‘The Voice’: Tamar Davis Sings Sam Smith’s “Lay Me Down”

Now that the Miley Cyrus Season 11 coaching news is out there, The Voice is really running with it. Carson Daly has started announcing the Knockout Rounds as The Voice With Miley Cyrus (a fact Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, Pharrell Williams and Adam Levine must just love), and she’s really getting into the advisor role. It’s borderline surprising that they haven’t built a fifth red chair for her to wait out the rest of the season, really.

Three more Knockout pairings faced off last night from Team Blake, Team Pharrell and Team Christina, bringing the show that much closer to the live round (and, of course, to Season 11’s Miley Cyrus’ The Voice Featuring Miley Cyrus). Here’s who triumphed and who shed tears:

Team Blake: Adam Wakefield vs. Peyton Parker

Christina’s got a “secret crush” on one of Blake’s team members and she’s not afraid to tell everyone about it (in related news: Christina doesn’t know what the word “secret” means). Her secret country crush Adam Wakefield (yes, really) goes up against country singer Peyton Parker in the first Knockout of the night.

Adam sings Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home To Me,” really roars out some big notes and works the stage without an instrument for the first time. Peyton sings “Traveling Soldier” by the Dixie Chicks, which she (no joke) says she can connect to because she’s been away from her family and boyfriend for so long. Right. She cracks on some big notes, and her otherwise solid performance doesn’t stand up to Adam’s.

“I’m not sure if the nerves maybe got a little bit of you, but you had some cracky moments,” says Christina. To her secret crush, she says, “Adam, you have a very signature sound, and it’s very inviting,” and then tells him she has a “country crush” on him.

“You became flooded with emotion, and the crack came from that. Tonight I saw your absolute best moment,” Adam tells Peyton. “You are very soulful singer and I am a big fan,” he tells Adam.

“A lot of us have built our careers in that crack in our voice,” Blake tells Peyton, before raving about Adam. “Not only are you a talented musician – the guy plays piano and plays guitar – he’s just so good.”

Blake picks Adam, and Peyton joins the club of contestants who shed tears upon their Voice departures.

Team Pharrell: Moshumi and Nick Hagelin

Pharrell puts indie-pop singer Moshumi against pop singer Nick Hagelin in his (underwhelming) match-up. Moshumi got saddled with an un-televised Battle Round, and doesn’t do much to win fans with her lackluster performance of Halsey’s “New Americana.” Despite cues from Miley and Pharrell to add her own touch to the song, she never amps it up.

Nick makes the ambitious choice to sing Robin Thicke’s “Lost Without You,” which is very falsetto heavy. He starts off a little bit shaky, but eventually settles into his chest voice and then awkwardly tries to engage some audience participation. Luckily, the coaches love awkward audience engagement.

“You have a beautiful voice, and I almost wanted to hear more of it. I wanted to see another gear,” Adam tells Moshumi. “Nick, you clearly have a way of engaging a crowd that’s unique.”

You’re a natural performer, an it’s easy to get wrapped up in that when you’re watching it,” Blake praises Nick.

“I do agree with the coaches when they say they wanted to hear more, and that’s what I had intimated to you before,” Pharrell tells Moshumi. “The first four lines were not as strong as they were in the rehearsal, but your transition out of those first four lines got stronger and stronger,” he tells Nick.

Going with his gut, as he tends to do, Pharrell advances Moshumi.

Team Christina: Maya Smith vs. Tamar Davis

Closing out the night are two powerhouses from the unstoppable Team Christina. Postal worker Maya Smith — a Battle Round addition that Christina picked up from Team Pharrell — sings “No One” by Alicia Keys. She makes a valiant effort, and has some strong moments with her runs, but hits a few flat notes. Against many, she would win…

…sadly, she’s up against Tamar Davis, who is pretty close to flawless. The former backup singer for Prince sings Sam Smith’s “Lay Me Down” with complete control, and makes the song her own in a breakout performance.

“That was by far your best performance on the show,” Pharrell tells former team member Maya. “It was amazing how I couldn’t hear [Sam Smith] any more, I could only hear you and your thing,” he tells Tamar.

“I didn’t know you had that range. A whole other side of you just came out,” Adam tells Maya. “Tamar. Wow. Damn. To me, this is putting you on the map tonight.”

“You had a certain essence when you were performing, and really owned all the richness and the greatness,” Christina tells Maya. “You didn’t just sing that song, you murdered that song,” she tells Tamar, but means this traditionally insulting comment as a compliment.

It’s no surprise that Christina advances Tamar. It’s slightly more surprising that Blake doesn’t use his steal on Maya.

Blake is the only one with a steal going into the final night of The Voice Knockout Rounds Featuring Miley Cyrus next week. Chances are that he’ll steal from Team Christina (who wouldn’t, really?), but you just never know with that cowboy.

Find out how the Live Round teams are finalized on Monday!