Round two of the battles continued last night with some more dynamic performances, some tough decisions for the coaches, and a surprise steal!
The Battles
Biff Gore vs. Sisaundra Lewis
Blake paired powerhouse duo Sisaundra Lewis and Biff Gore for the first battle of the night, because he felt they both occupied the same R&B soul powerhouse spot on his team. Biff and Sisaundra chose the James Brown classic “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” because they felt the song would allow them room to grow dynamically. Blake loved the song choice, because it allowed Sisaundra to show off her amazing vocals, and made Biff look like a stud.
Their rehearsal with Blake and advisor Chris Martin was pretty much perfect; the only things the performers needed to watch were that Biff didn’t try to compete with Sisaundra’s vocals, and that Sisaundra needs to make sure she connects with the audience. Their battle was one of the best ever on The Voice, and the coaches were all blown away. In the end, Blake chose Sisaundra, because he felt he couldn’t miss the chance to work with such a one-in-a-million artist.
Ddendyl vs. Deja Hall
Shakira paired young artists Ddendyl and Deja Hall, who chose to sing “Say Something” by A Great Big World ft. Christina Aguilera, (who gave a seriously amazing performance of the song last season.), because they felt that genre would suit their voices well. Both girls have beautiful voices, but struggled with their stage presence. Deja has never been in love before, and, like her last performance, is struggling to connect to a love song. Chris encouraged her to think about Harry Styles, but she chose to think about her supportive family instead. Ddendyl had a tendency to stand stick straight with her arms at her sides, so Shakira and Chris got them some mic stands to help bring them out of their shells.
Their battle performance was really beautiful, and it came down to matter of which artist Shakira wanted to follow through with. She chose Deja, because she has made the most progress, and had the most tangible changes in her performance thus far.
Morgan Wallen vs. Stevie Jo
Rocker friends Morgan Wallen and Stevie Jo were paired by Usher for their second battle. They made a bit of a surprising song choice with One Direction’s “Story of my Life,” because they felt it would show off a more tender side, while also showing off their voices. In rehearsals, Morgan struggled with breath control, while Stevie needed to commit to the song and go with it.
Morgan surprised everyone in the battle performance, who all thought Stevie would wipe the floor with him. But Usher still chose Stevie, who has been consistent for the whole conversation. However, as Morgan was walking out, Adam called him over for a fist bump, and pushed his button for the steal right under Morgan’s nose.
In an battle that was apparently too boring to air in its entirety, Kristen Merlin and Emily B. battled to the tune of “I Can Love You Better” by The Dixie Chicks, and Shakira chose Kristen as the winner.
The Voice battles round two wraps up next Monday at 8 p.m., with the top 20 competing in the live play-offs on Tuesday at 8 p.m. on NBC.