Oh hey, welcome to the Knockout Round. It's just like the Battle Round, only with 50% more music and 50% less suspense, since by now the coaches have wised up and started pitting A-listers against some of their weaker teammates. Basically, it's The Hunger Games, but with less style and less Lorde, though Wé's bowtie deserves a special shout out. Anyway, here's the inaugural Season 11 worst-to-first Knockout Rankling:
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Ali Caldwell/"No Ordinary Love" vs. Lauren Diaz/"Rise Up"
Ali's really great here, effortlessly running up and down her scales while giving off a sultry club vibe. She clearly knows where she wants the song to go, but she makes the performance feel effortless. Lauren, on the other hand, feels overwrought with tension; she's sharp and abrupt at the end of her lyrics, and relies on some intense, forced emotion to carry her through. Her runs are flat and the performance suffers for it, coming off as lackluster yelling. That's not to say that Ali doesn't deserve to move on, but it's not like she had any real competition either.
Winner: Ali Caldwell
Team: Miley -
Dave Moisan/"Like I Can" vs. Simone Gundy/"Midnight Train To Georgia"
Spoiler alert: Simone wins because she's good, but also because Dave unfortunately looks like Vanilla Ice with his new haircut. He's trying too hard and it shows, whereas Simone is trying but with a more effective delivery. The ad-libbing she ads on the end is nice, as is her pacing across the stage. It's not the most exciting cover, but it'll do for this round at least.
Winner: Simone Gundy
Team: Adam - Courtnie Ramirez/"If I Were A Boy" vs. Wé McDonald/"No More Drama"
Wé's voice is crazy, whereas Courtnie just comes off as crazy, so yeah: no real competition here. Move along.
Winner: Wé McDonald
Team: Alicia - Jason Warrior/"I Want You" vs. Riley Elmore/"Haven't Met You Yet"
There's something wonderfully awkward about both Jason and Riley, but it comes through in their performances in different ways. Jason strains his vocals because he is so nervous from wanting to be fully "on" all the time, yet he works the stage well and lands his falsetto once he eases into it. Contrarily, Riley nails his vocals and pre-planned wink to the audience, but otherwise stands stiff as a board. They're both young and green, and could probably evolve into something worth watching with the right coaching, but the first thing they need to learn is how to be comfortable in front of an audience. They better do it fast.
Winner: Riley Elmore
Team: Adam
Steal: Jason to Team Blake - Kylie Rothfield/"Hound Dog" vs. Whitney & Shannon/"I Won't Give Up"
Whitney & Shannon look to continue their overrated streak, but Kylie has some pretty sexy alternate plans. Her take on "Hound Dog" is hot and angry, distinguishing her from the sickly sweet whispering of Whitney & Shannon, along with the rest of the competition. It's risky, it's Elvis, and it's a little bit riot grrrl, which is all pretty exciting.
Winner: Kylie Rothfield
Team: Alicia - Sundance Head/"The Climb" vs. Josh Gallagher/"My Maria"
Let's not even pretend that there could ever be a chance of Blake choosing modern, baseball-hat country over old-school, crusty, cowboy-hat country; Sundance wins before he even takes the stage. Still, the fact that his performance gives off a "cool dad at the campfire" vibe is sort of heartwarming (as is the thought of s'mores). Josh will do infinitely better with another bro to support him and really, it's time for someone to give Sam Hunt a run for his money.
Winner: Sundance Head
Team: Blake
Steal: Josh to Team Adam
