The Voice Battle of Champions returned to NBC on Monday, April 13 for the first half of the two-night Finale. Differing from the show’s typical format, the final two episodes of the series are not live. Instead of fans voting from home, a combination of in-person superfans and former The Voice alumni decided who of the nine singers was going through to Tuesday night’s Finale.
With tensions high, the night kicked off with one of Legend’s three singers, KJ Willis. He took the stage singing “Higher Ground” by Stevie Wonder. Ahead of the performance, KJ opened up about how he’s been singing for his entire life and hopes to impress the studio audience.
Adam Levine commented on how solid KJ’s runs were, while Kelly Clarkson said he has a natural gospel voice. Legend even said that KJ has been able to bloom into the artist he’s wanted to be thanks to this show.
The next singer of the episode was Team Kelly pop singer, Mikenley Brown. She took the stage singing “I’m Not The Only One” by Sam Smith. Before the compeition, Mikenley was a delivery driver.
Following the performance, Legend admitted this was the singer’s best performance yet. He noted that Mikenley did a great job of sneaking up on people and becoming the most improved singer of the season. The singer’s coach admitted that she cared most about the believability behind the song.
The following singer was Team Adam member Jeremy Keith. On the stage, he sang “Whip Appeal” by Babyface. This was a great moment for Jeremy, since he quite literally went from a background vocalist to a lead vocalist on this series.
Clarkson was the first to comment on Jeremy’s performance, saying that his runs were incredible and he’s extremely humble about how good he is. His coach then said that Jeremy accomplished exactly what he planned to do on the stage, and he’s proud of the performance.
Team Legend then took the stage again with Syd Millevoi. In this performance, she sang “Into You” by Ariana Grande. Post performance, coaches discussed Syd’s need to fully sing the songs as if she wrote it herself. This was a clear step up after that advice.
The first country artist of the episode was Jared Shoemaker, who’s on Team Adam. For this special performance, he sang “Soulshine” by The Allman Brothers Band. Post performance, Levine told his team member that he’s iconic and a star.
The second hour of the semifinals kicked off with Team Kelly’s Liv Ciara. After not earning a single chair turn last season, Liv performed “Flashdance… What a feeling” by Irene Cara in the semifinals. Even though the singer is only 16 years old, her tonality is years ahead of her age.
Post performance, Legend admitted that Liv carried herself like she could sell out arenas. Levine, on the otherhand, admitted that she could win the competition from this performance. Her coach even admitted that she wasn’t apart of the unique qualities of the performance, it was all Liv.
Up next was Alexia Jayy, who performed “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Loved You)” by Aretha Franklin. All three coaches were seen standing after Alexia’s insane Semifinal performance. Clarkson spoke first, admitting she loves the song and hates when other people sing it, but she agreed with Alexia’s song choice completely.
Next was Team Kelly member JW Griffin. The country singer, who doesn’t want to go back to delivering bread, sang “Angel Flying Too Close to The Ground” by Willie Nelson. Levine admitted that JW is going to make a great album someday. His coach then admitted his performance was super intimate.
The final singer of the night was Team Legend member Lucas West. He sang “Maybe I’m Amazed” by Paul McCartney in the Semifinal. Levine was the first to speak, saying that Lucas’s song was super involved, since the singer needs to really nail it to get it right. His coach called him the whole package, since he’s able to do every bit of what’s needed to succeed.
Who’s in The Finale?
Even though nine singers performed in Monday night’s episode, only four could go on to Tuesday night’s finale. The Voice alumni and super fans had the ultimate say of who went through to the Finale. It was ultimately decided that Alexia Jayy, Lucas West, Liv Ciara, and Mikenley Brown would be continuing on into the Finale.
The Voice Battle of Champions returns to NBC for the Finale on Tuesday, April 14. It will air on NBC at 9PM ET. Be sure to tune in so you don’t miss the next winner being crowned.
