Stephan Marcellus, a 26-year-old from Englewood, NJ, survived "The Battle Round" on The Voice's thirteenth season, but only by switching teams.

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Stephan started off on Jennifer Hudson's team, feeling very lucky to have been chosen by a coach after stumbling over the first verse of his Blind Audition song "Take Me to Church."

For his Battle, Stephan was paired with Shi'Ann Jones, a 15-year-old from Paducah, KY who currently resides in Bowling Green, KY, and the pair of soulful, powerful singers were required to sing "Oh! Darling" by The Beatles.

"I just wanted to commit to everything that I was doing and really devote all the emotion that I can to make sure that people around the world and everybody watching can actually see that I can prove myself and I actually [deserve] to be here," Stephan told Reality TV World in an exclusive interview.

The Battle was a tough decision for Jennifer, who thought Stephan really shined in his performance and reached her expectations. Shi'Ann, on the other hand, has immense potential as a young vocalist, and in the end, Jennifer decided to keep Shi'Ann on her team.

"Was I surprised or disappointed? Of course I think naturally you would be disappointed because you want your coach to keep you," Stephan admitted, "especially the way that I came in and especially after she saw something in me -- that was pretty amazing."

But Jennifer wasn't the only coach who saw something special in Stephan. Once Shi'Ann was declared the winner, coach Miley Cyrus stole Stephan for her own team because she said he did "a 180" in the time between his two performances on The Voice.

"I think when Miley pressed her button -- and I know that Miley is somebody who really cares about emotion. I know we've all been watching the show, and so, all the songs that she's chosen have been very emotion-based. So I feel like working with her would greatly enhance that skill or that superpower in me," Stephan explained to Reality TV World.

Miley was looking to fill a spot on her team with a real entertainer, which is exactly what she perceived Stephan to be.

"I'm just excited, and I was thinking the whole entire time, it's more than just being grateful. I honestly feel super blessed to continue this experience," he said.

Stephan is now the only male member of Miley's team, as her goal this season was to promote hard-working ladies and female empowerment.

When asked whether he believes it's an advantage or disadvantage to be the one man on Miley's whole squad, he replied, "First of all, every person on Team Miley has an impeccable voice, so I would have to work my butt off to stay there," the singer admitted with a laugh.

"She was pretty adamant about making 'herstory' for a really long time. So for her to choose me out of all that, first of all, like I said, that's a blessing. So I'm definitely going to work my butt off to make sure that I prove myself to her too. Because she gave me another chance, and I appreciate it."

Once the Battles come to an end, The Voice's "The Knockout Round" will commence and feature first-season American Idol winner and upcoming Season 14 The Voice coach, Kelly Clarkson, as the artists' key adviser.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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