‘The Voice’: Darius Scott Triumphs Over Morgan Frazier

Caila Ball-Dionne | October 28, 2015 9:13 am
Gwen's "Used To Love You" Video
Watch the emotional visual for her new single, directed by Sophie Muller.

The Voice Live Playoffs can’t come soon enough for coach Gwen Stefani, who seems to go through a crisis every time she chooses between contestants (so…all the time). Sure, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Pharrell all have their “oh man, this is so hard,” moments, but Gwen seems actually demoralized when she has to let a contestant go. “I’m tearing up with anxiety right now,” she said last night (October 27).

If you haven’t seen the “I Use to Love You” video yet, just know that Gwen has shed enough tears. She doesn’t need to be welling up with anxiety every week. It’s time to take the reigns, America.

Well…almost. Before week two of the Live Playoffs when viewers can actually chime in, there is the coach-driven first round of the Live Playoffs. Before that, there are still some more Knockouts to go.

Hang tight, Gwen, we’ll be there to help you soon. Until then, here’s who caused panic attacks on The Voice Knockouts last night.

Team Gwen: Korin Bukowski vs. Summer Schappell

Prepped for emotional turmoil, Gwen pairs folk singer Korin Bukowski against country singer Summer Schappell. Korin sings Kodaline’s “All I Want,” a pick that shows off her range. She transitions from chest voice to head voice seamlessly.

Summer takes on Little Big Town’s “Little White Church,” which (fun fact) Rihanna calls one of her favorite country songs. Summer has the attitude to pull it off, but her stage strutting can’t cover up the fact that her voice is all over the place (except for with the coaches, but they rarely hear mistakes).

Pharrell praises Korin on her emotional performance, comparing her to Joni Mitchell and saying, “It didn’t require for your body to do much. It just required for your voice to continue to deliver your intention.” To Summer, he says, “You really were like a firecracker on that stage.”

Gwen raves about Summer’s stage presence. “Her punk attitude was coming through in this country artist, and there was this weird twist of girl power.” Unsurprisingly, she also has lovely things to say about Korin. “There’s just something about you that I connect to. You have this new confidence,” she says.

Despite no mention of Summer’s shaky performance, good sense prevails, and Gwen picks Korin.

Team Adam: Dustin Christensen vs. Keith Semple

Get ready for your daily dose of dad rock! Adam puts the Bruce Springsteen-esque steal from Team Blake, Dustin Christensen, against rocking dad who loves dad rock Keith Semple in his Knockout. Dustin sings Zac Brown Band’s “Free,” and it’s a mostly solid performance with a few wonky notes.

Keith comes in with a risky dad ballad (balldad?). Though there are the will he/won’t he hit the notes in Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is” moments, he hits them every time.

“Your voice is just so beautiful and soothing,” Gwen tells Dustin. She also loves Keith, though, telling him, “Your vibe and your energy come through really clearly.”

“You are wonderful, you’re an amazing singer,” Adam tells Dustin. “You’re like Babe Ruth calling your spot for your home run,” he says of Keith’s song choice.

Dad rock prevails, and Keith moves on to the Live Playoffs.

Team Pharrell: Darius Scott vs. Morgan Frazier

In the final Knockout of the evening, Pharrell puts his soulful powerhouse Darius Scott against country singer Morgan Frazier – a steal from Team Blake. Darius sings George Benson’s “On Broadway.” Though he is a real talent, and has a voice that can do just about anything, he uses it to do just about everything in one song.

There are so many runs up and down the scales, and so many times you just want to scream, “OK WE GET IT.”

Morgan’s performance of Eli Young Band’s “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” is ever so slightly less dramatic, but still demonstrates all sorts of range and emotion. She doesn’t have the power to run her voice all over the place like Darius, but she also doesn’t overdo it.

“You are the most ridiculous vocal mechanic I’ve ever heard in my life,” Adam tells Darius, adding, “Morgan blew my mind.”

“Your performance of that song was like watching a guy share his ambitions to the world in the best melodic way possible,” Pharrell tells Darius. To Morgan, he says, “You worked so hard at this, and you wanted everybody to know that this is your opportunity and you’re not letting it go.”

Pharrell chooses Darius, but in true Blake fashion, he steals Morgan back. The last time he did that, it was with Season 7 champ Craig Wayne Boyd, so Morgan is in good company.

The Knockouts wrap up on Monday, with highly-anticipated performances (as Voice performances go) on deck from Team Adam’s Shelby Brown and Team Blake’s Nadjah Nicole — among the others who have yet to have a breakout moment.

Any favorite performers or favorite teams just yet? Or are you waiting until you have voting power to really pick your alliances? Let us know!