‘The Voice: Battle of Champions’ Episode 6 Live Recap: Knockout Rounds Begin

The Blind Auditions are done, and the Battle Rounds have finished, so you know what that means: it’s officially time for The Voice: Battle of Champions to enter the Knockout Rounds!

But before the competition kicks things into full gear, let’s make sure you’re up to date with everything that went down last week.

Last week’s shocking eliminations and surprising steals

The second episode of the Battle Rounds proved to be just as dramatic as the first, with plenty of shocking eliminations and surprising steals, as well as some standout performances.

The champion-level coaches—Kelly Clarkson, Adam Levine and John Legend—definitely had their work cut out for them, making difficult cuts until each team was left with six members total (after starting with 10 per team). The assistant coaches were also back to provide their expert insight, with Jennifer Hudson partnering with Clarkson, Benji Madden with Levine and Muni Long with Legend.

Still, the most dramatic moment of the evening came during the final performance, when two members of Legend’s team—K.J. Willis and Mike Steele—competed against each other, sharing a stellar duet of the beloved R&B classic “Let Me Love You” by Mario. All three coaches were blown away, but Legend ultimately voted to save K.J. Willis; however, Levine used his only “Steal” for the round on Steele, saving him from elimination and bringing him to his own team.

You can read our full live recap of last week’s episode here!

The teams as of this week

Heading into the Knockouts after those two epic Battle Rounds, the coaches all had plenty of movement on their teams. With this in mind, below are the final six-person teams heading into tonight’s episode. We also listed who they battled against and if they were a “Steal” to help paint a full picture of the chaos for you!

Team Kelly

Abigayle Oakley (Winner of Battle Round against Julia Golden)
Jonah Mayor (Winner of Battle Round against Aaron LaVigne)
Liv Ciara (Saved by Clarkson’s “Super Steal”)
J.W. Griffin (Winner of Battle Round against Blaire Elbert)
Houston Kelly (Winner of Battle Round against Tia Durrant)
Mikenley Brown (Winner of Battle Round against Liv Ciara)

Team Adam

Alexia Jayy (Winner of Battle Round against Moses G.)
Bay Simpson (Winner of Battle Round against Hunter Jordan)
Jeremy Keith (Winner of Battle Round against Aziz Guerra)
Jaali Boyd (Winner of Battle Round against Bijou Belle)
Jared Shoemaker (Winner of Battle Round against Drew Russell)
Mike Steele (Saved by Levine’s “Steal”)

Team John

Lucas West (Winner of Battle Round against A.J. Robinson)
K.J. Willis (Winner of Battle Round against Mike Steele)
Grace Humphries (Winner of Battle Round against Adi Arora)
Natasha Blaine (Winner of Battle Round against Kendra Remedios)
Syd Millevoi (Winner of Battle Round against Ashley Marina)
Moses G. (Saved by Legend’s “Steal”)

New mentors, new rules

Cee Lo Green was on hand this week to mentor Levine and Legend’s teams, while Michael Bublé was there to mentor Clarkson’s team. There were also no “Steals” or “Saves” for this round.

Moses G. vs. Lucas West

Moses G. chose to cover “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye, while West chose “New York State of Mind” by Billy Joel. Legend noted in the practice footage that Moses G. has “gotten better” every time he’s heard him. Meanwhile, they enjoyed West’s take on the tune, but worried he wasn’t performing to the crowd enough.

The coaches were all impressed by the performances, making Legend’s final decision all the more difficult, though Clarkson did state that she was leaning toward West. Legend said it was “very close,” but ultimately selected West to move forward to the semifinals.

WINNER: Lucas West

J.W. Griffin vs. Houston Kelly

Clarkson paired her two country artists together, with Bublé listening in to provide extra advice. “Love You Anyway” by Luke Combs was the song of choice for Kelly, citing how much he looks up to Combs as an artist. On the other hand, Griffin chose “If It Hadn’t Been for Love” by The SteelDrivers, noting it was a more traditionally bluegrass number.

Legend leaned more toward Griffin, while Levine loved Kelly’s performance. Clarkson complimented both contestants for stepping outside of their comfort zone, but selected Griffin, noting that he appeared to feel more comfortable on the stage and more “ready” for the competition.

WINNER: J.W. Griffin

Bay Simpson vs. Alexia Jayy

Jayy elected “You Give Good Love” by Whitney Houston as her song, citing it as a tune her mother had her perform as a child. Green and Levine applauded Jayy’s boldness in choosing such an iconic artist, noting that it was “risky.” Meanwhile, Simpson chose The Wallflowers’ “One Headlight,” which Levine also loved, and Green said the contestant “pulled it all off.”

Clarkson cheered on both but sided heavily with Jayy. Legend said that music was “clearly in” Simpson, and he also loved Jayy’s performance, so he was torn. Levine had a difficult choice to make, but ultimately selected Jayy as the winner.

WINNER: Alexia Jayy

Abigayle Oakley vs. Liv Ciara

Oakley selected “Feather” by Sabrina Carpenter for her performance, wanting to sing a song about “letting go.” Meanwhile, Ciara chose one of Clarkson's own songs—“Breakaway”—while putting her own twist on it, which Clarkson and Bublé both loved.

Legend and Levine enjoyed both contestants, applauding their unique song choices, but were “no help” when it came to Clarkson choosing a winner. When all was said and done, Clarkson selected Ciara to move forward, noting that she was impressed by what she did with “her song.”

WINNER: Liv Ciara

Natasha Blaine vs. Syd Millevoi

Blaine chose “Another Sad Love Song” by Toni Braxton for her performance, with Green complimenting her style as being that of a really cool “lounge singer.” Meanwhile, Millevoi was set to sing “Tell Me You Love Me” by Demi Lovato, and Legend loved her “range, skill level and style.”

Levine and Clarkson were excited about both performers, but Clarkson worried that Millevoi wasn’t connecting with the room as much. While he agreed with the coaches’ notes, Legend ultimately chose Millevoi as the winner.

WINNER: Syd Millevoi

Jeremy Keith vs. Mike Steele

The final two members of Levine’s team closed the show. Keith selected “Ain’t Nothing Like a Real Thing” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, choosing the song based on his previous experience with Gaye’s music. On the other hand, Steele selected “How You Gonna Act Like That” by Tyrese because it was a song he grew up hearing, but Green and Levine both noted he needed to perform more for the audience.

Clarkson literally shouted, “How are you going to choose?!” after the performances wrapped up, with Levine clearly struggling with the decision. Levine agreed, saying the decision would be “really hard.” After some back-and-forth, Levine chose to move Keith forward.

WINNER: Jeremy Keith

When is the next episode of The Voice?

The next episode of The Voice airs on NBC on Monday, April 6, at 9 p.m. ET, and we’ll be right back here to recap everything live for you!