The Voice Recap: The Battles — Round 2, Part 1 [Season 6, Ep 14]
Blake’s Team – Audra vs. Megan – Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb” (Chris Martin, Lead singer of Cold play & this week’s Advisor, wants to know if Miley twerks in that song.) It’s a Country vs. Rock battle. During rehearsal, Blake has a few constructive pieces of advice as does Chris Martin.
During the performance there are a few missed notes on both sides but nothing cringe-worthy. Audra hits a couple of really big notes and seems to make more of the time she has to make an impression. The duo ends on a well-harmonized long last note.
- Usher says – Megan is Comfortable with the big notes, but gives the battle to Audra
- Shakira says – Audra was connected to the song, Megan looked like a star. She gives the battle to Audra.
- Adam says – Audra is one of the best singers on the show. Tough call.
- Blake says – Blake respects the way she navigates her way through the vocal. It’s unlike anything in country music. Megan is more straight forward.
My two cents: I completely agree with the winner of this battle. I think Audra killed it. No doubt about it.
And the winner is: Audra
Usher’s Team – TJ vs. Cierra – “Get Here” by Oleta Adams – After a quick look at their previous performance, Usher warns TJ not to let dancing interfere with his voice. Usher is happy to have stolen Cierra from Team Shakira. Usher and Chris gave the pair a few corrections, specifically about technique and connecting with each other during the song.
TJ and Cierra’s performance went off without a hitch. They were both fantastic. Smooth and really just amazing
- Usher says – He’s proud of Cierra helming the song. He’s also proud of TJ taking a female song and doing so well.
- Shakira says – Cierra was amazing. TJ is a phenomenal singer. The whole performance was perfect, she wouldn’t change a thing.
- Adam says – He’s been a fan of TJ and now he’s a fan of Cierra. Adam says he feels” bad for all the other competition shows because (The Voice) is the best one.” (He’s talking to you, American Idol!!)
- Blake says – Cierra, greatness. TJ’s voice cuts through and was powerful, applauds their connection during the performance.
My two cents: Again, I agree with the winner here. TJ really had something as he sang this song and I look forward to hearing more from him.
And the winner is: TJ
Blake’s Team – Jake vs. Tess – “Have a Little Faith In Me” by John Hiatt – Tess came from Team Usher so Blake is still learning about her. He calls this season Jake’s “second chance”. He cautions both on a couple of pitch issues.
Jake and Tess get a standing ovation from all four judges at the end of their performance. (And for the record, I had goose bumps after both times that I heard it.) It doesn’t get much better.
- Usher– Usher is proud of Tess’ growth. He thinks Jake is “on track”. (What does that even mean?)
- Shakira– She calls Tess a revelation even though she’s a fan of Jake.
- Adam– Calls it an A level performance worthy of the CMAs or Grammys.
- Blake– Says his liver isn’t going to make it through the second round of battles. And he says it blows for him because he has to choose between the two.
My two cents: This was just a fabulous pairing. I literally got chills listening to the two of them sing. Really and truly. Blake couldn’t make a bad choice on this one. Like Adam said, Tess could truly run away with this whole competition.
And the winner is: Jake But there’s a STEAL!! All three remaining judges push their red button to steal the talented young lady. Tess picks Shakira after Shakira calls her the best female voice in the competition.
Adam’s Team – Sam vs. Christina – “Counting Stars” by One Republic – Christina turned into a bit of a fangirl upon meeting Chris Martin but that’s a forgivable sin. Both Adam and Chris advocate control during rehearsal (which is code for “hey, stop freaking screaming and just sing the damn song!”).
The first part of the first verse that Sam sings is pure magic. But a couple of times she devolves back into the screaming. The pieces they sing together are absolutely fantastic.
- Usher says – Says Sam is so in the moment of the performance. Her own little movie.
- Shakira says – Thinks Sam still hasn’t found herself and that Christina showed a maturity in her performance.
- Adam says – He’s confused.
- Blake says – Christina’s a ball of fire and a stick of dynamite. But Blake scores the battle for Sam.
My two cents: I think Christina is just more consistent (Oh, look, Adam just agreed with me as I was typing this.) than Sam at this point. But if Sam can harness that magical sound from the beginning of her performance, she could have the world at her feet. And even though no one stole her, I do hope this is not the last we’ve seen of Sam.
And the winner is: Christina
Shakira’s Team – Josh vs. Patrick “Run to You” by Bryan Adams During rehearsal Chris tells the guys they need mic stands for props on stage.
(Just as an aside, is it my imagination or does Shakira sound a lot like Tori Amos, or a combination of Tori Amos and Alanis Morissette, in that Target commercial for her new album?? )
Both Josh and Patrick are very much classic rock front men in this performance and they both pull it off easily. It was a great performance.
- Adam – “Josh…you sung the crap out of that one.” He praises the range he didn’t know Josh had. He’s impressed by both guys.
- Blake – He thinks choosing between the guys is just a preference thing. He’d choose Patrick if it was his choice.
- Usher – The guys made it complicated for Usher to make a decision between the two.
- Shakira – Josh & Patrick gave her the rock star moments she was looking for.
My two cents – I preferred Josh in this pairing. Normally I’m happy to listen to a guy with a gravelly voice but I liked the tone of Josh’s voice for this song. I think he did a better job.
And the winner is – Patrick
Adam’s Team – Josh K. vs. Delvin – “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours” by Stevie Wonder. During rehearsal Adam tells the guys to not hold back. Yet then he cautions control for Delvin and warns Josh not to try to ‘out-big’ Delvin’s voice. Hmmm.
It’s unusual for the coaches to comment *during* the performance but Blake actually looked over and said, “Yeah, that’s good.” It was a completely smooth performance with big moments for both men.
- Blake – He likes Delvin’s new hairstyle. According to Blake Josh is sexy too, but no, not Carson. He’d pick Delvin.
- Shakira – Both killed it but Delvin really stepped up to the plate and she picks Delvin as the winner.
- Usher – Calls it the performance of the day. Power house vocalist and Josh came out of his shell.
- Adam – Calls it flawless and says the guys made it impossible for him to make a choice between the two.
My two cents – I don’t think I paid attention to either of these two before this show so I feel like I’m actually watching them for the first time. I think this was Delvin’s battle. He just seemed to have more of a hold on the song. Against him, Josh just came off a little weak.
And the winner is – Delvin
But Usher STEALS! Josh becomes a member of Team Usher!
A few side notes: What’s with Usher’s hat? Really? Sigh. Shakira may be one of the most beautiful women in the world. I could be wrong, but I don’t think so. And Adam and Blake looked fantastic as always. Very swoon-worthy. Oh and did you know you could download full versions of the winners’ performances on iTunes? Yeah, I figured. They only say it 50 or so times in the two hours. And 40 minutes of that consists of commercials!
Okay folks, that’s it for me today. Another one hour battle round on Tuesday night! See you next time around. What did you think of Monday’s show?? Leave me comment.
