After an exciting week, the live playoffs came to an end Thursday night, cutting the competition from 20 to just 12 on The Voice!

It was America’s turn to decide who would be moving forward to the finals. The public vote saved two contestants from each team and then the coaches had to make a tough decision by choosing one more to join them.

Who skated on through and were there any big surprises along the way?

Carson is breaking down yesterday’s action-packed episode!

In addition to the results, Thursday’s episode featured performances from season 2 winner Jermaine Paul and Maroon 5!

For the most part, Carson felt things were fairly status quo during the first live results show of season 3. “On Twitter, everybody seemed to have guessed 10, 11, 12 for 12 [of the finalists],” he said. “I don’t think there was any great surprise.”

Here’s how the teams stack up going into next week’s finals.

Photo by Trae Patton/NBC

TEAM CHRISTINA

America’s Vote: Dez Duron & Sylvia Yacoub

The ladies couldn’t resist heartthrob Dez Duron and Sylvia Yacoub earned her spot with her stirring rendition of “The One That Got Away,” which left Christina with a tough decision. Some were surprised that early fan favorite De’borah was sent packing.

“De’borah, I thought people really had a nice connection with,” Carson told Producer Angie this morning. “She was a great performer.”

Christina’s Save: Adriana Louise

Photo by Trae Patton/NBC

TEAM BLAKE

America’s Vote: Terry McDermott & Cassadee Pope

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night came from Blake Shelton. After America saved rocker Terry McDermott and former lead singer Cassadee Pope, Shelton opted to take a chance on 16-year-old Michaela. This meant Liz Davis, the only remaining country singer on The Voice, would not be advancing to the next round.

“I thought Blake would have maybe saved Liz Davis because she’s a country act,” Carson said. “He chose the 16-year-old, Michaela, with the crazy hair. So that might’ve been a little bit of a surprise.”

Blake’s Save: Michaela Paige

Photo by Trae Patton/NBC

TEAM ADAM

America’s Vote: Bryan Keith & Amanda Brown

We weren’t surprised to see Amanda Brown sail on through to the finals after she owned the night with her Aerosmith cover. Gritty-voiced Bryan Keith joined her as one of America’s saves.

Loren Allred and Joselyn Rivera had shown promise in the knockout rounds, but after a couple lackluster playoff performances, Adam Levine decided to keep the quirky Melanie Martinez on his team.

“I sort of like Melanie Martinez, so it didn’t surprise me that he saved her,” Carson commented.

Adam’s Save: Melanie Martinez

Photo by Trae Patton/NBC

TEAM CEE LO

America’s Vote: Trevin Hunte & Nicholas David

Trevin Hunte and Nicholas David have been frontrunners from the very start, so it seems like America got it right last night. That left MacKenzie Bourg, Diego Val and Cody Belew on the chopping block.

Carson thought MacKenzie had some staying power, but unfortunately Cee Lo Green went in a different direction.

“MacKenzie seemed to have a lot of girl fans. Maybe I thought Cee Lo might save him because he’s marketable in sort of a Justin Bieber kind of way, but he opted for Cody Belew, who’s a really fun performer.”

Cee Lo’s Save: Cody Belew

• Did your favorite make it into the top 12? Do you agree with who the coaches saved? Let’s talk it out in the comments section!

-Sarah Carroll, 97.1 AMP Radio/Los Angeles

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