The first (live) cut is the deepest and that's especially true tonight as The Voice trims down its season 19 crop of artists from 17 to 9. Here's how it works: We'll learn the winner of America's vote on each team and then the coaches will get to save one of their remaining artists. There's your Top 8. After that, we'll learn the next highest vote-getter on each team, and those four contestants will sing in the Wildcard Instant Save for the final spot. Let's get into it — we have a lot of  dreams to crush tonight!

TEAM KELLY

America's Vote: Desz

Coach Save: Cami Clune

In the Wildcard Round: Tanner Gomes

Eliminated: Madeline Consoer

__________

TEAM GWEN

America's Vote: Carter Rubin

Coach Save: Ben Allen

In the Wildcard Round: Payge Turner

Eliminated: Joseph Soul

__________

TEAM BLAKE

America's Vote: Ian Flanigan

Coach Save: Jim Ranger

In the Wildcard Round: Worth the Wait

Eliminated: Sid Kingsley, Taryn Papa

__________

TEAM LEGEND

America's Vote: John Holiday

Coach Save: Tamara Jade

In the Wildcard Round: Bailey Rae

Eliminated: Chloé Hogan

__________

THE WILDCARD INSTANT ROUND

Team Blake: Worth the Wait, "I'm Gonna Love You Through It" by Martina McBride

There's a lot of country in this Wildcard Round, so Worth the Wait needs to be on point to stand above the rest. There are some rough notes especially in the beginning, and although the ladies pick it up toward the end, this is not their best performance. Coach Blake Shelton is proud though, and he feels confident his trio is getting a ton of votes already.

Team Gwen: Payge Turner, "Diamonds" by Rihanna

As the only non-country artist here, Payge might have a decent shot at winning this thing. Also helping her: This song choice. It's right in-line with what she's been doing all season and her confidence on stage and vocal control remain very much intact, despite the high-pressure situation. Coach Gwen Stefani calls it "stunning" and once again praises Payge's authentic artistry.

Team Kelly: Tanner Gomes, "Pickin' Wildflowers" by Keith Anderson

Tanner does what Tanner does best and brings the party to The Voice stage. He's always having a good time! He's not the best technical vocalist of the bunch, but he knows exactly what he's doing. Coach Kelly Clarkson applauds him for "bringing the honky-tonk" and pleads with America to vote him through "so [she] can dance some more."

Team Legend: Bailey Rae, "Never Again, Again" by Lee Ann Womack

Like Tanner, Bailey knows exactly what kind of country artist she is and she brings her classic country twang out one more time for the Wildcard Instant Save. This is a great song choice for her. Coach John Legend tells Bailey Rae that he loves to see her stay true to who she is: "The easier route would be to do the hottest new thing" but instead Bailey sticks to her throwback sound. "Your voice paired with these classic songs feels so right," he says.

After making me cry with all their heartfelt notes of gratitude to their coaches (this whole group seems so sincere!), we learn how this thing shakes out. And the winner of the Wildcard Instant Save, rounding out the Top 9 is... Team Legend's Bailey Rae! See you next week as the remaining contestants duke it out for one of four spots in the finale. Yep, that's right, we're headed to the semi-finals.

This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:Maggie Fremont