Kyle Schuesler and Madison Curbelo listen to feedback from the coaches during the battle round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)
Madison Curbelo snagged the final playoff pass and Olivia Rubini got one of the last two steals as the battles continued on The Voice Monday night.
Madison joined Bryan Olesen (Team Legend), L. Rodgers (Team Reba) and Nadège (Team Chance) as a playoff pass recipients.
Those contestants will get to skip the knockout round and advance straight to the Season 22 playoffs.
Meanwhile, Olivia was stolen by Team Dan + Shay to save her from elimination. That leaves John as the only coach with a steal remaining entering the final night of the battles.
Battle round winners Monday night includes four-chair turn recipients Gene Taylor, Dani Stacy and Serenity Arce, plus Kyle Schuesler, Ducote Talmage, Jackie Romeo and Josh Sanders.
Contestants eliminated Monday included Corey Curtis, Ronnie Wilson, Bri Fletcher, Donny Van Slee and Ryan Coleman.
Here’s a recap of Monday’s show.
BEST OF THE NIGHT (BUT A STRATEGIC MISTAKE?)
Team Dan + Shay
The match: Madison Curbelo vs. Kyle Schuesler
The background: Kyle, 19, of Huntington Beach, Calif., turned the only 3 available chairs in th blinds with Coldplay’s “The Scientist.” Madison, 21, of Westfield, Mass., turned all 4 singing “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King.
The song: “Lucky” by Jason Mraz.
The feedback: John called it a “beautiful, beautiful” performance. John gave Madison a tiny edge. Reba said she loved the performance and gave Kyle a slight edge. Chance said they’re both capable of winning the show and one should receive the playoff pass. Dan called it the most cohesive performance so far.
The outcome: Dan + Shay awarded the win to Kyle. They were especially impressed by the way he learned Spanish for the performance. John tried to steal Madison. At which point, Dan + Shay immediately hit their playoff pass button. Shay says Madison is a star.
My take: Wow. Kyle has some power to go with that great tone. And Madison opens in Spanish and sounds absolutely lovely. Kyle’s even singing harmonies in Spanish with Madison. Neither one of these singers can go home. Pairing them was a bit of a strategic mistake by Dan + Shay. They’re both young singers who can benefit from the coaching and exposure of every round on The Voice. They should have arranged the battles so that playoff pass could be used on Karen Waldrup, their veteran country singer who could skip a round without missing a beat.
More on Kyle Schuesler
More on Madison Curbelo
RUNNER-UP
Team Chance
The match: Bri Fletcher vs. Serenity Arce
The background: Bri, 29, of Haslet, Texas, got Chance to turn for her version of “I’m With You” by Avril Lavigne. Serenity, 16, of Jupiter, Fla., turned 4 chairs in the blinds, performing “This City” by Sam Fischer.
The song: “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi
The feedback: All the coaches complimented the two singers on their heartfelt performance. But all three of the other coaches gave the edge to Serenity. Shay says she has an unbelievable tone and “lived in the song.” He also said Bri sounded “phenomenal.” John said both are wonderful singers.
The outcome: Chance awarded the win to Serenity. Bri was eliminated.
My take: Four chair turn vs. one chair turn. You figure this might have been a bit lopsided. Nope. Bri, montaged during the blinds, turned in a very impressive vocal. And hit one hell of a glory note midway through the song. But Serenity was also very solid, recovering from what sounded like a case of nerves to deliver an impassioned vocal. So I understand Chance going with the younger singer, who went from zero chairs in her first audition to four in her second try at The Voice. The was a very, very strong battle.
More on Bri Fletcher
More on Serenity Arce
WELL-DESERVED STEAL
Team Legend
The match: Jackie Romeo vs. Olivia Rubini
The background: Olivia, 24, of Wilmington, Del., earned the very last spot on Season 25, performing “Long Long Time” by Linda Ronstadt. Jackie, 20, of Massapequa, N.Y., turned 2 chairs in blinds, performing “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus.
The song: “Edge of Seventeen” by Stevie Nicks
The feedback: Dan called it one of the “most together” performances during the battles. Reba refused to make a choice, complimenting both singers. Chance called it an “awesome” performance. He gave the vocal edge to Jackie. John called the battle “so cool” and loved their approach to the performance.
The outcome: John declared Jackie the winner of the battle based on her powerful voice. Dan + Shay then stole Olivia Rubini. Dan loved her retro style of voice.
My take: I’ll try not to be too harsh on Jackie for not knowing Stevie Nicks. Really? I wound up being more distracted by the odd outfit mismatch with Jackie in a gown and Olivia in a cowboy hat. I loved Olivia’s attitude and stage presence on this. She had my attention even when she wasn’t singing. That choreography was impressive too. For someone who didn’t know the song, Jackie did very well too. But I would have given a slight edge to Olivia, so I was happy to see her get the steal.
More on Jackie Romeo
More on Olivia Rubini
THE COACH GOT IT WRONG
Team Reba
The match: Donny Van Slee vs. Josh Sanders
The background: Donny, 30, of Weeki Wachee, Fla., turned 2 chairs in the blinds with LANCO’s “Greatest Love Story. Josh, 35, of Kannapolis, N.C., turned 2 chairs in the blinds with Nate Smith’s “Whiskey on You.”
The song: “When It Rains It Pours” by Luke Combs
The feedback: Chance praised the performance by both singers, calling it a neck and neck thing. Dan gave a slight vocal edge to Josh, but said both have the potential to go far on the show. Shay called the performance “fantastic.” John said he thought Donny had the more interesting vocals, but Josh was a bit more precise with his.
The outcome: Reba named Josh the winner. She felt he did the better job vocally. Donny was eliminated.
My take: Early in the performance, Donny had the edge. Josh came on strong in the second half of the performance. I’m with John on Donny’s voice. I thought it was the more unique. He also displayed the vocal firepower to cut through.
More on Donny Van Slee
More on Josh Sanders
THE COACHES GOT IT RIGHT
Team Legend
The match: Gene Taylor vs. Ronnie Wilson
The background: Gene, 33, of Vernon, N.J., turned 4 chairs performing Journey’s “Lights.” Ronnie, 28, of Atlanta, Ga., turned 2 chairs in the blinds with “Pillowtalk” by ZAYN.
The song: “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars
The feedback: Reba complimented both singers, especially on their range. Chance gave the edge to Gene, saying he wants to steal him later. Dan + Shay split on who should win the battle.
The outcome: John awarded the win to Gene. Ronnie was eliminated.
My take: Gene delivered a nice opening. Ronnie sounded a little nervous. Gene showed off great range and took John’s notes about relating the emotion of the song. Gene also nailed a couple of really nice glory notes. Ronnie seemed to be pushing a bit too hard and never quite found the pocket. I honestly didn’t think that was close.
More on Gene Taylor
More on Ronnie Wilson
Team Dan+Shay
The match: Ducote Talmage vs. Ryan Coleman
The background: Ducote, 20, of Auburn, Alabama, turned 2 chairs in the blinds with “Sand in My Boots” by Morgan Wallen. Ryan, 25, of Chalfont, Pa., got Dan + Shay to turn for his cover of “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Wither.
The song: “Rock in a Hard Place” by Bailey Zimmerman
The feedback: John and Reba gave the edge to Ducote. Chance gave the edge to Ryan. John felt that Ducote’s tone was a little more interesting. Chance thought Ryan showed a little more control and even helped Ducote out on the harmonies. Dan called Ducote a star on stage and complimented Ryan for being a technically strong singer.
The outcome: Dan + Shay declared Ducote the winner, saying the texture of his voice is special. Ryan was eliminated.
My take: Ducote’s got a really impassioned delivery. Ryan was more impressive on those opening solos. But Ducote’s attack mode makes him the more dominating presence on stage. This was a really close battle. Intensity might have won the day for Ducote.
More on Ducote Talmage
More on Ryan Coleman
WHO KNOWS
The match: Dani Stacy vs. Corey Curtis
The background: Corey, 22, of Summerville, Ga., got Chance to turn for his version of “Waiting on the World To Change” by John Mayer. Dani, 31, of Hanford, Calif. turned 4 chairs in the blinds with Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.”
The song: “Best Part” by H.E.R.
The feedback: We didn’t hear any because the battle was montaged.
The outcome: Chance declared Dani the winner, saying he knew she could sing R&B, but was impressed by her handling of contemporary R&B. He also said she had a better grasp on the song.
My take: I’ll never understand why The Voice must dedicate 20 minutes of airtime to every battle. Cut out some of the rehearsal and background footage, and there would be plenty of time to air every battle. And if The Voice can’t manage to do that, it could put the entire performance online. Not doing at least that after artists have spent lots of time preparing for the performance is just incredibly, incredibly lazy and inconsiderate on the show’s part.
More on Corey Curtis
More on Dani Stacy
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