‘The Voice’ Season 26 Episode 15 recap: Team Gwen Stefani is cut from five artists to two in ‘The Playoffs Premiere’
Tonight on “The Voice,” the Playoffs kicked off with veteran coach Gwen Stefani bringing her final five artists to the stage for their last performance before the live shows begin. In this round of the competition, each coach must further narrow down their team to only two artists with the help of a “playoff advisor.” Helping out Gwen and her team is rapper MGK. The teams for Michael Buble, Snoop Dogg, and Reba McEntire will be showcased in the Nov. 25 and Nov. 26 episodes.
When describing the artists on her team prior to their performances, Gwen referred to Jose Luis as an “unbelievably gifted” artist that makes her “feel so powerful” because of how good he is, said Jake Tankersley is a “really good, classic country singer,” noted that Gabrielle Zabosky is “quirky” with “a lot of character in her voice,” hoped that Jan Dan would live up to the save she offered him, and said that Sydney Sterlace is already “sparkling like a diamond” so her work is about bringing it to life.
More from GoldDerby
During rehearsals, MGK complimented Jose’s “swag” and encouraged him to “let it go” in the performance. He liked that Jake comes across as “really grounded” and advised him to “step away from the mic and play the guitar” in order to help bring out the “all feel” vibe of the song. He wanted Gabrielle to “get lost” and “drown in” the song because she quit her job in order to do the show and so she has to let is consume her. MGK and Gwen emphasized to Jan that he should “let that soul come through in your body language” with intentional movement on stage. Because Sydney wants to be a songwriter, MGK told her to listen to everything people say and then pointed out the specific moment in the song that is her opportunity to “give everybody goosebumps.”
Based on the performances — Jose with “No More Drama” by Mary J. Blige, Jake with “The Painter” by Cody Johnson, Gabrielle with “Listen to Your Heart” by Roxette, Jan with “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas, and Sydney with “betty” by Taylor Swift — Gwen said that she’s “proud and honored” of her team and reminded them that this is “just a moment in your life” whether they advance or not. She said that her selection was based on who she thinks she can coach and “help grow into that identity that they already are showing” her they have.
The two artists that Gwen decided to bring with her as representatives of the team for the live shows are Jan Dan and Sydney Sterlace. She said that Jan is “too unique” to let go and she wanted to give him a chance to share his perspective with the country. She said that Sydney is the artist that “really moves” her and she wants to see her perform more. Jan and Sydney will perform in the live shows that begin with the Live Semi-Final Performances on Dec. 2.
The updated teams:
TEAM SNOOP – Aliyah Khaylyn, Austyns Stancil, Christina Eagle, Jeremy Beloate, Mikaela Ayira
TEAM REBA – Adam Bohanan, Danny Joseph, Edward Preble, Katie O, Lauren-Michael Sellers
TEAM GWEN – Jan Dan, Sydney Sterlace
TEAM BUBLE – Cameron Wright, Jaukeem Fortson, Shye, Sloane Simon, Sofronio Vasquez
The four-time Emmy Award-winning musical competition series “The Voice” is in its 26th season featuring five stages of competition: Blind Auditions, Battle Rounds, Knockouts, Playoffs and Live Performance Shows. In the coaches’ chairs, Reba is the defending champion after winning season 25 with Asher HaVon, the show’s first openly LGBTQ champ. She is joined by Gwen, in her 8th season, and Snoop and Michael, both competing for the first time.
Best of GoldDerby
Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
