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Biggest KO "Breakout" Performances in History?


Bouli

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No doubt, the Knockouts are a big time for "breakout performances" - but what are the absolute biggest you can think of? The moments where someone wasn't particularly a competitive player on the audience's radar, but it was unmistakable that they could make it to the finals as soon as they finished their performance?

 

The first S22 one that comes to mind is Kique. His "Hey Ya" was one for the ages. It also got a well-deserved standing ovation from the judges. I liked him from his audition, loved him in his battle, but I didn't really see him as a big player until "Hey Ya." That one was special.

 

A few others I can think of (but I don't want to write all of 'em because... that's y'all's job lol)

  • Chris Blue's "Superstition" (12)
  • Chloe Kohanski's "Landslide" (13)
  • Brynn Cartelli's "Here Comes Goodbye" (14)
  • Cam Anthony's "Feeling Good" (20)
  • Wendy Moten's "Ain't No Way" (21)
  • Jershika Maple's "Inseparable" (21)
Edited by Bouli
Had "Irreplacable" as the name of Jershika's song for some reason...
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5 minutes ago, Bouli said:

No doubt, the Knockouts are a big time for "breakout performances" - but what are the absolute biggest you can think of? The moments where someone wasn't particularly a competitive player on the audience's radar, but it was unmistakable that they could make it to the finals as soon as they finished their performance?

 

The first S22 one that comes to mind is Kique. His "Hey Ya" was one for the ages. It also got a well-deserved standing ovation from the judges. I liked him from his audition, loved him in his battle, but I didn't really see him as a big player until "Hey Ya." That one was special.

 

A few others I can think of (but I don't want to write all of 'em because... that's y'all's job lol)

  • Chris Blue's "Superstition" (12)
  • Chloe Kohanski's "Landslide" (13)
  • Brynn Cartelli's "Here Comes Goodbye" (14)
  • Cam Anthony's "Feeling Good" (20)
  • Wendy Moten's "Ain't No Way" (21)
  • Jershika Maple's "Irreplacable" (21)

I believe it's Inseparable?

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Btw, the first one in mind is Chevel Shepherd's "Travellin' Soldier". Her BA is her weakest performance, and she has her Battle montaged. Her KO is where she showed her potential to win.

Edited by Ottoxxx
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Girl Named Tom was already popular from the get-go, but "Wichita Lineman" likely contributed a lot to their win.

 

Have to agree with Jershika, I thought she was just decent until "Inseparable", where she blew me away and made me a fan for the rest of the season.

 

Technically not KOs, but Maelyn slaying "Mad World" after almost everyone that night fell flat on their face probably made people pay attention.

 

CammWess would not have made the finals if his KO wasn't so good. That performance shot him up the ranks for sure.

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51 minutes ago, Bouli said:

No doubt, the Knockouts are a big time for "breakout performances" - but what are the absolute biggest you can think of? The moments where someone wasn't particularly a competitive player on the audience's radar, but it was unmistakable that they could make it to the finals as soon as they finished their performance?

 

The first S22 one that comes to mind is Kique. His "Hey Ya" was one for the ages. It also got a well-deserved standing ovation from the judges. I liked him from his audition, loved him in his battle, but I didn't really see him as a big player until "Hey Ya." That one was special.

 

A few others I can think of (but I don't want to write all of 'em because... that's y'all's job lol)

  • Chris Blue's "Superstition" (12)
  • Chloe Kohanski's "Landslide" (13)
  • Brynn Cartelli's "Here Comes Goodbye" (14)
  • Cam Anthony's "Feeling Good" (20)
  • Wendy Moten's "Ain't No Way" (21)
  • Jershika Maple's "Irreplacable" (21)

Wendy, Brynn and Chris always felt like they were going to be among the top given the way they were hyped. (Either by producers, coaches or both)

 

I agree with everyone else though.

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Pia Renee, though I expected that she will not get to the finale, but she had her biggest breakout moment for her "What the World Needs Now is Love". 

At least she reached the semifinals, that was enough for me. 

 

Also, Payge Turner's "Creep" is her biggest breakout moment of Season 19. 

 

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Another one in mind I'd say is Gihanna Zoe with "Glitter In The Air". Her BA was beautiful but shaky in the beginning, her song choice for battle was all the way wrong, but her KO is just in another level, and that was her Breakout moment. Sad that she didn't get to the Finals, I really loved her "Reflection" and "Someone You Loved" 😭 



 

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Chloe Kohanski's "Landslide" is probably the biggest breakout KO moment ever. At the time, she got the highest iTunes chart position for a KO's performance in Voice's history, and she will hold that record forever since these are not recorded in studio anymore. It was THAT big

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Chloe would probably be the best candidate for this. A good and unique blind audition, but was that enough to get to the Finale? Rockers have struggles, especially adult women. 

 

Then a montaged Battle? Disrespect.

 

She then goes with "Landslide" in the KOs, arranges it differently to be a stripped ballad, perfect for her rasp.... and just captures the entire audience. Even I remember JHud being like: "oh... wow" 

 

I think other winners and finalists had good breakouts, but Chloe shot herself to the Finale with her KO, it was a revelation tbh. And yes, she had the highest Itunes placement in Pre-lives of the entire history of the show.  

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  • Kyla Jade's KO was absolutely her defining moment. I mean, SeeSaw and One Last Time were good performances, but nothing like the caliber of You Don't Own Me. 
  • LiBianca's KO was shockingly impressive. Up until her KO, she seemed like just fodder on Blake's team, but she definitely proved that she was one of the best vocalists that season after "Everything I Wanted". It's so unfortunate she ended up on an extremely stacked Team Blake instead of Team Ariana. 
  • Ricky Braddy was definitely fodder going into the KOs, but gave a performance that was so good, Blake chose him over the most Team Blake country guy to ever be on Team Blake. It was definitely his breakout moment, even though he immediately got bussed afterwards.
  • Jereshika Maple definitely cemented her spot as a frontrunner with her KO. She definitely had a strong audition and battle, but I don't think she was on the same tier as Wendy or GNT until she had this performance.
  • Makenzie Thomas definitely had her breakout moment in the KOs. Until her KO, all we had seen of her was her no-chair S14 audition, her one-chair S15 audition, and a brief battle montage. Her KO definitely immediately shot her up from someone in the background to a clear favorite that season.

 

Other notable breakout KOs: Reagan James, Jake Hoot, Hannah Huston, Shalyah Fearing, Deandre Nico, Pia Renee, Hello Sunday (if a breakout performance can be defined as their only performance that wasn't bad), Payge Turner, Madeline Consoer, Megan Danielle (honestly, all of her performances were breakout moments in a sense, as she was a perpetual underdog), Kique

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Here's a list of huge standout KO's that I recall made a big impact

 

Kyla Jade - You don't own me

Wendy Moten - Ain't no way

Jershika Maples - Inseparable

Paris Winningham - Tennessee Whiskey

We Mcdonald - No more drama

Girl Named Tom - Wichita Lineman

Kique Gomez - Hey Ya

Chloe Kohanski - Landslide

Amanda Brown - Paris (Ooh La La)

Loren Allred - You know I'm no good

Sarah Simmons - Wild Horses

Sasha Allen - At last

Toneisha Harris - Diamonds

Cole Vosbury - Let her go

Jacquie Lee - Stompa

Matthew Schuler - Cosmic Love

Will Champlin - When I was your man

Toia Jones - Crazy in love

Jean Kelley - Chandelier

Mia Z - Hold on, I'm coming

Madi Davis - A case of you

Amy Vachal - A sunday kind of love

Regina Love - Midnight train to georgia

Jordan Smith - Set fire to the rain

Alisan Porter - River

Hannah Huston - House of the rising sun

Desz - Can we talk

 

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  • 1 month later...

Paris Winningham

 

His BA wasn't anything special, and I remember his battle being good but that I probably would've chosen Jonathan instead. Then he really made an impact doing Tennessee Whiskey his own way and followed it up strong in the POs. He lost steam towards the end imo, but I think his KO is my most replayed performance from S21.

 

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10 hours ago, nytsch said:

Paris Winningham

 

His BA wasn't anything special, and I remember his battle being good but that I probably would've chosen Jonathan instead. Then he really made an impact doing Tennessee Whiskey his own way and followed it up strong in the POs. He lost steam towards the end imo, but I think his KO is my most replayed performance from S21.

 

his BA was special imo lol that was very good

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3 hours ago, QueenCami said:

his BA was special imo lol that was very good

 

He was good, but I wasn't a big fan of the song choice (Stevie songs are historically hard to pull off on singing competitions). Plus he just didn't strike me as someone who could go past the playoffs. I think his KO put him on more people's radar.

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