‘The Voice’ Recap: The Battle Rounds Finish With Blake Shelton’s Final Epic Steal
The Voice/NBC Reading Time: 3 minutes
The Voice returned to NBC tonight with the show’s final Battle Round episode of season 23. Within the episode, Blake Shelton announced that Team Blake member Alex Whalen has withdrawn from the competition, due to personal reasons. Instead, Neil Salsich performed “Heard it Through the Grapevine” solo.
Team Niall Shines With Sam Smith Song
The final episode of The Voice Battle Rounds kicked off with Team Niall members Jerome Godwin III and Talia Smith. Niall Horan picked Sam Smith’s “Like I Can” as the singers’ battle song. For those who may not remember, Jerome auditioned with Ariana Grande’s “pov,” while Talia sang Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing.”
Although both singers were holding their own on the song, I thought Jerome held the melody better than Talia. Jerome’s annunciation was a tad more punctual, so it felt like Talia’s words were all blending together. In addition, although Horan talked about how Jerome could easily overpower the song, it still seemed like you primarily heard him.
After the performance, each of the coaches complimented both singers. Even though their comments were primarily positive, there were a few constructive notes. Horan’s notes exposed that Talia was good in the big moments, but often fell flat. In the end, Horan picked Jerome to remain on his team.
they slay this @samsmith classic 🎶 pic.twitter.com/Bq5iufKRHF
— The Voice (@NBCTheVoice) April 5, 2023
Kelly Clarkson is Shocked With the Outcome of Her Team’s Final Battle
Team Kelly’s final Battle Round featured JB Somers and Rachel Christine. These two were a great, and emotional pairing. Even in the behind the scenes of this performance you get into your feels. The two battled it out on the stage to “Light On” by Maggie Rogers.
This was a great song choice, since Kelly Clarkson was getting a singer/songwriter vibe from each of them. If you don’t remember, JB Somers auditioned singing Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You,” and Rachel sang Alanis Morissette’s “Uninvited.”
The two were neck and neck throughout the entire song, through their nerves. Clarkson picked Rachel as the winner of the battle. Unfortunately, JB wasn’t stolen so his journey on the show is officially over.
flawless duet to a @maggierogers hit 💡 pic.twitter.com/Wf4Bh5U41m
— The Voice (@NBCTheVoice) April 5, 2023
The Final Battle Round Features Team Chance
Ahead of today’s episode, The Voice released one battle early. The early released battle was between Team Chance members NOIVAS and Ray Uriel. For those who may not remember, NOIVAS auditioned singing “A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke, and Ray auditioned singing “Glimpse of Us” by Joji.
Superfans already knew that this pairing was magical, but who did Chance The Rapper choose? After pondering it, he picked Ray as the winner of the battle. As soon as NOIVAS was up for grabs, Blake Shelton hit his steal button. Ironically, Chance The Rapper blocked Shelton in the Blind Auditions, so this was a pretty big deal for him.
The Voice returns next week for Monday night’s (April 11) one hour episode, Best of the Blinds, Battles and Blake. This hour long special will feature the best moments from the blind auditions and battle rounds, a coach performance, and Blake Shelton’s best moments through the years. The show will not air on Tuesday, April 12.
The Voice 2023 Knockout Rounds begin on Monday, April 17 at 8 p.m. EST. Be sure to tune in so you don’t miss the highly anticipated round.
I don’t understand what it means when it says this battle was released early? Something wasn’t right with JB Somers battle. When it was aired Carson said coaches JB is available to steal but there were no steals left based on when his performance aired. What is going on??
STRANGE NIGHT…something weird was up with Chance’s comment, predicting Noivas as the end game winner then picking Ray & turning Noivas over to Blake! WTF was that? Pre determined destiny cuz its Blake’s last year? Bizarre & a rigged show are thoughts coming to mind!😳