‘The Voice’ Recap, First Night Of The Knockout Rounds

It's been a long, and at times screechy, journey to the Knockout Rounds but I'm glad they're here. We're one step closer to the Live Rounds but first we have to knock some singers out of the competition. Each coach puts two of their remaining singers in the ring to do battle, again, and this time they got to pick their own songs.  Adam and Cee Lo's teams were up first, let's see who they picked to move on.

Team Adam

The first pairing were Joselyn Rivera vs Kayla Nevarez. Joselyn chose Beyonce's "Love On Top" with Kayla going with V V Brown's "Shark In The Water." Adam put these two together because apparently he can only take one pop singer to the live rounds. Joselyn literally came out swinging during her performance, throwing punches as she sang. She took Adam's advice on watching her pitch, but as Christina pointed out, LOT is a really hard song to sing, but she did a good job.

Kayla's performance was much more subdued, not really going for any big notes but I think she sounded better. After some quick comments from the other coaches, Adam picks Joselyn as the winner.

Next were Joe Kirkland who chose Taylor Swift's "Mean" as his song, and Bryan Keith who sang "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)". Joe wanted to show his versatility with his song but Adam was a bit baffled by his choice. Bryan's pick was more about him showing emotion and connecting with the audience. I honestly can't listen to this song now without thinking about Stewie Griffin singing it on 'Family Guy,' but it worked for him here. Adam said that Joe surpassed his expectations but Bryan wasn't as good as he could have been. Despite that, Adam picks him as the winner.

Next pairing were Amanda Brown and Michelle Brooks-Thompson. I like how adventurous Amanda is and that she doesn't want to be pigeonholed into one genre, coming from a church background and all. She picks "Paris (Ooh La La)" which has been all over these singing competition shows, but I kind of think people still don't really get her.

Michelle sings Jennifer Hudson's "Spotlight," a more obvious choice, but her challenge would be to not sing it like Jennifer. She succeeds and the other coaches give the battle to her. Still, Adam thought he would be a better coach to Amanda as she takes the crown for this one.

Lauren Allred went against Nicole Nelson for a less evenly matched battle. Adam put them together because although Nicole knows who she is, Lauren has a lot more to prove. I guess he wanted to intimidate Lauren into a standout performance. She chooses "You Know I'm No Good" by Amy Winehouse to switch things up a bit and be more "sultry." Adam worried that her wedding singer background would get in the way of her really getting into the song, but she really sounded great, and that little makeover didn't hurt either.

Nicole went with Alicia Key's "If I Ain't Got You," a song Adam has covered with Maroon 5 and impressed Christina and him so much that they both gave her a standing ovation. It was a very hard choice to make because they were both so good, but he sticks with Lauren.

Adam's last match-up was between Melanie Martinez and Marc Cohn. Melanie has been consistently good throughout the competition so I wasn't worried about her here. She does a slowed down version of La Roux's "Bulletproof" which works for her style. I was really annoyed with all of the "unique" singers from last season, but Melanie knows how to switch up a song and not make it obnoxious.

Marc had a little bit of trouble with "Walking In Memphis" during rehearsals because he was mispronouncing the word "Memphis." He kept saying "meem-pheess" which luckily he worked on before his performance. Melanie was the clear winner here, the crowd really responded to her and got into the song.

Team Cee Lo

Cee Lo's first pairing were Avery Wilson with "Yeah (x3)" and Cody Belew singing "Jolene." Avery wanted to do a bit too much with his choice, Cee Lo had to tell him to chill on the dancing or he wouldn't have the breath to finish his performance. I can give him props for wanting to show that he is a "performer" and not just a singer.

Cody, who is just the most sincere guy ever, picked "Jolene" because hey, Jack White sang it, why can't he? I agree with Christina that Avery was kind of all over the place, and Blake and Adam pretty much make up Cee Lo's decision for him. He chooses Cody.

I don't really get what these guys are trying to prove by singing songs originally done by girls, even Mackenzie Bourg's family had to side eye him for singing "Call Me Maybe." He puts his own little spin on it, but this just wasn't for me. If he were on another show Simon Cowell would be eating this crap up.

His opponent Daniel Rosa goes with "Back To December," another song by Swifty. Daniel has come really far and I think it's a shame that he picked this song because he is the better singer. Ultimately, Mackenzie made a better connection with the crowd so we'll be seeing more of him in the live rounds.

Then it was Terisa Griffin vs Trevin Hunte. Terisa looked visibly upset at having to sing against Trevin, someone who had grown to be like a son to her. She picks Whitney's "Saving All My Love For You," perfect for her voice but she was doing a bit too much at the end. Cee Lo told her to reign it in and get to the point faster. He was being oddly stern with his singers last night.

Trevin picked "Against All Odds" and I was looking forward to him bringing it the way he did during the Battle Rounds. They both sounded amazing, but Terisa would have to go home. It wasn't all bad, during her goodbyes she said it was great that she got to compete against "her baby." D'awww.

For the "Blue Eyed Soul" match, Cee Lo put Nicholas David against Mycle Wastman. Nicholas made a bold choice with "Put Your Records On," while Mycle sang "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me." I think Nick knows his voice better and what to do with which is why his song worked out better for him. The other coaches were split, but I think Cee Lo knew to stick with Nicholas.

His last battle was between his two rockers, Caitlin Michele and Diego Val. Caitlin stuck to her style, picking Evanescence's "Bring Me To Life," while Diego made a more exciting choice with "Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz. Based on song choices alone, I knew Diego had this in the bag. They were both good, but not great, Diego's performance was just more rockin' but I'm not sure he'll last very long in the live rounds.

I enjoyed how quickly those two hours went by, even with an interruption by Brian Williams for an update on Hurricane Sandy, it didn't throw me off to much. At times, Adam and Cee Lo came off a little perturbed at their team members and they had no problem letting them know it. Team Christina and Team Blake get narrowed down on Tuesday night's show, who do you think has the best group so far?

[Editor's Note: DivaJulia loves CeeLo's group. Mostly.]