‘The Voice’ Recap: Queen Latifah Finally Uses Her Steal on a Powerful Female Rocker

The Battle Rounds came to an end on the October 26 episode of The Voice. The final pairs took the stage, leaving coaches Riley Green, Queen Latifah, Adam Levine, and Kelly Clarkson with tough decisions to make when it came to who they wanted to keep on their teams.

Latifah was holding onto the only Steal left in the competition, and she waited until someone really stood out before she finally used it. At the end of the night, each coach had the seven artists on their teams who they’ll be taking to Cut Week.

Scroll down for a recap of the night’s performances and to find out where all the teams stand.

Sophia Liano vs. Mia Knight (Team Queen)

The night kicked off with a Battle between Sophia Liano (two-chair turn) and Latifah’s First-In pick, Mia Knight (three-chair turn). They performed “Never Enough” from The Greatest Showman.

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Green was speechless over the performance. “I didn’t know people sang like that in real life. Y’all could’ve stopped halfway through, and it still would’ve been amazing, then you did all that other stuff,” he told the girls.

Clarkson raved over Sophia’s tone, but said when the “Lord came down” at the end of Mia’s performance, her mind was made up in favor of the teenager.

Latifah was torn over who to pick. “What you just did out there, we are all better for it,” she said to her artists. “Sophia, I’m just so glad you had a song like that to really display your talent. You did a beautiful job. Mia, you have leveled up and leveled up.” Mia was chosen as the winner of the Battle.

Brayden Howell vs. Cade Mower (Team Riley)

For his final Battle Round duet, Green paired up Brayden Howell (one-chair turn) and Cade Mower (four-chair turn) to sing “Wondering Why” by The Red Clay Strays.

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Clarkson said she is “totally obsessed” with Brayden and his vibe. “You are so cool and sustaining the notes you sustained for as long as you did without taking a breath, without vibrato, it’s an incredible thing to watch,” she noted. “Cade, your vocals are insane.” On a personal level, Clarkson said she’d pick Brayden, but for the competition, she “leaned towards” Cade.

Levine told Cade, “This was very impressive, but I feel like this was a moment your voice was challenged by having a louder band around you.” He also praised Brayden, but revealed he’d pick Cade as the winner because he wants to hear more of what he heard during the Blind Auditions in a future performance.

“Cade, you have been on my brain since you’ve been on this stage. You’re one of the people on this show where I feel like … damn, I wish I had him on my team. You are so unique, but I have to tell you, Brayden gave you a run for your money today.” At the end of the day, though, Latifah was still leaning towards Cade as the winner.

The decision was Green’s, though. “Cade, one of the best things about you is that you know what you are and what you do well and what you want to do, and I think that comes with playing a lot of shows,” he began. “Brayden, 19 years old, I was still building houses for a living, and I didn’t even sing in the shower. So the fact that you’re out here and you got this vibe and look that’s going to take everybody’s attention as soon as you get on the stage is amazing.” Cade was chosen as the winner of the Battle.

Lexi Stephens vs. Marilyn Hucek (Team Adam)

For Levine’s first Battle of the night, he paired up Lexi Stephens (four-chair turn) and Marilyn Hucek (two-chair turn) and tasked them with singing “All I Wanted” by Paramore.

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Latifah was so impressed by the performance that she was on her feet. She applauded Lexi’s lower register and told Marilyn she loved her “tone, texture, and vibrato.”

Green was blown away by Lexi’s range, but said he might “lean towards” Marilyn because of her “cool” ’90s punk vibe. Clarkson said, “Marilyn, you remind me of the sneakiest, slyest fox with your vocals. It’s sneakily difficult what you’re doing… Lexi, you are like the mountain lions I see on my property. You are ferocious. One’s sneaky, and one’s wild as hell, and I love it.” Because of Lexi’s ability to “surprise” the audience with what she’s going to do next, Clarkson admitted she’d pick her as the winner.

Levine praised Marilyn for making the changes she needed to from rehearsal to the stage and raved over Lexi’s “power and precision.” While he noted that there was “so much great about both” singers, he went with “what my gut has always told me” and chose Lexi as the winner.

Kavi Nyx vs. Brooklyn Marie

Two of Clarkson’s young singers, Kavi Nyx (three-chair turn) and Brooklyn Marie (two-chair turn), were up next. They belted out “Titanium” by David Guetta and Sia on the stage.

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“When you were hitting those really airy, higher notes in your register, it was done so sweetly and beautifully and with so much purity,” Levine told Brooklyn, while adding that she was the “revelation” for him in the performance.

Latifah couldn’t get over how many notes Brooklyn was able to hit as a 14-year-old, and applauded Kavi for integrating herself into the performance. Green told Kavi to “keep doing exactly what you’re doing and keep making it your own,” and said Brooklyn’s voice is “just great to hear.” He picked Brooklyn as the winner, simply due to the fact that people will be so intrigued by how young she is.

“You’re both the most unique singers on my team. You have a quality to you that’s unlike anyone else in the competition,” Clarkson told the girls. She had to pick one as the winner, and it was Brooklyn Marie.

Dakota Cohen vs. Destinee Monroe (Team Adam)

The last Battle of the season was between Levine’s artists Dakota Cohen (two-chair turn) and Destinee Monroe (three-chair turn). The female rockers performed “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence.

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“That was just incredible. What y’all just did with it was really perform the hell out of it. You embodied the song, you rocked with each other, you nailed all the notes and then some,” Latifah gushed.

Green called the duet “one of the most powerful performances we’ve seen.” He said Dakota had some “unreal” vocal moments in the song, and told Destinee she could’ve been performing in front of 20,000 people.

“You both can sing your tails off. Destinee, the presence right off that first verse was incredible. Dakota, it was just a different approach, more tender,” Clarkson pointed out, noting that she’d “lean a little more” toward Dakota.

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Levine was completely torn. “Dakota, you have something that is so different, but you also have power,” he explained. “Destinee, you have this unadulterated power. It’s like a superpower voice. I think that’s your biggest strength.” The Maroon 5 singer picked Dakota as the winner, and Latifah finally pulled out her Steal to save Destinee.

Here’s where the teams stand heading into Cut Week:

Team Riley Green
Ferryn & Brinkley
Joe Henley
Everett Bounds
Kayleigh Matthews (Steal)
Keiyana Osmond
Allie Rae
Cade Mower

Team Queen Latifah
Alt Bloom
Lillie Kolich
Bigcountry
Chari
Bryan Jaymes
Mia Knight
Destinee Monroe (Steal)

Team Adam Levine
Connor Closs
Evan James
Brandon Diaz (Steal)
Owen Uffens
Amanda Mikkel
Lexi Stephens
Dakota Cohen

Team Kelly Clarkson
Koumba Diallo
Anna McElroy
Nina Howland
Marcus Ladden Jr. (Steal)
Kyle Davis
Brianna Cameron
Brooklyn Marie

The Voice, Season 30, Mondays, 8/7c, NBC