'The Voice' Recap: The Playoffs End With Usher Eliminating Two of His Artists
See who Usher sent home.
April 16, 2014 — -- It was the final night of the playoffs on "The Voice" on Tuesday night. All five artists from Team Usher performed in a bid to earn one of the remaining available spots in the live round.
Usher settled on Bria Kelly, Josh Kaufman and T.J. Wilkins, thereby eliminating Melissa Jiménez and Stevie Joe.
Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Shakira pared down their teams during the previous two episodes.
Here's what happened during Tuesday night's one-hour episode:
T.J. Wilkins got things started for Team Usher with a cover of "Tell Me Something Good," by Rufus and Chaka Khan. Shakira misspoke by saying T.J.'s ability to reach the high note was his "ace under his sleeve." Adam teased her for botching the idiom. Usher said T.J. nailed the playful nature of the period of time when "Tell Me Something Good" was released, the mid-1970s.
Read: 'The Voice' Recap: Shakira and Adam's Teams Perform in the Playoffs
Melissa Jiménez delivered a stripped-down version of Beyoncé's "Halo." Shakira said it was a brave move to take a different approach to the popular song. Adam said there were some moments that were beautiful, but other moments during which Melissa ran into trouble. Blake added that Melissa didn't have enough breath for one particular note. Usher pointed out the effort that Melissa had put into the competition to that point.
Stevie Joe chose B.B. King's "The Thrill Is Gone." Blake joked that watching Stevie Joe perform is like watching him sneak up on a rabbit. He then declared that Stevie Joe is the "real deal." Shakira said he stretched certain notes for too long, but otherwise his performance was good. Usher commended Stevie Joe for the way he handled a song that's about heartache.
Bria Kelly took on The Rolling Stones classic "Wild Horses." Shakira wondered how Bria could reach the high notes and be so sultry. Blake observed a softer side to Bria's vocals that is "golden." Usher applauded her for making the song her own.
Related: 'The Voice' Recap: Latest Round of Battles Ends With a Blake Steal
For the final performance of the playoff round, Josh Kaufman sang Bruno Mars' "It Will Rain." His former coach, Adam, said he's so relieved Josh was stolen from him because he deserves to be in the competition. Blake said Josh is a favorite of his and his wife, Miranda Lambert. Usher credited Adam for helping mold Josh as an artist.
The episode ended with Usher keeping Bria, Josh and T.J. on his team.
Here's a rundown of the remaining artists on the other three teams:
Team Adam: Christina Grimmie, Delvin Choice and Kat Perkins.
Team Blake: Sisaundra Lewis, Audra McLaughlin and Jake Worthington.
Team Shakira: Tess Boyer, Kristen Merlin and Dani Moz.
Next Monday night on NBC, "The Voice" will begin its live round.
