The Voice Battles Continue With Six Eliminations And One Puzzling Save
The tough decisions continued on Tuesday's episode of The Voice, the second night of Season 28 Battles. (Click here for a recap of Monday's face-offs.)
With guest advisors Kelsea Ballerini, Lewis Capaldi, Lizzo and Nick Jonas offering pointers before each performance, Tuesday's Battles were something of a mixed bag. For every perfect pairing (and there were several!), there were multiple uneven match-ups, including a messy three-way we'd rather forget entirely.
And while Monday's episode ended with coach Reba McEntire in tears (albeit happy tears), Tuesday's two-hour event ended with the country queen in much higher spirits. For that, we can all be thankful.
All told, 15 singers participated in Tuesday's Battles, but by the end of the night, only nine remained in the competition. Are your favorite contestants still standing? Read on for a full breakdown of the night's performances, then drop a comment with your thoughts on the results. Did any of the coaches make a major error in judgment?
Team Reba: Letter to Elise vs. Ryan Mitchell (Don't You [Forget About Me])
"That was groovy like a drive-in movie," Snoop Dogg said of this battle, to which we say, "Huh?!" What were the coaches smoking with their unanimous praise for this battle? The whole thing felt like an awkward threesome, with Elliott constantly having to ping-pong between fellow bandmate Chris and competitor Ryan, making sure neither felt left out. For this reason, Ryan stood out from the pack, adding a cool sensuality to the Breakfast Club anthem while snagging several standout moments that showed off his impressive range.
WINNER: Ryan Mitchell (A-)
ELIMINATED: Letter to Elise (B)
Team Snoop: Sadie Dahl vs. Toni Lorene (Love On the Brain)
These two crushed this Rihanna ballad from the jump, starting out strong with killer harmonies. In addition to her sick runs, Toni also injected more emotion into her performance, while Sadie was giving us considerably less energy and didn't seem as connected to the song. We weren't surprised when Toni was declared the winner, but we were a little surprised — based on this battle, at least — that Niall Horan was so quick to steal Sadie for his own team.
WINNER: Toni Lorene (A)
SAVED BY NIALL: Sadie Dahl (B+)
Team Bublé: Lucas Beltran vs. Max Cooper III (It's a Beautiful Day)
Michael Bublé's "It's a Beautiful Day" felt like an unfair song to give this duo, considering Lucas is basically a mini version of the Canadian crooner, but much to our surprise, that didn't end up working in his favor. While Max wasn't as smooth, he brought an authenticity to the performance that was missing in Lucas' lounge-singer approach.
WINNER: Max Cooper III (B+)
ELIMINATED: Lucas Beltran (B+)
Team Niall: Camille Tredoux vs. Kayleigh Clark (Cowboys Cry Too)
Here we had one of the more evenly matched battles of the night, with both singers bringing equal (but very different) vibes to the party. Kayleigh was poised, polished and pure country, while Camille approached the performance with more of a singer-songwriter flare. But when their voices blended? Smooth like butta!
WINNER: Kayleigh Clark (A)
ELIMINATED: Camille Tredoux (A-)
Team Niall: Alex Brown vs. Liam von Elbe (Linger)
We didn't get to "Linger" on this particular battle for very long, but from what The Voice did show us, it felt like this was 100% the Liam show. Alex provided some excellent high notes for their harmonies, but it felt like that was his only purpose on stage, whereas Liam gave the performance a little something extra. Even if we didn't see a minute of this one, we know how much Niall loves Liam's voice, so this felt like a foregone conclusion.
WINNER: Liam von Elbe (A-)
ELIMINATED: Alex Brown (B+)
Team Bublé: Carly Harvey vs. Marty O'Reilly (At This Moment)
As far as we're concerned, the results of this battle came down to one word: energy. While there was a definite ease to Carly's performance, Marty's smoky rasp simply could not be denied. He felt like he was fully living in the moment, while she was giving more of a rehearsal take. She did sneak in some impressive notes towards the end, but it was too little too late for the coaches.
WINNER: Marty O'Reilly (A-)
ELIMINATED: Carly Harvey (B+)
Team Reba: Aubrey Nicole vs. Cori Kennedy (Somethin' Bad)
Now this is how you end the night! Aubrey and Cori were instantly locked in for this iconic Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert duet, both serving attitude and energy for days. Cori and her signature growl definitely grabbed the reins on this one a bit, but Aubrey also held her own with confidence. This one could have gone either way for us, so we're glad that Reba decided to save Aubrey as well — and that Aubrey chose not to move over to Team Snoop, as the rapper attempted an end-of-episode steal.
WINNER: Cori Kennedy (A)
SAVED BY REBA: Aubrey Nicole (A)