'The Voice' recap: Sloane Simon moves Michael Bublé, Gwen Stefani to tears with emotional performance after her father’s death

Michael Bublé’s team took center stage on The Voice during an emotional final night of Playoffs. The episode featured a special dedication to the late Liam Payne and a resilient performance by one contestant, Sloane Simon, just after the death of her father.

Not a dry eye was in sight during Tuesday’s one-hour episode, adding a layer of intensity to an already high-stress situation, as Bublé sought to fill out the last semifinal spots ahead of next week’s first live show. He enlisted the country singer Carly Pearce to help him in the decision-making process.

Find out which two singers on Team Bublé rounded out the Top 8 who will be performing on the live shows.

How Team Bublé matched up

Shye took the stage first, performing a cover of One Direction’s “Story of My Life.” Her mature vocals appealed to Pearce, who told Shye that was what made her stand out from the pack: “You know within three notes who it is, and you have one of those [voices].” Her Playoff performance showcased just that, with Snoop Dogg giving Shye a perfect 10. “Her voice is stunning, it’s unique. It is needed because in a world where so much is the same, we need Shye,” Bublé declared.

Following Shye’s One Direction cover, The Voice detoured from its usual format. Instead of going straight into a commercial break, an onscreen tribute card read, “In memory of Liam Payne.”

Jaukeem Fortson was next. Performing Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror,” the 14-year-old singer earned a standing ovation for his crowd-pleasing rendition after he “made the song [his],” a teary Reba McEntire said. It was also the “first time I’ve seen you unleash the beast,” Stefani happily observed. The coaches couldn’t help but notice the growth in Fortson since the Blind Auditions, and Bublé noted that his voice had gotten lower. “At 14 years old, he already has a seasoned voice, a wonderful presence onstage. There’s no limit where he can go,” Bublé said.

From the time Sloane Simon started competing on the show, her dad had been battling metastatic melanoma. The latest episode revealed that he died the Sunday before her Playoff performance. She was covering “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan, and it was difficult not to feel the raw emotions flowing through her performance. “I know how brave you are. I knew you and your family were going through stuff. You just lost your dad,” an emotional Bublé said. “You said that you would stay because he would want you to be here.”

“My dad told me I was crazy to turn back. So I’m here and I sang for him,” Simon shared, causing Stefani to tear up. Snoop gave Simon a hug, which prompted her to break down crying onstage. “I know that your dad must be so proud of you,” Bublé said. “I can’t really express to you in any words how highly I think of you and how amazing I think what you’ve done today is.”

Cameron Wright sang “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" by Whitney Houston, showcasing his smooth R&B vocals and impressive long notes. Stefani was impressed by Wright’s ability to “control … every second of that song.” Bublé, meanwhile, called his performance “elite.” “There was such a sense of self-control and understatement that I can’t tell you how much I appreciate as an artist,” he said.

One of Bublé’s personal favorites, Sofronio Vasquez, took the stage last and performed a Roy Orbison classic, “Crying.” Before he was assigned the song by Bublé, Vasquez had never heard it, which made his version all the more impressive. “[It] felt like I was watching the end of some big $100 million movie that had a hell of a soundtrack,” Snoop quipped. McEntire praised Vasquez for having the “guts” to “tackle that song.” Bublé, who described Vasquez’s performance as “flawless,” was “dumbfounded by [his] ability to really reach and connect to an audience.”

Who made it to the live shows

Sofronio Vasquez and Shye

“The growth has been exponential. He is a superstar, everything about him,” Bublé said of Vasquez. “I am so excited to see what this young man has in store for us.”

After selecting Shye for the live shows, Bublé said she “might be one of my favorite voices I’ve ever heard.”

“There’s a quality that she has. It reminds me of my favorite singers, from Adele to Ella Fitzgerald to Sarah Vaughan, it’s this wonderful richness and depth,” he continued. “If you have what Shye has at 17, it means you're one in a million.”

A look ahead to next week

The live shows begin! The power is now out of the coaches’ hands, as from now on, American audiences will determine which singers they believe deserve to move on — and eventually win.

“Now that we know who the Top 8 are, all I can do is encourage and continue to coach. I’ll be praying!” McEntire said.

The Voice kicks off the first live show Monday, Dec. 2, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.