Shakira used up her two steals on night one of the Battle Rounds. (Photo courtesy of NBC, One Tree Media and Warner Horizon Television)
The Blind Auditions are done!
Now it is time for the Battle Rounds!
During the Battle Rounds, the coaches (Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Shakira and Usher) pitted two of their acts against each other in order to find out who is the strongest artist that they can bring with them to the Live Rounds.
Each contestant had the opportunity to receive guidance from not only their coach but also a special guest advisor before they took the show’s Battle Round stage.
Who made it to the Knockouts? Did any coach steal a contestant? Read on to find out….
The first Battle Round of the night belonged to Team Adam. 19-year-old Amber Carrington and 30-year-old Sasha Allen tackled P!nk’s “Try.” During their rehearsal, Adam told Sasha not to be explosively, while Hillary advised Amber to be herself. Both artists did a solid job on the song and their voices blended well together on the chorus. While Adam decided to keep Amber on his team, both newbies wanted to keep Sasha’s dream alive by stealing her. Eventually, Sasha decided to enlist with Team Shakira!
Shakira decided to bring The Voice: Australia’s Joel Madden to assist her with training her team. Garrett Gardner and J’Sun were the first pair to battle it out on the Battle Round stage. They tackled the Heavy’s “How Do You Like Me Now?” and during rehearsals both contestants were nervous about battling each other. Both guys had strong solos but in the end, Adam and Blake sided with Garrett while Usher picked J’Sun to be the winner. However, Shakira chose Garrett to represent her team in the Knockout Rounds.
Two-time winning coach chose to pair Great Neck, New York native Michelle Raitzin with Waco, Texas’s Holly Tucker. The girls tackled Carrie Underwood’s “Blown Away” that showcased high-octane vocals from both women. While Blake wanted to keep both of his contestants, he decided to keep Holly and eliminate Michelle.
Usher brought an interesting style of coaching to the Battle Rounds. He challenged Texas natives Jess Kellner and Taylor Beckham to tackle the late Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good.” During his rehearsals, he walked to the back of the room and their job was to lure him back to the piano and they failed. Both girls recovered when they hit the Battle Round stage and their voices blended very well together. Usher decided to go with Jess while Blake stole Taylor.
Blake’s second battle of the night came in the form of Christian Porter and the Swon Brothers. Christian was nervous about pairing with the Swon Brothers because he has an unfair advantage. For their battle, Blake revisited the song that he sang at the Season One finale with his finalist Dia Frampton, Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.” During their rehearsals, both contestants rotated at the Top Dawg spot. At the battle, while Christian showed off his charisma, the Swon Brothers’ harmonies won the round.
The final battle of the night belonged to Team Adam. He decided to pair Judith Hill and Karina Iglesias together to tackle James Brown’s iconic “It’s A Man’s World.” Judith and Karina’s battle was not only one of the best Battles of the night but also one of the best Battles in Voice history. After all four judges gave them a standing ovation and by their comments, it was hinted that a steal would happen. Adam decided to keep Judith, who was stolen by Shakira!
Tomorrow night, the Battle Rounds continue to heat up as the coaches prepares to narrow their teams.
