The Voice
"The Voice" coaches (L-R) Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani, Pharrell Williams and Blake Shelton had to cut their Season 9 teams in half during the first live eliminations episode for the 2015/2016 competition. NBC

It was a gut-wrenching night of eliminations on Wednesday as NBC’s “The Voice” saw half the contestants on each team eliminated, cutting the top 24 down drastically to the top 12. With the first and harshest elimination of Season 9’s live rounds behind them, viewers can now start choosing their favorite of the remaining artists to root for to win the entire competition in the 2015/2016 seasons.

It was a tough night for coaches Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Adam Levine and Pharrell Williams as they had to look their team in the eye and be directly responsible for crushing three dreams simultaneously. The night was broken up into all four teams’ remaining six artist taking the stage to hear the results live. First, host Carson Daly revealed which two artists had the top results from America’s voting. Those two would automatically move on to the next round, but then it was up to each coach to select one more person to bring into the final rounds. That’s right, after two long nights of incredible live performances, viewers just had to watch as 12 dreams came to a crushing end on live television. At some points, the heartbreak was so dense that not even a return performance from Season 8’s always cheery winner, Sawyer Fredericks, was enough to boost the mood. The 17-year-old winner debuted his newest single “Take it All” on “The Voice” stage during Wednesday’s broadcast.

To help make sure everyone has an idea of the remaining contestants in Season 9 that will go on to the next round of live performances, below is a rundown of each team as they stand right now.

Team Gwen

This was perhaps the most difficult elimination of the night as Team Gwen has been absolutely killing it in the live performances thus far. With no obvious weak links, America sent its favorites Jeffery Austin and Braiden Sunshine through to the next rounds with their votes. That left Viktor Király, Ellie Lawrence, Regina Love and Korin Bukowski’s fates in the coach’s hand. She could only choose one to send through and, while TV Line notes many fans seemed to be hoping for Viktor to move forward, the No Doubt singer went with her heart and chose Bukowski.

ADVANCING: Jeffery Austin, Braiden Sunshine and Korin Bukowski (Coach Save)

ELIMINATED: Viktor Király, Regina Love and Ellie Lawrence

Team Blake

Unlike Stefani’s team, Shelton’s had a few no-brainers to send through to the next round. Country-leaning singers Barrett Baber and Zach Seabaugh were America’s favorites and advanced automatically to the Season 9 top 12. After that, the controversial coach was left with Nadjah Nicole, Ivonne Acero, Morgan Frazier and Emily Ann Roberts. Shelton made it clear that each of the remaining four singers on his team were capable of making it in the business without the help of “The Voice.” However, he felt that Roberts could propel his team to the end -- so he chose her to move onto the top 12.

ADVANCING: Barrett Baber, Zach Seabaugh and Emily Ann Roberts (Coach Save)

ELIMINATED: Nadha Nicole, Ivonne Acero and Morgan Frazier

Team Pharrell

In the back half of the show, coach Pharrell Williams was gifted artists Madi Davis and Evan McKeel thanks to America’s votes. That left him with a choice between Darius Scott, Celeste Betton, Riley Biederer and Mark Hood. While many were expecting that the coach would go with Scott, given that they seemed to click so well collaboratively in rehearsal, the unpredictable judge when in a different direction by saving Hood instead.

ADVANCING: Madi Davis, Evan McKeel and Mark Hood (Coach Save)

ELIMINATED: Darius Scott, Celeste Betton and Riley Biederer

Team Adam

Levine’s team was perhaps the most difficult to predict after their performances on Tuesday night. With no clear front-runner, America sent Shelby Brown and Jordan Smith forward to the top 12 artists of Season 9. That left the Maroon 5 singer to choose either Blaine Mitchell, Keither Semple, Chance Pena or Amy Vachal. In the end, it was up to the coach and, after almost running out of time to think, he sent Vachal forward, leaving the other artists to fend for themselves in the music industry.

ADVANCING: Jordan Smith, Shelby Brown and Amy Vachal (Coach Save)

ELIMINATED: Blaine Mitchell, Keither Semple and Chance Pena

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