'The Voice' season 12 kicks off its Battle Round which sees intense battles between the contestants to secure a spot on the live shows.
- Mar 21, 2017
AceShowbiz - "The Voice" season 12 was off to a strong start for its first night of Battle Round which aired on Monday, March 20. The coaches, Alicia Keys, Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton, had to eliminate half of their singers, though some singers would be given a second chance. The episode also saw the epic steal play by the coaches. The rivalry between Adam and Blake also kept going on as Blake found another reason to tease Adam, his frost-tipped hair.
The first battle was performed by Brennley Brown and Lauren Duski from Team Blake, which got Luke Bryan as the adviser. The singers opened the first battle performing "Better Man" by Little Big Town. Blake preferred the authentic pain caused by a failed romance which Lauren showed in her voice over birthday girl Brennley who didn't seem to be able to relate entirely to the angst of the song. Gwen won the first steal game over Adam as Brennley chose Gwen.
The next contestants to take the stage were JChosen and Kenny P from Team Gwen. Both performed an epic rendition of "I Was Made to Love Her" by Stevie Wonder. Kenny brought his soulful vocal and showcased his song-stopping falsetto to the 1967 classic. Meanwhile, JChosen, who was nervous about meeting adviser Celine Dion, surprised everyone with his solid performance. JChosen was chosen to advance to the Knockout Round while no one stole Kenny P.
Anatalia Villaranda went to compete against Missy Robertson. The two singers from Team Alicia, which tapped DJ Khaled as adviser, sang "Tightrope" by Janelle Monae. Anatalia proved her quality with solid tones and rhythm. Although Missy gave out an exceptional performance, Alicia chose to keep Anatalia around. Nobody stole Missy.
Gaby Borromeo and Mark Isaiah performed "Pillowtalk" by Zayn Malik. Mentor John Legend, who helped them prepare for the performance, apparently had worked with Gaby before. Both successfully blew the coaches' minds with their performance, but Adam decided to make Mark stay on his team. Unfortunately, no one stole Gaby.
Other singers from Team Alicia, Felicia Temple and Quizz Swanigan, took the stage to perform "Titanium" by David Guetta (ft. Sia Furler). Although during the Blind Auditions Felicia seemingly got a special spot in Alicia's heart, young Quizz turned the table around that night despite facing difficulty of hitting high notes during rehearsal. Quizz won the battle, while Blake found eliminating Felicia would be a bad move, which made him steal her to join his team.
Ashley Levin and Casi Joy from Team Blake wrapped up that night's episode. They took the stage to perform "How Blue" by Reba McEntire. Both were taking turns flaunting their incredible low and high registers. It was a tough decision for Blake to choose one of them to move onto the Knockout Round since both slayed the song. Blake eventually picked "more seasoned" Casi. However, it was not the end yet for Ashley since Alicia stole her.
