Matt McAndrew leads 'The Voice' Top 12

The first night of “The Voice” finals, where the audience completely chooses who stays and goes, was a giant leap forward from last week.

The Top 12 were pretty much all at their best, as the coaches tried to balance bringing the contestants’ personal style forward with creating a persona that America would support.

In an interesting change, host Carson Daly announced that later in the season the finalists would sing original songs, which could help make the winners establish themselves when they leave the show.

Here’s how the Top 12 stacked up:

MATT McANDREW, “Take Me to Church”: When Matt goes off on Hozier’s current smash in the second verse, it’s a big moment that made it the performance of the night. “If I was KROQ I’d be calling this show right now,” Pharrell said. Adam said his powerful, physical ending made him proud. “That’s a guy that wins this show,” Adam said.

ANITA ANTOINETTE, “Redemption Song”: Her version of the Bob Marley classic was both gorgeous and powerful. She brought a gospel feel to the song without taking away any of its reggae underpinnings. It was the only performance of the night that seemed cut short, that could have benefitted from another minute or three. “You gotta feel really good tonight, Anita,” Adam said. “It was authentic, it was beautiful, it was true,” Gwen said.

CRAIG WAYNE BOYD, “You Look So Good in Love”: The George Strait classic was perfect for Craig, even allowing him to show off a bit of his own personality, landing him a standing ovation from Blake and Pharrell. “You can definitely hear Blake’s influence,” Pharrell said. Blake was thrilled, saying it was his second breakout moment in a row. “That’s the mark of a star, dude,” he added.

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DAMIEN, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”: He wasn’t sure about Adam’s choice of The Hollies’ classic for him, but his coach told him, “Trust me.” Somehow, Adam was right, as Damien reworked it into a massive, timeless soul ballad right in his wheelhouse. “I don’t know who would be prouder — the church or Donny Hathaway,” Pharrell said.

CHRIS JAMISON, “Jealous”: It was smart for Adam to give him Nick Jonas’ current hit, though he was a little heavy-handed at the beginning. By the time he reached the end, though, he had picked up his swagger and was feeling it and that could give him a future. “That is 100 percent your best performance ever,” Pharrell said.

TAYLOR JOHN WILLIAMS, “If”: The Bread classic was an inspired choice by Gwen, letting Taylor show off his vulnerable side, as well as his strong voice. “It was delicate and different,” Adam said. “The purity of your voice was really able to come through tonight.”

REAGAN JAMES, “It Ain’t Over ‘til It’s Over”: The just-turned-16-year-old had fun with the Lenny Kravitz classic, but she kind of glossed over it. Whether she takes this show will depend on how quickly she can learn to tap into her own emotions. Adam told her she got a little breathy at times. “You put your own stamp on everything,” Blake said.

DaNICA SHIREY, “Creep”: DaNica picked the Radiohead classic and Pharrell rearranged it to reflect more of an Al Green vibe, which made her version, well, special, though it wasn’t quite clear that she understood the song. “It moved me,” Pharrell said. “This was amazing.”

LUKE WADE, “Thinking Out Loud”: He got lost at the top of the Ed Sheeran hit and that put him on edge throughout much of the song. It took him a long time to get it under control, but he eventually did, though he looked so deflated it was tough to watch. “He recovered like a professional would recover,” Adam said, adding that it was part of performing. “It makes you more human,” Gwen said.

RYAN SILL, “Ordinary World”: “You were looking like James Dean,” Gwen told him in rehearsals of the Duran Duran song. Well, in reality, he wasn’t even quite Simon LeBon, though he did pull off an emotional connection well. It was only at the end, when he couldn’t quite hit the big notes at the top of his register that he stumbled. Nevertheless, he got standing ovations from Gwen and Pharrell. “Who knew?” Pharrell said. “That is what you should be doing right there.”

JESSIE PITTS, “Don’t You Worry Child”: The acoustic bit of her version of the Swedish House Mafia hit was pretty and special, but the ending was a bit more ordinary. “This is an artist who works so hard,” Blake said, adding that she reminds him of his wife Miranda Lambert. “She’s been told no so many times… Clearly, she is good enough… She’s an inventor.”

SUGAR JOANS, “Take Me to the River”: She said that she loves doing songs from male R&B songs and she does them well, including this Al Green classic. “God colored outside the lines when he made her,” Pharrell said. However, it did seem a little dated and a little one-note and Gwen edged toward (shock!) criticism. “It feels retro to me,” Gwen said, before she added, “It was incredible.”

BOTTOM THREE Ryan, Sugar, Jessie

AUDIENCE SAVES Ryan

WILL BE CUT Sugar, Jessie

SHOULD BE CUT Sugar, Jessie

ACTUALLY CUT Sugar, Jessie