Season 7’s battle rounds kick off tonight, and our contestants are excited to meet their new celebrity mentors.
The blind auditions finished up last week, and we have four very stacked teams coming into the battle rounds. The talent seems pretty evenly distributed, so it should be interesting to see how the teams narrow down.
If you’ve forgotten, the battle rounds see the teams cut in half, as two contestants on the same team battle each other, singing a duet of the same song. After the performance, the coaches share their thoughts, and that team’s coach makes the big decision of who to save and who to lose. But the journey’s not over for the eliminated contestant, as they are available to be stolen by any of the other coaches.
But before the battle, the new contestants get to benefit from the help of the celebrity mentors. Adam has chosen the legendary Stevie Nicks to mentor his team. Gwen has paired up with her husband, rocker Gavin Rossdale. Pharrell chose singer/songwriter superstar Alicia Keys. Blake Shelton is giving his contestants a four-for-one deal, with country group Little Big Town.
The teams, coming into the battle rounds, are as follows:
Team Adam
Alessandra Castronovo, Beth Spangler, Chris Jamison, Clara Hong, Damien, Ethan Butler, Joe Kirk, Jonathan Wyndham, Kelli Douglas, Matt McAndrew, Mia Pfirrman, Rebekah Samarin
Adam nabbed Stevie-freaking-Nicks as the mentor for Team Adam, and they don’t come much more legendary than her. Not only does Stevie obviously bring a lot of experience to the table, but she’s not afraid to tell it like it is. She’s very excited about the show and to be able to help out the contestants. Needless to say, the contestants are very excited to work with her.
Team Gwen
Amanda Lee Peers, Anita Antoinette, Bryana Salaz, Gianna Salvato, Jean Kelley, Jessie Pitts, Mayra Alvarez, Menlik Zergabachew, Ryan Sill, Sugar Joans, Taylor John Williams, Troy Ritchie
Gwen, jumping right into the coaching experience, is bringing the energy we see from her on stage into the coaching room. She is excited to have her hubby joining her on The Voice because they’ve never done anything professional together. From the looks of it, if her contestants are able to get comfortable with themselves and each other, they are going to kill it in the battles.
Team Pharrell
Brittany Butler, Blessing Offor, Danica Shirey, Elyjuh Rene, Griffin, Jordy Searcy, Katriz Trinidad, Luke Wade, Maiya Sykes, Ricky Manning, Taylor Phelan, Toia Jones
Team Pharrell’s guest mentor Alicia Keys literally has contestants screaming with excitement over her very presence. She certainly has a lot of expertise to lend, and her voice is so soothing, that alone must be calming to the singers. Team Pharrell is going to have some passionate battles, and Pharrell’s definitely going to have some tough decisions on his hands.
Team Blake
Allison Bray, Bree Fondacaro, Craig Wayne Boyd, Fernanda Bosch, Grant Ganzer, James David Carter, John Martin, Justin Johns, Kensington Moore, Reagan James, Taylor Linford, Taylor Brashears
If Blake and Little Big town can keep from teasing each other too much, and focusing on the contestants instead, there’s no way the five of them won’t be able to find some great country artists. Team Blake’s contestants have the benefit not only of five country superstars helping them out, but they also have the benefit of both male and female vocalists, not to mention the group with the best harmonies in the business.
Watch ‘The Voice’ season 7 online
NBC does offer a free, legal replay of The Voice episodes on their website to watch online the morning after an episode airs. You can also watch it on Hulu.
Stay tuned for our recap of this week’s battles.