Mariah Carey may have built up a reputation as a diva throughout her years in the spotlight, but she’s decided to change this up by appearing on The Voice as an adviser.
If first impressions are everything, then she made a good impression on the artists she worked with. She wanted to push them to their limit while nurturing the talent.
Monday’s episode also served as the first episode of the Knockout rounds, pitting some of the best singers of the season against each other.
But how did it all pan out?
Team Adam: Tyke James singing “Ring of Fire” vs. Keith Paluso singing “You Are the Best Thing”
Mariah worried that Keith was being too heavy with his vocals and thought it would be great if he slowed down to give viewers a chance to take in his unique voice.
Meanwhile, Tyke was rushing through his rehearsal, and Mariah wanted him to douse it with some heart. That’s not a big thing to ask.
Keith’s performance fell very flat, and it was almost like he didn’t take any of the feedback on board which was rather problematic.
Tyke’s performance starred slow but gradually got better. He did take the feedback to heart, and that’s likely why he won the Knockout.
But Kelly wanted to give Keith another shot, so she stole him.
Team Kelly: Kymberli Joye singing “The Middle” vs. Zaxai singing “Cruisin’” vs. Natasia GreyCloud singing “Tennessee Whiskey”
This was an odd choice. There were three people competing in this heat, and it was because Cody Ray Raymond departed the contest.
The positive here was that two of the three would be advancing to the Top 24. Mariah had little to say to the three performers, presumably because they were solid.
There wasn’t a negative thing to say about either of the performances. The trio killed it, and Kelly saved Kymberli and Zaxai, while Blake stepped in to save Natasia.
Team Jennifer: MaKenzie Thomas singing “How Deep Is Your Love” vs. Mike Parker singing “Breakeven”
Makenzie has one of the best voices this season, but her Knockout performance was not all that. Mariah was taken aback in rehearsals and even shed a tear. We didn’t know that was possible, but stranger things have happened.
Similarly, Mike’s voice was all over the place when it came to the actual performance, but Makenzie secured a narrow victory, while Mike was sent home.
Team Blake: Funsho singing “Earned It” vs. Katrina Cain singing “Don’t Let Me Down”
Mariah gave some solid advice to Funsho: pull back and relax. That was enough for him to tower above Katrina Cain, who languished with her performance.
Blake saved Funsho, but nobody saved Katrina.
Team Jennifer: Patrique Fortson singing “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” vs. SandyRedd singing “Dangerous Woman”
Patrique’s pacing was the issue for Mariah, and she helped him work on it, with some of her signature wit thrown in.
SandyRedd was given a similar set of commands, and both performances were solid if a little unspectacular.
Jennifer saved Patrique and SandyRedd, so that’s a plus!
What are your thoughts on the Knockouts?
Hit the comments below.
