NBC’s ‘The Voice’ review: Kimberly Nichole, Koryn Hawthorne, Sawyer Fredericks take on Knockout Rounds

Tonight, “The Voice” went into full-on Knockout Rounds mode with a variety of performances, and many of them were really good! The teams are starting to shape up in an exciting way … but we’re also not going to pretend that this was a normal episode of the show by any means. After all, this episode also marked a rare occasion in which there was a contestant who seemed to withdraw from contention at some point during the process. More on that in a little while.

As per always, we’ve got our take on all of the showdowns below! Just a reminder here that in addition to the coaches, we also had the presence of Nate Ruess of fun. in order to guide these contestants on their way.

Sonic d. Ashley Morgan (Team Christina) – We cannot really say that we are all that surprised by this victory here. Sonic has established herself as something other than a hedgehog or a fast-food change, and she was ultimately really great. Ashley was intense, but she doesn’t have the same stage presence.

Sarah Potenza d. Brian Johnson (Team Blake) – A tough decision. Nice promo for Matt McAndrew given that Sarah performed his “Wasted Love.” We’re not actually sure which was a better choice; Sarah had a better song choice and risk, but we just love Brian’s voice. Luckily, he was stolen by Adam, so nothing else really matters!

Nathan Hermida d. Clinton Washington (Team Adam) – Wait, what happened here? Probably the weirdest decision we’ve seen through most of the season. Nathan is good, but we thought Clinton was phenomenal here. Also, we don’t know why Clinton was not stolen.

Sawyer Fredericks and Mia Z d. Paul Pfau (Team Pharrell) – Apparently, Anthony Riley left the competition for personal reasons, and really hasn’t commented on it further. Bummer. Anyway, cannot say we’re too shocked with the results, but we do like Paul a whole lot.

Meghan Linsey d. Travis Ewing (Team Blake) – The moment that we realized that she was on Team Blake, we knew that she was going to be dangerous. This definitely proved itself to be very true in this performance. She is great, especially with Blake.

Kimberly Nichole d. Koryn Hawthorne (Team Christina) – Let’s be real here: There was no loser here. This. Was. Killer. Finally, Kimberly can be recognized as the vocal powerhouse that she is! One of the best performances we’ve ever seen at this stage, and Koryn was almost as great, as well. We’re glad to see her on Team Pharrell now.

Who was your favorite from tonight’s Knockout Rounds? Share with a comment, and head over here to get some other news worth singing about via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: NBC.)