The Voice Top 11 Results: Kiss Today Goodbye

Well, I can't say tonight's bottom 2 and subsequent elimination were surprising based on what we saw last night. This hour was filled with performances as well as those long, painful Carson pauses, but in the end the Top 10 were revealed and one team lost its first member. Here's what went down during the elimination episode. 

The Voice welcomed back recent winner Jordan Smith, who sounds as amazing as he did the last time we saw him, and he treated us all to "O Holy Night" from his new Christmas album.  Team Blake performed tonight as well and their rendition of "The Heart of Rock & Roll" suited the men in the group just fine. Courtney not so much. Team Alicia also took the stage for a collaboration on "People Get Ready" and the combo of Alicia, Christian and Wé was wonderful. Their voices were just so smooth and so lovely together. 

Results! The first artist to make the Top 10 was Sundance and he was quickly followed by Wé and Ali. Whew. Billy, Austin and Brendan were next and after some filler, Christian and Courtney were able to breathe a sigh of relief. Josh was the last person sent to safety, leaving Aaron and Darby in the bottom 2. Darby chose "Your Song" in her effort to win the Stupid Twitter Save and she struggled greatly. Aaron went with "Budapest" and fared much, much better.

After the votes were tallied, Aaron won the Stupid Twitter Save and Darby was sent packing. Both Alicia and Miley are now down to two contestants each while Blake and Adam's teams remain untouched. Will the guys keep their trio of artists together through the Top 9? Will Team Miley bounce back with a vengeance next week? Can Alicia rest easy knowing Wé is the emerging front runner? We'll see how all of this shakes out when the competition continues on Monday. Til then!

The Voice Top 11: And You Could Have It All

Tonight the Top 11 take the stage again as each coach keeps their fingers crossed that they will hold on to their teams. Alicia lost one artist last week and Team Miley's Aaron just escaped elimination with the Stupid Twitter Save. Will he bounce back tonight? Will Alicia's two remaining contestants keep her team safe? Let's get to the performances. 

Artist: Ali Caldwell

Team: Miley 

Song: "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton

Oh how I love Dolly Parton. I already have my Tivo set to record Christmas of Many Colors next week. Anyway, Ali kicks off the show tonight with another song that never would have been on my radar for her. I do like that Miley isn't just throwing repetitive Whitney or Celine songs at this girl, and I appreciate that Ali continues to take on tunes outside of her comfort zone...but then she loses the lyrics to "9 to 5" and therefore loses me for the rest of the performance. Last week's rendition of "Did I Ever Love You" alone has made me a life long Ali fan though, so we're just going to have to vote for her tonight and look forward seeing what she does next week. 

Coaches Say: Adam says Ali can do anything and Blake is really impressed by Ali's rendition of the song. Miley calls Ali a star and says she is someone who was born to be on stage. 

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Artist: Sundance Head

Team: Blake

Song: "No One" by Alicia Keys 

It's always a gutsy move to cover the song of one of the coaches while said coach is sitting right in front of you as you perform. Sundance is up for the challenge and does a really good job making the song his own without losing what makes the song great to begin with. He adds a little country flare to the tune along with his soulful, powerful voice, and I'm loving the result...but what does Alicia think?

Coaches Say: All four coaches stand so that's already a good sign for Sundance. Alicia says she wishes Sundance was on her team and tells him "you just made me listen to my song in a whole new way." Blake thinks his constant should feel really proud of himself and says this performance was a breakout moment for Sundance. 

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Artist: Aaron Gibson

Team: Miley 

Song: "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails

No dude. Just. No. I'm all for Aaron "growing" in the competition, but there has to be another way. Other songs. Alternate facial expressions. We need to explore other avenues to keep him around because this was just two minutes of me wincing. Also, it's hard for me to get beyond the best "Hurt" cover ever, which was done by Johnny Cash. If you've never seen the music video, you truly must. 

Coaches Say: Adam loves Aaron's cover of that song and I feel a sharp pain in my head. Miley thinks the performance was perfect and calls it the strongest performance of the night. There is zero chance that is a true statement. 

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Artist: Courtney Harrell 

Team: Blake

Song: "What I Did For Love" from A Chorus Line

Well I can safely say that this is sooooo much better than the Aerosmith Song That Shall Not Be Named from last week. Apparently Courtney sang this song in high school and hasn't touched it since, and my first thought was "that's because A Chorus Line is very 1970s." However, Courtney comes at this song tonight with some tweaks that bring it out of the 70s and away from being a show tune only. There are some questionable notes in Courtney's performance for sure, but considering this woman just about killed me last week, I'm totally rooting for her to make the Top 10 based on the progress she made tonight. 

Coaches Say: All but Adam stand which is interesting. Alicia tells Courtney she took that song to a place that was so personal, and Alicia felt like she was on a journey with Courtney the whole time. Blake says this was Courtney's best performance so far and thinks she'll definitely make it through to next week. 

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Artist: Josh Gallagher

Team: Adam

Song: "Drunk On Your Love" by Brett Eldredge

Josh is looking to have fun tonight and "work the crowd" like he does when he's playing at the Nashville honky tonks. He also wants to switch up the end of the song a little bit to make it his own...and in doing so he goes off on a series of riffs that are not pleasant to the ear. His "working the crowd" tactics are also really awkward at times, which is a shame because I do like this guy and want him to stick around for a little while. 

Coaches Say: Miley felt like she was sitting at a Josh concert or tour and Adam calls Josh 'refreshing.' 

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Artist: Billy Gillman

Team: Adam

Song: "All I Ask" by Adele

You know, I'm not going into this performance at all thinking "he shouldn't attempt an Adele song." Billy has the voice for this song, but does he have the emotional connection? Yup, he sure does. He embraces the lyrics to this song effortlessly and Adam's idea to have Billy paired with a piano only was perfect. Love. It. 

Coaches Say: Blake asks Billy if he ever hits any bad notes because he feels like Billy is always perfect. Adam says the performance felt pure and real and honest and tells Billy that he is everything The Voice stands for. 

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Artist: Christian Cuevas

Team: Alicia

Song: "Rosanna" by Toto

Christian proposed to his girlfriend after last week's show so he's on top of the world at the moment. He chose this 80s tune to show off his fun side and there's no doubt that Christian enjoys himself during this performance. Is this a showstopper? Not in the slightest. But Christian put a smile on my face with this song and I'm happy he's happy. 

Coaches Say: Miley thinks this is just what Christian needed to move forward in the competition, and Alicia stands in excitement throughout her entire critique. She says when Christian goes for notes, there are shivers and chills. Alicia then spreads her arms wide and asks America to vote him through to the Top 10. 

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Artist: Austin Allsup

Team: Blake

Song: "Turn the Page" by Bob Seger

Last week I thought Austin was in over his head, but tonight he's doing a complete 180 with this performance. He owns the song and the lyrics he's also 100% engaged with the audience which is wonderful to see. I know people overuse the "you look like a star tonight" compliment, but really...dude looks like a star tonight. 

Coaches Say: Adam says this was by far the best performance Austin has ever had on the show and I absolutely agree. Blake is just beaming and tells Austin there is no one out there doing what he's doing right now. He calls Austin an "avenger."

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Artist: Darby Walker

Team: Miley 

Song: "You Don't Own Me" by Leslie Gore

Darby is going for drama with this performance and I can say with certainty that I don't get it. I love that Darby is different. I really do. But her vocals are all over the place with this song and the dramatic aspect leaves me scratching my head well after the performance is over. Please excuse me while I go watch the end of The First Wives Club to find a redeeming version of this tune. 

Coaches Say: Miley and Alicia are both standing when the song ends and I'm back to scratching my head. Alicia compliments Darby's ability to go into her falsetto so effortlessly and says Darby owned the song. Miley thinks Darby radiates freedom and thanks her for the performance. 

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Artist: Brendan Fletcher

Team: Adam

Song: "The River" by Bruce Springsteen

This is the perfect song choice of Brendan. He is in full story teller mode and though he sounds out of breath at times, I think this tune is right in his wheelhouse. The good news is, Darby was an easy act to follow. The bad news is, Wé is closing the show in a couple of minutes and will probably make me forget Brendan was here tonight. 

Coaches Say: Blake says Brendan has a warm voice and would love to hear him sing country music. Adam tells Brendan he conquered a lot this week and says Brendan is one in a million. 

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Artist: Wé McDonald

Team: Alicia

Song: "Love On the Brain" by Rihanna

And this, my friends, is how you close a show. HOW is this kid only 17?!?! Alicia struck gold with the pairing of this young lady with this ridiculously awesome song choice. I'm posting the video and calling it a night. Get it, girl. 

Coaches Say: I'm not sure why all 4 coaches were not on their feet when the song ended but they seriously should have been. Alicia is SO excited (still on her feet) and says Wé sings as if she has "a thousand, trillion years of experience." She tells Wé that she deserves to be there and she deserves to soar. Yes and yes!

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Tomorrow we will say goodbye to another hopeful as the Top 10 will be revealed and we'll be one step closer to seeing who wins it all. Will Aaron's grumbling performance land him in the bottom 2 once again? Will Darby's drama be her undoing? Will Josh's efforts to "work the crowd" expand his fan base? Was anyone else hoping that Dolly was going to pop out from behind Ali in a matching outfit? Is there a chance something like that could still happen? Man that would rock my world. Anywho, there were some definite missteps in the performances tonight and I think Team Miley might be in for a rough night tomorrow. Will her team make it through unscathed? We'll find out during this week's elimination hour. Til then!

The Voice Top 12 Eliminations: I'm Out Of Touch

Tonight we said goodbye to a contestant who left it all out on the table last night and I'm a little bummed. In this hour the Top 11 was revealed, Miley and Adam performed with their teams, Alicia brought the house down, and the Stupid Twitter Save returned to annoy me. Here are the highlights from the Top 12 elimination episode. 

Adam performed "For What It's Worth" with his team and I always appreciate how much Alicia enjoys the performances from her seat. Team Miley took on "There'll Always Be Music" and sounded really great together. However, the performance of the night went to Alicia as she gave us an a capella snippet of "Blended Family" and then stepped behind the piano for "Holy War." Adam joined her on guitar and the performance was incredible. 

Results! Ali was the first person to make it through (of course she was!) and Wé followed her right away. Brendon was the next member of the Top 11, and Courtney, Billy, and Darby joined him soon thereafter. Austin was sent to safety next along with Christian and Josh and we were down to the wire. Sundance was the final contestant to jump for joy, leaving Aaron and Sa'Rayah to duke it out in the bottom 2. 

The beauty with the booming voice chose "Rock Steady" by Aretha Franklin as her "save me" song and she was awesome. Aaron sucked the life out of the room with Ed Sheeran's "Lego House" and after what seemed like the smallest voting window EVER, Aaron won the Stupid Twitter Save. Not happy. 

So Team Alicia is down a member while the other teams remain in tact. Will Wé and Christian hold firm through the Top 11? Will Aaron bounce back from Stupid Twitter Save territory? Can whoever does the wardrobe for Alicia and Miley start outfitting everyone on this show? What a happy environment it would be. Anyway, with or without fun fashion, who will be the artists who stand out in the Top 11? We'll find out when the competition resumes on Monday. Til then!

The Voice Top 12: Can I Get An Amen?

Welcome back! Round 2 of The Voice in 2016 brings us two new coaches, a fresh group of talent, and another reason to ask "why don't Blake and Adam get a room already?" Tonight we kick off the last phase of the competition as the blind auditions, the battles, the knockouts, and the playoffs have all transpired. The Top 12 take the stage this evening and with the help of Garth freaking Brooks, they hope to win over America and step one week closer to victory. Let's see if any of the teams have an advantage right out of the gate. 

Artist: Sundance Head

Team: Blake

Song: "My Church" by Maren Morris

Whenever I see Sundance on screen I am always taken back to his performance of "Mustang Sally" in his American Idol days. I've always wondered what happened to him and was thrilled when he popped up on The Voice. Sundance certainly has the vocal chops to take us to church and he opens the show with a fun, energetic, soulful performance that puts a big smile on my face. Love this guy.  

Coaches Say: Alicia calls Sundance spectacular and tells him he continues to raise the bar each time he sings. Miley thinks Sundance was meant to play on a big stage because of his energy. Vocally, Blake says he would put Sundance up against anyone in the world and I've hit my first "whoa cowboy" of the season. Sundance is good, but let's not get crazy.

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Artist: Darby Walker

Team: Miley

Song: "Ruby Tuesday" by The Rolling Stones

Miley saved young Darby last week hoping to one day hear her voice on the radio. After an emotional coaching session with Mr. Brooks, Darby takes the stage with a flowery mic stand and transports us back to the 60s. She's looking to show her vulnerable side in this performance and while her voice waivers at times, I do really enjoy how she throws herself into the choruses. Here's hoping the voters don't forget about her this week.  

Coaches Say: Blake can't express enough how important this performance was because Darby gave us the full power of her voice. Miley agrees and says Darby completely represents "Ruby Tuesday." And now I suddenly have a craving for an endless salad bar. 

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Artist: Christian Cuevas

Team: Alicia

Song: "The Scientist" by Coldplay

Christian is dedicating this song to his girlfriend and she must be one lucky lady. He definitely puts his own spin on "The Scientist" but I think he sounded much better in his rehearsal package. Christian's last couple of "I'm going back to the start!" belts are great but based on the rehearsal video I was expecting something pretty amazing. 

Coaches Say: Adam says the performance was unbelievable and Alicia is beaming with pride. She loves Christian's ability to take songs and own them and tells him he nailed it.

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Artist: Sa'rayah

Team: Alicia

Song: "Livin' On a Prayer" by Bon Jovi

Oh the things my spellcheck wants to do to this girl's name. Alicia saved Sa'rayah last week and the sassy singer is looking to wow America tonight with her take on this Bon Jovi classic. The key here is for Sa'rayah to tell the story and not just belt out the song. I think she does that...and she also reallllly belts out the song. She threw herself into it 100% and I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. 

Coaches Say: Miley loves seeing Sa'rayah do rock music and is so excited she went out of her comfort zone tonight. Miley also makes kind of a side comment about how when Sa'rayah was on her team, these are the types of songs she wanted Sa'rayah to sing. She's just being Miley (had to be said at some point). Blake's favorite part of Sa'rayah's performances is the face she makes when she hits the big crazy notes, like "I can't even believe what's coming out of my mouth." Coach Alicia continues to be wowed by her artist and she wants Sa'rayah to continue to show the world who she is. 

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Artist: Billy Gilman

Team: Adam

Song: "The Show Must Go On" by Queen

Taking on Freddy Mercury is super gutsy but Billy identifies with this song and really has an emotional connection to the music. Billy's voice is haunting and wonderful and I'm mesmerized during the entire performance. Alicia talked earlier about setting the bar high...the other contestants should now consider the bar officially raised. Amazing!

Coaches Say: All four coaches stand and Blake says Billy is unbelievable. Adam says Billy epitomizes the whole point of the show and tells Billy this is only the beginning for him. 

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Artist: Austin Alsup

Team: Blake

Song: "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" by Aretha Franklin

Wow. Another very tall order...and unfortunately Austin doesn't quite deliver. With the band behind him trying to give the song a southern rock vibe, Austin ends up screaming most of the song. Austin probably just should have chosen a different tune but perhaps he has built a big enough fan base through the previous performances to get him another shot next week. 

Coaches Say: Miley says this was her favorite Austin performance and I guess I was hearing something else. Blake tells Austin there is a new generation of outlaw country music artists rising "and I'll be damned if there's anybody in that group that can sing like you do."

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Artist: Wé McDonald

Team: Alicia

Song: "Take Me To Church" by Hozier

Team Alicia's 17 year old powerhouse is also taking us to church tonight and holy hell is she incredible. The look on Garth's face when she starts to sing during rehearsals says it all. She's crazy talented. I have the goosies (shout out to JLo) within 10 seconds of the performance and I cannot WAIT to see what this kid has in store for us for the rest of the season. 

Coaches Say: Why Alicia seems to be the only coach standing is beyond me. Miley says she gets emotional when she sees Wé surrounded by the audience in her performances. She turns to Alicia who is almost coming out of her seat with giddiness. She tells Wé "you are the real deal."

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Artist: Aaron Gibson

Team: Miley

Song: "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings" by Father John Misty

Mmmkay, so I don't know this song at all. Aaron is not really enunciating so I also can't follow along with the lyrics to see if he's selling any kind of story or not. I do applaud Aaron for wanting to sing songs that have not yet been done on the show (seriously dude - thank you), but this just isn't my favorite performance of his. 

Coaches Say: Adam says Aaron's voice is so special, it would be a disservice if he was not a singer. Blake likens Aaron's voice to "if Godzilla could sing" and Miley sees Aaron as a Father John Misty type of artist. I guess I need to go google who the hell this guy is. 

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Artist: Courtney Harrell

Team: Blake

Song: "I Don't Want To Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith 

Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy? Blake, why would you do this to us? WHY do we need another rendition of this damn song? And what's worse? This isn't even a good rendition of it. Once poor Courtney gets to the first chorus, the notes start going all over the place and she doesn't really get back on track through the rest of the performance. Please...retire this song already.  

Coaches Say: Alicia felt like Courtney settled into such a great place at the end of the song (not sure what place that was...I sure wasn't invited). Blake says what Courtney just did justifies his decision to save her last week. 

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Artist: Josh Gallagher

Team: Adam

Song: "Why" by Jason Aldean

Newlywed Josh opens the song on a stool in the midst of the audience and I swoon a little when I hear him sing "It's 3am." I'm thinking this is going to be awesome. And then as the bad notes start coming at us like a meteor shower...I'm super bummed. Josh does get himself back on track toward the end of the song but I think the emotional background of the song got the best of him in this performance. I am a huge, huge Josh fan though and I hope to see him on this show for many weeks to come. 

Coaches Say: Blake is kicking himself for letting Josh go and Adam is so happy he did. He says he learns a lot from Josh and is so proud to have Josh on his team. 

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Artist: Ali Caldwell

Team: Miley

Song: "Did I Ever Love You?" by Leonard Cohen 

Thank you, thank you, thank you for honoring the late, great Leonard Cohen but not choosing "Hallelujah." He has SO many other amazing songs and this is one of them. Ali's delivery of "Did I Ever Love You?" is effortless and she's got me "woo"ing and clapping from my couch almost immediately. When Miley and Alicia stand and dance during the chorus, I'm right up there with them. Hot damn. This girl should have closed the show! Please excuse me while I go to iTunes. 

Coaches Say: Everybody stands! Yay! Alicia says Ali just had a real "moment" because she let everyone in to a special, precious place inside of her. Miley is beaming and thanks Ali for always putting trust in her. 

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Artist: Brendan Fletcher 

Team: Adam

Song: "Whipping Post" by The Allman Brothers Band

I'm always going to think of Bo Bice's rendition of Whipping Post when it's covered on these other shows, but Brendan does a great job with the song. He grabs on to the angst and desperation of the tune wholeheartedly, and while I have not been the biggest Brendan fan this season, I'll say that I think Adam definitely made the right call in saving him last week. 

Coaches Say: Adam is amazed by Brendan and says he deserves to be voted through. We're out of time now and my Tivo cuts off. 

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Tomorrow night one of these hopefuls will be sent home and really there are several contestants who should be worried. Wé, Billy and Ali were my faves tonight, though Brendan and Sundance held their own as well. Can Courtney bounce back from her Aerosmith misstep? Will voters remember Darby's flowers when they go to their phones, apps, websites or whatever the kids are using these days? Did anyone else notice Josh's struggles or will he sail right on through? And can we all agree that Miley and Alicia have been awesome so far? If I had a foam finger I would be using it to cheer them both on. Can these ladies keep their teams in tact and give Blake an Adam a run for their money? We'll find out during the results hour. Til then!