Hear Why Niall Horan Almost "Fell Through His Chair" from Taylor Deneen's Knockout
Deneen’s sizzling rendition of a 1970s soul classic gave Team Legend an unexpected shot of last-minute drama.
With breathy swagger and some killer high notes, Mac Royals strutted his stuff en route to a well-earned Knockout-round win for Team Legend on The Voice — but it was Taylor Deneen who almost ended up stealing the spotlight, thanks to a “nuts” performance that Niall Horan admitted nearly knocked him right out of his seat.
“Taylor Deneen! It’s nuts, what you can do with your voice,” said a stunned Horan, who grew only more stunned moments later when John Legend rescued Taylor from elimination with his one and only Save. “Every time you think, ‘This can’t get any bigger,’ I nearly fell through the chair! It was just so good.”
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Legend had hinted earlier that he already had an Artist in mind to Save — though of course he played things close to the vest until after Taylor had wrapped up her blazing performance of 1970s-smooth R&B sizzler “Sweet Thing” by Rufus (featuring vocals by Chaka Khan). “I’m gonna use my save on someone that I know deserves to stay in the competition,” he teased.
Watch Taylor Deneen sing “Sweet Thing” by Rufus and Chaka Khan on The Voice Season 24 Knockouts
All three Team Legend Artists left the Coaches impressed, with Brandon Montel putting his full vocal range to use on SZA’s “Nobody Gets Me” while Royals, the eventual winner, played up his performance of Robin Thicke’s “Lost Without U” by dialing in on Gwen Stefani from the stage as if the song were going out specifically to her.
“Were we locking eyes, like, the entire performance?” Stefani joked in the aftermath of Mac’s set, coyly pantomiming a smitten swoon even as she dished out some serious praise. “Everything that you brought to that performance was exactly like something I would have watched on some Grammy performance!” she said.
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“I think [Mac] does have superstar quality,” Season 24 Mega Mentor Wynonna Judd confessed after working with Royals during rehearsals. “He’s soulful, and he’s got that thing. He’s slick as snot on a doorknob — and he knows it!”
Still, it was Taylor’s dramatic late Save that gave Team Legend’s Knockout-round storyline the ultimate happy ending. Deneen barely had the chance to begin saying what she thought would be her final goodbyes when Legend interrupted the proceedings with a fully-committed smash of his big red Save button.
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“Taylor’s a really special singer,” the Coach said afterward, explaining why he simply wasn’t ready just yet to let one of his top performers walk away from the show. “Her voice is so sweet. But when she goes for those big notes, it’s also really powerful.”
Across the board, in fact, this season’s array of talent on The Voice has just been “crazy,” Legend added. “I don’t think we’ve ever had Knockouts with this level of high quality performances. I’m so excited to see what these Artists [will do] in the Playoffs.”
How far will Taylor Deneen be able to take her second chance? Find out by watching The Voice Mondays and Tuesdays at 8/7c on NBC and next day on Peacock.
