VOICE OVER: Emotions Run High on Another Week of Battles on The Voice

By: Oct. 16, 2012
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Week two of the Battle Rounds commenced tonight with some surprising stealing and very strong emotions across the board. With the end of this week’s episodes of NBC’s The Voice, half of the judges had used up all of their steals, some of which happened tonight. Singers from Team Blake Shelton, with the help of advisor Michale Bublé, Team Adam Levine and Mary J. Blige, and Team CeeLo Green with Rob Thomas battled it out hard-core for an hour of The Voice.

Before reading on, if you missed an episode, or can't quite remember who these contestants are, click here to get a recap of all of the previous episodes!

Team Blake’s girls Liz Davis and Nicole Johnson opened this Tuesday night’s episode with a killer country showdown, “Baggage Claim,” by Blake’s wife, Miranda Lambert. He said when they sing this, they need a little bit of, “Oh no you didn’t!” attitude, like Miranda. Nicole admitted to feeling like the underdog, because Liz had already been doing the Nashville scene for a while. But the pressure was on Liz, because Blake said that she was at a stage where basically, if she were going to make it in the music business, it had to be now. During the performance, both of these girls brought a very “whatever,” sassy attitude that made this song a highlight of the night. A very torn Blake said, “I know Miranda would be so proud. Liz, you’re more laid back on stage. Nicole, you lost your breath in there once, and I’ve never seen you do that before. They both did so great. But I think based on experience, Liz never really lost her breath, so I’m gonna go with Liz on this one.” Sweet Nicole left the stage in tears, but Blake made sure to give her a hug and encourage her to keep going.

Alessandra Guercio and Kayla Nevarez of Team Adam sang Katy Perry’s hit, “Wide Awake.” Mary J. Blige said, “Alessandra is imprisoned by being perfect, doing everything right all the time.” Adam agreed, “Kayla is more natural, Alessandra is more studied. I’m looking to see who can keep it together in performance.” A resolute Alessandra firmly stated, “Losing isn’t an option.” Alessandra had this intense, insane attitude going on while on stage, contrasted with Kayla’s quieter, subtle intensity. When Adam had to make a final decision, he told Alessandra, “The energy was there, but you still sound trained. But sometimes, Kayla’s notes weren’t right on the money. Alessandra, it sounded like your belief in yourself wasn’t strong enough. But Kayla, I remember you pulled me aside aggressively after auditions, and said, ‘We better win this thing!’ The winner of this one is Kayla.” Alessandra had already accepted defeat when Coach Christina Aguilera randomly started talking about her experience in the Mickey Mouse Club, wanting to get out of that structure, and how no girl should lack confidence, and BAM! She hit her red button to steal a surprised Alessandra! The look of genuine surprise on Alessandra's face was priceless.

Though the next battles weren’t shown on NBC, CeeLo chose Mycle Wastrman over Ben Taub, Michele Brooks-Thompson won against Adanna Duru on Team Adam, and Laura Vivas won against the duo Beat Frequency for Team Christina.

Emily Earle and MacKenzie Bourg of Team CeeLo sang Owl City’s, “Good Time.” A visibly star-struck MacKenzie was very excited to work with Rob Thomas, because he was one of the reasons that MacKenzie loved singing. Emily, a great country girl, kept her wonderful country twang even in this pop song, which CeeLo liked. MacKenzie said, “I’m really stepping out of my comfort zone without my guitar, but guitar or no guitar, I want to show that my voice is gonna keep me here.” They both looked like they were having a good time while singing this duet. When the song was over, MacKenzie’s dad was ridiculously excited and jumping up and down, cheering as if his team had just won the Super Bowl. Adam and Blake both agreed that Emily took this one, but Christina said that she “had a better time” watching MacKenzie than Emily. Ultimately, Coach CeeLo’s was the most important opinion. “MacKenzie, I think you could sing anything placed in front of you. Emily, it was hard for both of you; you had lots of mixed emotions… I’m even having mixed emotions about who I should choose… MacKenzie. Mackenzie can be more valid, I feel like I can do more with him.” Off-stage, MacKenzie got totally mobbed by his excited family, and he said that seeing all four coaches out there was surreal.

That's the end of another week of Battle Rounds on The Voice. At this point, everyone is forming opinions about who the favorites are, so who are yours? When the battles end, I'll reveal who my top picks are. Tune in next week on Monday and Tuesday at 8/7c on NBC to see the final Battle Rounds on The Voice!

Visit www.nbc.com/the-voice/artists/ to view the full list of mentees, plus their stories, videos, and more. You can download your favorites from tonight’s performances at www.iTunes.com/thevoice, or watch them on The Voice's YouTube channel: www.Youtube.com/NBCthevoice. Keep up with The Voice through the week and during the show on Twitter: @NBCTheVoice, #TheVoice.



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