Saying that 2020 has been a difficult year is putting it mildly, but thankfully we have The Voice (Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CTV2) to deliver inspiring and energizing moments that remind audiences of the power of music. On Tuesday night, the Knockout round opened with six incredible performances that inspired, moved, and thrilled the coaches and viewers. Some were even boring—in a good way. We could do with more boring in 2020.With only one steal each in the Knockouts, coaches John Legend, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani and Kelly Clarkson had to make some tough calls this week. Tuesday’s episode saw the final performances for some of the season’s most talented singers, but everyone who left the show still made their mark on The Voice stage.Mega-mentor and former winning coach Usher also returned to The Voice on Tuesday, bringing his effortlessly cool swag with him. As contestant Payge Turner put it: Usher is a quadruple threat—singer, dancer, producer and fine as hell. Yeah!

CASME V. TAMARA JADE – Team Legend

If Casme or Tamara Jade are throwing a party, we want an invite (post-pandemic, obviously). The women have personalities that are big enough to rival their massive voices and together gave the most energetic performance of the night. Tamara Jade picked a song that everyone needed to hear in 2020 and sang “Higher Ground” by Stevie Wonder, dedicating her performance to her mom and teachers everywhere. Managing to hit every note while getting in her 10,000 daily steps in her two-minute performance, Tamara received a standing ovation from the coaches. Kelly rightfully declared that Tamara was living her best life. “I could not know your album at all, and I would come to your concert,” said Kelly. Blake said that she had a death grip on the song the entire time and John said that he felt the mission of the song’s message in Tamara’s voice.As for Casme, she opted to bring a different energy this round by going with Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball.” The performance showed off her versatility, although it did slightly dim Casme’s light by not letting her positivity shine through. Still, the cover and her unique runs were a success. “I almost saw the song in a whole new way,” said Gwen. John applauded Casme for picking a song that was risky and making it her own. Sadly, this was the end of the road for Casme, who likely would have been stolen if the pair had performed later in the round. As the first performers in the Knockouts, it's likely the coaches were button-shy.Winner: Tamara Jade

 

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PAYGE TUNER V. RYAN BERG – Team Gwen

While Casme and Tamara Jade were easier to compare because of the similarities in their voices and styles, Team Gwen’s pairing of Payge Turner and Ryan Berg was night and day. Payge commanded the stage with her hauntingly beautiful cover of Radiohead’s “Creep,” getting a standing ovation from the coaches. “Your soaring little creepy head voice stuff? All night long,” said Kelly. John said he was utterly stunned by Payge’s interpretation of the song, calling it a revelation, and Blake said that it was as if the singer had an out-of-body experience. Gwen commended Payge for taking every note she gave during rehearsal and running with it.Kelly also had high praise for the folk singer and his performance of “Makin’ Me Look Good Again,” saying “Ryan opens his damn mouth and you’re incredible.” Gwen said Ryan is a singer who wakes up on stage and was happy to see him finally let his inner weirdness come out in the best way possible. “This is so hard because you’re both weird and you both know who you are,” said Gwen, which is pretty much the best praise a singer can get from Stefani.Winner: Payge

 

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BEN ALLEN V. WORTH THE WAIT – Team Blake

Fulfilling the country quota on Tuesday night was Team Blake and his pairing of Ben Allen and family trio Worth the Wait. Ben started the Knockout with a solid performance of “She Got The Best of Me” by Luke Combs. “I think it’s consistently good,” said John, who accidentally led his compliment with the word "boring." That’s tough to come back from, but we get what he meant. Kelly added that she also liked that Ben was solid and consistent with his performances, which again is a very nice way to say boring. Thankfully for Ben, Gwen was not bored at all and used her steal to snag a cowboy… again.Worth the Wait took the W on their Knockout round with a performance of Tanya Tucker’s “Delta Dawn.” As usual, the trio excelled when harmonizing, which they highlighted with this performance. “Starting out a capella was extremely effective,” said John, who tapped Worth the Wait as his pick. Blake said he was encouraged by the improvement Worth the Wait had made with each round and is excited to see what they do next.Winner: Worth the WaitSteal: Ben to Team Gwen

 

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Watch new episodes of The Voice Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CTV2.[video_embed id='2030335']BEFORE YOU GO: Cat attempts daily hilarious attack on mail carrier [/video_embed]