Tonight kicked off the second week of battles for season 7, and the coaches made the most of their steals on some less fortunate contestants.
The battles picked right up where they left off last week, and all but one coach used the last of their steals in the second-to-last night of battles.
Battles
Damien vs. Kelli Douglas
Team Adam’s Damien and Kelli Douglas kicked off the second week of battles. Adam paired these two vocalists to give them a chance to show off their chops, and see how they would handle adversity. He chose “Knock on Wood” by Carla Thomas and Otis Redding for their battle song, and both singers ran into some challenges in rehearsals. Damien struggled with his performance, while Kelli had a little bit of trouble with timing. In the battle, Damien sort of bulldozed over Kelli, so it wasn’t a surprise when Adam chose to keep Damien on his team.
Jessie Pitts vs. Ryan Sill
Gwen paired contestants Jessie Pitts and Ryan Sill because they both had similar pop sensibilities, but opposing strong and delicate voices that would go well together. She chose Ellie Goulding’s “I Need Your Love,” which was almost perfect, because for a minute Jessie and Ryan had her convinced that they were in love. In rehearsals, Jessie struggled to match Ryan’s powerful voice, and Ryan struggled to not look so much like a member of One Direction. Their battle was great, and they made a great pairing. In the end, Gwen chose Ryan, but as Jessie celebrated her friend’s success and bid farewell to Gwen, Blake stole her for his team, promising to learn who Ellie Goulding is.
Blessing Offor vs. Katriz Trinidad
Team Pharrell’s Blessing Offor and Katriz Trinidad both sing from the heart, and Pharrell paired them to sing the Stevie Wonder classic “Do I Do” because they both are so good at expressing where they’ve come from through song. This seems like an obvious advantage for Blessing, who’s got the Stevie game in the bag, but Katriz wasn’t about to go down without a fight. She got comfortable with the song, and stepped up to the plate in the battle, so much so that Pharrell chose her as the winner. Adam pressed his button for the steal, and revealed that his new wife Behati’s name actually means “Blessing,” so its meant to be. But Gwen disagreed, pushing her button at the last minute. It didn’t matter, because Blessing chose to stick with Team Adam.
Ethan Butler vs. Matt McAndrew
Team Adam’s Ethan Butler and Matt McAndrew were the perfect pairing to take on Coldplay’s simple and sincere hit “Yellow.” Mentor Stevie Nicks felt Ethan had a beautiful choir-like voice, and Matt’s voice had such compassion, he could bring you to tears. Their acoustic guitar jam battle was beautiful. Not only was the song perfectly suited to their voices, but they genuinely seemed to enjoy performing together. It was a choice of apples versus oranges for Adam, but he chose whichever fruit represented Matt to stick around on his team.
Bree Fondacaro vs. Taylor Brashears
Blake’s only pairing of the night was Bree Fondacaro and Taylor Brashears. He paired these two ladies for no other reason than that they are nothing alike, and those kinds of pairings tend to make for the best battles. He chose Linda Ronstadt’s “You’re No Good” for their battle tune, and while Taylor nailed the anger in the chorus, Bree did better on the sultriness of the verses. Though both girls were strong in the battle, Blake chose to keep Taylor, because of her ability to get completely lost in the song.
DaNica Shirey vs. Toia Jones
For the final battle of the night, Pharrell paired DaNica Shirey and Toia Jones to sing Beyonce’s “Halo.” This song hit particularly close to home for both women, who have both lost their fathers. Pharrell told them to put that feeling into their performance, and boy, did they ever. It was a very emotional rehearsal, but the battle was powerful and completely badass. Both ladies battled to out-diva each other until the very end, but Pharrell chose DaNica as the winner. Adam pushed his button to steal, and was already welcoming Toia onto his team, when Gwen hit hers. Adam looked hilariously aggravated, but he needn’t worry, because Toia chose Team Adam.
The Voice battles continue Tuesday night at 8 p.m. on NBC.