The Voice, Episodes 6, 7, 8 & 9: "The Battle Rounds"
So, I know that my recaps have been absent for the past couple of weeks, but I decided instead of recapping each "battle round" episode separately, I'd just do one mega battle rounds post when they were done. I'm thinking about doing the same for the "Knockouts: Now with Steals!" Before we dive in, let's talk about Xtina. Let's start with the positives, shall we? The Voice Within has come a long way since she first started as a coach. Remember when her feud with Adam was nearing Nicki/Mimi levels? For both their sakes, the dueling coaches dialed it down and now they are BFF's... on camera. After taking a season long breather, Xtina came back with a vengeance. She's svelte, her hair looks halfway normal, and there's been nary a sighting of decolletage since season 5 started. In fact, Xtina is firing on all cylinders in every area except for one. Coaching. Seriously, Xtina. I love you, but some of the choices you made during these battles really baffled me. The purpose is not to create a team of mini-mes, but create a team with vocalists you think could actually win. Seriously. Have you learned nothing from the premature exit of De'Borah? Yes, I'm still bitter. *Sigh* Well, let's take a deep dive into this season's battles and find out who made it, who was sent packing and who got stole.
Just like past seasons, each coach has brought in a famous friend who is going to help them do their job. Christina enlisted "A Team" singer and friend of Taylor Swife, Ed Sheeran, Blake brought in wig lover, Cher, Adam called in his less successful doppelganger, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, and Cee Lo called in the sexiest man in R&B, Miguel.
The first battle was brought to us by Team Adam. He pit one named diva, Grey, against Nic Hawk, the boy with the not so secret crush on his mentor. He tasks them with performing Jessie J's "Domino." When they hit the stage, it is sort of a mess from the jump. Grey started out sounding kind of lounge-y. Nic was struggling in rehearsal, but he really brought it when he came on stage. The main issue is the song. It's not really a good fit for either singer, it's pitched too high for Nic's voice, but Nic is killing it in the stage presence department. Grey has the vocals in this instance. When they try to sing together, it is a hot mess and makes my ears bleed. Adam ultimately chooses Grey as the winner, but Blake swoops in with the first steal of the night.
Team Xtina paired up Amber Nicole and Tamyra-Joi to sing Beyoncé's "Listen." Both girls have phenomenal voices, but it's clear from the first note that Amber is going to bring this one home. She is calm and clear and gives me chills with each note. Her confidence never wavers, but I think it jolts Tamyra's because she tries to counter Amber's pure vocals with unnecessary runs and high notes that she never quite hits, so her parts sound hella shriek-y. She's trying to be a little to Beyoncé and it is not a good look. Amber wins the battle and Tamyra is sent packing.
Team Blake and Cher (so weird!) bring us the legit duet of Justin Chain and Shelbie Z on the Jason Aldean/Kelly Clarkson hit "Don't You Wanna Stay." I thought it was hilarious when Cher admitted that she didn't know any Adam Levine songs. She is too busy Twitter ranting and calling in to CSPAN. This was the first decision that I didn't really agree with. I thought Justin did great the whole time. He didn't try to be too flashy, he just sang the song and it sounded really beautiful. Shelbie was pretty pitchy throughout and was holding back during the glory notes, the same thing she was criticized for doing during rehearsals. Despite what my ears heard, Blake declares Shelbie the winner and no one steals Justin.
Team Cee Lo's first battle brought us the pairing of Anthony Paul and the super, super annoying Caroline Pennell. They sang another odd song, Justin Bieber's "As Long as You Love Me." I really dislike Caroline and her cutesy demeanor and aw shucks attitude. At one point, I wondered if she was drunk. I have to admit that I really enjoyed this. I liked the rendition of the song. Both singers do a great job, they play off each other well, they blend, it is a great battle. It kills me to say this, but Caroline was pretty awesome and deserved the win. Don't cry for Anthony though, he done got stole by Xtina.
Adam, Adam, Adam. What were you thinking? Why would you pit Tessanne Chin and Donna Allen against each other? They both need to be in this competition! Come on, dude! He assigns them the song Emeli Sandé's "Next to Me." This battle was so freaking amazing. Seriously. Both these women really brought it and killed it. I wasn't surprised when Adam declared Tessanne the winner, but I was surprised that no one stole Donna. Then, as I watched their lame excuses, I realized it was because of her age. The coaches would rather have younger people on their teams, even when there is a supremely talented older woman who could win the whole thing. Sigh.
So, I have an embarrassing confession to make. I was working on this recap and I had been deleting my notes as I completed each battle. Something happened and I lost all that work. So... I'll just give you who was in each battle and who won until I catch up to my notes that are left. Kay?
Team Xtina: Jacquie Lee vs Briana Cuoco. Jacquie Wins. Blake steals Briana
Team Cee Lo: Kat Robichaud vs. R. Anthony. Kat wins. No steal.
Team Xtina: Matthew Schuler vs. Jacob Poole. Matthew wins.
Team Cee Lo: Cole Vosbury vs. Lupe Carroll. Cole wins. No steal.
Team Blake: E.G. Daily vs. Sam Cerniglia. E.G. wins. No steal.
Team Adam: Ashley DuBose vs. Justin Blake. Ashley wins. No steal.
When Monika Lee chose Blake as her coach, I speculated that she may come to regret that decision. Let's find out if my psychic powers are on point. Blake chose Soul Brothers Six's "Some Kind of Wonderful." Monika and Ray are both great singers. I'm firmly on Monika's side, but Ray really impressed me. He sang the song with a natural ease. It was almost like he'd been singing the song his entire life. I did find the battle overall pretty boring. I watched it a couple of times and still felt my mind wandering. In the end, Blake chose Ray as the winner. Oh yeah! Move over, Sylvia Browne. Luckily, all was not lost for Monika. Cee Lo swooped in with the steal.
It's time for another Team Xtina battle. The diminutive diva paired Josh Logan vs. Michael Lynch. She gave them a song from her fellow coach, Adam Levine's, band Maroon 5. It's their first big hit "Harder to Breathe." Michael freaking killed this song. He destroyed it. I was really impressed. Josh was simply doing his Adam impression. It was serviceable and not terrible, but Michael is bringing it in every area. Vocal ability. Stage presence. Josh is just wandering the stage aimlessly. Of course, Xtina picks Josh. Ugh.
Cee Lo decided to pair up George Horga, Jr against Juhi with Gavin Degraw's "Best I Ever Had." To be completely real, I am not a fan of either singer. They are both young and are just mimicking what they have seen their favorite singers do. They do sound OK when they sing together, but the rest of the time they are just super ridiculous. The yips and yowls that Juhi was bringing made me want to tear my hair out. She is a better vocalist than George, so I was sort of surprised when Cee Lo declared George the winner of the battle. Adam decided to steal Juhi, so that's good?
Blake had Austin Jenckes and Brian Pounds battle it out to the strains of the Bee Gee's "To Love Somebody." I love Austin. I have since his first audition, but this was not his best performance. It was really muted in the beginning and his voice got totally lost during the unison sections. Brian on the other hand was truly battling. It was very impressive. Austin did recover towards the middle and really came to life. I think the only thing that saved Austin was that he was an early favorite. Sorry Brian, Austin wins this battle.
Adam paired up James Irwin and Matt Cermanski. He assigned them one of his mentor's songs, "Counting Stars." Listen, the less said about this battle the better. I'm not sure why everyone is drooling over James. He's not that great. He didn't deserve to win. It's ludicrous that Adam deemed him the better singer and sent Matt packing. Also, no one stole. I've had it.
Xtina paired up Destinee Quinn and Lina Gaudenzi giving them the Dixie Chicks hit "Not Ready to Make Nice." This was by far the weakest battle of the night. Mainly because both ladies had a lot of vocal bad habits on display. I preferred Lina to Destinee though. She has a richer voice and took more risks with the song than Destinee. It all was very natural with Lina, with Destinee it all came out a bit forced. Destinee was trying to pull out all the vocal stops so it came out very shout-y and shriek-y. It also looked like she was getting weepy towards the end. Um... seriously? Xtina deems Destinee the winner and Adam steals Lina away.
Adam paired up two of his strongest male vocalists, James Wolpert and Will Champlin. He gave them the song "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons. The Battle Rounds can be super frustrating. You watch the coaches get rid of your favorites not because the are bad singers, but because of some producer's mandate. It can be rough, but then a battle happens that reignites your fire and shows why you enjoy the show so much. This was an evenly matched battle. James was going a little overboard on the runs, but that is really the only negative critique that I can give. Will's falsetto is phenomenal. These guys should become a duo. Seriously. James is the winner, but Xtina swoops in and steals Will away.
For the first battle of the final night, Cee Lo pitted two military men against each other, Jonny Gray and Sean "Big Sexy" Smith. He gave them the great Tom Petty tune "Refugee." Sean seems like a really nice guy, but I don't think there was ever any doubt that Jonny had this in the bag. He is definitely one of the producers golden children. It was a fine battle and the boys sounded good. The song was a good fit for both singers. Jonny came off as a tad more authentic. Jonny won.
Adam paired up Preston Pohl and Barry Black. They sang "I Wish it Would Rain" by the Temptations. I mean, Preston. He is another of the golden children, but it is totally deserved. He is amazing. Seriously. His voice. Damn. It's where it's at. Barry does a great job and makes it a tough decision for Adam, but I don't think there's ever a doubt that Preston won't make it through. He does. Sorry Barry.
We were treated to some battle round highlights.
Team Blake: Holly Henry vs. Cilla Chan. Holly wins.
Team Blake: Brandon Chase vs. Emily Randolph. Brandon wins.
Team Cee Lo: Tamara Chauniece vs. Keaira LaShae. Tamara wins.
The last battle of the rounds comes from Team Xtina. It's Olivia Henken against Stephanie Anne Johnson singing The Band Perry's "Done." I felt like this battle was slanted towards Olivia from the jump. This song definitely feels like it's more in her wheelhouse. Olivia is sassy and works the stage. She sounds great. Stephanie Anne has a voice that I prefer. I like the intonation and the stylistic choices that she makes. Xtina declares Olivia the winner, but Cee Lo steals Stephanie Anne away.
So, that's it. The Battles are over and we are on to the Knockouts. So, do you have a favorite? Was there someone whose dismissal really stunned you? Let me know in the comments.
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