'The Voice' knockout round 1 recap: Melanie Martinez wins

Melanie Martinez charmed her way into “The Voice” live rounds, where fans of the Baldwin 17-year-old can finally start supporting her with votes.

Following her success with Britney Spears' “Toxic,” Melanie chose another dancefloor favorite to reinvent, stripping down La Roux's “Bulletproof” so that it could draw people in with the quiet power of her voice. Though her coach Adam Levine worried it might come off lackadaisical, it actually showed off her unique talent well, easily outclassing teammate Sam James' take on Marc Cohn's “Walking in Memphis.”

"Melanie, when you open your mouth and you sing, it's almost haunting, it really invites you into this special world that only you are capable of creating,” said judge Christina Aguilera.

Levine chose Melanie, though he did call her out on her nerves making her voice a little more breathy than she intended.

“I'm just so incredibly thankful for this opportunity,” Melanie said after being chosen. “I'm so happy that I get to show America what I can do during [the live shows].”

Even James agreed, saying, “I'm bummed, but Melanie's fantastic.”

The Knockout Round was yet another rules change for “The Voice.” Each coach pits two team members against each other and pick one to advance to the Top 20 and the live shows next week.

Here's how the rest of the night (rocked by Frankenstorm Sandy) shook out:

TEAM ADAM: Joselyn Rivera vs. Kayla Nevarez

Joselyn couldn't quite get all of Beyonce's “Love on Top,” running out of breath and tripping over some of the notes in the challenging song. However, Kayla's decision to go for VV Brown's “Shark in the Water” didn't help her, catching her in between trying to be a stylist like VV and trying to be a more straightforward singer.

ADAM'S PICK: Joselyn
SHOULD'VE WON: Joselyn

TEAM ADAM: Joe Kirkland vs. Bryan Keith

Joe Kirkland tried to turn Taylor Swift's “Mean” into an emo song and succeeds vocally, more or less, but really should have changed the accompaniment too. Bryan Keith attempted to make Bryan Adams' “Everything I Do (I Do It For You)” soulful and couldn't quite sell it, falling a bit short on the big notes. Neither was really great, but Bryan has better singing chops.

ADAM'S PICK: Bryan
SHOULD'VE WON: Bryan

TEAM ADAM: Amanda Brown vs. Michelle Brooks Thompson

Amanda takes a risk with the rocking Grace Potter and The Nocturnals' “Paris (Ooh La La)” and knocks it out of the park, overflowing with attitude and control. Michelle took on Jennifer Hudson's “Spotlight” and while it took her a bit to find her footing, by the end, she brought it home. This was tight and both deserved to move on over Bryan Keith, but Amanda's ability to back up her attitude gave her the edge.

ADAM'S PICK: Amanda
SHOULD'VE WON: Amanda

TEAM ADAM: Loren Allred vs. Nicole Nelson

Loren tries Amy Winehouse's “You Know I'm No Good” and is actually too good on it, with her too-pretty enunciation, but her powerful ending more than compensated for that. Nicole goes for Alicia Keys' “If I Ain't Got You” and takes some of the sass out of it, trying for a more laid-back, jazzy vibe, and that may have been her downfall.

ADAM'S PICK: Loren
SHOULD'VE WON: Loren

TEAM CEELO: Avery Wilson vs. Cody Belew

Avery Wilson tries to do too much with Chris Brown's “Yeah 3X,” singing and dancing so strenuously that he gets out of breath and sometimes off-key. Cody Belew's weird pick of Dolly Parton's dramatic “Jolene” actually paid off, transforming the song's pain into something original.

CEELO'S PICK: Cody
SHOULD'VE WON: Cody

TEAM CEELO: MacKenzie Bourg vs. Daniel Rosa

MacKenzie Bourg tries to make Carly Rae Jepsen's “Call Me Maybe” into a blues song by way of Phillip Phillips, but unfortunately takes all the catchiness out of it and renders it unrecognizable. Daniel Rosa tries to make Taylor Swift's “Back to December” into a soul song and gets lost a bit, though his emotional connection eventually pulls him through.

CEELO'S PICK: MacKenzie
SHOULD'VE WON: MacKenzie

TEAM CEELO: Terisa Griffin vs. Trevin Hunte

Terisa Griffin throws down the gauntlet by choosing Whitney Houston's “Saving All My Love For You” and is up to the challenge, broken ankle and all. Trevin Hunte takes on Phil Collins' “Against All Odds” and falls a bit short, due to nerves and inexperience, though he showed flashes of brilliance that should have kept the Queens singer in.

CEELO'S PICK: Trevin
SHOULD'VE WON: Trevin

TEAM CEELO: Mycle Wastman vs. Nicholas David

Mycle Wastman picks Elton John's “Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and he has the power, but not the desperation needed to make the song work. Nicholas David picks Corinne Bailey Rae's “Put Your Records On” and gives it his own unique twist, even if it was a bit dodgy in parts.

CEELO'S PICK: Nicholas
SHOULD'VE WON: Nicholas

TEAM CEELO: Caitlin Michele vs. Diego Val

Caitlin Michele did a pretty faithful version of Evanescence's “Bring Me to Life” that showed her powerful voice, but not much creativity. Diego Val's take on Lenny Kravitz's “Are You Gonna Go My Way” was built more on attitude than vocal chops, but he was at least entertaining.

CEELO'S PICK: Diego
SHOULD'VE WON: Diego