The Voice narrowed down its contestants to a Top 8, with Tess Boyer and Bria Kelly getting the boot and Kat Perkins receiving the #VoiceSave in this week’s live eliminations.

But first, the good news: Carson Daly opened the show with the announcement that Gwen Stefani and Pharrell would be coaching in season 7 alongside returning coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton, with Christina Aguilera rumored to be returning for Season 8 in the spring.

Team Usher kicked off the night with a group performance. Usher, Bria Kelly and Josh Kaufman sang Lenny Kravitz’s “Always on the Run.”

After their fun performance, the first round of saves is announced. From Team Adam, Christina Grimmie was declared safe. America’s votes saved Sisaundra Lewis from Team Blake, Kristen Merlin from Team Shakira and Josh Kaufman from Team Usher, so every coach still has an artist moving forward into next week’s live performances.

Team Shakira performs next with Tess Boyer and Kristen Merlin joining Shakira onstage for a sweet performance of “The One Thing,” a song off Shakira’s new album.

The female trio is followed by a montage of contestants and coaches sharing their confessions: Bria loves cheese, Usher cooks in his underwear (*squeals*) and Jake Worthington can wiggle his right ear – to which Shakira says, “I can wiggle all the things, but not my ears.”

Next in the results: Audra McLaughlin from Team Blake is saved, as is Team Adam’s Delvin Choice. The results took a brief pause for another montage. This time viewers got an inside look at how the contestants get along together and far away from their families. Jake is sad that he might not be able to take his girlfriend to prom and he’s worried about not being there for his family in case of an emergency – emotional or physical. And, it’s that kind of sweetness that makes him the last save of the night.

Kat Perkins Saved From Elimination

The bottom three, Bria Kelly, Kat Perkins and Tess Boyer had to perform one last time for the #VoiceSave. When it was announced that Tess had once again ended up in the bottom three, Shakira was obviously upset.

Bria performed Heart’s “Crazy On You,” a song much better suited to her than the Avril Lavigne song that landed her in the bottom three. Next, Tess gave a great performance singing Pink’s “Who Knew,” but the song was no different than the other pop songs she has tried her hand at in this competition.

Kat Perkins ended up getting the #VoiceSave with her performance of Grace Potter & The Nocturnals’ “Paris (Ooh La La).” Based on her impassioned performance, it’s clear Kat was in it to win it, and the viewers at home tweeted for her more than the other two women, landing her a spot in next week’s live rounds.

Here is how the teams stand going into next week’s live performances.

Team Adam: Kat Perkins, Delvin Choice, Christina Grimmie
Team Blake: Audra McLaughlin, Sisaundra Lewis, Jake Worthington
Team Usher: Josh Kaufman
Team Shakira: Kristen Merlin

The Voice Top 8 will perform live Monday at 8 p.m. on NBC.

– Olivia Truffaut-Wong

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_{> 'The Voice' Recap: Tess Boyer Gets The First #VoiceSave And The Top 10 Move Forward}

_{> 'The Voice' Recap: Top 12 Perform Live, Kristen Merlin Handles Technical Malfunction With Grace}

_{> 'The Voice' Recap: Josh Kaufman And Bria Kelly Sail Into The Live Rounds, Usher Picks His Top 3}

_{> 'The Voice' Recap: Dani Moz And Christina Grimmie Shine, Shakira And Adam Levine Pick Their Top 3}

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.