‘The Voice’ Recap: Cee Lo Steals Amber Nicole, Blake Steals Cole Vosbury

The Voice aired its first episode of the knockouts for season five last night. This season, the judges have been given the chance to steal one more losing contestant in this round, which Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton took advantage of when they stole Amber Nicole and Cole Vosbury, respectively.

The first performance was between Team Christina Aguilera’s Josh Logan and Nicole. Logan sang Stevie Wonder’s “Livin’ For The City,” and Nicole sang Jessie J’s “Mamma Knows Best.” After they were done, Aguilera made the hard decision to keep Logan on her team. However, it wasn’t Nicole’s time to go yet. Coaches Shelton and Green both hit their button to steal her. She decided to continue with Green as her coach.

In the next round, Team Cee Lo’s Kat Robichaud and Monika Leigh battled it out. Robichaud sang Alanis Morissette’s gritty hit “You Oughta Know,” and Leigh sang Ray Charles’ “Hit The Road, Jack.” Robichaud's raspy passion — which makes her seem like this season's Juliet Simms — won over the knockout round, and Leigh was sent home.

Team Blake’s Nic Hawk and Holly Henry were next in the knockout round. Hawk sang a revamped version of Coach Aguilera’s early single “Genie In A Bottle,” while Henry sang Radiohead’s “Creep.” Hawk won over both Shelton and Aguilera, who sang along with the trip down memory lane, and continued on while Henry went home.

Adam Levine’s team followed Shelton's and the coach continued his pattern of pitting his powerhouses against each other. Tessanne Chin sang Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” and showed off her incredible range, while Ashley DuBose sang a fun rendition of Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister.” Chin won the knockout round and DuBose's time on The Voice came to a surprisingly early end, given her four-chair turn in the blind auditions.

Shelbie Z. and Briana Cuoco from Team Blake sang next. Shelbie performed Carrie Underwood’s “Last Name” and Cuoco sang No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak.” Both gave good performances, but Shelton ended up saving Shelbie and knocked Cuoco out of the competition.

Levine’s team was up after Shelton's again. Grey performed Clarkson’s “Already Gone” and James Irwin sang The Script’s “Breakeven.” Both delivered strong renditions, but Grey's pitch perfect performance won the round over Irwin's heartfelt one, and he went home.

Following Team Adam came Destinee Quinn and Olivia Henken from Team Christina. Quinn sang Underwood’s “See You Again,” while Henken sang Linda Ronstadt’s “You’re No Good.” After a tough round, Aguilera chose Henken as the winner and Quinn was sent home.

Green’s contestants were the last to compete. Jonny Gray took a risk and sang “We Can Work It Out” by The Beatles, while Vosbury sang Passenger’s “Let Her Go.” They gave differently but equally passionate performances, and Green named Gray the winner of the knockout round. Like Nicole, though, Vosbury wasn’t done — Shelton and Levine both hit their buttons quickly to steal the contestant for their team. Levine even had his hand hovering over his button from the moment Green named Gray the winner. Vosbury was stuck with a difficult choice, but decided to break Levine's heart and join Team Blake.

The knockout rounds continue tonight on The Voice at 9:00 p.m. on NBC.

-Ava Butler