The Voice's Last Season 27 Knockouts Leave Us Going Yodelayheehoo No!

As The Voice brought its Season 27 Knockouts to a close Monday evening, five more contestants were issued mic-drop moments — as in "Drop the mic and go." Losing one would-be winner in particular really bummed me out, too, especially after the performance that she'd just given. (You can watch it below.) Before I start crying in my beer, though, let's discuss that face-off and all of the others, too.

Team Legend: Renzo performing "happier than ever" (Grade: A+) defeated Nell Simmons performing "Sweet Thing" (Grade: A) | Tackling Chaka Khan's classic, Nell gave us everything that we could've possibly wanted from the number: dynamics, range, energy, fire. It was pretty flawless. Yet against all odds, Renzo outdid Nell, delivering a rendition of Billie Eilish's hit that showed off his range and packed a bigger emotional punch. If Nell was boxing with the gloves on, Renzo's were off.

Team Bublé: Adam David performing "Unaware" (Grade: A) defeated Carlos Santiago performing "You Are the Reason" (Grade: B) | Allen Stone's ballad is so understated and cool, I wasn't sure that it was going to be showoffy enough to get Adam a pass to the Playoffs. But damn, the guy works so beautifully in nuances that it was impossible not to hear how special his performance was. Carlos had theoretically a much bigger showcase in Calum Scott's massive tearjerker, yet his effort, as good as it was, still made less of an impression.

Team Kelsea: Jaelen Johnston performing "Dial Drunk" (Grade: B-) defeated Hailey Wright performing "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart" (Grade: A) | Yeehaw! Hailey threw herself into her classic country number with a glee — and a spot-on vocal — that left me going yodelayheeho-OMG! Fun and terrific in equal measure. Taking a step to the left of country, Jaelen took on Noah Kahan... and it felt like a misstep. He was fine, but coming after Hailey, it was like the opening act took the stage following the headliner. Can't believe Kelsea cut Hailey! After this? No.

Team Legend: Olivia Kuper Harris performing "Last Dance" (Grade: B+) defeated Jacquelyn George performing "Too Little, Too Late" (Grade: B) | On JoJo's smash, Jacquelyn made sure that we heard her whole range, from tangy wailing to nearly a whistle note. But the impression I was left with was just, "OK, that was good." I wasn't going to seek it out to rewatch it or anything. Second at the mic, Olivia started off sublimely strong, then just basically took us aboard The Love Boat with a traditional rendering of Donna Summer's disco classic.

Team Bublé: Jadyn Cree performing "Keep Holding On" (Grade: C+) defeated Kameron Jaso performing "Say You Won't Let Go" (Grade: B-) | The daughter of Season 25's Bryan Olesen turned out a perfectly respectable rendition of Avril Lavigne's ballad. The trouble was, there was no excitement there, no passion. It kinda came and went, and that was it. Though Kameron really had to stretch to reach the falsetto parts of his James Arthur hit, and a lot of his performance was emotionally flat, he showed us more range and therefore was marginally better. In my ears, anyway.

Team Adam: Conor James performing "Forever Young" (Grade: B) defeated Darius J. performing "American Boy" (Grade: A) — Darius stolen by Kelsea | Tackling Estelle's hit with enviable flair, Darius gave us a real gift — a performance that was utterly engaging and animated, and nevertheless reminded us that he has pipes for days. (He even pulled off a Drag Race reveal toward the end, whipping off his skirt to reveal leather Olivia Newton-John-in-Grease pants.) Vocally, Conor's Alphaville cover was mostly on point, but did it only feel to me like he was just going through the motions? If the singer isn' "there," then I don't want to be.

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