‘The Voice’: Regina Love Takes The Midnight Train To The Live Rounds

Caila Ball-Dionne | November 3, 2015 9:31 am

Pharrell has earned a new title on this season of The Voice: the holdout. Just like in the Blind Auditions and the Battle Round, the producer/coach waited until Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton and Adam Levine had all run out of spots or steals, and then swooped in to use his last one. And (spoiler alert) it was a good one.

Yes, in true Voice or Vanessa Williams fashion, they saved the best for last on the long, long road to the live round. So many powerhouses; so much belting; a few questionable decisions — it all came together as we bid farewell to the Knockouts, Adam Levine’s baldness, Rihanna’s awesomeness and Gwen Stefani’s perfect Knockout Round dress.

Who we didn’t say farewell to? The 20 finalists. Here’s who joined that list on Monday night:

Team Adam: Shelby Brown vs. James Dupré

Adam puts country singers and four-chair turners Shelby Brown and James Dupré against each other for his final knockout. Shelby sings Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take The Wheel,” her first country song of the competition. The early standout sang this song for her third grade talent show…and lost. Who was she competing against: actual Carrie Underwood? This is a finals-worthy performance.

James gets confused on which arse to kiss when he sings Blake Shelton’s “Sure Be Cool If You Did.” It’s vocally solid, but very wooden. At least Blake approves!

“I felt like you sang that song flawlessly. Your vibrato is just crazy how you hold it,” Pharrell tells James. To Shelby, he says, “You were swinging a sword and just chopping heads off. You can’t ignore the fight you have in you.”

“I heard a nervous 17-year-old girl in the beginning of the song, but I think you did a tremendous job,” says Adam, who apparently has super-sonic nerve detection.

“Because you’re so darn good, it’s sometimes hard for you to convey the emotion,” he tells James.

Despite the nerves talk, Adam advances Shelby.

Team Pharrell: Mark Hood vs. Siahna Im

Big personality Mark Hood goes against Siahna Im, the high school student who’s teeny tiny talking voice transforms into a big time soul singer every time she belts out a song. In an astute move, Mark (slightly) tones down his typically showy performances when he belts out Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me.” Granted, his “dialed-back” performance means jump spins and more ad lib than the song has ever seen before, but it’s his vocals that shine.

Siahna sings Amy Winehouse’s “Back To Black.” She’s got a powerful voice and stage presence for her age, but she has a few shaky notes that don’t hold up against Mark’s steady vocals.

“You entertain on all levels, and I think that everyone is using their whole bag of tricks right now because it’s the time to do that,” Adam tells Mark. “There’s this monster beast that comes out. It’s like there’s claws and there’s teeth,” he tells Siahna.

“I think you came out and were fighting for your life in terms of entertaining,” Pharrell tells Mark. “Siahna, as you always do, you completely charmed the room,” he adds.

Faced with a tough decision, Pharrell picks Mark.

Team Pharrell: Evan McKeel vs. Tim Atlas

Though some of these decisions are real nail-biters, a few are painfully clear. Pharrell’s next Knockout between indie artists Evan McKeel and Tim Atlas falls into the latter category. Four-chair turner Evan McKeel opts to sing Switchfoot’s “I Dare You To Move,” a snoozey choice, but one that’s flattering to his voice. He executes it cleanly, and demonstrates his wide range.

It all falls apart for Battle Round steal Tim, sadly, when he delivers an oddly angry rendition of Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn.” It’s all over the place, vocally, and the aggressive take on a song that is typically paired with red wine and stalking ex-boyfriends on Facebook is jarring.

“Evan sings perfectly. What a great vocalist you are with so much energy and fight,” says Blake. He offers the rare Knockout criticism to Tim, telling him, “Because you throw in so many herbs and spices and stuff in your vocal, sometimes it gets kind of weird for a minute.”

“I felt like your intuition for the song and where it needed to go was great,” Pharrell tells Evan. “When the chorus comes up, you brought in this angry energy. And I thought, as a fellow producer, I applaud you for trying to highlight that.”

Applauded, but not advanced, Tim heads home while Evan moves on to the live shows.

Team Blake: Emily Ann Roberts vs. Nadjah Nicole

…and then there are the match-ups where the choices are really clear to everyone except for the one making the decision. Blake puts country-singing high school student Emily Ann Roberts against soulful pop singer Nadjah Nicole. Emily takes on “Cowboy Take Me Away” by Dixie Chicks. It’s fine, and could maybe even triumph in some of the weaker Knockouts, but ultimately sounds very high school talent show.

Nadjah, on the other hand, shuts the place down when she sings Alicia Keys’ “A Woman’s Worth.” At every extreme of her range, she hits the notes flawlessly, and demonstrates tremendous control throughout. She’s the clear victor…right?

“You were really honestly in your comfort zone, but it still felt like you were fighting,” Pharrell tells Emily. “That beautiful jazzy note on the end of it that’s not even in the song, I loved,” he tells Nadjah.

“[The song] gave you the opportunity to go up to those falsetto notes and blow people away,” Blake tells Nadjah, before waxing on about Emily’s potential. “She gets her hands on the right music, and she can be around for 20 years,” he says.

It’s a real head-shaker when Blake advances Emily Ann.

Team Blake: Zach Seabaugh vs. Chris Crump

Oof. You do not want to be the one Knockout that doesn’t make it on the show, but timing’s a harsh mistress. Though not televised, Zach Seabaugh defeats Chris Crump, and will be seen in non-montage form next week.

Team Gwen: Jeffrey Austin vs. Kota Wade

Gwen pairs up her soulful rock singers Jeffrey Austin and Kota Wade. Though he only turned one chair in the Blind Auditions, Jeffrey is beginning to stand out as a real force. He unleashes his inner Sam Smith when he sings Adele’s “Turning Tables” with the amount of emotion an Adele song warrants (read: a lot).

Kota’s performance of Heart’s “Barracuda,” on the other hand, might inspire her to get a tattoo that reads, “Ambition Kills Dreams.” She swings for the fences, thus throwing her back out, with the song choice. There are so many flat moments and so little control that it’s uncomfortable to watch.

“The originality I hear in the tone of your voice is one of the more identifiable, different tones we’ve heard on the show,” Adam tells Jeffrey. “You chose the hardest vocal maybe ever in the history of hard vocals. I respect that. I think that it took a minute, but by the end you were really full throttle,” he says with great kindness to Kota.

“Your personal style and your personality come through so clearly,” Gwen tells Kota, giving her a “nice personality” kiss of death. To Jeffrey, she says, “When you hear this guy sing, the tone he has in his voice, it’s very magic.”

Gwen advances Jeffrey.

Team Gwen: Regina Love vs. Riley Biederer

The last Knockout of the season is between Team Gwen’s two Battle Round steals: Former Team Adam powerhouse Regina Love and former Team Pharrell soul singer Riley Biederer. Regina sings Gladys Knight & The Pips’ “Midnight Train to Georgia” and belts out the strongest performance of the entire round. Her vocal power is simply undeniable.

Riley, though, holds her own with her performance of Beyoncé’s “XO.” It’s her best performance, by far, to date. She showcases the range, dynamics and emotion that get contestants advanced come live rounds.

“That was unbelievable. Blew the roof off of this place,” Blake tells Regina. “I saw a little bit more diversity in what she did as a vocalist,” he says of Riley.

“Your voice is so unique and it kind of doesn’t fit inside your body. I just feel like you have so, so, so much potential,” Gwen tells Riley. To Regina, she says, “What I love about you is your spirit. I was so taken in by your determination that I was brought to tears.”

A well-deserved advance goes to Regina, but a well-deserved steal from Pharrell goes to Riley. Needless to say, Riley is thrilled to be back on her former coach’s team.

Praise Jesus and his wheel! It’s finally time for live voting drama, guest performances and the set department to snap into action. The contestants will perform Monday and Tuesday, with a results hour on Wednesday. Lives, baby, lives!

And so it is written: Season 9’s Top 20. Now that the teams are finalized, which coach do you think has the best shot of getting the trophy?