The Voice Sets In Motion A Surprising Steal As The Battles Intensify
You would think, wouldn't you, that a good country singer who gives a good performance on The Voice stands a good chance of being stolen by coach Kelsea Ballerini. But Monday's third night of the Battles threw that theory out the window. Read on, and we'll discuss the twist and everything else that went down.
Team Kelsea: Iris Herrera (Grade: B) defeated Simone Marijic (Grade: B+) on "Ceilings" — Simone stolen by Michael | On Lizzy McAlpine's gorgeous ballad, Iris and Simone both fared pretty well, so it really came down to a question of whose approach to the song one preferred. For me, that was Simone; I liked her breathy, emotional take more than Iris' attack-ier one. Yes, despite Iris' tone, which John quite rightly called glorious.
Team Bublé: Divighn (Grade: A+) defeated Dimitrius Graham (Grade: A) on "Leave the Door Open" | "Double D," as they called themselves, were so tremendous, I must have changed my mind 20 times about which of them I thought should be named the winner of the Battle. Talk about some silky damn vocals! In the end, though, I landed on Divighn, whose voice is not only glorious, his charisma and stage presence are off the charts.
Team Adam: Trevon Dawson (Grade: A-) defeated Tyler Kaye (Grade: A) on "I'm With You" | The moment these two started, I figured Tyler had the win in the bag. Avril Lavigne's hit fit her like a glove — and still sounded fresh, thanks to her country-inflected vocal. But Trevon buckled down and exceeded even my high expectations. What was that growly low note he hit toward the end?!? Will be fun to hear what Adam has him try next.
Team Legend: Renzo (Grade: A) defeated Jay Ammo (Grade: B-) on "Is This Love" | On the Bob Marley classic, Renzo utterly owned the stage, delivering a rock-solid vocal and giving the impression that he was born and raised beneath the spotlight. Jay was fine but just fine; the difference between them was night and day, Renzo coming off like a star in the making, Jay coming off like a good contestant who was headed home.
Team Bublé: Adam David (Grade: A) defeated Ricardo Moreno (Grade: B-) on "Home" | Ricardo might look like a pop-star heartthrob, but alas, there wasn't much about his performance of his coach's song that was memorable aside from the fact that he sang in Spanish. Adam, on the other hand, was able to twirl his warm twang around notes in such a way that even the edges of them felt nuanced and thought out. A real master of his voice.
Team Adam: Conor James (Grade: A) defeated Tinika Wyatt (Grade: B+) on "How Deep Is Your Love" — Tinika stolen by Kelsea | Though four-chair turn Conor came into the Battles the frontrunner against Coach's Replay contestant Tinika, she more than held her own, deploying her sunny vocal to great effect. But once her opponent started reminding us how he got all those chairs turning — that "unicorn quality," his coach called it — it was all over for her. The guy's got range for days and great control of his pipes.
In abbreviated Battles, Jacquelyn George defeated Jordan Allen to remain on Team Legend, and Dan Kieran and Page Mackenzie bested Jessica Manalo and Robert Hunter, respectively, to keep going with Team Kelsea.
So, anyone else surprised that Kelsea stole Tinika instead of Tyler? A case of us seeing Battles out of order maybe? Or am I crazy and Tyler wasn't all that? Pick your favorite performance below, then comment away.