‘The Voice’ Season 14, Episode 16: ‘The Live Playoffs’ Night 1 Recap

From 60 contestants, we are now down with the Top 24! Each of them will have the chance to impress the audience and coaches Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson, Adam Levine, and Alicia Keys, using their powerful vocals and singing prowess. And for the contestants to stay in “The Voice,” they must prove their worth for their respective mentors.

Team Kelly: Alexa Capelli

Alexa seemed to be one of the most underrated contestants this season of “The Voice,” but she continues to blow everyone’s mind away with her performances. Alexa performed Susan Tedeschi’s “It Hurt So Bad,” and was able to sing it well during the Live Playoffs.

Even though the song is way too overwhelming for Alexa, she did her best to perform with confidence!

Team Kelly: Kaleb Lee

Kaleb delivered a solid performance during “The Voice’s” Live Playoffs. Kaleb chose to sing Patty Loveless’ “You Don’t Even Know Who I Am.” Despite being more boring than usual, there’s no doubt that Kaleb sure knows how to use his “generic” country voice.

Team Kelly: Tish Haynes Keys

Song choice is crucial in every singing competition (especially in The Voice), and Tish picked the right one. Tish performed “Lady Marmalade” by Labelle. The song is catchy, so Tish quickly caught the attention of everybody in the studio.

Team Kelly: Brynn Cartelli

Brynn used her deep and resonant voice to convince Kelly in choosing her for “The Voice.” Brynn sang “Unstoppable” by Sia, and with her big and steady voice, she was able to make every lyric of the song pretty on-point.

Team Kelly: Dylan Hartigan

Everyone would probably fall in love with Dylan’s voice because it is not only smooth, but it is also very soothing. During his “The Voice” performance for the Live Playoffs, Dylan chose to perform Ryan Adams’ “Come Pick Me Up.”

Just like what the audience and the judges have expected, Dylan did that crazy high note routine again to spice everything up.

Team Kelly: D.R. King

D.R. King seemed lost due to the boisterous band accompaniment during his “The Voice” performance. It was so hard to hear him so no one could say if he hit the right notes.

D.R. performed “Home” by Marc Broussard. Luckily, it was apparent that D.R. did the right thing despite the counterproductive accompaniment.

Team Adam: Drew Cole

Drew made the right song choice, but didn’t manage to take advantage of the situation. Instead of sounding good, he messed up during the Live Playoffs.

Drew sang “Man In The Mirror” by Michael Jackson where he tried so hard to sound like Michael, but he miserably failed. It would be probably better if Drew will sing a rock song the next time. Overall, Drew was reasonably consistent.

Team Adam: Mia Boostrom

Contrary to Drew, Mia picked the wrong song. Mia sang Aretha Franklin’s “Baby I Love You,” in an attempt to impress the coaches and the audience. But it looked like the song was way too heavy for her.

Mia was successful with her upper runs, but she struggled with the lower register of the song.

Team Adam: Jackie Verna

There’s no doubt that Jackie is one of the favorite members of Adam. Adam even called her the best female country singer in “The Voice.” Jackie is a great singer, but she is not consistent with her performances especially during the Live Playoffs.

Even though Jackie is one of Adam’s favorites (and probably of the viewers), she still needs to prove that she deserves to be in the next level of the competition. Jackie sang “Tim McGraw” by Taylor Swift.

Team Adam: Rayshun LaMarr

Rayshun probably struggled during his Live Playoffs performance in “The Voice.” Because, just like the others, Rayshun chose the wrong song. He performed ”Overjoyed” by Stevie Wonder, but something was missing. Rayshun could’ve done something about if he only took the time to think of the song.

Rayshun sounded off key and flat in some parts of his performance, and this may hurt him in the end.

Team Adam: Sharane Calister

Sharane chose the right song, and she delivered it well! She sounded very competent with her performance of Loren Allred’s “Never Enough.” With her song choice, she probably proved that no one can ever go wrong with songs from “The Greatest Showman.”

Sharane sounded like a pro singer during the Live Playoffs, so she has a high chance to be part of “The Voice’s” Top 12.

Team Adam: Reid Umstattd

Reid sang U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” Although this performance isn’t his best, Reid proved that he deserves to stay in “The Voice” for a while longer. It was apparent, however, that Reid’s song choice didn’t give him that much-needed boost.

Team Blake: Austin Giorgio

Austin continues to impress the audience and the coaches with his smooth and classical voice. Austin is like a cross between Frank Sinatra and Michael Buble. Indeed, Austin is one of the most talented singers in “The Voice.”

Austin performed “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” by Dean Martin. Despite being a great singer, Austin needs to learn various styles in singing for versatility.

Team Blake: Pryor Baird

Pryor definitely has a unique and powerful voice, and he knows how to use it. During the Live Playoffs, he displayed a rendition of Chris Stapleton’s “I Was Wrong,” and he didn’t disappoint. Pryor even brought smiles all over everyone’s faces

Team Blake: Kyla Jade

Kyla decided to sing a well-known gospel song called “How Great Thou Art.” Kyla was able to connect with the song, and she was able to show the real power of her voice. This could be enough reason for her to be in “The Voice” Top 12!

Team Blake: Gary Edwards

No one can beat Gary’s energy during the Live Playoffs, but the song is not just for him. He performed Bruno Mars’ “Finesse,” but he sang in the wrong key. And with Gary’s performance, his chance to be in “The Voice” Top 12 is uncertain.

Team Blake: Spensha Baker

Spensha is one of the early favorites for this season of “The Voice.” She has been very consistent from the Blind Auditions until the Knockout Rounds. But during Spensha’s Live Playoff’s performance, something felt off. It might be due to her song choice, but her lovely voice wasn’t showcased to it’s greatest lengths tonight.

Team Blake: Wilkes

Wilkes is a great singer, but he still needs to explore some singing styles. During Wilkes’ performance for the Live Playoffs, he failed to show something new.

Wilkes sang NeedtoBreathe’s “Brother,” and although his voice suits the song, his performance was okay but not compelling.

Team Alicia: Johnny Bliss

Johnny sang a Spanish song called “America America” by Nino Bravo. Even if not everyone can understand Spanish, it was obvious that Johnny was hitting the right notes. Johnny is one of those singers that you would want to listen to after a stressful day.

Team Alicia: Kelsea Johnson

Alicia has many amazing singers on her team. One of them is Kelsea. She sang Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” and sounded pretty good. There’s no doubt that Kelsea will be part of “The Voice” Top 12! She can make Alicia’s decision easier.

Team Alicia: Terrence Cunningham

Terrence surprised the coaches during his Blind Audition and was able to capture their hearts in their first meeting. Terrence continues to be one of the top favorites as he sings Prince’s “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore” during the Live Playoffs.

Terrence can easily hit those high notes, but he lacks versatility. Nevertheless, Terrence did his best during his performance, and Alicia could send him to the next round of “The Voice.”

Team Alicia: Jackie Foster

Jackie gave it her all during the Live Playoffs. But there’s something about her performance that doesn’t seem to appeal to the audience. She was trying her best to sound sexy, but she didn’t achieve her goal. Jackie sang INXS’ “Never Tear Us Apart.”

Jackie is a top contender in “The Voice,” but with the high competition in Alicia’s team, Jackie should step up.

Team Alicia: Christiana Danielle

Christiana showed how versatile she is as a singer during her Live Playoffs Performance. She performed OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” The song has been done in acoustic style before, but Christiana brought her own spin to it, proving that she has a lot to offer in Alicia’s team.

Team Alicia: Britton Buchanan

Britton is only 17, but he doesn’t sound like his age. Alicia can give him any song, and he will deliver it well. Britton picked Grand Funk Railroad’s “Some Kind of Wonderful” for his Live Playoffs showcase.

Clearly, Britton was the best performer in Alicia’s team during the Live Playoffs, so he quickly got a pass for the next round of the competition.

“The Voice” continues Tuesday, April 17th, with “The Live PLayoffs” Night 2 at 8/7c on NBC.