What’s the Difference Between ‘The Voice’ Battles and Knockouts?
Michael Becker/NBC Reading Time: 4 minutes
The Voice is quickly moving on to the knockout round this season. The past four episodes, we’ve seen the coaches and their advisors mentor the singers. This next episode of The Voice begins the knockout rounds. The knockout rounds can seem extremely similar to the battle rounds, but there are some major differences in formatting.
Coaches Choose an Advisor to Mentor Singers in Battle Rounds
In the battle rounds, the coaches choose a singer from their team to face head-to-head against another one of their team members. Coaches and their season advisor mentor the singers to ensure that they’re giving their best performance during this round. There have been some really amazing matchups, as well as others that have fallen flat of their initial hype on the current season of The Voice.
Battle rounds put coaches in the tough position to choose between their two singers. In some of the best matchups it’s difficult for the celebrity coaches to choose which singer is up for elimination. The coaches must choose who the winner of the battle is, but they are also given the option to save the singer.
Coaches are able to save one of their own singers during the battle rounds. This means the singer would return to their team for the rest of the competition, and would not be eliminated. On the flip side, if a singer is up for elimination one of the other coaches are also able to steal them. Each coach is given one steal in the battle rounds. If a singer is stolen, they will join a different team for the rest of the competition. Unfortunately, If a singer is not saved or stolen by the coaches they are eliminated.
The Mega Mentor Steps in as Main Advisor for All Singers in Knockout Rounds
After the battle rounds are over, the remaining singers move on to the knockout rounds. In the knockout rounds, The Voice‘s mega mentor is announced to singers. In this round, the singers are mentored with the large (typically extremely popular) name in music. Some past mega mentors have been James Taylor, Taylor Swift, Snoop Dogg, Usher, as well as others. In season 21, Ed Sheeran will serve as mega mentor, preparing individual singers for this next round.
In the knockouts, singers will once again be paired with someone from their respective team. The difference between this round (other than the mega mentor’s appearance) is that their coaches will not make song choices. Instead, both singers individually choose what song they would like to perform.
In this round, the singers do not accompany one another with their song. Instead, one performs while the other waits for their turn. Once again, coaches must choose the winner of the head-to-head knockout battle, and any singer who is not chosen is up for elimination.
Similar to the battle rounds the singer up from elimination is able to be stolen by the coaches. Coaches once again only get one steal, but they do not get a save. This means there is no longer an option for a singer to return to their original team. The stakes are raised in this round since coaches are not able to reclaim their singers.
What are the Differences?
The main differences in the two rounds are within the department of advisors and song choice. The two rounds hold a different format between who their advisor is and how they’re actually performing the song. In battle rounds each singer is advised by someone their coach chose, whereas knockout rounds feature one main mentor. Singers are also rehearsing to perform with a teammate in the battle rounds, but are rehearsing to go against their teammate in the knockout rounds.
In the knockout rounds the coaches are still present, but they’re given much less power. They’re no longer the main person teaching them. The knockout round is the part of the competition where singers begin to bloom into the genre they actually want to perform. The fact that they’re able to choose their own song is really what makes and breaks some singers. Although coaches will give their input in this round, singers do not have to accept it.
