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This is a new stage of the competition that has been introduced after The Voice US brought it into their third season in Autumn 2012. The way it works is each coach will choose one of their seven acts to automatically go through to the live shows, that act will sing what would have been their knockout round song as a victory song. The coaches will then sort the remaining six into two groups of three, each artist will sing one song and from each group of three, only one artist can go through leaving each coach with 3 artists for the live shows. With favourites such as Conor, Abi, Ash, Leah and Alys still in with a shot, who will make the lives?

Recap and videos after the JUMP...


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Tom chooses Mike Ward as his 'fast pass' contestant, the contestant who makes the live shows straight away. He says that he chose Mike because there are no major UK based country acts and he believes that Mike has the tone and vocal ability to be a major success in the music industry. Mike returns after the knockout performances have taken place to provide us with a glimpse of what is to come, performing what would have been his knockout song, 'Just To See You Smile' by Tim Mc Graw, it's a good performance, country isn't my forté but I still enjoy the performance. - VIDEO

Group 1 - Jamie Bruce v Cherelle Basquine v Alys Williams

Jamie Bruce - 'Papa Was A Rolling Stone' by Temptations
Jamie has a really good soul voice, he's the soul man of Team Tom and has impressed his coach and the other coaches with his soulful performances in the previous two rounds. That said, I feel like he lacks stage presence, he is a good singer but I don't feel that he has star quality and I want to see if he can deliver that tonight. It's a good vocal, he can certainly sing and he manages to breeze through some of the more technical parts of the song with ease however for me, he is lacking connection with the song itself, it's a nice vocal but it's just a nice vocal, I'm not sure that he has done enough to make it through to the live shows. - VIDEO

Cherelle Basquine - '1 + 1' by Beyoncé 
Cherelle starts off a lot stronger than Jamie and her emotional connection with the song is really strong, I have to say that this is the strongest I think she has sounded so far in the competition. Unfortunately, I'm not sure why but for some reason, she doesn't maintain this standard and about half way through it she goes off key and never recovers. It's almost like her earpiece isn't working because she is singing the song in a totally different key to the original tune.  I feel so bad for her because she is so talented but I think she has thrown away her chance of getting through sadly and I honestly think that it's not down to her talent but down to pure nerves causing her to go off track. Cherelle is great, it's a pity she went off pitch as she was a very talented girl. - VIDEO

Alys Williams - 'Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes' by The Korgis
Alys has captivated us so far with her soft, mellow tone which is backed up by a beautiful Welsh accent that comes through in her voice when she's singing. She is so incredibly talented and it's a joy to listen to her performances. I'm so glad that she picked this because as it isn't an over-performed song it fits her like a glove and gives her the chance  to stand out because she puts her own spin on the track. You can tell from the other coaches' reactions and from the faces of her competition, Cherelle and Jamie, Alys is killing this. A great performance, beautifully sung but with such a deep emotional connection and 100% worthy of going through. Alys is the clear winner of this knockout round, purely because she delivered emotion as well as singing the song beautifully. As Will said he was in 'wonderland' listening to her. - VIDEO

Tom will choose - Alys
I would choose - Alys
Tom chooses - Alys

Group 2 - Adam Barron vs Ragsy vs Joseph Apostol

Adam Barron - 'Maybe I'm Amazed' by Paul McCartney
Adam was stolen by Tom from Team Jessie in the Batle Rounds after he was beaten to the chase by Ash Morgan, however Tom believes that Adam's fantastic voice is very special and has faith that he will be able to impress in the knockout stages. His voice is really good, he has a gritty tone which lends itself well to this song choice and I honestly think that the emotion of the song is coming through well in his rendition of it. It's going to be a very close call if both Joseph and Ragsy can sing as well as Adam has because I do believe that that was good enough to get him through but if Ragsy and Joseph are as good as this performance was then it will be difficult to decide between them. - VIDEO

Ragsy - 'Local Boy in the Photograph' by Sterephonics 
Welsh rocker Ragsy impressed in the previous rounds with his confident performance style, his strong stage presence and his great rock voice but will he able to impress Tom enough to get himself through to the live shows? Ragsy immediately connects with the song, as it contains an especially personal meaning to him because he was a good friend of Stuart Cable's who was a member of the Stereophonics. Tom is impressed by how well Ragsy connects to the song and the other coaches believe that he gave a great performance, his voice is very good and I believe that he has a really strong, unique voice with a great tone. - VIDEO

Joseph Apostol - 'A Song For You' by Donny Hathaway
Joseph is a really strong singer, perhaps the strongest singer on Team Tom on vocal levels alone, the one thing missing for me is star quality, he's a good singer but I don't believe that he's outstanding, however Joseph has chosen a song that he believes will really help him to stand out. His rendition of this song is good, vocally he is once again at his best and emotionally, he actually does a really good job of connecting with the song but at the same time, I feel like there's still something about him that isn't standing out. He goes a little overboard on the vocal tricks and runs which slightly disappoints me as I think the song is great but doesn't sound just as outstanding when it's all about the notes and ad-libs. That said, it's still good. - VIDEO

Tom will choose: Joseph
I would choose: Ragsy
Tom chooses: Joseph 

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Will chooses Leah McFall as his 'fast pass' artist, saying that he believes that she could well be the future of the music industry, she's really shocked but understandably delighted that she is through to the live shows, coming back at the end to perform her knockout round song which is 'Lovin' You' by Minnie Ripperton. She absolutely smashes this, the coaches are all totally shocked as she hits note after note and absolutely nails the big note that everyone was waiting to hear, Leah could well have put herself in the forefront with that performance. - VIDEO

Group 1 - Moni Tivony v Jordan Lee Davies v Leanne Jarvis

Moni Tivony - 'Master Blaster' by Stevie Wonder
Moni's first audition had all the coaches turning as they were impressed by his rendition of Bob Marley's 'No Woman, No Cry' but Will's decision to take him through instead of Emily Worton caused controversy amongst the coaches who disagreed that Moni outperformed his opponent in the battle rounds. He hopes he can convince Will to take him through to the live shows despite the initial reservations of the other coaches after he was put through to the 'Knockout Rounds'. Will isn't sure about the song choice, as he thinks that Moni is playing it safe by picking a song that is very much his style again. Moni's voice reminds me a little bit of Olly Murs, his Reggae style is quite similar to the clearly Reggae influenced music that Olly releases. He sings well but it's just an okay performance, I don't think it's standout, vocally good bar a bit of overkill on vocal acrobatics but I don't know whether he will get through, we'll have to see how the other two perform. - VIDEO

Jordan Lee-Davies - 'It's All Coming Back To Me Now' by Meat Loaf/Celine Dion
Musical theatre singer Jordan was another controversial decision by Will when he sent Matt Henry, one of the favourites home in favour of taking Jordan through to the Knockout Rounds. Of course, Matt ended up staying when Jessie stole him for her team, but Jordan is hoping to impress everyone with this song. Immediately Will is concerned that it is going to be too musical theatre, stating that the song should be 'poppin not Mary Poppins'. Vocally, he's very good and he hits all the right notes but it's still very theatrical, nothing wrong with a bit of theatre but I don't think it sounds right for the show as this show is more about finding a recording artist which I don't believe Jordan's style suits. - VIDEO

Leanne Jarvis - 'Alone' by Heart
Leanne decides that she's going to sing a Christina Aguilera song but Will immediately voices his concerns that she won't stand out because she can sing Christina Aguilera in her sleep and will sound too similar to her on the song. Leanne says that she's disappointed but gets what Will means as she herself had feared the same, so decides to change her song to this. Vocally, she hits all the notes immediately, I would have liked a little more light and shade to begin with as I think she hits the belting too quickly in the song, whereas I would have liked her to hold off a little bit and delivered the belting a little later. That said, it is a good vocal performance and I have to say that of the three, I think her style is probably the most marketable and she is vocally the best of the three in my opinion. - VIDEO

Will will choose: Leanne
I would choose: Leanne
Will chooses: Leanne

Group 2 - Cleo Higgins v John Pritchard v Lemuel Knights

John Pritchard - 'Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart' by Marc Almond and Gene Pitney
First of all, bit of a strange song choice for John here, not loving this pick, it feels far too old-fashioned and dull for him and there's no real 'moment' in the song, I just find it a really bad pick to show off his voice as it doesn't really do that. It does feel like he goes out of tune a few times as his voice sounds a bit pitchy in parts of the song but maybe it's just that it wasn't a particular great song for his voice, anyway, I will be quite surprised if John gets through as it was good but for me, not good enough. - VIDEO

Lemuel Knights - 'As Long As You Love Me' by Justin Bieber 
It may seem like a strange choice for Will's 'steal' Lem but he has slowed the tempo way down with this song and hopes to be able to showcase his bluesy, raspy tone on this acoustic arrangement of the song. I must say that the start of it is really good, he sounds really strong with this particular style of song but as the band kicks in, to be honest it loses the magical feel of the initial part of the song. It's still good but it doesn't sound as outstanding with the backing of the band, it just feels like a nice vocal performance, I'm not sure if he loses connection to the song but I'm not as blown away by that part. I think he has put himself in real contention to get through, Cleo will have to do really well to rival him. - VIDEO
Cleo Higgins - 'Leave Me Alone' by Michael Jackson
Cleo is probably my favourite artist on Team Will in terms of overall stage presence, I think she has the star quality that some of them lack and whilst not as vocally strong as Leah, I think she has something very unique about her. This isn't an amazing song choice but it's good and she sings it well, it's nice to hear a lesser known Michael Jackson song performed as we're used to 'Billy Jean' and 'Man In The Mirror' being belted out and her soulful, poppy vocals are really good, she has a bit of a smoky edge to her voice at times which I really enjoy listening to and I have to say that she's just a really good singer, I think the song gave her less opportunity to wow than Lem's song did but I think she has more stage presence. - VIDEO

Will will choose: Cleo
I would choose: Cleo
Will chooses: Cleo 


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Danny chooses Karl Michael as his fast-pass artist, this comes as no surprise as Karl's battle with Nadeem Leigh was really strong but I personally sort of hoped to see Abi being chosen as the fast-pass as her voice to me is like honey. Karl's song choice is really good, I love this song but unfortunately, I don't think that it really works for him, he sings well but it's a bit of a let-down for me as I think he has performed far better in the past on the show, let's hope he wows us again in the live shows, I'm sure he will. - VIDEO
Group 1 - Abi Sampa v Alex Buchanan v Andrea Begley

Abi Sampa - 'Iris' by The Goo Goo Dolls
Abi is easily my favourite voice in the competition, she offers a stunning Eastern fusion that none of the other acts can offer and I love her tone, she also has a really good upper range. She starts the song off with a short raga element, I would have liked to have heard more of the raga but we won't complain. The song itself is sung well but I don't think it was the right song for her voice, I think there are so many other songs that would have suited her more and I think it shows when she doesn't have the same wow factor as she did in the previous rounds. That said, her riffs in the middle of the song are something else and I'm really impressed by her range, I still want her to get through as I prefer her to Alex and Andrea. - VIDEO

Alex Buchanan - 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered' by Stevie Wonder
Alex still being in the competition has shocked me as I strongly disagreed with him being stolen last week after he sang most of his battle round song out of tune. However, obviously Danny sees something in him so maybe he will be able to convince me otherwise tonight. This energetic performance is certainly vocally his best performance but that said, considering his past performances, that doesn't say a lot. The problem is the whole vocal overkill thing is still there, he still screams his way through a lot of the song and there's too many vocal tricks and runs, I'd rather subscribe to the 'less is more' philosophy as vocally, it's all still a little much for me but it's still a good performance. - VIDEO
Andrea Begley - 'Songbird' by Eva Cassidy
Andrea hasn't wowed me so far, she has a nice voice but I do think that it's rather boring, it just feels too typical quirky girl vocal for me and I would like to see a little more than the typical quirky girl. She has a great voice and she really conveys the emotion of the song fantastically but the problem for me is that her voice isn't unique, there are a lot of similar females in the music industry at the minute, even though the likes of Gabrielle Aplin and Ellie Goulding have slightly higher voices, they represent a similar genre. I think she did a great performance and I can see that Danny loves her voice, even though Abi wasn't just as good tonight as usual, I still think her tone is more unique. - VIDEO

Danny will choose: Andrea
I would choose: Abi
Danny chooses: Andrea

Group 2 - Mitchel Emms v Sean Rumsey v Conor Scott

Mitchel Emms - 'Need You Now' by Lady Antebellum
Mitchel has a great rock voice, his gritty tone really impresses me and I think that vocally, he is strong. I'm surprised to see his song choice however as this is a country song and I' not sure how it will sound with a rock arrangement. It doesn't actually feel that different, he sings it well but I don't feel any wow factor from the arrangement, it's just a nice cover of the song, I'm not blown away by the performance, we'll see how the other two perform but for me, there was nothing outstanding about that performance from Mitchel. - VIDEO

 Sean Rumsey - 'Ain't No Sunshine' by Bill Withers
Sean is a good singer and I like his voice but he hasn't stood out to me so far as I think his tone is quite generic and he doesn't really strike me as 'the voice' because there are many other artists who have similar voices. He sings this song well but his falsetto does feel a bit forced at times, that said he sings it all in tune and it's a good pick for his voice, all the same, I'm not sure that he has the best voice in the competition and I can't see Danny sacrificing two very strong rock voices in favour of Sean's voice, we'll see. - VIDEO 

Conor Scott - 'Hey Soul Sister' by Train
Conor is easily my favourite artist of this group, he has a brilliant tone which is totally unique and unlike anyone else in the music industry. I'm intrigued by his voice and how he will pull this song off, it's probably not as good as his previous performances but he still does a brilliant job and I'm really impressed, it's perhaps a little bit buskery but all the same, it's a good performance and I think he should go through. As Jessie says, none of them was amazing but Conor seems to have been the only one who you could tell felt that it wasn't his best performance, I want to see him going through. - VIDEO

 Danny will choose: Conor
I would choose: Conor
Danny chooses: Mitchel


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Jessie chooses Ash Morgan as her act to proceed straight through to the live shows, no surprises there as he is the clear frontrunner in her team. His lack of confidence makes him even more likeable as he has a very strong voice and right now I think it'll cause a major upset if he isn't the last act standing for Team Jessie, unless one of the other live show acts upstages him. His rendition of 'Sweet Dreams' by Beyoncé is superb and I love how he has so many layers to his voice which he shows off on the song without resorting to vocal acrobatics which is my pet hate with singers who have a really strong vocal range. Jessie gets out of her seat and sits on the stage, the same way she did after his first audition. - VIDEO

 Group 1 - Trevor Francis vs Danny County vs Sarah Cassidy

Danny County - 'Be My Baby' by The Ronettes
Danny's unique tone has made him a favourite in Jessie's team, I must admit that his voice is unlike anyone else in his team so I really do think that he has something special, it'll be interesting to see how he makes this song his own as it's a really unusual choice so I'm assuming he has something up his sleeves. Oh dear, I don't think that this risk has paid off, he sounds a little bit a pitchy on the track, it's interesting to hear the song sung this way but I don't think it really works with this arrangement and unfortunately, I fear that the risk is going to cost Danny his place in the lives. Of course he is unique but sadly I think based on performance, it was a really weak vocal, unless Trevor or Sarah both mess up, I don't see Danny going through. - VIDEO 

 Trevor Francis - 'Gimme Some Lovin' by The Spencer Davis Group
Trevor really came out of nowhere in the Battle Rounds as he hadn't stood out to me at auditions but really impressed me with his stage presence and confident showmanship when he was up against Lem in the Battles. He has opted to go for a slow, stripped back performance by arranging the song differently as Vocally, there is nothing I can fault about it, he has an incredible soul voice and his tone powers through the song easily, it's a really good performance and I love the vocal runs he does as well as his little growls, he has a really strong voice, it's all up to Sarah now, if she can deliver a great vocal, she might just clinch it but Trevor is in a strong position. - VIDEO 

Sarah Cassidy - 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' by Diana Ross
Sarah hasn't really figured on my radar thus far, she has an okay voice but I've always found her a little screechy but with this song, she is really killing it and in a good way thankfully. Her voice is really fresh on this song and she gives the song a new energy which really makes the performance feel monumental, I really enjoy this vocal performance by her and she has definitely put herself well in the running to make it through to the live shows after that, it is easily the best vocal performance that she has given in the competition and Jessie has a difficult decision to make! - VIDEO 

Jessie will choose: Sarah
I would choose: Sarah
Jessie chooses: Sarah

Group 2 - Letitia Grant-Brown vs Matt Henry vs Lovelle Hill
  
Letitia Grant-Brown - 'Love Is A Battlefield' by Pat Benatar  
This will be a close one, three great urban voices, only one spot in the live shows and it will be a shame to lose two of them. Letitia is the soul diva who has shown that her voice makes up for her quite quiet personality, she lacks confidence on stage due to her lack of experience but her voice is really strong and she has already shown how good she can be with a good song. This performance is admittedly not as good as her previous performances, the song is good and it's nice to see her stepping out of her comfort zone but the one thing I think she needs to work on is her intonation, it's quite hard to make out with she is singing due to her very strong soulful tone and it does make it feel like she's over singing the song a bit. Not a bad performance but I think that she has had better performances and hope that she can work on her voice in the future whether she gets through to the lives or not. - VIDEO
Lovelle Hill - 'True Colours' by Cyndi Lauper 
Lovelle is another strong contender, her voice is less full on soul, it's more R & B but I have been really impressed by her previous performances and to her credit, this is a beautiful performance, I don't love this song but she sings it very well and manages to connect with the emotion of the song. Lovelle is brilliant, I honestly think if any of these three were in a knockout round with another act, they would sail through as they're great but as they all represent a similar genre of music, it's obvious that only one of them will be able to get through. - VIDEO

 Matt Henry - 'Skinny Love' by Bon Iver/Birdy
Matt was stolen by Jessie in the Battle Rounds after Will decided not to take him through, to the surprise of his fellow coaches. Matt is definitely one of the favourites so it'll be interesting to see if he can manage to beat out his two opponents to get through to the next round. His voice is amazing and this song is very touching, I'm not quite sure that I like his tone in this song but he sings it extremely well and connects with the emotion of the song, his raspy tone is refreshing. His falsetto is great, he is a very good singer, it's going to be close between him and Lovelle, I personally prefer Lovelle but think Jess will pick Matt.

Jessie will choose: Matt
I would choose: Lovelle
Jessie chooses: Matt
  
Results

 Team Jessie

Ash Morgan
  Sarah Cassidy
Matt Henry

Team Danny

Karl Michael
Andrea Begley
Mitchel Emms

Team Tom   

Mike Ward
Alys Williams
Joseph Apostol

Team Will

Leah McFall
Cleo Higgins
Leanne Jarvis
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