A trio of contestants from Virginia — all on Team Niall — competed against each other in a Knockout round on The Voice that aired Monday night. But they each did so well that all three made it to the next round.
Contestants on the show are broken up into teams with celebrity coaches, and the Knockouts pit three contestants from the same team against each other.
“That’s the best Knockout I’ve ever seen on this show,” said coach Niall Horan. “Claudia, that was magic. I felt like I was in the corner of a jazz bar somewhere, John was nearly standing on his chair. It was really, really special. Huntley … the way you were able to hold your energy back and make it dynamic, it’s really special. Noah, the growing that you’re doing is insane. You made the queen cry. I’m just so proud of you, man … Something special just happened in these performances that I really, really, really hope that none of you have to leave here. I have zero idea what I’m going to do.”
Horan chose Huntley, 33, from Fredericksburg, as the winner of the round for his powerful rendition of Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive.” He got a standing ovation from the coaches — but all of them commented on what a difficult decision it would be for Horan to choose a winner after strong performances from each of the singers.
Claudia B., 24, a native of McLean who lives in Nashville, sang “Don’t Know Why” by Norah Jones. “I hope John (Legend, her first coach on the show) regrets letting me go when he hears me play the piano,” she said before the performance. That strategy may have worked — Legend tried to steal Claudia back to his team after Horan announced Huntley as the winner. But Horan used his one save for Claudia. Given the opportunity to choose between Horan and Legend, and she decided to stick with Horan’s team.
The third contestant, Noah Spencer of Richlands in southwestern Virginia, 20, also prompted a steal with his performance of “Where Rainbows Never Die” by SteelDrivers. He inspired an emotional reaction from coach Reba McEntire. “Noah, I guess the thing I miss most is sitting on the back porch of my home and you made me feel that warmth, like I was sitting on that back porch on my swing,” she said. “First time it’s made me homesick in a while, it really made me feel something and I appreciate it.” Legend and McEntire tried to steal Spencer, and the country and bluegrass singer chose to join McEntire’s team.
After the three performed, Horan joked that they all did so well that they would need to reinforce the roof before the Playoffs, which is the next step for the performers on the show.
The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays on NBC.
Feature image of Claudia B., Huntley, and Noah Spencer courtesy The Voice/NBC
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