught Up” by Usher. He then won a battle against young Vinya Chhabra. He was montaged twice prior to Monday’s show. Ryan is the Carson Callback artist, who turned one chair with “Baby, One More Time” in the blinds. He won his battle match over Letter to Elise.
The songs: “Closer” by Ne-yo for Conrad. “Zombie” by the Cranberrys for Ryan.
The feedback: Michael praised both coaches, but gave the edge to Ryan. So did Niall, who said he thinks Ryan still has more room for growth. Snoop called Ryan’s performance a 5-star effort, but didn’t offer an opinion. Reba complimented both singers on a job well done.
The outcome: Reba named Ryan the winner, saying the show doesn’t get many alt rock singers, let alone one so talented. Conrad was eliminated.
My take: Ryan delivered a powerful opening and sounded much, much better than he did in the rehearsals. He certainly delivered a solid performance. Conrad showed off his range and his showmanship, but I also would have given the edge to Ryan. And, yep, that’s the first time we’ve seen a full performance from Conrad. Shame on The Voice for that.

TEAM MICHAEL

The match: Rob Cole vs. Marty O’Reilly
The background: Rob, 34, of Pembroke, N.C., turned two chairs in the blinds and wound up on Team Michael because he blocked Reba McEntire. He then won a battle with Austin Gilbert. Marty, 36, from Sonoma, Calif., turned three chairs in the blinds. He won his battle with Carly Harvey.
The songs: The Red Clay Strays’ “Wondering Why” for Rob. Joe Cocker’s “The Letter” for Marty.
The feedback: Snoop called Rob a superstar, but said Marty could win The Voice and gave him the edge. Niall said both artists deserved to stay. Reba called the peformances fantastic. Michael said both artists executed perfectly and regretted matching them against one another.
The outcome: Michael named Rob the winner, saying he could be the winner of The Voice. Marty was eliminated.
My take: Marty went with a better-known song and his distinct sound and rasp were front and center throughout a high-energy performance. But that was an excellent song choice and performance by Rob, who started out on keys. That song offered him a chance to show off the soulful nature of his voice, plenty of emotion and provided the opportunity for some vocal dynamics as well. I also would have given the edge to Rob.

A MONTAGE? REALLY?

TEAM MICHAEL

The match: Trinity vs Jack Austin.
The background: Trinity, 25, of Stamford, Conn., turned four chairs in the blinds, singing “Don’t Let Go” by En Vogue. She was then saved by Michael during the battles. Jack, 21, of Battle Creek, Michigan, turned three, singing “This Town” by Niall Horan. He was stolen by Michael after losing a battle to DEK of Hearts.
The songs: “I’m Your Baby Tonight” by Whitney Houston for Trinity. The Voice didn’t bother telling us what Jack sang.
The feedback: Michael said Trinity reminds him of Sade. That’s all we heard from the coaches.
The outcome: Michael named Sade the winner. Jack was eliminated.
My take: What a freakin’ joke. And what a disgrace for The Voice. The show takes five freakin’ weeks to air the knockouts and STILL has to montage a performance? Absolutely, completely, totally disgraceful. And especially disrespectful to the artists who invested so much time in these performances. THEY DIDN’T EVEN MENTION JACK. WOW. How bad can this show get? Well, folks, we’re about to find out in the rest of Season 28.

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