The first round of season 6’s battles wrapped up last night, with the final contestants pairing up to battle one another for a spot in the next round.
The Battles
Cary Laine vs. Sam Behymer
Adam paired young artists Cary Lane and Sam Behymer because they are about as different as two artists can be. He gave them Ed Sheeran’s “Give Me Love” because the song would be outside of the comfort zone for both girls. In rehearsals, Sam was a little too breathy and yodel-y at times, and Cary needed to show more emotion. Both girls struggled with pitch, and that proved to be a problem on the battle stage as well. Their performances were pretty much equal, so it came down to a matter of Adam’s personal taste, which lead him to choose Sam as the winner.
Kaleigh Glanton vs. Noah Lis
Team Blake contestants Kaleigh Glanton and Noah Lis were paired by their coach to sing Michael Buble’s “Everything.” The song may have been more in Noah’s wheelhouse, but Blake felt Kaleigh would also be able to do something interesting with it. In rehearsals, Noah was intimidated by Kaleigh’s ad libs, and went overboard adding his own. Kaleigh, meanwhile, had trouble settling into the groove of the song. Their chemistry was magical onstage, and far less awkward than some of the other pairings we’ve seen (Looking at you, Madilyn and Tanner). Blake couldn’t get over Kaleigh’s creativity as an artist, and chose her as the winner, because he felt that she had something you just can’t teach.
Cierra Mickens vs. Emily B.
Shakira paired Cierra Mickens and Emily B. for the last battle of the week, because they both have soulful voices with a wide range. She felt Sara Bareilles’ “Brave” would be the perfect song for the girls to tackle. They both had issues in rehearsal, Emily with her volume and sing-screaming, and Cierra with her pitch and embellishments. Both girls sounded great in the battle performance, but struggled at times with the song’s rhythm. Shakira chose Emily as the winner because of her determination, but Usher used his final steal on Cierra, just as she was walking out.
The Best of the Rest
In battles that were apparently not exciting enough to be shown in their entirety, Ryan Whyte Maloney beat Team Blake teammate and country legacy Cali Tucker. YouTube star Christina Grimmie beat Joshua Howard in the Team Adam battle, and Kristen Merlin emerged the winner from Team Shakira’s country battle, over teammate Lindsay Bruce.
Next week, in a Voice first, there will be a second round of battles! This second battle round will replace the knockout round that we’ve seen for the last 2 seasons. This time around, teammates will be paired once again, only this time the pairing will be a surprise, and they will have to agree on the song they will be singing. Instead of each coach’s personal celebrity mentor(s), all of the contestants will be mentored through the second battle round by the same advisor, Coldplay’s Chris Martin. Each coach will have one final steal to grab “the one that got away,” before we head into the live play-offs.
Round 2 of the battle rounds will start next Monday at 8 p.m., with another episode Tuesday at 8 p.m. on NBC.