Tonight on NBC at 8PM The Voice returns with a whole new episode as the competition moves on to the Battle Round Part 1. On tonight’s show as the artists sing duet battles, the coaches, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton must decide whom to save, steal or send home. If you missed last night’s show you can read our full and detailed recap here!
On last week’s show the campy “Blind Auditions” of The Voice came to a close last night with less than stellar performances. It seems the producers of The Voice decided to toss in the worst of the bunch during the final audition round and mix them up with Kate Bush’s love children. It was the worst audition round of the third season and we hope it’s not a sign of things to come.
On tonight’s show the artists prepare for their chance to move forward in the competition. The battle rounds will whittle down the 64 artists to the top 40. During the battle rounds, coaches pit two of their own team members against each other to sing the same song together in front of a studio audience. After the vocal face-off, coaches must then choose between their two artists to determine who will continue on in the competition.
A new twist to the format this season will allow each coach to be able to steal two artists from any other coaches’ team once they have been eliminated from that respective coach’s line-up. At the end of the battle rounds, each coach will have 10 members remaining on their team, eight original members and two stolen from other teams as they head into the knockout rounds and are one step closer to winning the competition.
Tonight’s Battle Round premiere is going to be and exciting one, which you won’t want to miss. So be sure to tune in for our live coverage of NBC’s The Voice – tonight at 8PM EST! While you wait for our recap, hit the comments and let us know how what you thought of last week’s premiere week of The Voice?
The Voice Recap 10/8/2012 “Battles, Part One” LIVE RECAP BEGINS!
Tonight is duet battles where the artists sing their faces off head to head on the same song and the judges must cast out one of their own. With 64 contenders and 40 slots, the competition will be fierce.
Here are the coach and mentor combos for tonight’s battle round:
Adam Levine with mentor Mary J Blige
Blake Shelton with mentor Michael Buble
Cee Lo Green with mentor Rob Thomas(Mathcbox 20)
Christina Aguilera with mentor Billie Joe Armstrong (Greenday)
In a twist, each artist that loses a battle is up for a steal. Each coach can steal up to two times. If two coaches want a steal, the power switches back to the artist who then selects whose team they’ll move to.
Face-Off #1 for Blake’s team: Scottish powerhouse Terry McDermott vs Casey Muessigmann singing Kansas power ballad Carry on My Wayward Son. Buble rehearses each of them and they sit down individually for a mentoring session with Shelton and Buble.
Terry’s doing it for family and Casey’s got a no-lose attitude. They polish up with Blake before their performance and then take the stage after some voice-over trash talk. It’s rodeo redneck vs Scots rocker and the battle is on!
I’m not a fan of Casey, but I think he out sang the Scotsman. But what will Blake and the judges say? Christina was wowed, Cee Lo complimented their uber-rock coolness but gave extra props to Casey. Adam gave both love. Blake liked both performances, but said he relates to country artists more (Casey).
Blake says, “I think this battle comes down to Terry knows what his voice is a little bit more.” Terry’s little tyke runs out for a hug and it’s a sweet father/son moment.
Terry moves on and Casey is up for grabs but no one takes the bait.
Face Off #1 for Adam’s team: Colin McLoughlin vs Bryan Keith singing the funky and challenging Santeriaby Sublime. Mary J and Adam rehearses them and Adam sings it out to demonstrate proper song technique.
Bryan’s dad is a multi-Grammy winner but Colin has the most perfect pitch Adam’s ever heard and a burgeoning YouTube following. It’s the guy with something to prove to his dad vs polished performer and the battle is on!
This song seems more suited to Bryan’s musical background and Colin seems to be struggling.
Blake said Colin took it because Bryan was pitchy. Christina loved Bryan’s rasp. Cee Lo’s nice as always, but gave it to Bryan’s “chillaxed” vibe. Adam loves the song and said he had to pick who did it more justice – and he goes with Bryan! I’m one for one tonight!
Colin’s up for grab but no one reaches for their buttons. Colin thanks Adam and then in a surprise move, Blake interrupts saying “blah, blah, blah” and both Cee Lo and Blake slap their plungers for a steal. Blake reminds him Cee Lo just dissed him and after the obligatory commercial break cliffhanger, Colin goes with Blake as his new coach
Face Off #1 for Cee Lo: Diego Val vs JR Aquino singing 80s classic Jessie’s Girl. Matchbox 20’s Rob Thomas gives them some sage advice and rehearses them.
JR is already an internet sensation with 45 million internet views – Thomas said he doesn’t even have that many. Philanthropically minded Diego is upset by how good JR sounds and is losing confidence fast. Rob sings it out to give Diego some clarity – the Peruvian crooner didn’t grow up hearing the Rick Springfield classic like the rest of America.
In live rehearsal, Diego is struggling with the language barrier and JR is spot on. Cee Lo tells JR to get dirtier and Diego is still battling nerves. All done with rehearsal, it’s the Alaskan YouTube superstar vs the South American stud and the battle is on!
JR faked a friendly handshake! Poor sportsmanship dude – now I’m hoping he falls flat. JR does a mostly traditional cover but the sexy Latino makes the song his own. I think JR’s pitchy while Diego brings some gravelly heat. It was close, but I think Diego’s hunkiness throws it his way. What will the judges say?
Adam was impressed by Diego’s high notes. Blake gave it to JR. Christina said JR was stronger vocally, but went with Diego for the strong finish. Cee Lo gave them both props for charisma but said he could do something “stranger” with Diego and held on to the Peruvian hottie.
JR is up for grabs – will anyone bite? JR thanks Cee Lo and Cee Lo invites him to stay in touch. No one picks him up, so it’s back to YouTube for the Alaskan native. I think he might have gotten a steal if not for his cocky and unnecessary move before the number started.
Face Off #1 for Christina: De’Borah vs Nelly’s Echo singing Police hit Message in a Bottle. Greenday frontman Billie Joe Armstrong thinks it’s tailor made for Nelly’s voice, but De’Borah struggles a little because she grew up singing gospel and doesn’t know a lot of pop music.
Christina thinks the song choice suits both of her competitors. In final rehearsal with Christina and the band, De’Borah is breaking down because she can’t master the song. Christina gives her some vocal stylings to model on, but Nelly’s kindly says he thinks his opponent has a lot to offer.
As they’re ready to take the stage, gender bender De’Borah is all nerves and Nigerian refugee Nelly’s Echo is feeling confident and the battle is on!
It’s a weird duet and not any cover of the Police that I’ve heard or expected. I feel like my ears are bleeding a little but Christina and Adam are on their feet.
Cee Lo compliments Nelly’s Echo, but liked De’Borah’s soul and gave the round to her. Adam liked the vibe they shared – called out Nelly’s pitch issues and gave the round to De’Borah tearfully. Blake gave it to De’Borah’s boundless performance energy.
Christina admires both their hearts, but said De’Borah sounded like Lauryn Hill and gave it to the girl! Her preacher parents are in tears in the audience and now I am too. You go girl! Nelly’s Echo thanks Christina eloquently and is then up for grabs – but no one takes him no. I’m sad to see him go…
Face-Off #2 for Blake’s team: Gracia Harrison vs 2 Steel Girls singing Dixie Chick barn burner Sin Wagon. Buble and Shelton rehearse the three ladies and encourage them to belt the tune. Buble is loving the ladies when they all amp it up.
In rehearsal, Gracia struggles with nerves and flatness in her voice. 2 Steel Girls are screaming it out but the rapid tempo of the song is giving all of the women pangs. Blake isn’t seeing the mother daughter duo meshing well and Gracia is being consumed by anxiety.
Side note – I love, love, love this song – it’s hella good fun and I can’t wait to hear them sing head to head on it. Yodeler Gracia is nervous about facing not one, but two opponents and the 2 Steel Girls are stressed as well – the battle is on!
Gracia sounds great out of the gate – the daughter seems the weak link of 2 Steel Girls but then Mom comes out and she can’t sing fast enough to keep up with the accompaniment. I give it clearly to Gracia – she was strong, pure and rocked it out.
Christina liked Gracia’s attitude more. Cee Lo thought it was pretty even but went with the two ladies – I think he likes 2 for 1 action. Adam didn’t show a preference. Blake called it a “throw-down country battle” and he complimented all three. Blake goes with Gracia for swagger and I’m 4 for 5 tonight!
The mom and daughter duo are now up for grabs… Any takers? The ladies give props to coach Blake but no one buzzes in. They leave in tears. Adam reveals he was hoping Blake would “do something dumb” and kick Gracia to the curb so he could steal her.
Face Off #2 for Cee Lo’s team: Amanda Brown vs Trevin Hunte singing Mariah Carey’s power standard Vision of Love.
In live rehearsal with the band, Cee Lo wants to see Trevin get more confident. Amanda knows she’s more equipped but Cee Lo tells her to step outside of making it a simple cover. Trevin reveals he’s been holding out and plans to deliver in the battle.
The New York natives have their own tales – Trevin has the heartbreaking back story of the teacher who tried to keep him down and Amanda Brown is a background singer with the likes of Adele. The battle is on between the two big voices!
I think Amanda thinks she’s won it already and I hope Trevin can overcome his nerves to make it an epic showdown. Trevin opens strong and does an amazing run but Amanda pushes back strong. When Trevin hits his falsetto, I got shivers. These two are singing their faces off! Damn!
I think these two should stay as a duet – they were amazeballs together! I am rooting for Trevin though because he’s sweet and shy, so I’ll give it to him. It was a great battle to end the night and brought the house down and then to its feet.
Adam starts slapping his button right away and says it doesn’t matter who Cee Lo ditches, he’ll take either of them. Blake said he couldn’t think of one negative thing and said that although he found Amanda hotter when she came out, he now finds Trevin sexy now as well. Christina said it was the best performance of the night and starts slapping her button as well.
Adam says Cee Lo was “stupid” for putting them head to head. Cee Lo said their performance was “triumphant.” Over the commercial break, I muse that he should keep Trevin – he’s got that Blind Side shy sweetness plus the same sort of heartstring-tugging back story that could carry him far. Let’s see if Cee Lo is feeling me…
After the seemingly endless break, Cee Lo calls their voices “miraculous” but decides to hang on to… (drumroll) Trevin!!!! I’m 5 for 6 and the amazing Amanda is available for a steal! All three of the other coaches can’t slap their buttons fast enough! We’ve got another battle on our hands!
Blake calls Amanda “the total package.” Christina says she would better understand her to make her a superstar and Adam compared her to Mariah, Aretha and Christina and said the contrast between coaches and singers is good for them (a sly dig at Christina).
Amanda says she’s one to go with her gut but likes to “go outside the box a little bit” and goes with Adam. Christina’s floored she wasn’t picked as Amanda’s new coach. I applaud her choice and the evening’s battle round is wrapped!
See you tomorrow night same time for the LIVE RECAP of Battles Part 2!