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'The Voice' axes two more hopefuls

Maybe air conditioning really was the key factor for success on “The Voice” on Monday after all.As host Carson Daly reminded viewers countless times on Tuesday, the first few performers had to take the stage Monday without the benefit of cool breezes blowing through the vents. This snafu didn’t seem like it was worth the mentions 24 hours later. Humanity survived for eons without it, after a
Image: 'The Voice' top 12
From left, the top 12 on \"The Voice\": The Swon Bros (Zach Swon, Colton Swon) Holly Tucker, Danielle Bradbery, Michelle Chamuel, Josiah Hawley, Vedo, Carson Daly, Kris Thomas, Garrett Gardner, Sasha Allen, Sarah Simmons, Judith Hill and Amber Carrington.Tyler Golden / Today

Maybe air conditioning really was the key factor for success on “The Voice” on Monday after all.

As host Carson Daly reminded viewers countless times on Tuesday, the first few performers had to take the stage Monday without the benefit of cool breezes blowing through the vents. This snafu didn’t seem like it was worth the mentions 24 hours later. Humanity survived for eons without it, after all. But two of the first three to perform, Vedo and Garrett Gardner, were the two to get the fewest number of votes, and thus, were eliminated from the competition. Meanwhile, every singer who sang in relative comfort will be back again next week.

Garrett can’t really blame the environment. He was among the two lowest vote-getters for Team Shakira a week ago as well, and is here only because she picked him over Karina Iglesias. If he wanted to, he could blame Shakira for having him singing “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys (which he thought for a minute was a joke), or Carson for fixating on Usher’s heat-induced disrobing while Garrett was being critiqued. But given the negative feedback and his shaky track record, it likely didn’t make a difference.

Vedo, on the other hand, was a fan favorite of Team Usher in the first week of the live voting, but felt no love from the audience this time.

Going first didn’t help, and the way he was sweating at the finish, a bit of indoor climate control might have been the boost he needed. He had no chance to offer excuses, however, since the number of live performances and the trademarked Carson Daly extended pauses meant that he got the bad news only seconds before the show went off the air and “Grimm” came on.

The most relieved singer of the night looked to be Sasha Allen, the last singer to get good news. She reacted with a facial expression that mixed relief with “you really made me wait until the last minute?!” annoyance. And if she was sweating, Shakira must have been equally nervous, since the superstar was the only coach to have two of her singers among the last four standing. She was a mild surprise away from having just one singer to pin her hopes on for the rest of the season.

Blake Shelton and Adam Levine each saw all three of their singers advance. Expect that to be a topic of conversation next week.

Blake, at least, deserved it for showing up for work as scheduled despite the fact that it was his anniversary. Hopefully for him, wife Miranda Lambert is more forgiving of his absence than most spouses would be. And at least he got to spend the night in air-conditioned comfort.