NBC’s ‘The Voice’ review: Did James Wolpert and Will Champlin make live shows?

Tonight has turned out to be a singing competition overload, hasn’t it? Not only did you have the first live show of the season on “The X Factor,” but the remaining contestants on “The Voice” took on the knockout rounds in style. These were performances that mostly put Simon Cowell’s show to shame and while they may not have the same sort of money-making potential as some teenage boy / girl groups, it does make for some more entertaining television.

Lisa Guadenzi vs. Preston Pohl (Adam Levine) – There was not much drama in this battle at all, given that Preston was a favorite since before this round and he has the experience to go along with it. Lisa was solid, but she didn’t really stand that much of a chance here. Winner: Preston.

E.G. Daily vs. Ray Boudreaux (Blake Shelton) – Also obvious. It didn’t really feel like E.G. Daily (aka the voice of Tommy Pickles for those who don’t know) had that much of a shot, and after hitting a few bum notes, it was easy to send her home and keep Ray. One thing that is interesting, though, is that the two with probably the biggest built-in followings in E.G. and Briana Cuoco are now both gone from the show. Winner: Ray.

Anthony Paul vs. Jacquie Lee (Christina Aguilera) – This may be a general thing to say, but we always tend to side with artists who choose a song that we haven’t heard much of. Jacquie won us over with a Serena Ryder cover, and Christina agreed. Winner. Jacquie.

Stephanie Anne Johnson vs. Tamara Chauniece (Cee Lo Green) – By far, this was one of the craziest vocal showcases of the night. We also cannot get over the fact that Christina actually stole back a contestant in Stephanie that she previously had allowed to leave her team, which has to make for some pretty interesting conversations the rest of the way. Winner: Tamara, with Stephanie stolen by Christina.

James Wolpert vs. Juhi (Adam) – This was another battle that seemed almost obvious from the beginning since Adam thinks that James is probably the greatest singer known to man, so he is constantly doing almost everything that he can to keep him. We love the guy, so we have no problem with it … even if this song choice in “More Than a Feeling” was a little bit questionable. Winner: James.

Austin Jenckes vs. Brandon Chase (Blake) – It’s the battle of the country guys, and on this occasion, Austin ended up winning with a song choice in “I’ll Be” that wasn’t even country. At least Blake does not feel like such an obvious country-lover this season, and is getting some music diversity to go along with what he loves. Winner: Austin.

Caroline Pennell vs. George Horga Jr. (Cee Lo) – We still have very little memory as to who George really is, so this battle was a predictable one, to say the least. Caroline didn’t give a perfect vocal, but she has that sort of smoky voice that Cee Lo loves to have with women on his team. Winner: Caroline.

Matthew Schuler vs. Will Champlin (Christina) – We feel for Will, given that he is probably the best person to ever be stolen … twice. The problem here was just that Christina has loved Matthew since the beginning, and it was painfully obvious who she would be keeping. It only seems perfect that Adam Levine would get the guy back, and with that, we say farewell to the knockout rounds. Winner: Matthew, but Will stolen by Adam. Episode Grade: B.

Who was your favorite on “The Voice” tonight, and are you stoked for the top 20? We’ll have some more rankings for the remaining contestants the rest of the season. Meanwhile, click here if you are curious in seeing some more news related to “The Voice.”

Photo: NBC