I kind of wanted to hate The Voice. I think I’ve made my opinions on the lack of Lukas Rossi pretty clear, but damned if the show isn’t winning me over a little more each week. I still love me some American Idol, but The Voice is a different beast entirely. Let’s get to it.
The battle rounds are something else. I was shouting at my television more times than I care to admit. The coaches have a heck of a job in store for them if last night’s competition is any indication of how the battle rounds are going to go. They work like this:
- Each coach chooses two members of their team to battle.
- The coach selects a song that the team members must learn and perform on stage.
- The coach and a ‘trusted advisor’ listen to the team members and offer advice on how they can improve.
- The team members/competitors hit the stage (or ring, I suppose) to perform their song.
- Team members perform the song the coach chose as a duet.
- At the end of the song, the coach chooses a winner. The winner progresses to the live shows. The runner up heads home.
Did I agree with all of the coach choices last night? Not even close, hence the shouting at my television. We said goodbye to some of my favorites in, what I feel, were blindingly dumb moves by two of the coaches. Too harsh? Maybe, but hey – that’s what I do.
Team Christina
Battling Contestants: Frenchie Davis, Tarralyn Ramsey
Song: Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) by Beyonce
Trusted Advisor: Sia Fuller
I think Christina made the best possible choice for her first battle, choosing her two powerhouse divas and pitting them up against each other. I would like to state for the record I loathe the song she chose, but her reasons for choosing the song were solid. It was fun and it was very diva appropriate. Watching the rehearsal was fun, with Christina poking a little fun at herself for forgetting the words to the National Anthem. I also loved seeing Sia on television (one of my absolute favorite female musicians).
As much as I dislike the song, I loved what the girls did with it. It was fun, entertaining and it really showed off their vocal chops. I felt Tarralyn went a bit overboard with it at least once and sounded a tad screechy. For that reason I was hoping Christina would choose Frenchie. After consulting with Sia (who stated she was clueless), Christina made, what I feel was the right decision and went with Frenchie.
Team Blake
Battling Contestants: Patrick Thomas, Tyler Robinson
Song: Burning Love by Elvis Presley
Trusted Advisor: Reba McEntire
Blake… well, I’m not sure putting Patrick up against Tyler was the best decision he could’ve made. These two are so different. I loved Blake’s song choice though. Elvis was a great choice for a country artists and a soulful pop kind of artist because Elvis really straddled those genres with his music. Even still, I didn’t have very high hopes for Tyler, who was one of my early favorites. Loved Reba though and love that Blake brought her in to help him coach.
This was the first shout-at-my-television moment of show. I didn’t agree with Blake on this one at all. Apparently Blake’s fellow coaches didn’t either as both Adam and Cee Lo stated they would’ve chosen Tyler. I honestly think anyone that isn’t a country sort of artist is going to have a hard time getting through the battle rounds on Team Blake. I can’t blame him for that. Blake’s a country boy. Naturally he’s going to go with what he knows. Even so, I was very sad for Tyler and hope someone out there saw his performance and snaps him up.
Team Adam
Battling Contestants: Casey Weston, Tim Mahoney
Song: Leather and Lace by Don Henley and Stevie Nicks
Trusted Advisor: Adam Blackstone (Maroon 5’s musical director)
I loved Tim Mahoney’s audition. Casey was kind of only okay for me. I liked her voice and I think she could do something really special, but in her audition (both of them) I think her nerves got the best of her. Adam seems to have felt the same way. I’m not sure pitting these two against each other was a great idea, but it doesn’t seem like the worst pairing Adam could’ve made. What I didn’t like here was the song choice. As much as I love the song (it’s one of my favorites), I think it was a bad choice.
I had a bad feeling about this one as soon as rehearsals were over and yes, this was the second time I shouted at my television in this episode. I thought Tim did much better than I was expecting as did Casey, but I’m going to go with Cee Lo. Casey does have a young Stevie Nicks sort of sound, but there’s already a Stevie Nicks which made me lean more toward Tim. Adam chose Casey. I think she’ll really surprise me, though, once the live shows start. I’ll still miss Tim though. I really hope Tim keeps pushing. Before hitting the stage, he referred to himself as ‘The King of Almost’. I hope this doesn’t keep him from continuing in the business. He’s good. I’d definitely buy his album. I’m not ready to say the same about Casey just yet.
Team Cee Lo
Battling Contestants: Niki Dawson and Vicci Martinez
Song: Perfect by Pink
Trusted Advisor: Monica
We didn’t get to see much of Niki’s audition on the air so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. Vicci, on the other hand, has been one of my favorites in this competition since she absolutely destroyed (in a good way) the suddenly often covered Rolling in the Deep by Adele. When I heard Niki sing in rehearsal, I knew we were going to witness something amazing in this battle.
I have to agree with Blake on this one. He stated that Cee Lo is going to regret pitting Niki and Vicci against each other one day when he’s old and looking back over his life. I don’t think it will take that long. I think he was regretting it when he had to make a choice between them. I liked Vicci more but only slightly. This duet was absolutely incredible and the fact that Niki had to go home was heartbreaking. That girl can sing. Niki sings with her heart and her soul. Vicci throws everything into her song – her heart, her soul and her body. Watching her on that stage was an incredible experience and I’m thrilled we get to see more. As they cut away from Niki and Cee Lo’s goodbye, however, I was happy to hear him say, “You call me. I’ll see about you.” I think we’re going to see more of Niki – even if not on The Voice.
Summary and Predictions
As I said last week, it’s a little early to tell how things are going to go at this point. Next week we’ll see more battles and I think as weeks progress, the battles are going to get tougher and tougher to call. The previews for coming weeks offer a little insight into the battles we are going to see. From the previews we know:
- Angela Wolff and Javier Colon will battle for Team Adam.
- Casey Desmond and Jeff Jenkins will battle for Team Adam.
- Devon Barley and Rebecca Loebe will battle for Team Adam.
- Dia Frampton and Serabee will battle for Team Blake.
- Elenowen and Jared Blake will battle for Team Blake.
- Sara Oromchi and Xenia will battle for Team Blake.
- Nakia and Tje Austin will battle for Team Cee Lo.
There are a few battles I’m concerned about here – particularly Nakia versus Tje. Nakia has been one of my absolute favorites (alongside Vicci) since his gutsy move to sing Forget You by Cee Lo. At the same time, I also loved Tje. I’m rooting for Nakia all the way and I have full confidence in him. At the same time, this one’s got me a bit nervous.
Support Your Favorite Teams and Contestants
Do you love The Voice? Do you have a favorite contestant or team? Check them out on Twitter!
If you’re all about Team Adam, follow:
- The Official Team Adam Twitter Account
- Coach Adam Levine
- Angela Wolff
- Casey Desmond
- Casey Weston
- Devon Barley
- Javier Colon
- Jeff Jenkins
- Rebecca Loebe
- Tim Mahoney (eliminated: first battle round)
If you’re all about Team Blake, follow:
- The Official Team Blake Twitter Account
- Coach Blake Shelton
- Trusted Advisor Reba McEntire
- Dia Frampton
- Elenowen
- Jared Blake
- Patrick Thomas
- Sara Oromchi
- Serabee
- Tyler Robinson (eliminated: first battle round)
- Xenia
If you’re all about Team Cee Lo follow:
- The Official Team Cee Lo Twitter Account
- Coach Cee Lo Green
- Trusted Advisor Monica
- Curtis Grimes
- Emily Valentine
- Kelsey Rey
- Nakia
- Niki Dawson (eliminated: first battle round)
- Tje Austin
- Tori and Taylor
- Vicci Martinez
If you’re all about Team Christina follow:
- The Official Team Christina Twitter Account
- Coach Christina Aguilera
- Trusted Advisor Sia
- Beverly McClellan
- Cherie Oakley
- Frenchie Davis
- Julia Eason
- Justin Grennan
- Lily Elise
- Raquel Castro
- Tarralyn Ramsey (eliminated: first battle round)
And finally, follow these fine folks:
What did you think of the battle rounds? Who are you looking forward to seeing battle it out? Did the coaches make the right decision? Sound off in the comment section below and make sure you come back next Wednesday for my complete recap of next week’s The Voice. And finally, as always, if you love this recap (or hate it), share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. If you feel so inclined, follow me on Twitter!
