‘The Voice’s Historic Double Replay Knockout Ended Shockingly
Last season, The Voice introduced the Coaches’ Replay twist. It was an opportunity for the coaches to say “Oopsie!” and give a Blind Audition singer a second chance. While the addition was interesting, it didn’t really pay off during Season 26, aside from allowing another quartet of talent to extend their chances of competing. Returning for Season 27, the installation of the twist allowed for some early fan favorites to remain in contention.
This season, rookie coach Kelsea Ballerini used hers on Dan Kiernan, a queer NYC-based singer. But here’s the catch. The country star didn’t use the twist as typically seen. In the past, it was used when no one turned for an artist. John Legend and Michael Bublé had already turned, but Kelsea Ballerini realized she made a mistake and didn’t want to lose him. Even though she didn’t turn for him, Dan had his heart on the rookie and chose her as his coach. During the Battles, Kelsea then used one of her steals on Tinika Wyatt, a 50-year-old mother from San Diego and a former member of Team Adam Levine, who was the recipient of his Coaches Replay. On night 1 of the Knockouts, the country star paired Tinika against Dan, marking the first time two Coaches Replay recipients were head-to-head on the show. But the result was not what you’d think.
‘The Voice’ Presents a Tale of Two Singers
Having Dan and Tinika as the first Knockout was already an interesting option. Were they considered the weakest links on Team Kelsea? Certainly not. Right? We’d watched their previous performances. Scratch that. We watched all of Tinika’s performances. The edit left out the all-queer Battle of a queer song. We’re still not over the erasure of Dan Kiernan and Jessica Manalo‘s Battle of “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan in the episode. And we’re most certainly not over Jessica’s elimination. Nevertheless, knowing we were short of one of Dan’s performances should have given us a clue into the ultimate Knockout result.
With the singers in the driver’s seat as to what they’d perform, each artist had the chance to showcase their personality through song. Dan chose “Impossible” by Shontelle, while Tinika picked “Best of My Love” by The Emotions. Dan defined exactly who he plans to be in the music industry. There was a star present on that stage. There was a recording artist on that stage. There was a potential winner. Tinika brought passion to her performance, but was it enough to prove that she could win this game? As I said in my review of the episode, “It’s giving background vocalist of a wedding band singing when the lead needs to pee.”
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Loyalty Means Little to Kelsea Ballerini
As usual, the other coaches offered their feedback to the two singers and tried to help Kelsea make her decision better. Of course, Adam would lean toward his former singer, but you’d think that otherwise, it would be a clean sweep. After a bit of hemming and hawing, the country made her decision. One would think that Kelsea Ballerini would stay loyal to her original team member, but something about Tinika’s performance swayed her, giving her a THIRD chance on The Voice. Dan was eliminated, losing an incredible queer voice from the competition. Even though the main criteria of the show is in the title, Dan’s vocals weren’t enough to convince the rookie to keep him for at least one more performance.
Unfortunately, if Kelsea Ballerini wants to follow in the footsteps of Michael Bublé and have back-to-back rookie victories, dropping Dan and keeping Tinika was the wrong decision. Tinika, as the only older contestant, has less potential to be a star in the same manner as Dan beyond this game. She’s a gimmick entry and has even been portrayed as such. While she has tenacity and an inspiring story, it’s not the right venue for her. America’s Got Talent would probably have been the place for her. Dan Kiernan, on the other hand, has the chance to capture the music industry with his powerful voice and mainstream appeal.
Losing Dan weakens her team. Beyond that, it proves that loyalty means very little on The Voice. She chose a newbie over an OG. Kelsea chose girl power over queer power. Kelsea may have slightly regretted her decision when she handed Dan her personal number to utilize after the show. Nevertheless, the success of the Coaches Replay displays that maybe the twist isn’t so bad. Everyone deserves a second chance, even on The Voice.
The Voice airs Mondays at 8:00 pm on NBC. All episodes are available to stream on Peacock.
