The three-time winning “Voice” coach called on the Band Perry to assist him with the Battle Rounds. (Photo courtesy of NBC)
By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com
The competition is heating up on the Voice’s sixth season!
Before we get to tonight’s battles…. here is where our teams stand:
Team Adam: Kat Perkins, Delvin Choice, Jake Barker (Stolen) & Brittnee Camelle (Stolen)
Team Usher: T.J. Wilkins, Stevie Jo, Morgan Wallen & Melissa Jimenez
Team Shakira: Dani Moz, Clarissa Serna, Ddendyl & Patrick Thomson (Stolen)
Team Blake: Jake Worthington, Sisaundra Lewis, Megan Ruger & Biff Gore (Stolen)
With Adam out of the steal race, Blake and Shakira each have one steal left while Usher has his two remaining. Did any coaches use their steal tonight? Plus, which artist won their battles? Read on to find out…
Team Adam kicked off the night with an intense battle between Austin Ellis and Josh Kaufman. They tackled Pharrell Williams’s “Happy.” Adam chose the new song because of its old school vibe. Both men fought hard vocally and it was an even match throughout the song. While Blake and Usher recommended that Josh, Shakira stated that Austin’s energy was very infectious. In the end, Adam chose Josh to move on to the next round.
The three-time winning coach paired frontrunners Alaska and Madi and Audra McLaughlin together. The girls tackled Linda Ronstadt’s “When Will I Be Loved.” Both girls had stuff to work on before their battle; Audra had to work on her nerves and the Oklahoma-based duo needed to not step on each other. From the first notes, I thought that this was the best country music-based battle in the past two seasons! Their vocal harmonies gave me chills and the coaches were blown away. In a difficult decision, Blake chose Audra to remain on his team and was forced to say “goodbye” to Alaska and Madi.
Shakira pitted Deja Hall and Aisha “Music Box” Brooks against each other. She challenged her students to tackle the Bangles’ “Eternal Flame.” During the final rehearsal, both ladies regressed according to their coach. Deja could not find a way to connect the song and Music Box’s pitch was all over the place. I thought that this was one of the most boring battles in this season. While Shakira chose Deja and Usher used his steal (finally) on Music Box, I wished the “Scream” singer chose Alaska and Madi or Austin because they are far superior singers!
Usher’s first battle of the night focused on the battle of Provo, Utah natives! He paired Madilyn Paige and Tanner James. While they did not attend school together, they did go to the same high school. Usher chose Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran’s “Everything Has Changed.” During their rehearsal, The “U Got It Bad” singer split the duo and separated them. Team Usher’s guest mentor Jill Scott also advised them to be actors as well. At the battle, I thought that Tanner delivered the best performance. I was surprised that Usher chose Madilyn Paige over Tanner.
The Maroon 5 singer chose Dawn and Hawkes and Josh Murley to duke it out in the Battle Rounds. They tackled “Stuck in the Middle With You.” Dawn and Hawkes might have overwhelmed Josh during the rehearsal…but he was able to hold his own throughout the song. I also enjoyed hearing Dawn and Hawkes as well. At the end of the battle, Dawn and Hawkes moved forward to the second round and at the last-minute, Shakira used her final steal on Josh!!!!!
Usher’s final battle of the night (and last battle before the second round of the Battle Rounds) was Bria Kelly and Tess Boyer. Usher chose an iconic song for the girls to sing. I had high expectations with the ladies after watching Team Xtina’s Beverly McClellan in Season One, Haley Rinehart on Idol and Melissa Etheridge’s show-stopping cover at the Grammys. During the battle, I thought that Bria stole the show and it was the right decision for Usher to keep Bria. However, I thought Blake wasted a steal on Tess.
Tomorrow night, the first round of the Battle Rounds conclude tomorrow night!
