The weirdest thing about what happened in Monday’s episode of The voice wasn’t Nick Jonas cutting the contestant he and his colleagues agreed gave the better Battle performance, it was… it really made sense. The “loser” was so striking you could see why he wouldn’t like to let her go. Read on and we’ll cover not only that unusual sing-off, but all the combinations of the evening.
Team Legend: Victor Solomon (Grade: A) defeated Deion Warren (Grade: A-) on “U Got It Bad” | After the cutest reaction ever to a meeting with Battle adviser Brandy, Victor and Deion definitely torn in Usher’s hit song. Her advice to Deion was to start softer so that he had room to grow his voice. As for Victor, John wanted him to work on his stage presence. When the spotlights hit it, they were so electric that I almost forgot to take notes. Victor turned out to have some great moves in him. Yet at times I had the feeling that he came across as Deion’s excellent backing vocalist – that man is a charismatic machine; his voice, as stretchy as a rubber band (even if Blake talked about pitch problems). Ultimately, John couldn’t deny Victor’s firmer vocal and impressive evolution.
Team Kelly: Anna Grace (Grade: B) defeated Ainae (Grade: B +) on “You Know I’m No Good” | During the rehearsal, the participants revealed that only one of them (sweet, shy Ainae) had ever heard the Amy Winehouse classic, let alone related to, and it showed in their performance. As advisor Luis Fonsi noted, Ainae sounded like “a little star” singing her truth. Kelly’s advice was that they both cut their runs in half; they were on The voice, not The treadmillWhen their Battle started, hmm … I really didn’t feel like Anna’s voice matched the song, especially in the beginning; the four-seat spin showed once again that she has chops and control, it was just a mismatch between songs and singers. Ainae’s tangier voice worked better – it was the sonic equivalent of lime squeezed into a Corona – but it was, unfortunately, generally less impressive for Kelly’s sub, Kelsea Ballerini. When Anna grew up, Ainae could only become a medium.
Team Nick: Raine Stern (Grade: B +) defeated Andrew Marshall (Grade: A) on “Adore You” – Andrew stolen by Blake | Before the pair started rehearsing, I assumed this Battle was bad for Raine to lose. But there was a clarity in Andrew’s voice saying, “Don’t beat me up, ya dummy.” Nick wanted Raine to work on her falsetto notes, and he and advisor Darren Criss encouraged Andrew to spare some breath to get him to the end of his lines. On stage, well, damnThey did not come play! Andrew sang with a passion that demanded he got serious attention – and he had swagger to burn. The Harry Styles hit served him better than Raine, but she nonetheless managed to give hints of how special an artist she is – enough to convince her coach to keep her right, while acknowledging that Andrew was more had seemed bright.
Team Blake: Pete Mroz (Grade: B) defeated Savanna Chestnut (Grade: B +) on “Have a Little Faith in Me” | As she went through the John Hiatt song with Blake and advisers Dan + Shay, Savanna turned her nerves into an alluring vulnerability. For his part, Pete seemed to naturally tap into the emotion of the song. Behind the microphone he served up album-perfect storytellers. However, Savanna was able to show more reach from the start. Nice performance from each of them. John suggested that Savanna had no sense of urgency, and Blake couldn’t help but agree – she was performing in her head, not onstage. So in the end he put his old friend through to the Knockouts.
Team Kelly: Kenzie Wheeler (Grade: A) defeated JD Casper (Grade: B-) on “Fishin ‘in the Dark” | We skipped the rehearsal material for this clutch altogether, but hey, at least it didn’t get the editing treatment. Maybe it got short shrift because it wasn’t much of a fight. The minute mullet-head Kenzie opened his mouth, wheelbarrows and haystacks fell out, it was over. JD cleared himself nicely – and pulled out his band-in-a-suitcase gimmick – but Kenzie was so great country, he slapped my remote. As Blake put it, he completely dumped himself in that voice. I hope he will sing with Ethan Lively at some point; that would be a hoot.
Team Nick: Rachel Mac (C +) defeated Bradley Sinclair (C) on “Your Song” | During rehearsal, Nick explained that he paired these two because he wanted to show off his team’s youth – on Elton John’s old-but-a-goodie. Mmkay. What initially seemed like he was going to show off was their inexperience. His advice to the kids: have more fun. I feared this was going to be tough. And, well, it was. Rachel fared better than Bradley, especially when she had a seat belt. But when she wasn’t at the highest volume she just threw in vibrato everywherewhether asked for or not. Bradley has a nice voice out there – and a nice grunt when he uses it – but you get the feeling he doesn’t quite know how to handle it yet. As messy as the fight was, the coaches fell all over the duet. Nick even called it the best performance they’d seen in the Battles. Will you come back again, sir?
Team Legend: Rio Doyle (Grade: C +) Beat Carolina Rial (Grade: C) on “Somebody That I Used to Know” – Carolina Saved by John | “Look who we have here!” John said as he entered the rehearsal room with Brandy. In the meantime I wondered, “Wait, who To do We have here? ”I didn’t remember the contestants at all until the flashback clips reminded me that I actually dug Rio, whose hoarse voice sounded cool on her and Carolina’s Gotye / Kimbra cover during their walkthrough. clarity of Carolina’s voice really made it stand out. At the moment of truth, er, I had to wonder if this really was the right song choice for the duo. They threw themselves in, but neither sounded in their element. Rio’s smoky voice was largely wasted, and Carolina ended up singing as much as I ended up taking Rio to victory and pledging to pick songs that better showcase her satiny vocal style.
So, what did you think of Monday’s gigs? Vote for your favorite in the poll below and reply in the comments: Would you have kept Raine or Andrew if you were Nick?