Season 10’s artists sang for America’s vote for the first time earlier this week on The Voice. Tonight, Carson Daly announced the results. The top two contestants from each team automatically advanced to next week’s round of Live Playoffs. Coaches Christina Aguilera, Pharrell, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton then had the opportunity to save one of their artists and send them through to next week. By the end of tonight, all four teams were cut in half.
Team Pharrell kicked off the evening with a group performance of “Don’t You Worry Child” by Swedish House Mafia, and they sounded strong as a team. Pharrell invested heavily in women’s voices this season. His comeback artist Daniel Passino is the only man on the team. “My team is crazy. It really is an eclectic bunch,” Pharrell said, reflecting on his team’s performances from last night.
‘The Voice’ Recap: Team Pharrell and Team Adam Compete in Live Playoffs
But it was time for half of his team to go home. America voted to save Hannah Huston and Passino, validating Pharrell’s comeback artist choice. Pharrell could only pick one more artist to save. He picked Keener, who he described last night as an “amazing unicorn of a singer.” Caity Peters, Lacy Mandigo and Moushumi were eliminated.
Before the next set of results were announced, season nine’s winner Jordan Smith returned to The Voice’s stage to debut his new single “Stand In The Light.”
Team Blake took the stage next, singing “Hey Brother” by Avicii. Their voices didn’t blend quite as well as Team Pharrell’s did, and the arrangement was weird, but Team Blake is a little less starkly country than it usually is by this point of this competition. “Team Blake definitely has a couple of potential winners on it,” Shelton said as he reflected on his team’s performances from earlier in the week.
‘The Voice’ Recap: Season 10 Live Playoffs Kick Off with Team Christina and Team Blake
Only three could move on though. The two artists from Team Blake to automatically advance to next week were soulful country singer Adam Wakefield and classic country singer Mary Sarah. Shelton then had to make his pick. “There’s something so different and special about each one of you,” he told the remaining artists. He made the right decision and saved Paxton Ingram, who brings something special to Team Blake. Justin Whisnant, Joe Maye and Katie Basden went home.
Team Christina did a group performance of “Stars” by Grace Potter and The Nocturnals, and it reiterated just how strong Aguilera’s team is this season. This really is her year to win. She has some powerhouse vocalists who are also impressively versatile. “Team Christina is powerful and dynamic,” Aguilera said, adding that they “slayed it” in the Live Playoffs this week.
From Team Christina, America voted to save Alisan Porter and Aguilera’s comeback artist Nick Hagelin. Four really great artists were left on the chopping block, and Aguilera could only save one. “I hate that,” Aguilera said. “But please, after this point, just know you’ve made an impact on this competition. You’ve made an impact on America.” She struggled with the decision, but she ultimately went with Bryan Bautista. Kata Hay, Tamar Davis and Ryan Quinn were cut.
Closing out the night of harsh cuts, Team Adam sang Elton John’s “Your Song.” Of all the teams this season, Levine’s has the most genres represented. “Every single person on my team gave their best,” Levine said of his artists’ performances from last night. Shalyah Fearing, who is the youngest artist left in the competition and had the best performance of the week last night, was voted through to the top 12. America also saved Laith Al-Saadi. Levine surprised by choosing to save Owen Danoff. It was the end of the road for Caroline Burns, Brian Nhira and Nate Butler.
What did you think of tonight’s results? The competition resumes with more live performances next week.
This article originally appeared in THR.com.