Whitney Houston v Goo Goo Dolls Is Surprisingly Epic

With one artist from each team having already advanced past this round with the Playoff Pass, there were only 12 different matchups to be seen. That meant that across two shows, we’d get to see them all. Talk about an exciting and refreshing change; no one gets short-changed.

It also meant we got to fully bask in some pretty incredible performances, including two Steal-worthy moments. In fact, we don’t always agree with which pairings are worthy of the Steal, but both of tonight’s Steals were absolutely the right call.

That said, our streak of disagreeing with which act should win did continue as we were on the opposite side of the Coaches half of the time for this week’s show. We could say the wrong side, but we don’t want to so directly call them out as wrong … that’s rude!

That also meant we said goodbye to some of our favorite artists of the season already, and we’re not too happy about it. But as much as we’re frustrated by some of the artists that got sent home too soon, we are elated at some of what was drawn out of them in this round.

Shy little Gina Miles blossomed into a much more confident performer, while NOIVAS put an epic spell on us that still hasn’t worn off. Tasha Jessen took us all to church with an incredible Hozier cover, but the biggest surprise of the night has to be Kala Banham who actually managed to make us cry with a Goo Goo Dolls song. Yes, you read that right.

But we’ll get to that soon enough. First up — at least how we do things — is the act that probably would have gotten short-changed if they’d had to condense one or two of these performances. No knock to either of these artists, but we gots to calls it like we sees it.

Fair warning, since I’m safe at home, I’m probably going to be a little harsher than my colleagues Kelly Clarkson, Chance the Rapper, Niall Horan, and Blake Shelton. But I might be nicer, too. Maybe.

And just for fun, I’m going to rank the performances from worst to first to see who my favorites are, and then see how they do as the season progresses.

(“Best Part,” Daniel Caesar f. H.E.R. – ALI, 24, Walnut, CA) What a jazzy performance with lots of subtle nuance and flair. ALI is one of those artists who’s so unassuming you almost assume she doesn’t have the goods. She hits you in ways you don’t expect. We’re glad she took the note to mix up the ending repetitive lines as she got to show off some creative runs and personality. It was a low-key performance, but had a great vibe throughout.

(“Jesus, Take the Wheel,” Carrie Underwood – Marcos Covos, 30, Dallas, TX) Marcos got a little swallowed up by the music in the chorus and lost control of the performance in places, but he was able to finally really connect on an emotional level by the very end of the song. We appreciated the tone that he had, and are always impressed by his power, but expected something much stronger emotionally from him because of how he personally connected to the song.

We thought for sure Marcos would have this after their rehearsals, but ALI really came out and made a statement in her subtle and beautifully unique way. We just felt a little more artistry from her performance than we did Marcos. His is the bigger, bolder voice, but with a chance to really tell the story of this song, it didn’t feel like he managed to do that.

Results: ALI Wins

(“Somebody That I Used to Know,” Gotye – Gina Miles, 19, Paxton, IL) Some of these lines could have used stronger punctuation than what Gina gave. We know she’s this shy, timid person, but she usually opens up a little bit more than this … and this song was screaming for her. There were so many opportunities to add a little extra inflection or attitude or anger or something on a word or a note here or there. She’s got a sweet tone and a lovely sound, but her inexperience was definitely showing. She looked the part, but didn’t fully rise up to it.

(“Call Me,” Blondie – Kate Cosentino, 24, Kansas City, MO) Kate wasn’t rock solid on her pitch throughout this, but she had so much pizzazz and artistry on display, it almost didn’t matter. She knows exactly who she is as an artist and was able to convey that without ever stepping away from the mic stand. We loved her playful French moment and the little flairs she put on some of the lines.

This one was interesting because neither of them were as strong as we were hoping they’d be at this stage of the competition. Gina took it in vocal performance and control, but Kate definitely took it in stage presence and artistry. This would be us going out on a limb, but it feels like Gina is growing in this competition and it’s easier to teach confidence and stage presence than vocals, so we’d give her the edge.

Results: Gina Wins

(“All By Myself,” Eric Carmen [as performed by Céline Dion] – Kylee Dayne, 20, Carrollton, TX) She did miss some notes, but not the note, and that’s what got the crowd on their feet and pumped up. This is one of those songs that has a moment you’re looking for and Kylee delivered it exactly as she needed to do. We didn’t quite get the emotional connection Reba felt in rehearsals, but we were definitely impressed with her range from the subtle bottom end to that soaring high note.

(“I Ain’t Living Long Like This,” Waylon Jennings – Walker Wilson, 25, Alcoa, TN) Walker was old-school country on this classic with the perfect amount of grit and attitude. We’d have liked a little more storytelling so we could feel the different moods of the narrator, but there’s no denying he’s a natural in this lane. It was a masterfully confident performance with all the right flares you want to see. And he didn’t sound dated, which some old classics can in the wrong hands.

The most different performances of the night to be paired together, it’s almost impossible to compare the two. Walker is in a lane that’s so uniquely his, while Kylee is doing that kind of heartfelt belting that there is a lot of in this competition. So for the spirit of what this show is, we’d probably give Walker the edge. He also better nailed what he was aiming for in his performance.

Results: Kylee Wins

(“Bust Your Windows,” Jazmine Sullivan – NariYella, 20, Elkins Park, PA) Her note was to connect with the lyric and embody the woman singing the song and boy did NariYella take that homework and do just that. We felt the frustration, the angst and the anger, even the betrayal throughout this performance. It wasn’t just in the vocals, either, she embodied the story in how she presented it physically and with her facial expressions. This was a massive leap forward for her.

(“Lately,” Stevie Wonder – Ray Uriel, 25, Gary, IN) There’s so much ache in this original song but when we were expecting Ray to break out with that passion (not power, but passion) early on, it stayed a little sleepier than we expected. We won’t deny his gorgeous tone or the flawless control he executed throughout this performance, but we were expecting a little more emotional resonance to come through. There were some moments toward the end, but by then it was starting to feel like showing off rather than storytelling.

These are both absolutely incredible singers with such smooth and silky vocals it’s hard to compare them and certainly hard to say that one is stronger than the other. That’s why, at least in this case, we found ourselves looking at who left us feeling something after their performance (other than impressed). In this case, that was NariYella, who brought more connection than we’ve ever seen from her before.

Results: Ray Wins

(“I Put a Spell on You,” Screaming Jay Hawkins [as performed by Nina Simone and Annie Lennox] – NOIVAS, 31, Jasper, TX) Fresh on Blake’s team after stealing him from Chance, NOIVAS laid the smack down on the whole competition with what may be the most impressive performance of the whole season! There was so much personality, so much power, so much range and so much stage presence, audience control, we’re running out of things to say here but everything you could think of to say, he nailed it! That was his wow moment and that’s really all we probably should have said.

(“Take Me to Church,” Jozier – Tasha Jessen, 21, Colorado Springs, CO) It was not flawless, but pretty close to it. Tasha handled the unique rhythm of the verses, the crazy range of the song and all the emotion of it effortlessly. She really is a world-class talent and one of this season’s most gifted vocalists.

Tasha’s performance was filled with such passion and confidence, had she been up against anybody else, it probably would have been a knockout. As it stands, NOIVAS took us to church and then some with his performance. The best thing that could happen is that whoever doesn’t win gets stolen — but in this moment, NOIVAS took it by having his moment!

Results: NOIVAS Wins (Niall Steals Tasha [Team Niall])

(“All the Man That I Need,” Whitney Houston – Cait Martin, 33, Atlanta, GA) Out of nowhere, Cait laid her entire heart on the stage and said, See me for who I am, hear me for who I love. There was so much truth in this performance, and that came on top of her effortlessly mirroring Whitney stratospheric range, though she did miss a few of those notes (as Blake noted). This was a transformative person in that it transformed her into a front-runner and us into someone who needed to wipe tears from their eyes.

(“Iris,” Goo Goo Dolls – Kala Banham, 24, Windermere, FL) We see you, Kala. We see you. That’s all this was. She just wants to be seen for who she is and what she dreams out of life. All of that was on such perfect display in this achingly haunted performance that left us as breathless and teary-eyed as Cait’s. The build was perfect because she proved that she can grab a piece of your heart in her softer notes and then start tugging at it as she gets into her bigger chest voice.

Both of these performances moved us. Luckily, the teasers for what was coming up already told us that both of these artists would be safe because we knew there was a multi-Steal coming and this was the last performance of the night. But they both absolutely deserve those kinds of accolades because they captured the essence of two very different songs and proved that you can evoke emotion on any kind of track (almost) so long as you approach it correctly. Cait soared higher, but Kala had us in our feelings more, so we’d give it to her.

Results: Cait Wins (Blake, Chance Steal [Team Chance])

“The Voice” continues Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.