Hannah Is This Season's 'The Voice' Underdog

The Voice Top 12 is off to an amazing start thanks to Hannah Kirby. The Team Blake singer somehow managed to make it to the America's vote portion of the show after having to be saved by her coach three times. But despite having the highest number of saves of the season, Kirby has started the live shows off on an amazing note. Her performance of Stevie Nicks' "Edge of Seventeen" was electric. She may have had a rocky start on the show, but Kirby is a force in this competition and will be the one to beat.

Kirby has earned herself a reputation for her crazy "church-lady swinging her purse" dance moves. But those moves finally came together with her rockstar performance tonight. Kirby's rendition of "Edge of Seventeen" was powerful, strong, and totally Top 10 worthy. Her personality resonated throughout the words of the song and her vocals completely filled the room. The coaches are often talking about matching the physical performance to the vocal performance and Kirby did exactly that. She sang in a way that made the audience feel the song — and that's what makes her so amazing.

I've been a major Kirby fan since the beginning — she's the one The Voice contestant this season that has my eyes trained on the television for her whole performance. While she's one of my favorites, I can see why it's been difficult for her to stay in this competition. Her physicality on stage is a lot and she lacks the modern-pop vibe that so many other contestants have. Both the coaches and America like her, but not more than they like other artists on the show. But Kirby's artistry really showed through tonight in a way that will really win over America. From the dance moves to the crazy vocals — everything she does finally started to make sense. She channeled her inner rockstar and really wowed the audience. Kirby will be raking in the votes tonight — and I can't wait to see what she has next for us in this competition.

Image: Trae Patton/NBC