And so the battles begin!
Night one of the epic Battle Rounds on The Voice kicked off on Monday (March 10), with each coach announcing their Season 27 Superstar mentors. For this portion of the reality singing competition, Cynthia Erivo has been called to assist with Michael Bublé’s team. Coco Jones has taken her place on John Legend’s team while Kate Hudson will join up with Team Adam Levine to offer advice to his competitors. Kelsea Ballerini, meanwhile, will receive help from fellow country act Little Big Town.
The first battle of the night was between Team Adam’s Britton Moore and Darius J, who had coaches torn as both hopefuls brought their A-game, showcasing their respective voices on a duet version of Radiohead’s “Creep.”
As the battle rounds go, coaches are only allowed to choose one artist to advance after each round, and Levine picked Moore to move forward. However, in a twist of fate, Darius’s journey on the show did not end. After Levine chose Moore as the winner of the round, both Ballerini and Bublé slammed on their red buttons to Steal the singer for their team, and Levine pushed his button to Save Darius.
With the ball in Darius’s court, he said, “I appreciate all of you for seeing something special in me, but I gotta stick with Adam.”
Going head to head in the second battle round were Californians Kolby Cordell and Pablo Herrera. The two talented singers faced off with a cover of “Tacones Rojos” — a bi-lingual song that means Red High Heels. In rehearsals, Jones noticed Cordell’s rasp, which ended up paying off for him in the end as he claimed victory over Herrera, despite Herrera’s ability to effortlessly sing in Spanish.
“Kolby, I’m so floored by your voice. You have a warmth that feels like a warm hug,” Ballerini complimented, adding that even though she thought Cordell won the round, Herrera’s falsetto was strong.
Levine called Cordell a “bad man” while Bublé compared his vocals to Legend’s.
“Pablo, you have that beautiful tenor, that elasticity in your voice, all the runs. I thought you did well with that rap section. You should be proud of what you did,” Legend said. “Kolby, man. I appreciate the comparisons of my voice to yours because I love your voice. If somebody thinks you sound like me, I take that as a compliment. The fact that you can be deep and bariton-ey but also push through the band is a great superpower to have. The winner of this battle is Kolby.”
Next was bubbly pop songstress Jadyn Cree (daughter of The Voice alum Bryan Olesen) who won her battle round against country singer Braxton Garza after the two Bublé team members doled out Loggins & Messina’s “Danny’s Song.”
In rehearsals, Bublé told Cree to connect with the song emotionally, as she was “a long way from this song meaning something to you.” Once he suggested she think about her dad while singing the song, everything changed for the better.
After this performance, John Legend said, “You guys sounded so good together. I loved the harmonies during the chorus.”
“I thought it was flawless,” Bublé said before making his decision. “Jadyn, you could win this show, for sure. Braxton, you were above and beyond today, and you have a fantastic voice.”
Despite enjoying both performances, it was the end of the road for Garza. Cree will, however, move on to the Knockouts.
Team Kelsea’s heartbreak singers Angie Rey and Tatum Scott were handpicked by their coach to go up against each other, singing a rendition of Maren Morris’s “Girl.” Before heading to the stage to sing their hearts out, they were told to intentionally finish their runs together and to single out a member of the audience to sing to.
“You guys are the beauty of this show,” Bublé said, applauding both artists.
“You both were magnetic and electric,” Legend added. “Tatum. Your voice is a little more gentle and beautiful. I think the song played more to Angie’s strengths with the power in her voice.”
“Angie, there is an explosive quality. You have so much power and electricity in your voice,” Levine said. “Tatum, you didn’t try to chase that. You were composed, which I liked about you.”
“Angie, I will tell you, you are the biggest surprise on my team. I was blown away,” Ballerini said, naming Rey the winner of the round.
Luckily for Scott, she was stolen by Legend, who hit his red button at the very end, saying, “Her voice is in a unique spot for my team. She has her own lane so now she has to go in there and maximize it.”
Ethan Eckenroad and Fran Posla, who represent Team Adam, tackled “July” — a duet between Noah Cyrus and Leon Bridges. The pair’s vocal chemistry was seamless, but Eckenroad, who, in rehearsals received a compliment from Hudson that he “knocks me off of my feet,” edged out his competition, drawing comparisons to Noah Kahan.
“Ethan, I’m such a fan of you. I have been from the jump. I hear that Noah Kahan in your voice in the best way,” Ballerini told Eckenroad.
Bublé called the take his “favorite duet” of the night while Legend told Posla she sounded “conversational” and “approachable.”
“Fran, you did thrive singing this song. Ethan, it’s not that you didn’t thrive because you did, and you’re great, but I did feel like you were trying to find your sweet spot,” Levine said, admitting that he was just thinking out loud and going with his gut. “The winner of this battle is Ethan.”
The last matchup of the evening was between Team Legend’s Olivia Kuper Harris and Nell Simmons. Together, they brought the divine female energy with a powerful rendition of “Feel Like Makin’ Love” by Roberta Flack. Both singers nailed their performance, making it tough for Legend to choose a winner.
“You should both be continuing,” Levine said.
Bublé added, “You ladies transported us into another era.”
Ending the first night of the battle rounds on a high note, neither Harris nor Simmons went home. While Harris won the round, Simmons ended up choosing between Levine, who pressed his Steal button, or Legend, who chose to hit his Save button. She decided to stay on Team Legend — at least for now.
The Voice battle rounds will continue on Monday (March 17) on NBC.
Comments