This week marked the start of the Playoffs rounds on season 25 of The Voice and the show brought in some serious ringers on Monday night (April 22) to help cut down each coach’s team from five to three singers before the live, public-vote rounds begin.
Team John Legend teed up a veteran of the franchise in Colombian superstar Maluma, who has been a coach on two seasons of La Voz, in both his native country and in Mexico. Meanwhile, Team Dan + Shay got a boost from rapper Saweetie, with each guest bringing their own unique set of skills to the gig.
According to EW, Maluma seemed completely at ease with the job, serving up positive notes and encouragement and some pro tips on performance and setting the mood. In a preview video that dropped before the show aired, Maluma had a lot of good advice for the Team members, from encouraging them to write their own songs to suggesting they ditch their instruments while performing live to focus on their vocals.
That experience came through when Nathan Chester was prepping his powerhouse cover of the Beatles’ “Oh! Darling.” After Legend — whom Maluma dubbed “Juan Leyenda” — suggested that Chester put more urgency into his performance, Maluma seconded that emotion and offered up a technical note about stepping back from the mic a bit to let his voice truly shine. The dynamic due clearly were on to something, as Chester made it to the Live rounds.
Maluma also seemed to bond with Venezuelan-born singer Mafe, who stepped up majorly with a moving version of Adele’s “Someone Like You,” but failed to make the final cut; the other Team Legend Playoffs members include Bryan Olesen and Zoe Levert.
EW noted that while rapper Saweetie seemed to be an odd choice to work alongside country duo Dan + Shay, they had a good chemistry and the “Best Friend” MC seemed to really have a vibe with the female singers on the pair’s team, offering them such poetic advice as “there’s no deadline to dreams.” When 17-year-old Anya True began rehearsing her take on Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” Saweetie helpfully suggested more eye contact to connect with the studio audience.
Admittedly not a country aficionado, Saweetie suggested that singer Karen Waldrup try to focus less on being technically perfect, but instead “strive for personality,” which she definitely did on her cover of Lainey Wilson’s “Heart Like a Truck.” That was enough to punch Waldrup’s ticket through, along with Madison Curbelo and Tae Lewis.
The Playoffs roll on next week with performances from Team Reba and Team Chance.
Check out some of Monday night’s performances from Team Legend and Team Dan + Shay below.
