Leah one step closer to becoming ‘The Voice’

Leah McFall gets some performance tips from coaches will.i.am and Dante Santiago ahead of her big sing-off on The Voice. Pic by BBC/Wall to Wall

The 23-year-old won a coveted place in the knockout rounds of the competition with victory over teammate CJ Edwards in an epic vocal battle on Sunday night (May 12).

The good friends, who were pitted against each other by mentor will.i.am, produced a stunning rendition of Michael Jackson’s ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’.

The Black Eyed Peas frontman was left with a tough choice of which act to save. But he went with Leah, praising her “mega dope” performance.

“It felt like a duet more than a battle when it was just the two of us on stage, so from that point of view it was quite difficult,” Leah told the Times.

“When you’re singing with someone and performing with them you form a relationship, so it was really sad that one of us had to go.

“CJ’s such a great performer and I was really hoping that someone (one of the other coaches) would steal him, but he was really lovely after and we had a chat and he wished me well and we’ve kept in touch since.”

Leah, who has deferred her university fashion course to concentrate on making a name for herself in the music industry, went to a friend’s house in east London to watch Sunday night’s show. And she admitted they had “a bit of a party” when everyone found out that she’d made it through to the next round.

“It’s been so cool again,” she added. “Everyone’s just been really supportive and it’s just so nice to know that so many people believe in you.”

In the knockout shows, each of the four coaches will reduce their teams of seven down to their top three artists - meaning Leah will compete against her six teammates for a place in the ‘Team Will’ line-up for the live shows.

“Now, the artists take control,” a BBC spokesperson explained. “They will each choose just one ‘killer song’ they think will give them the very best chance to impress their coach and win a spot in the final 12.

“The coaches will then have tough decisions to make as they choose who they want to take through to the live finals.”

The knockout shows were recorded in London earlier this year. But Leah’s not allowed to give anything away about what song she chooses or whether or not she makes it into Will’s final three.

The ‘knockouts’ are due to air on BBC1 later this month, with the live shows starting on June 8 and the final of the competition scheduled to take place on June 22.