One Coach Down to Only One Artist

This week, there was no protect for any of the Coaches, nor did they have any power. It was conceivable that three of the four Coaches could have found themselves completely eliminated, though it was unlikely. We say that because each of them had a representative in our personal Top 4 Monday night.

We’re not saying America votes based on our column — though they should! — but that these are undeniably great performers, so it would be shocking to see any of them go at this point of the competition. That said, though, the results were still a surprise.

One of the weakest singers in the whole competition, who’s already been saved once, somehow advanced right into the Top 10, sending a much stronger and more singular artist into the four-way Instant Save round.

Nine advanced automatically through America’s vote. The other four sang one last time for an Instant-Save, with one more advancing and making up the Top 10. So what did America do Monday night? And what did they do tonight?

Fair warning, since I’m safe at home, I’m probably going to be a little harsher than my colleagues Blake Shelton, Camila Cabello, Gwen Stefani, and John Legend. But I might be nicer, too. Maybe.

And just for fun, I’m going to rank the performances from worst to first to see who my favorites are, and then see how close you were to getting it right with your votes (i.e., agreeing with me).

(“Southern Nights,” Glen Campbell) It came as no surprise that Bryce soared effortlessly on this song, even sounding more natural in it than Blake himself. Brayden and Rowan wound up harmonizing some of their lines, which didn’t work all that well — but it does seem like these two teens have bonded through this experience, which was sweet to see. bodie was the last one to get a solo shot and his storytelling voice was another good fit. When Rowan got her solo shot, she was pretty good, but then fell flat when trying to harmonize. She definitely looked the most uncomfortable throughout this hodge-podge performance.

(“Happy Together,” The Turtles) This was an interesting performance, and not just because Camila started it off with that weird sideways stance she didn’t break. As it turns out, she was the weakest vocalist of the foursome on this particular track. Eric really impressed us on this one, delivering a stronger and fuller vocal than he did Monday night. Morgan and Devix found their moments to really stand out with their incredible tones. At least Camila had the flashiest ensemble.

With the Coaches no longer having any say in what happens with the votes and no more saves of their own, it’s all down to America. On top of that, it doesn’t matter which team the contestants are on, either. The lowest votes drop into the Bottom 4.

At least there is a second chance to try and convince America. No one is outright eliminated without a chance to compete in the Instant-Save. Four will drop into that do-or-die scenario, but one will rise from the ashes. It was Bryce Leatherwood last week who did that, shocking us.

We found ourselves thinking he’d find himself there again and could even repeat as we saw him falling alongside Eric Who, Rowan Grace, and Alyssa Witrado. Those were four of our Bottom 5 performances based on Monday’s show. Kique was ranked 10th, but we had a feeling America was digging his quirky vibe.

The first artists to make it to safety were Justin Aaron, which was no surprise as he had an incredible night and came in 2nd in our rankings. He was followed by Bryce, which immediately blew apart our whole theory about what would happen in the Instant-Save. Would Kique then fall into it and win (as he did better than the other three, as well)?

Omar Jose Cardona was next off to safety, followed by bodie, Morgan Myles, and Rowan Grace. That one caught us by surprise, as her performance felt boring and underwhelming. It also meant that half of our predicted Bottom 4 had advanced, leaving better singers in real danger!

Next up, it was a stunned Kim Cruse deservedly taking one of those coveted spots in the Top 10. Then, it was a clean sweep for the already oversized Team Blake as Brayden Lape advanced and made it four-for-four. Blake was elated, but Camila looked disgusted, as well she should. His success hurts every other team.

Team Legend then repeated Blake’s feat, albeit with a smaller group, when Parijita Bastola became the third and final member of his team to advance into the next round. We had all three of John’s singers in our Top 6, so this felt right. We’re still a little surprised by Rowan.

Alyssa Witrado and Eric Who did slide into the Bottom 4, as we predicted, where they were joined by Kique and Devix. Of those four, this really looked like a battle between Kique and Devix on paper. They ranked higher for us, but they’ve also had consistently stronger performances and have richer, fuller tones.

(“ocean eyes,” Billie EIlish) It’s very hard to do Billie without being compared to her unique vocal approach. Alyssa had some moments where that ethereal quality came through, but it was inconsistent — as was her pitch. She started off stronger, but it looked like nerves crept in with the first mistake and she couldn’t quite shake them. There were some beautiful moments, but moments don’t win singing shows. She needed to pull together a complete performance at a high level and that didn’t happen.

(“The Climb,” Miley Cyrus) Eric looked and sounded scared to death when this started. His performance was definitely impacted by nerves and anxiety. On top of that, it’s the fact that even when he’s pushing for those big notes, there’s just not that much power or volume behind them. It creates a jarring disconnect from the emphasis he’s going for. He told us he’s more than the guy who vogues on stage, but we’re not sure that he’s enough more.

(“When You Were Young,” The Killers) A genuine rocker at heart, Devix is almost a man out of time in this era where rock-and-roll is struggling to hang onto mainstream acceptance and acknowledgement. He’s perfectly in his element here with a great, rich tone to his voice that suited the song perfectly. His voice seemed to crack a bit toward the end, but if there is any love left for pure rock, that love should find its way to Devix.

(“Earned It,” The Weeknd) It felt like Kique was trying a little too hard, pushing too strongly with the riffs during some lines that could have handled a gentler touch. There’s no denying that vocally he was in incredible form and managed to make the most out of every single note. We still feel he’s a little too calculated, but as a showcase, that’s what you do to win votes. He just needs to learn to rein it in and actually connect with the song. He can and should always do what he does so well, but with a little more of a tasteful approach rather than painting the entire song with runs and power.

This was an interesting one, even though it did play out as we predicted. Kique and Devix were just in a different league than Eric and Alyssa. Both of them are great at what they do, while we can see areas where they still need to grow their artistry.

Kique definitely has a more traditional type of voice and musical style for a singing competition show, and he definitely showed off more of himself in that save-me song than any of his competitors. Gwen said after his performance that it was basically a done deal after that, and we think she was right.

Maybe America just listened to her and made it happen, but that is how it went down, with a euphoric Kique getting the big save, leaving us to say goodbye to the other three.

“The Voice” continues Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.