NBC’s ‘The Voice’ review: Cole Vosbury, Jonny Gray, and Nic Hawk take on Knockout Rounds

Let’s start this review for “The Voice” off with massive praise: This episode was at least a billion times better than the Battle Rounds. There were a ton of performances throughout the two hours, some good coaches’ moments, and a nice ratio of singing / non-singing. If every episode could be like this, we would almost surely be happier when the show ends.

There were also a few performances in here that we specifically felt moved by, which is why we are putting out there: This was the best episode of the season so far.

Amber Nicole vs. Josh Logan (Christina Aguilera) – What’s funny is that we actually don’t find either of these singers to be particularly notable but they both gave great performances to start the show and really get everyone talking. Our personal pick would have been Josh for his take on “Living in the City” by Stevie Wonder, and apparently Christina agreed with us. The big surprise here was seeing that two coaches wanted to take on Amber, and she is now a part of team Cee Lo Green. Winner: Josh, with Amber joining Cee Lo.

Kat Robichaud vs. Monika Leigh (Cee Lo Green) – There was almost no drama in this one at all. As long as she gave a competent performance, there was almost no doubting who Cee Lo was going to choose for his team. He’s loved Kat since the beginning for her style and quirky energy, so of course this was his pick to advance on to the next week. Sadly, Monika went home right before America had an opportunity to vote for her. Winner: Kat.

Holly Henry vs. Nic Hawk (Blake Shelton) – To us, this was the biggest surprise of the night. We seriously thought in the blind auditions that Holly could win this whole competition, but she has struggled ever since then. Nic simply out-performed her here with a genius take on Christina Aguilera’s “Genie in a Bottle” that almost turned the song reggae. Adam Levine’s biggest “fan” (possibly on a crazy level) is going to be staying around for a while longer. Winner: Nic.

Ashley DuBose vs. Tessanne Chin (Adam Levine) – We could sit here and complain about Ashley going, but Tessanne is great. What was annoying was how the show basically went ahead and spoiled with their commercial-break hype that Tessanne was the only one of the two that you really needed to care about in the end. She may be the favorite right now to win the season based on the edit. Winner: Tessanne.

Briana Cuoco vs. Shelbie Z. (Blake) – We honestly feel bad for Briana, since she is getting some pretty mean comments from the beast called the internet, with many of them claiming that she is only here because of her relation to Kaley Cuoco, but we really do think that there’s talent there. We just don’t see her as a solo artist more so than a member of a band. Shelbie won, but we don’t really see America connecting with her too much since she really feels too much like a beauty pageant contestant. Winner: Shelbie.

Grey vs. James Irwin (Adam) – After finding out what Grey’s full name is, we fully understand now why she only goes by one name. She’s got an interesting style to her, but she needs to do a better job at this point trying to explain who she really is. James never really impressed us that much, though, so we’re admittedly not that devastated to see him gone. Winner: Grey.

Destinee Quinn vs. Olivia Henken (Christina) – It’s a battle of female country singers … and a predictable one as well. Destinee chose the too-sappy “See You Again” as a song choice. It feels like Olivia can do more with her voice, and cross genres. Christina of course likes that, and that is her pick to move forward in the competition. Winner: Olivia.

Cole Vosbury vs. Jonny Gray (Cee Lo) – What a stellar battle this was. “Let Her Go” is one of our favorite new songs, and we loved every second of this and thought that it was emotionally one of the best of the season. Jonny was great too, which is why we are thrilled that the two are both going on to the live shows. Jonny is on Cee Lo’s team, but Cole ended up picking Blake after the steal. Winner: Jonny, with Cole joining Team Blake.

Who was your favorite tonight? Our personal grade for tonight’s episode is an A-, and we want to hear your thoughts below! If you want to read some more news related to “The Voice,” just be sure to visit the link here.

Photo: NBC