John Legend with his playoff team on The Voice (from left) BDii (Brian Darden), Ari Camille, Bryson Battle, Olivia Kuper-Harris and Renzo. (NBC Photo)
The pre-taped playoff performances for Team Legend aired Monday night on The Voice.
Each coach advanced five singers to the playoffs, then had to chose two to advance to the semifinals.
Those semifinals are set for next Monday and mark the first time fans will be able to vote in Season 27.
Here’s are Voice Views’ grades for tonight’s performances.
See also …
Song by song grades for Team Michael
Song by song grades for Team Adam
Song by song grades for Team Kelsea
Ari Camille, 21, Chicago, Ill.
Blind audition: Turned 2 chairs singing “I Wanna Be Down” by Brandy
Battle round: Performed “Made for Me” by Muni Long with Bryson Battle. Lost the match, but was stolen by Adam Levine.
Knockout round: Performed “Love Like This” by Faith Evans. Lost her match with Britton Moore, but was stolen back by John Legend.
The playoffs: “Rain” by SWV — Smooth and soulful after a somewhat shaky opening. But twice-stolen Ari needed to bring the house down to advance. I don’t think she had the song or delivered the vocal to do that. Grade: B–
BDii, aka Brian Darden, 31, Hampton, Va.
Blind audition: Turned 4 chairs singing “Adorn” by Miguel.
Battle round: Performed “Just Friends (Sunny) by Musiq Soulchild and won his match with Antonio Ramsey
Knockout round: Performed “Back At One” by Brian McKngiht and won his match with Kolby Cordell, who was stolen by Adam Levine.
The playoffs: “All My Life” by KC and Jojo — Here’s another sorta sleepy song choice. Come on, guys, this is for a spot in the semifinals. Also wasn’t a fan of the fact that BD had his eyes closed for almost the entire performance. Nice high note at the end, but it wasn’t enough. Grade: B–
Bryson Battle, 21, Harrisburg, N.C.
Blind auditions: Turned 4 chairs singing “A Song for You” by Leon Russell
Battle round: Performed “Made for Me” by Muni Long with Ari Camille and won his match. Ari was stolen by Adam Levine.
Knockout round: Performed “Ain’t No Way” by Aretha Franklin and won his match with Tatum Scott.
The playoffs: “pov” by Ariana Grande — What the heck is Bryson wearing? He is showing off his very impressive range, as he’s done in each of his performances. And at the 2-minute mark, he took the song to another level with a series of glory notes. Finally, someone delivering energy to match the occasion. Grade: B+
Olivia Kuper Harris, 34, of Dallas, Texas
Blind audition: Turned 3 chairs, singing “Dream a Little Dream of Me.”
Battle round: Performed “Feel Like Makin’ Love” with Nell Simmons and won her match
Knockout round: Performed “Last Dance” by Donna Summer and won her match with Jacquelyn George
The playoffs: “What Was I Made For” by Billie Eilish — Loved Olivia’s emotional connection to the song and the ending. But the vocal seemed a little too breathless. And the performance — and song choice — were a bit of a letdown after her standout performance in the knockout round. Grade: B
Blind audition: Turned 3 chairs singing “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Battle round: Performed “Is This Love” with Jay Ammon and won his match
Knockout round: Performed “Happier Than Ever” by Billie Eilish and won is match with Nell Simmons.
The playoffs: “Too Sweet” by Hozier — Hey, look at that, some energy from somone on Team Legend. Where was this in the other performance? All that’s on the line is a spot in the semifinals, folks. A solid vocal and a better performance by Renzo, who’s become my favorite to win the show.No way he doesn’t advance after that performance. Grade: A–
Decision time for John. He choses to advance Renzo. The Season 27 live rounds would have seemed empty without him. He also advanced Bryson battle. I would have chosen Olivia to add more diversity to the semifinals, but Bryson has also been consistently solid throughout the season. Gotta admit, I was shocked by the low energy level of the Team Legend performances in the playoffs. Team Michael was more entertaining.
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