The Voice Australia: Thomas Bleach recaps The Showdowns 

The Voice Australia is officially in the Grand Final week of its explosive ninth season.

With a recording contract with EMI Australia up for grabs, and a winner to be crowned on Sunday night, the contestants are desperately trying to prove why they deserve to win. 

Over Sunday and Monday night, all remaining 20 contestants battled it out in The Showdowns in a bid to win one of the two coveted spots in their coaches team for The Semi-Finals. 

This year’s Showdown twist saw each artist able to choose a song to perform instead of the Coaches picking for them. This allowed them to put a spotlight on the type of artist they want to be if they were to be signed. 

Most artists took a risk and switched it up by showing the coaches and Australia a different side of them, while others played it a little safe which inevitably ended in them going home. 

Stephanie Cole, Lyric McFarland, Adam Ludewig and Goldi sadly fell into this category along with Alex Weybury who surprisingly fell flat during a rendition of Train’s ‘Drops Of Jupiter’.

As an early frontrunner, this performance derailed his chances at winning after Kelly Rowland decided to not bring him into the Semi-Finals.

Deciding to take a risk and perform her original song ‘Emotional Criminal’, Siala proved why she could follow in Tones And I and Amy Shark’s footsteps and be the next global chart-topper. With distinct originality intertwined with a contrast of vulnerability, she has shown early promise. 

Another artist that performed an original song was Matt Gresham. While he may not have been chosen by Guy Sebastian to continue in the semi-finals, his song ‘Who Am I Now’, and his album of the same name, quickly rose to number one on the iTunes chart. Comfortably sitting in that position for the past two days, this may just be the beginning for him. 

With each member of the top eight individually delivering show-stopping moments in their own right, this may just be one of the show’s strongest group of finalists yet. 

Mark Furze, Timothy Bowen, Chris Sebastian, Johnny Manuel, Masha Mnjoyan, Jesse Teinaki, Stellar Perry and Siala will vie for the final position in their coaches team to perform at the Grand Final on Sunday night. 

But one of The Showdowns most powerful performances came from Johnny Manuel who performed one of Guy Sebastian’s recent hits ‘Before I Go’. Deciding to perform one of your coaches songs is a risky move, but he brought Sebastian to tears with his soulful rendition. 

The Voice Australia continues tonight on Nine as the top eight perform in the Semi-Finals before the top four finalists are revealed. 

Public voting will open for the first and only time this season after the show tonight through The Voice Australia’s website. This public vote will decide who wins the season.