The Voice kicked off the battle rounds with some amazing duets, putting the coaches in a very tough position. Some contestants were so hard to let go, that one coach has already used both steals on night one.
The battle rounds pair contestants from the same team against each other, to sing a duet. Their coach chooses the pairing and the song, and then has to eliminate the contestant they feel was not as strong. The eliminated contestant is not without hope, however, since the other coaches have the opportunity to steal them for their own teams. Each coach is allowed two steals to last them through the battle rounds.
Amber Carrington vs. Sasha Allen
Coach Adam Levine chose Pink’s “Try” for Amber and Sasha’s battle to suit their very different voices and styles. While both girls sounded great, they had their own struggles in rehearsals. Sasha’s powerhouse voice was overpowering the song, and she was over-thinking her performance. Amber was worried about competing with such a huge voice, but Adam advised her to focus on her own performance, and not worry about what Sasha is doing.
Amber and Sasha both took judge Adam’s advice to heart for their battle performance. Sweet-voiced Amber amped up her performance, and surprised everyone with her powerful vocals. On the other hand, Sasha toned downed her powerhouse vocals, and her performance lacked any special moments. Amber’s standout vocal proved to be enough to win over coach Adam, as he chose her to remain on his team.
Fortunately for Sasha, Shakira and Usher were quick to turn their chairs for the steal. The two newbies fought for the early favorite, but Shakira’s reminder that she turned her chair for Sasha back in the blind auditions (and plea that Sasha not “break [her] heart for a second time”) was enough to convince Sasha to join Team Shakira.
Garrett Gardner vs. J’sun
Coach Shakira paired Garrett Gardner and J’sun to sing The Heavy’s “How You Like Me Now.” In rehearsals, J’sun seemed to be the frontrunner with his flawless falsetto, but he proved to have a hard time getting into the character of the song. Garrett’s interesting vocal style impressed Shakira, prompting her to compare him to a young Jim Morrison. J’sun came into rehearsals feeling confident, but left feeling less sure of his chances.
Both contestants shined in the battle, having obviously worked to improve the things they had worked on in rehearsals. J’sun’s stage presence improved by leaps and bounds, snarling the chorus and practically seducing the camera. While Garrett’s voice is not as strong as J’sun’s, he has such an interesting, gritty tone to his voice, and even nailed some falsetto of his own. Shakira admitted to having a soft spot for Garrett, and chose him for her team. Unfortunately for J’sun, none of the other coaches used their steal.
Holly Tucker vs. Michelle Raitzin
Team Blake’s Holly and Michelle were paired together because they’re both powerful vocalists with an outstanding range. Blake chose Carrie Underwood’s “Blown Away” for their battle, because the song contains a little bit of everything, style-wise, and would give the girls a good chance to show off. In rehearsals, Holly struggled with sounding too sweet for the angsty song, while Michelle had a hard time singing on pitch.
Holly started the battle off strong, although she seemed a little too intense. Michelle resolved her pitch problems, but ran into some trouble with her breaths, and had to switch from a belt to falsetto at some points in the song. Blake felt their battle ended in a tie, but when host Carson Daly told him he couldn’t keep both contestants, he decided to stick with what he knows (country) and picked Holly. There were no takers for Michelle.
Jess Kellner vs. Taylor Beckham
Usher proved he is taking his new role as coach very seriously in his rehearsals with Jess and Taylor. He chose Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” to suit the girls’ very different voices, but they soon proved to have a problem connecting to the song’s emotion. Usher tried to draw them out by standing across the room and telling them to lure him over with their performances, but they were unsuccessful.
Both girls did a great job in the battle, their voices blending together well to produce some beautiful harmonies. Jess has a more mature tone to her voice, and showed a lot of confidence with her performance. Taylor’s lighter, sweeter voice has a very interesting tone to it, but she seemed to struggle with nerves throughout her performance, which affected her ability to connect with the audience.
Usher didn’t seem particularly impressed with either girl’s performance, and after warning them that it would only get harder from here, he chose to save Jess. It didn’t look like there would be any takers for Taylor, but Blake saved her at the last minute, much to the tearful girl’s relief.
Christian Porter vs. The Swon Brothers
Coach Blake paired Christian with The Brothers Swon to perform Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down,” because he felt their styles would mesh well together, and they both had a good sense of humor. The Swons were the early frontrunners in rehearsals; nailing their harmonies while Christian struggled to hit the high notes. But in their last rehearsal with Blake, Christian had perfected that pesky high note, while the Swons were kind of all over the place.
Christian started off strong by nailing his high note, but The Swon Brothers’ perfect harmonies soon became hard to ignore. Blake again felt the match was a draw, and again decided to stick with the act he felt he could do the most with, which in this case was The Swon Brothers, making them the first duo in Voice history to survive the battle rounds. Sadly, there were no takers for Christian.
Judith Hill vs. Karina Iglesias
Adam chose the James Brown classic “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” for his female powerhouses to sing, which both artists were pleased with. Though she loved the song, Judith struggled a bit in rehearsals to find a way to make it suit her voice, and Adam could tell she was holding back. Karina, on the other hand, was advised to rein in her powerful pipes, and show more subtly and nuance.
Karina jumped right into battle with the perfect amount of attitude, obviously very comfortable with the song. Judith’s performance started off more soulful, but by the end, both women were wailing at each other in a true powerhouse performance. Adam echoed his fellow coaches’ sentiments, saying he was stupid to pair these great performers together, but in the end, chose to save Judith.
Shakira wasted no time in stealing Karina, who she said was her biggest regret in the blind auditions. Having previously saved Sasha Allen, this leaves Shakira with no more steals after night one of the battle rounds. While she chose two great performers, hopefully she doesn’t come to regret her impulsiveness as the battle rounds continue.
The battle rounds continue Tuesday night at 8/7c on NBC.