All eyes were on Pharrell tonight as he had the last steal that could be used during the Battle Rounds. (Photo property of NBC & United Artists Media Group)
By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com
Over the past two weeks, The Voice artists duked it out in the Battle Rounds.
Several battles such as Team Blake’s Hannah Kirby vs. Sarah Potenza’s “Gimme Shelter,” Team Pharrell’s Meghan Linsey vs. Paul Pfau’s “Don’t Let Me Down” and Team Christina’s India Carney vs. Aaron Washington’s “Stay” hit all the right notes, which forced the coaches to make difficult decisions.
While the victors headed straight to the Knockout Rounds, seven artists were given new life as Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Pharrell and Christina Aguilera stole them.
Tonight, the Battles concluded and all eyes were on Pharrell as he had the last steal in the round. Which artist received the “Get Lucky” singer’s last steal? Read on to find out…
Team Christina’s Jeremy Gaynor and Rob Taylor were the first artists of the evening to duel. I am glad that Xtina gave the guys an unexpected song choice: Maroon 5’s “Animals.” Nick Jonas bonded with the guys by bringing in his church background and he told them to take it church. From the word, “Go!” this was one of the aggressive battles that I ever saw in the show’s eight seasons. They made “Animals” their own and delivered beautiful upper vocal registers. During the coaches’ comments, Adam commended them for tackling a song that was a “pain in the ass,” but favored Jeremy. However, Christina picked Rob to move onto the next round.
Pharrell paired Noelle Bybee and Sawyer Fredericks together and tasked them to cover John Fogerty’s classic “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” At the beginning, I felt sorry for Noelle to be paired with the juggernaut known as Sawyer and I am glad that Pharrell loosened her up. During rehearsals, guest advisor Lionel Richie declared that there were two distinct vocal styles and pointed out that they should harmonize…which was a little out of Sawyer’s wheelhouse.
After Pharrell told them to “enjoy the moment,” the two teen superstars headed to the stage. While I was completely taken by Sawyer’s gritty folk vocals, Noelle blossomed into a beautiful artist. I am glad that she showed her confidence and brought her “A-game” to the performance. While Blake admired Noelle’s country style, Adam, Christina and Pharrell gave the battle to Sawyer.
The final battle of the Battle Rounds belonged to Team Blake’s Corey Kent White and Jacob Rummell. The two guys tackled Hunter Hayes’ “I Want Crazy.” While Jacob got starstrucked by Meghan Trainor, he had a hard time containing his nerves during the rehearsals. Meanwhile, Corey had a hard time keeping his eyes opened during the final rehearsal and Meghan recommend him that he made eye contact with the ladies in the audience during the battle.
Both Jacob and Corey are easily the anti-Sam Woolf and Alex Preston! Their stage presence was impeccable and they can have access to their upper register! This was probably one of the best Young Gun battles off all season and I enjoyed watching their friendship develop throughout this entire process. While Pharrell and Christina recommended that Blake kept Corey, Adam rallied for Jacob. Because of the dead-even vocals, Blake chose Corey…leaving Jacob to join Pharrell’s team!
Next week, for the first time in “Voice” history…three artists will duke it out for a spot in the Live Rounds!
I do not own any of the clips that are featured in this article. They belong to NBC and the United Artists Media Group.
