The battles came to an end in last night’s episode of The Voice, as the coaches filled the final spots on their team and one last steal was used. In a night that one incredible performance amidst others that fell flat, the decision for Pharrell on who to use his steal on was not a difficult one. All in all, it was a predictable night, but nonetheless, it was still sad to see the journey end for the contestants who had put so much of themselves into the music and their performances.
Starting out the night was a battle between Jeremy Gaynor and Rod Taylor from Team Christina, both better suited for R&B music. Christina wanted to challenge them by giving them a pop song to sing, a decision that ultimately hurt both of them. Neither were able to shine in the performance, and in my opinion, it was the worst battle this season. The vocals simply weren’t there in a song even Adam Levine has difficulties singing, “Animals.” If Christina had given them a better song, we might have seen something great from one of these men. Jeremy had a better overall vocal performance, but Christina picks Rod for her team.
For Team Pharrell, the last battle was between young and quiet singers, Noelle Bybee and Sawyer Fredericks. At just fifteen years old, neither of these contestants have had much experience singing in front of a crowd and their nervousness showed. They both have very unique voices, though, which made the battle an interesting one. Noelle’s vocals were shakier than Sawyer’s, who despite hiding behind his guitar, gave a solid vocal performance. He’ll have to work on his stage presence, but ultimately, Pharrell made the right decision by picking him over Noelle.
From there, we were showed a montage of battles, leaving us to question whether the winning contestants are just fodder for the knock-out rounds. Either way, it was Koryn Hawthorne from Team Christina, Bay Brooks from Team Blake, and Lexi Davila from Team Adam who advanced on to the next round. I don’t expect to see much of them in the future.
All of this led up to one of the best battles of the season, featuring Corey Kent White and Jacob Rummell, both charismatic young men with fantastic voices and a strong stage presence. After tweaking a few things in practices, like breathing and nerves, the two were ready to go and the performance did not disappoint. They were clearly having the time of their lives as they sang together. Jacob’s range was more impressive than Corey, but ultimately it made more sense for Blake to keep Corey, as their styles match a bit better. This left the door open for Pharrell to use his final steal on Jacob, who he had regretted not turning for during the blind auditions. Both men were thrilled to not only advance themselves, but to see that the other advance as well. As an audience, there’s nothing that makes you happier than seeing that.
[Photo via NBC]
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