Blake Shelton Swoops in With Surprise Save During Austin Giorgio vs. Spensha Baker ‘Voice’ Knockouts
When you've got two artists you need to keep on your team, you do what you have to do. So it went with Coach Blake Shelton on The Voice Monday night (Apr. 2), when he cruised through his first Knockout Rounds and then found himself in a bit of a quandary with the next one.
(A briefer: We're now into the Knockout Rounds for this season of The Voice. For the first time ever, former season winners will serve as mentors to help team members prepare their performances; Shelton's team is working with the current reigning champ Chloe Kohanski).
Shelton found himself in decisive enough waters when he pitted Jaclyn Lovey doing Corrine Bailey Rae's “Put Your Records On” vs. Kyla Jade's belting Lesley Gore's “You Don’t Own Me” earlier in the evening.
However, while Lovey's performance was predictably floaty and lovely (this is the singer who called up visions of unicorns in Shelton's mind), Jade—who'd been arguably a bit too clinical in earlier episodes—brought a more grounded and powerful show overall, resulting in an easy round win.
Things got hairier when Shelton's admitted favorites Austin Giorgio vs. Spensha Baker pulled up for the Knockouts.
Giorgio is a retro guy, and he wants to carry the torch for that particular vibe, as evidenced by his performance of Nat King Cole's "Almost Like Being in Love."
Meanwhile, Baker, a seasoned former gospel singer, wants to try her hand at country music. She delivered Chris Stapleton's "Broken Halos" with conviction.
It seems pretty obvious that Shelton is going to go with Baker, as he has repeatedly noted that he feels she will "tear down walls" and create a new vibe on the country scene. And so it was, to nobody's surprise. However, when it came down to the wire, the coach who lamented he had to choose between "the best of the best" went ahead and used his single save to grab Giorgio back to his team.
"It's a hot mess," said Giorgio, half laughing, half crying. Meanwhile, Shelton mused, "If it weren't for the save this season, I'd be so depressed." So would we, Blake. So would we!
We'll be keeping an eye on Season 14's doings every Monday and Tuesday, so be sure to check in each week.
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