The Voice's First-Ever Cut Week Reveals 12 Artists Going Live In Season 30 — Who Should Join Them? Vote!

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As "The Voice" prepares to go live next week, there was just one more little thing to cross off the ol' to-do list on Monday: the biggest elimination in the show's 30-season history! No big deal.

To determine which artists will be competing in those live shows, "The Voice" presented its first-ever Cut Week, a two-hour musical melee which took the season from 28 singers to just 12 — with a 13th slot still to be determined by the viewers at home.

Each of the four rounds began with a coach immediately sending two artists to safety, leaving the remaining five to perform on stage. The coach would then select a single winner to join the other two artists in next week's live shows, thus completing their teams of three.

Most of the coaches' early choices were fairly predictable. For example, no one was shocked when Queen Latifah chose to keep fellow Jersey girl Mia Knight or memorable crooner BigCountry. Lexi Stephens was a foregone conclusion for Adam Levine, with Connor Closs as another shoo-in. And Riley Green also opted to keep two clear stand-outs, picking Cade Mower and sister duo Ferryn and Brinkley.

Then there was Kelly Clarkson's team; Anna McElroy looked positively stunned when Clarkson called her name after Koumba Diallo, and while we don't necessarily disagree with the coach's decision, we can't say we saw it coming.

With eight artists locked in locked in, it was time for the remaining contestants to fight for the final spots in the Top 13. Read on for a breakdown of how it all shook out:

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BRYAN JAYMES | The first word that comes to mind when we think of Jaymes is "charisma." For the purposes of standing out from the crowd, Bill Withers' "Use Me" wasn't the most dynamic song choice, but the vocals were strong, and those runs on "keep on using me" were delicious. (TVLine's grade: B)

DESTINEE MONROE | We've loved every note we've heard from Monroe thus far, so our expectations were high ahead of her performance of David Bowie's "Space Oddity." It started off fine, making us question our faith in her, but once it took it off, it launched like... well, a rocket. The high notes and the rasp on "if you dare" reminded us why we fell in love with Monroe in the first place. For Major Tom's sake, we hope he can hear her. (TVLine's grade: A)

ALT BLOOM | This is another instance where a more dynamic song would have helped Bloom stand out from his teammates, but he handled The Script's "For the First Time" perfectly well, exhibiting an impressive, powerful range at the end. Bloom feels like an extremely marketable contestant, like a lot of what's already out there. Of course, if we're hoping to find something revolutionary, that familiar sound might actually be a bad thing. (TVLine's grade: A-)

LILLIE KOLICH | It may only be Monday, but we're in love with Kolich's soul-soothing voice, which has so much emotion baked into it. Her performance of The Cure's "It's Friday I'm in Love" was floaty and beautiful one moment, then powerful and heartbreaking the next. And can we talk about breath support? She's got it! (TVLine's grade: A)

CHARI | We could spend an entire day basking in Chari's lower register, which was on full display during her performance of Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly." We didn't love the laid-back rendition of the iconic track, but Chari made it work, telling a story and creating a natural vibe. As for her runs, we only have one thing to say: "Whooaaaa-oooh-ooh-oh-ah!" (TVLine's grade: A)

For the final spot on her team, Queen Latifah chose to keep Kolich, and we fully support that choice, though we also wouldn't have been mad seeing the honor go to Monroe or Chari.

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EVAN JAMES | James kicked off Team Adam's Cut Week round with a growl, nay a roar, and maintained our full attention throughout his gritty take on Chris Stapleton's "Midnight Train to Memphis," all the way up to its very strong finish. We were also impressed by his stage presence. What, you thought we didn't notice that little strut? (TVLine's grade: A-)

DAKOTA COHEN | We weren't expecting to be taken back to the 2000s with a performance of Fuel's "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)," but we were not mad about it, especially with Cohen at the mic. She got nasty with this one, and the arrangement was altered just enough for this rock 'n' roll badass to really show off her range. (TVLine's grade: A)

OWEN UFFENS | Uffens put an unexpectedly sexy spin on MGMT's "Electric Feel," almost making it feel like we were hearing the late-2000s ear worm for the first time. Uffens wasn't bad, but he didn't seem as comfortable on stage as some of the other artists; with a bit of work and time, he'd make a worthy opponent to any of them. (TVLine's grade: B-)

AMANDA MIKKEL | Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles" is one of those songs you instantly recognize — and if you're someone with true taste, you probably also immediately think about Terry Crews' infamous "White Chicks" scene. We appreciated the soulful spin Mikkel put on the familiar tune, which especially paid off at the end when she really let loose. It wasn't necessarily an interesting performance, but it was well-done. (TVLine's grade: B+)

BRANDON DIAZ | This performance of Switchfoot's "Dare You To Move" started off a little shaky, but once the moment called for it, Diaz's soaring vocals joined the party, and it was game over from then on. Everything about this one improved and became more exciting as it progressed, and we were definitely Diaz fans by the end of it. (TVLine's grade: A-)

Adam Levine says it came down to "a coin flip for various reasons," but he chose to keep Cohen on his team. And it was the right choice.

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ALLIE RAE | There's no question, 15-year-old Rae is an incredibly impressive singer for her age, armed with a fantastic higher register. Her performance of Lainey Wilson's "4X4XU" wasn't necessarily exciting or different, but it was solid. (TVLine's grade: B+)

EVERETT BOUNDS | First of all, Bounds was rocking that all-denim ensemble. And we'll leave it at that. As for his performance of Clint Black's "Killing Time," no amount of tailoring could have gotten us excited about it. Not unlike Rae before him, Bounds was perfectly good, just not terribly thrilling. (TVLine's grade: B+)

KEIYANA OSMOND | This was definitely a more intense rendition of The Shirelles' "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" than we're used to hearing, especially with all the additional attitude Osmond exuded through gritted teeth, but we enjoyed it quite a bit. It's been said that she doesn't have the biggest range, but Osmond remained in her sweet spot with this one, and that's exactly how it sounded. (TVLine's grade: B+)

KAYLEIGH MATHEWS | This take on Patsy Cline's "Walking After Midnight" was another sweet, simple, and largely unmemorable performance. It was good, but it also felt very paint-by-numbers, and it never went anywhere interesting. (TVLine's grade: B+)

JOE HENLEY | Henley brought a tenderness to Keith Whitley's "Don't Close Your Eyes" that made it feel like he was singing from experience, and there was a confidence to his performance that pulled us closer to it. He has a simple approach, but his vocals are always strong, and he never feels fake. (TVLine's grade: B+)

We'll be honest, we didn't feel particularly strongly about anyone on Riley Green's team (in case you couldn't tell from those straight-B grades), but we had a feeling that he was going to pick Henley — and he did, praising the singer's "warm" voice.

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MARCUS LADDEN JR. | There's a smooth, endearing quality to Ladden Jr., both in his vocals and in the overall vibe he brings to the stage, so we loved watching him swag out to Lou Rawls' "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine." The runs, the range, and the moves? He's the total package. And we weren't expecting that falsetto moment at the end of the "whoa" run. That was our exact reaction, frankly. (TVLine's grade: A-)

BROOKLYN MARIE | Something about hearing a 14-year-old singing Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" adds a sweetness and an authenticity to it, and that's certainly what Marie brought this week. We were hypnotized by that breathy, ethereal chorus, then suddenly wowed by her belting. (TVLine's grade: A)

BRIANNA CAMERON | We don't mean to harp on Cameron's age, but how is this girl 13?! The youngest singer in the competition, Cameron has one of the most mature-sounding voices, complete with a booming belt that came in handy for her performance of Natalie Cole's "Inseparable." Kelly Clarkson had tears in her eyes during that explosive finish, and we don't blame her. (TVLine's grade: A)

NINA HOWLAND | The power in Howland's voice is undeniable, and she's been one of our favorites from Day 1, so our expectations were high for her performance of Renée Rapp's "In the Kitchen." We're happy to report that she actually exceeded our hopes, giving us all the rasp and held-out belts we've come to expect from this diva. (TVLine's grade: A+)

KYLE DAVIS | Davis could use a little more stage presence, but there's no two ways about it, that voice is magic. It's so comfortable and secure, helping to make Davis feel like a real storyteller. With a more exciting song, he probably would have been the obvious frontrunner, but Blind Faith's "Can't Find My Way Home" was still a serviceable vehicle for Davis' signature sound. (TVLine's grade: A-)

Clarkson did not want to make this decision — and we certainly don't envy the position she's in — but she ripped off the Band-Aid, revealing that Cameron was staying on her team. Ultimately, Clarkson said it came down to Cameron's age, explaining that she had to reward someone for being that talented at just 13 years old.

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Just to recap, here are all of the artists confirmed to be appearing when the show goes live next week:

TEAM QUEEN LATIFAH | Mia Knight, BigCountry, and Lillie Kolich
TEAM ADAM LEVINE | Lexi Stephens, Connor Closs, and Dakota Cohen
TEAM RILEY GREEN | Cade Mower, Ferryn and Brinkley, and Joe Henley
TEAM KELLY CLARKSON | Koumba Diallo, Anna McElroy, and Brianna Cameron

That leaves 16 singers eligible for the coveted 13th spot, and "The Voice" is finally putting the power back into the hands of the viewers. Voting (which can be done via SMS or TikTok, with full details here) opened at 10:55 pm ET on Monday and will close at 3 am ET on Tuesday.

OK, let's talk: Did you enjoy the first-ever Cut Week, or would you make any tweaks to the format? And did you disagree with any of the coaches' choices? Vote for the artist(s) you'd like to see return next week in our poll below, then drop a comment with your thoughts on the night.