The Voice 23 Recap: The Knockouts Begin! Live Blog (Videos)

The Voice 23 Knockouts - Reba McEntire
Pictured: Reba McEntire — (Photo by: Tyler Golden/NBC)

After a couple of weeks off from Season 23, The Voice is back tonight with the start of the Knockouts! Acting as this season’s mega mentor will be country music icon Reba McEntire, who will mentor the contestants as they prepare for this next round of competition.

The Voice 2023: Full Season 23 Schedule
The Voice 23 Spoilers: Top 8 Semifinal Artists Playoffs Results
The Voice 23 Spoilers: Battle and Knockout Round Results
The Voice 23 Contestant List and Guide: Meet the Artists!

Team Blake – NOIVAS vs Tasha Jessen – “I Put A Spell On You”/”Take Me To Church”

Reba responds with, “Holy crap,” to NOIVAS’ performance, while Blake compliments the transitions in his voice. NOIVAS asks Reba the best advice she’s ever received, to which she says she was told to show up on time, be prepared, and don’t waste anybody else’s time.

Tasha says she can easily emote the story of a song, and Reba applauds and says she’s got a huge voice and great range. Blake mentions his concern with the key because the song goes high and low at times. Tasha asks Reba how she makes the audience feel what she’s feeling and she suggests using eye contact and telling a story with the song.

NOIVAS performs first, starting in a deeper register with this haunting song. He offers growls in his runs and notes and finally ends with some unexpected scatting and some falsetto.

Tasha also starts in a low register, though it does sound like a tougher song for her voice, like she can’t fully hit the notes. She brings it back with some great notes near the end, including a growl similar to NOIVAS.

Niall calls NOIVAS impressive and says she hit notes Hozier couldn’t on the song and he leans toward Tasha. Chance says he’s impressed with the control in Tasha’s voice, but he’s a fan of NOIVAS, so he leans toward him. Kelly says they’re all fans of NOIVAS but Tasha shocked her so she’s rooting for either one. Blake says NOIVAS got wild and he liked it, while he’s never surprised by Tasha.

Blake chooses NOIVAS, Niall steals Tasha.

Team Kelly – Marcos Covos vs Ali – “Best Part”/”Jesus Take The Wheel”

After Ali sings, Kelly suggests changing up notes because this is a competition. Reba says to suggest the lyrics “heavily” as some advice to Ali.

Marcos says he chose this song because he still has a strong relationship with God despite being told he’s not worthy of having it for being LGBTQ+. Ali compliments the fire in Marcos as he sings, then Reba says everything was wonderful but she didn’t feel it because he didn’t let her, then suggests a more emotional way to sing the lyrics.

Ali goes first and always impresses with her unique notes. In my opinion, this was Ali’s best yet, with some great falsetto.

Marcos shows a gorgeous tone he can acquire with ballads like this, and again, a deeper register than what he’s typically known for.

Blake says Ali is special and nails her intentions when she delivers a song, while he thinks Marcos had too many runs, so he would choose Ali. Niall says Marcos is always in control and always finds a way to make a song work, while with Ali, it never feels like someone else’s song, it always feels like her own. Chance says Ali is an amazing vocalist and that shines through every time, and the same thing could be said about Marcos, despite the beginning of his song being shaky. Kelly says Marcos had pitchy moments but he sang the hell out of it, while Ali sang the song so deeply.

Kelly chooses Ali.

Team Niall – Gina Miles vs Kate Cosentino – “Somebody That I Used To Know”/”Call Me”

Reba says she had a hard time understanding Gina’s words, and gives her a singing tip. She also says she’s a powerhouse despite her naturally soft spoken nature.

Kate puts a rock/jazz twist on the song, pairing her performance with an electric guitar. Reba compliments Kate’s stage presence while Niall suggests toning the performance back.

Reba says the best advice she’s gotten is to have fun, and suggests that to both girls.

Gina seems to be emitting nerves during her performance, but beautifully executed the notes.

Kate always wears such a unique outfits, and I’m loving this orange/lime green pairing. Kate doesn’t perfectly hit notes like Gina did, but she’s much more of a performer.

Chance says Gina kept her identity alive through her song, while Kate controlled the whole room. Kelly says she got Florence The Machine vibes from Gina and this is the lane for Kate, but if she based it on the entire performance, she’d go with Gina. Blake says Kate’s performance was weird and out there and while Gina was great, he’d go with Kate. Niall calls Kate amazing and says Gina has gotten more confident as the competition went on.

Niall chooses Gina.

Team Chance – Ray Uriel vs Nariyella – “Bust Your Windows”/”Lately”

Reba calls Nariyella’s singing incredible and suggests she tries the song without the mic stand.

Reba says Ray’s voice is smooth and when Ray says he wants to work on getting into a song, Reba advises that if she gets into it, the audience gets into it.

Nariyella starts it off and has a longing that turns into anger in her voice, but nothing else that stood out in her performance.

Ray immediately seems to have an edge with his song choice, singing in a beautiful tone and steadily holding it throughout the song. He hits a few high notes toward the end, but manages to keep the gentleness in his voice.

Kelly calls Nariyella gifted and says Ray’s performance was tasteful, and she’d choose Ray. Blake says something was holding Nariyella back today so he’d choose Ray. Niall says he’d lean toward Nariyella. Chance says Ray smashed it and he likes how Nariyella focused on the attitude of the song.

Chance chooses Ray.

Team Blake – Kylee Dayne vs Walker Wilson – “All By Myself”/”I Ain’t Living Long Like This”

Reba says she thought Kylee would have a little bitty voice, then responds with, “Holy crap!” to her performance. Reba then suggests Kylee stand more still for this song.

Reba says Walker had swagger and the gravel in his voice was sexy, then says his smile reminds her of Patrick Swayze.

Kylee shows off her big voice with this song, and has so much clear control over it as she sings. She ends with a stunning high note that earns her a standing O from the other coaches.

Walker brings out his country side with a hat and an acoustic guitar, but his gravelly twang completely differs from Kylee’s powerhouse performance.

Niall says they were impressive in two completely different ways. Chance says Walker’s pitch is always perfect but Kylee blew him away, so he’d lean toward Kylee. Kelly says she loved Walker’s sound, then says Kylee had Mariah riffs. Blake says he dreaded this knockout because these two are so much alike (jokes).

Blake chooses Kylee.

Team Kelly – Cait Martin vs Kala Banham – “All The Man That I Need”/”Iris”

Reba says, “Wow, wow, wow, wow ,wow,” after Cait sings, and she was blown away by both her vocals and stage presence.

Kelly was in tears at Kala’s performance, while Reba says she tells a great story when she sings.

Cait has Disney Princess vibes in her voice with a big ballad like this, and beautifully controls each note.

Kala has a soft but powerful tone as she sings, offering some effortless falsetto, but fell completely flat at the end.

Blake says Cait had sharp notes while Kala had emotion, so he’d choose Kala. Niall says Cait smashed it while Kala has storytelling ability, so he’d choose Kala. Chance says Cait was spot on Whitney, so he’d choose Cait. Kelly calls them two different ninjas, Cait killed it, and Kala is one of her favorite storytellers.

Kelly chooses Cait, Blake and Chance both steal Kala.

Cait chooses Team Chance.

About Ashley Amber 84 Articles
Ashley Amber is a 29-year-old writer, author and dancer. When Ashley isn't live-blogging shows like The Voice and Dancing With The Stars for MJ's Big Blog, she works as a writer for Happy Productions and a contributor at The DIS, and previously published over 300 articles for Collider. Ashley has also authored a self-published fantasy/romance series of novelettes, and made her poetry debut in 2021's LGBTQIA+ anthology Deviant: Chronicles of Pride by InkFeathers Publishing. As a former pro ballroom dancer, when she's not writing, you can find Ashley on Youtube and TikTok where she posts dance videos featuring her own choreography and tutorials.