‘The Voice’ season 23 episode 11 recap: ‘The Knockouts Premiere’ with Mega Mentor Reba McEntire [UPDATING LIVE BLOG]
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“The Voice” Season 23 continues on Monday, April 17 with the premiere of the Knockouts. Country music legend Reba McEntire joins as Mega Mentor while coaches Blake Shelton, Niall Horan, Chance the Rapper and Kelly Clarkson prepare their artists to go head-to-head in hopes of advancing to the Playoffs.
The show’s innovative format features five stages of competition: Blind Auditions, Battle Rounds, Knockouts, Playoffs and Live Performance Shows. Shelton announced last year that this season would be his last. Can the nine-time champ make it an even 10 before signing off for good?
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Below, read our minute-by-minute “The Voice” recap of Season 23, Episode 11 to find out what happened Monday, April 17 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite artists on NBC’s long-running reality TV show, which coach you’re rooting for and who you think will ultimately join “The Voice” winners list for this 23rd season. Carson Daly hosts the Emmy-winning program.
TEAM BLAKE: Neil Salsich, Tasha Jessen, Walker Wilson, Mary Kate Connor, Kylee Dayne, Grace West, Noivas
TEAM NIALL: Ross Clayton, Michael B., Ryley Tate Wilson, Jerome Godwin III, Kate Cosentino, Gina Miles, EJ Michels
TEAM CHANCE: Sorelle, Magnus, Jamar Langley, Manasseh Samone, Ray Uriel, NariYella, Tiana Goss
TEAM KELLY: Holly Brand, D.Smooth, ALI, Marcos Covos, Rachel Christine, Cait Martin, Kala Banham
SEE Everything to know about ‘The Voice’ Season 23: Mega Mentor announced
Keep refreshing/reloading this “The Voice” live blog for the most recent updates.
8:00 p.m. – “Previously on ‘The Voice’!” In Episode 10, the Battles concluded with five artists advancing. Four won their contest, while Blake stole Noivas from Team Chance. In tonight’s Knockouts premiere, music icon Reba McEntire lends her expertise to the contestants. Who will advance?
8:03 p.m. – Blake kicked off the knockouts by explaining to Reba that her presence this season is “full circle” for him since she was his first ever guest advisor on season one. Blake’s first matchup was between Tasha Jessen and his stolen artist Noivas. In his rehearsal of the song “I Put a Spell on You,” Noivas wanted to bring feminine energy to the song by bringing Nina Simone’s energy to the song after studying her version of it for years. Reba was impressed with his range and appreciated that he kept strong stage presence throughout. Tasha responded with her rehearsal of “Take Me to Church,” a song that Blake thought was a tough choice, but one that gave her the opportunity to show the audience what she can do.
8:15 p.m. – Niall called Noivas “impressive,” but thinks that Tasha was able to take a big song to another level and so he leaned in her direction. Chance liked the control that Tasha displayed, but remains a big fan of Noivas who was once on his team. Kelly said Noivas embodied the song and that Tasha shocked her with a “raw and beautiful” performance. Blake said that Noivas has a “shocking and fearless” talent and is surprised that Tasha hasn’t already made it in the industry because she’s that good. His choice came down to an ability to “outperform anybody” and so he went with Noivas as his winner to advance. With only one steal available to each of the coaches, Niall decided that he’d use his immediately on Tasha, his “one that got away.”
8:24 p.m. – Kelly’s first session with her team and Reba was for the rehearsals of Marcos Covos and ALI. Working through “Best Part,” Reba told ALI to “suggest heavily” so that there’s more emphasis on the lyrics. For Marcos on “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” she got close with Marcos on stage to urge him to get more connected to the song through authentic feeling.
8:33 p.m. – Blake called ALI “so special” with their intention in the song and thought that Marcos did too much with the runs. Niall liked that ALI’s songs always feel like their own in the way they make them sound different and sees Marcos as “always in control.” Chance thinks ALI is an amazing vocalist with a full grasp of what they’re trying to convey, but thought Marcos was a little bit shaky at the start of their performance. Kelly admitted that Marcos had some pitchy moments and thinks that ALI “moves us so deeply.” Saying that she loves them both “for completely different reasons,” Kelly decided on ALI as the winner.
8:41 p.m. – For his first knockout pairing, Niall had Gina Miles and Kate Cosentino go against each other as his “two female character singers.” Gina dedicated her performance of “Somebody That I Used to Know” to her dad, surprising Reba with how much of a powerhouse she is by comparison to her soft-spoken demeanor. She told Gina that her enunciation is a little off, making it hard to understand the words she’s singing. Kate brought the guitar to the stage for her jazzy take on “Call Me.” Reba thought Kate had good stage presence, but Niall wanted to work with her on some of the more “crashy” parts of the song so that the jazziness of it could really shine instead.
8:54 p.m. – Chance told Gina that her interpretation of the song kept her own identity alive and thought Kate’s performance “kept getting bigger and bigger.” Kelly said Gina gave Florence Welch vibes, but thought that Kate was “very rock-n-roll” and that it’s her lane. Blake called Kate’s performance “weird and out there” in a good way and thinks she “took it to the next level.” Niall really likes that Kate is a “quirky character” who knows what kind of artist she is and that Gina did something unexpected and really nailed it. Niall told them both that he has a “gut feeling” that the winner of the round is Gina because of her consistency.
9:02 p.m. – The first Team Chance pairing was Ray Uriel against NariYella because he wanted to see which of the two “stands in their own identity the best.” NariYella went with “Bust Your Windows” because she relates to the theme of being heartbroken and Reba coached her through “turning into that character” of the person singing the lyric. Ray chose “Lately” because of Stevie Wonder’s songwriting and wanting to convey his own connection to it. Chance thought it was a great song choice and Reba wanted him to focus on showing the emotion of the song through his voice so that the audience have something to connect to.
9:14 p.m. – Kelly loved that NariYella “acted out” the song and found that captivating, but Ray impressed her because of how hard the song choice was. Blake thought there was something holding NariYella back and so he would have went with Ray as well. Niall said that Ray is one of the under the radar male voices, but he still thinks NariYella is stronger overall. Chance told Ray that he “smashed it” and liked that NariYella focused on the attitude of the song. Chance thought Ray had the more compelling performance, but that NariYella is stronger overall across the season. That being said, he chose the performance and decided to keep Ray on his team this time.
9:22 p.m. – Blake’s next pairing was Walker Wilson vs. Kylee Dayne. Kylee chose the big vocal of “All by Myself,” impressing Reba with just how big her voice actually is. She told Kylee that she was able to “capture the audience” with her performance, but thought it might play better if she remained still during the performance. Walker went with “I Ain’t Living Long Like This” to represent his growing up as a wild kid in a wildly free environment. Reba liked the swagger that he brought to the song and the rawness to his voice, but Blake thought there’s room in the song for him to vary the notes he’s hitting instead of relying on going back to the same one throughout.
9:35 p.m. – Niall thought they gave two very different performances, with Walker playing within his wheelhouse and Kylee nailing the big vocal without letting up. Chance thinks Walker is technically skilled, but Kylee blew him away because she was “so in tune” that she wasn’t derailed by some missed notes. Kelly said Walker has found his lane and that Kylee is able to do bold vocals like Celine and Mariah. Blake called it a tough decision because of how different they are so he based his pick off “what happens in the moment” and went with Kylee. He said she swung for the fence and laid it all out there with the song choice and performance.
9:42 p.m. – The final knockout of the evening was between Cait Martin and Kala Banham for Team Kelly. Cait chose “All the Man That I Need” in honor of her partner that allows her to feel the message of the song for the first time in her life. Kelly thought she was a little sharp in rehearsal so they worked out the best way to center her voice among the sound of the band. Kala went with “Iris” by interpreting it through the lens of her relationship to music rather than to another person. Reba got chills and Kelly cried based on Kala’s rehearsal because of how well she told the story of the song, but Kelly stressed the need to put ache into her delivery.
9:56 p.m. – Blake thought Cait was a little nervous and Kala had a lot of dynamics and passion in her performance. Niall said Cait smashed the Whitney song and that Kala has “an insane storytelling ability.” Chance said he’s been trying to get Kala on his team, but Cait “took that round by the throat.” Kelly was torn between the two, saying Cait was incredible and Kala is one of her favorites that she’s ever worked with. Facing a seemingly impossible decision, Kelly chose to keep Cait on her team because she tackled the challenge of a big song. With the chance to steal Kala, both Chance and Blake hit their steal buttons, putting the power back in Kala’s hands. Kala was swayed by Chance’s multiple attempts to bring her to his team and so she chose to join his team.
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