Season 25 of NBC’s The Voice has entered the cutthroat business of the Knockouts.
It’s time for the contestants to get the job done or get out. And decision time for the coaches, who have to make the hardest of cuts, or choose when to steal.
“It gets so hard to make a decision in the Knockouts,” coach John Legend said on Monday night’s episode (April 8). “Everybody’s so good, everybody survived the Battle. Nobody deserves to go home.”
If it’s tough for the cast, it’s a blast for viewers at home.
On night one of the Knockouts, newbies Dan + Shay learned that they had some tough calls to make. Teammates Anya True (singing “Runaway” by Aurora) and Kyle Schuesler (“Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur) went toe-to-toe, with True getting the win.
The country artists had to make a decision on Frank Garcia, who sang El Triste” by José José, and Olivia Rubini, who covered “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John.
Rubini took the Rocket Man’s classic song to another level, by singing it in a higher key, a suggestion of mega mentor Keith Urban. With it, she delivered a one-two. “There’s something special about what Olivia did,” Shay Mooney remarked, “she showed us that she was very coachable, that she was ready to go to that next level.” Her voice, added Dan Smyers, “just inherently has a bit of a retro thing to it. She was spot-on with all of her notes.”
Olivia, remarked Smyers, “I feel like that came such a long way from rehearsals.”
Rubini cruises through.
Dan + Shay served as mentors in season 20, and make their coaching debut on the show this season, where they’re joined by returning coaches Reba McEntire, John Legend and Chance the Rapper.
New episodes of The Voice air Mondays on NBC.
Watch below.