Season 6 is getting into the nitty gritty, as contestants on the same team are competing against each other in The Voice battle rounds.
With the blind auditions over and the coaches having picked their favorites, it’s time to start wittling the teams down in preparation for the live shows. The battle rounds see contestants from the same team paired up to sing a duet, after which their coach can pick only one winner to advance. But the loser still has the chance to be stolen onto another coach’s team.
The Battles
Biff Gore vs. T.J. Wilkins
Team Usher’s Biff Gore and T.J. Wilkins were the first battle of season 6 of the The Voice. Usher chose The Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” for this old school vs. new school R&B battle. In rehearsal, Usher and mentor Jill Scott advised T.J to be a little more confident in his performance, and Biff to be more passionate. Biff and T.J. didn’t make Usher’s decision an easy one, because their performances were perfect. In the end, Usher chose T.J., because it felt he had more fight in him, but Blake stole Biff, in part because of his entertaining high kicks.
Jake Worthington vs. Lexi Luca
Blake paired country artists Jake Worthington and Lexi Luca for his first battle, and assigned them “It Goes Like This” by Thomas Rhett, because the song is representative of current young country music. Blake and mentors The Band Perry advised a nervous Lexi to be more confident, and suggested to Jake that he open his mouth a little more when he sings. By their next rehearsal, Lexi looked more comfortable than Jake, who had never sung a romantic duet before. Unfortunately, Lexi’s nerves returned for the battle, and while Jake fumbled the lyrics a few times, Lexi’s nerves and pitchiness were her undoing, and Blake chose Jake as the winner.
Dani Moz vs. DeShawn Washington
Team Shakira contestants Dani Moz and DeShawn Washington were paired by their coach to perform Emile Sande’s “My Kind of Love,” because the song suits both of their styles: pop and retro. Shakira and mentor Miranda Lambert were both crazy about the natural grittiness in DeShawn’s voice, and cautioned Dani to sing not scream, watch her pitch, and to not step on DeShawn’s vocal. But after the battle, Shakira chose Dani, because she felt she had already grown so much since her blind audition.
Kat Perkins vs. Patrick Thomson
Kat Perkins and Patrick Thomson were Team Adam’s first season 6 battle. Adam paired them for their classic voices, and gave them a classic duet: “Whenever I Call You Friend” by Kenny Loggins and Stevie Nicks. Mentor Aloe Blacc told Patrick to have more confidence in his high notes, while Adam told Kat that her power was a little overwhelming at times. They both performed well in their battle, but the song suited Kat a little better. In the end, Adam chose Kat to stay on Team Adam. It wasn’t the end of the road for Patrick, however, as Shakira stole him for her team.
Paula DeAnda vs. Sisaundra Lewis
Blake chose Lady Gaga’s “Do What U Want” for contestants Sisaundra Lewis and Paula DeAnda, because they are both such divas, and he wanted to give them a song that would challenge them. Both ladies needed to work on choosing their moments to make themselves stand out. Paula needed to work on playing her performance up, while Sisaundra needed to work on toning hers down. In the battle, Sisaundra blew everyone away with one big note, while Paula had a little bit of trouble with pitch and staying in the pocket. Because of this, Blake chose Sisaundra as the winner.
Jake Barker vs. Stevie Jo
Usher paired teammates Jake Barker and Stevie Jo, and gave them Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love,” because he wanted them to step out of their R&B comfort zone. In rehearsals, they both needed to work on being more expressive in their performances. In the battle, Stevie showed off his versatility, and Jake showed off an awful lot of stage presence for only his second live performance ever. Usher chose Stevie as the winner, but all three other coaches pushed their buttons to steal Jake. Jake chose to join Team Adam.
Clarissa Serna vs. Jeremy Briggs
Shakira paired rockers Clarissa Serna and Jeremy Briggs to perform Foreigner’s “Cold As Ice.” The song seemed perfectly suited to classic rocker Jeremy, while Clarissa was focusing too much on inflection, and not enough on the notes. They also struggled with chemistry, and it seemed more like they were competing than playing off of one another. They had chemistry for days in their battle, and the performance was great. Clarissa shined a little brighter in this performance, although Jeremy was singing in the same key as her, which was quite a feat. In the end, the victory went to Clarissa.
Caleb Elder vs. Delvin Choice
Adam paired Caleb Elder and Delvin Choice together to perform mentor Aloe Blacc’s song “The Man.” Delvin and Caleb are very different artists: Delvin has a powerful, classic voice, while Caleb’s is more gravelly. The song proved to be quite difficult to sing, so Adam and Aloe had the boys pretend to be rappers: Speaking the lyrics instead of singing, in order to get the words and pacing right. Unfortunately, the difficult song proved too much for Caleb in the battle, and Adam chose Delvin as the winner.
Brittnee Camelle vs. Melissa Jimenez
The final battle pairing of week one was Team Usher’s Brittnee Camelle and Melissa Jimenez. Usher chose Melanie Fiona’s “Give It To Me Right” to show off the aggressor in both ladies. Rehearsals showed they needed to be more confident in their performances, but both girls rose to the occasion for the battle. Though the other coaches seemed to agree that Brittnee had the stronger voice, Usher chose to go with Melissa, in part because she nailed a big note at the end. Adam and Shakira both hit their buttons to steal Brittnee, who chose Adam.
In battles that apparently weren’t exciting enough to air in their entirety, Ria Eaton, Lindsay Pagano, and Brothers Walker were all eliminated in favor of Megan Ruger, Ddendyl, and Morgan Wallen.
The Voice battle rounds continue next Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m.
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