The Voice returned to NBC on Monday, March 16 for the first set of the battle round. Introduced in this episode were battle advisors, Benji Madden, Jennifer Hudson, and Muni Long. In case you previously missed it, Clarkson earned the Super Steal from winning the Triple-Chair turn competition.
Kelly Clarkson Uses Super Steal for 16 Year Old
The first pair in the Battles was Liv Ciara and Mikenley Brown. They are both the youn”gest members on Team Kelly. Since both singers prefer R&B and pop genres, Hudson assigned the pair “Focus” by H.E.R.
Legend admitted that Liv was his winner for this battle. Levine, on the other hand said that this was one of the best battle rounds he’s ever seen on the show. Clarkson commented on the performance, admitting that Liv and Mikenley did a great job at elevating each other vs outshining one another. Ultimately she chose Mikenley as the winner of the battle. After the announcement, Clarkson complimented Mikenley’s range.
Immediately after Clarkson chose a winner, Legend and Levine turned for Liv, wanting to steal her. Clarkson let Legend bring up the fact that he told Clarkson to pick Liv as the winner. She even let Levine point out the fact that he turned for her audition! Then, Clarkson hit her “Super Steal” bringing Liv back to her team. It was shocking that the coach used this tactic on the first battle of the new round.
The next battle was between Team Adam members Bay Simpson and Hunter Jordan. Since both team members prefer the country genre, Levine chose “I’m The Problem” by Morgan Wallen.
When discussed with the other coaches, it was somewhat clear that Bay was the winner of the battle. Though Hunter clearly has a classic country tone, other coaches felt that Bay’s situation was more surprising, especially since Levine was the only one who turned for him. In the end, Levine chose Bay as the winner of the battle.
Coaches Get Caught up on How Cute AJ Robinson is
The first pairing for Team Legend was AJ Robinson and Lucas West. As their coach, Legend took it upon himself to find a song at the crossroads of country and pop genres. He chose the song “Wanted” by Hunter Hayes for this battle.
After the performance, all three coaches were seen standing for the performance. Speaking first was Clarkson, who commented on “how cute” AJ is, before acknowledging how good of a voice he has. The coach also complimented Lucas as well. Levine then also called AJ cute, and noted that Lucas has an extremely soulful voice. He ultimately thinks Lucas is ready for the competition. In the end, Legend chose Lucas as the winner of the battle.
Also apart of this episode was Team Adam members Bijou Belle and Jaali Boyd. Together, they sang “Die For You” by The Weeknd. After the performance, the pair was complimented on their lack of nerves. Ultimately, Levine chose Jaali as the winner of the battle.
Team Kelly returned to the stage again with a classic country match up of Blaire Elbert and JW Griffin. Together, they sang “Never Again, Again” by Lee Ann Womack. Levine was the first to speak after the performance, he noted that although Blaire did well, she was outshined by JW. Legend then noted that no one else turned for Blaire, which they regret. But it seems like the other coaches regretted not getting JW on their team more.
Ultimately, Clarkson said that the pair blended extremely well, to the point where they could be a duo. The coach went on to announce JW as the winner of the battle.
Up next was Team Legend members Adi Arora and Grace Humphries. Together, they sang “Just Give Me a Reason” by Pink. Though it was a great rendition, neither singer really seemed to pull ahead. It was more of a beautiful, timid rendition. Even other coaches didn’t know who to pick, Legend chose Grace as the winner of the competition.
The final pairing of the night was Team Adam members Moses and Alexia Jayy. In case you forgot both singers’ auditions, they turned heads singing R&B music. Since their sounds are so similar, Alexia was seen saying that she knew she’d be paired with Moses.
In their battle, they sang “Nightshift” by The Commodores. Legend was the first to speak after the battle, stating once again that he wished Alexia joined his team. Clarkson on the other hand complimented Moses on holding his own against Alexia. She admitted Moses really stood out, showing what he had to bring to the table.
In the end, Levine complimented both artists, admitting that they both deserved to go forward. Levine even took his joke further, saying he quit the show. After the ploy, he announced the winner of the battle as Alexia. As Moses was saying goodbye to his coach, Legend hit the steal button for him.
The Voice returns to NBC on Monday, March 23 for the next portion of the Battle Rounds. Be sure to tune in so you don’t miss a minute of this year’s competition.
