The Knockouts continued on Monday’s episode of
The Voice (Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on CTV2) with coaches Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson and John Legend seeing improvements from their team members. As the stakes continue to be raised each week, this season’s leaders are making themselves known.Also making himself known is Blake Shelton, who continues his reign as World’s Best Boyfriend. It Blake keeps using
The Voice as the place to make sweet declarations of love for girlfriend Gwen Stefani, he’s not going to have anything left when it’s time to write his next album.
BLAKE GETS SWEET FOR ROSE AND GWEN
Rose Short’s position as a clear frontrunner this season continued on Monday night, where the Corrections Officer-turned singer expertly combined her raw talent with pitch-perfect notes and a magnetic personality for a performance of Jessie J’s “White Walls.” A fitting song choice, the track gave Rose the opportunity to show off her incredible range and her ability to interpret the emotional side of the lyrics. Someone else who got emotional on Monday was Blake, who appears to consistently be on the verge of proposing to Gwen. Calling Rose’s performance his favourite of the Knockout rounds so far, Blake said “I couldn’t be happier for you that you have Gwen as your coach, because I’ve had Gwen as my best friend and I can see the effect that has on somebody, the way she helps you to believe in yourself.” Get ready for some competition Gwen, because everyone is now in love with Blake.
WILL’S WINNING PERSONALITY
One of the biggest criticisms that has plagued strong singers this season has been a lack of personality on stage. Will Breman, though, has enough personality that he could lend some out to the other contestants and still be the most charismatic contestant on Season 17. Gwen said that Will is magnetic and has effortless runs and Kelly said that he’s straight-up fire who makes everyone dance. John said that certain people who perform like Will make him feel uneasy, but when Will does it, he’s just excited to see what will happen. Anyone watching Will probably can’t say say much of anything because they’re too busy smiling.
MOST IMPROVED PERFORMANCE: ALEX GUTHRIE
Up until this point in the competition, Alex Guthrie has been somewhat forgettable. A strong vocalist with a huge range, Alex has skirted through each round on his pitch and tone while leaving little else to remember him by. That changed on Monday night when Alex had the doubly difficult challenge of tackling a Sam Smith song and going up against coach favourites Hello Sunday. Thriving under the pressure, Alex finally showed off his personality and channeled the pain of being cheated on in a previous relationship, earning a steal into Team Legend. Maybe it was a matter of Alex becoming more comfortable on the stage, or maybe it was meeting
Mega Mentor Taylor Swift and coming face to face with proof that putting your breakups into emotional performances can have a really, really, really big payoff. Players gonna play, Alex. Shake it off.
MOST IMPROVED VOCALS: HELLO SUNDAY
What Alex lacked in personality for his earlier performances, Hello Sunday’s Chelsea and Myla struggled with in harmonies and hitting notes in their previous appearances. The two teen singers have never had an issue connecting with one another or bringing out their earnest likability on stage, but vocally they started much further behind their older counterparts. Continuing to improve with each performance, Hello Sunday catapulted from their Battle Round “Wrecking Ball” duet and stuck the landing with Monday’s rendition of “Almost Is Never Enough.” Considering how much Chelsea and Myla have continued improve with each round, there’s a good chance they’ll easily slide into the finale.
The Voice airs Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on CTV2.[video_embed id='1816325']RELATED: Taylor Swift surprises 'The Voice' contestants[/video_embed]
