The Voice determined nine of its 32 "Battles: Round Two" semifinalists during Monday night's broadcast of the NBC reality singing competition's sixth season.
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The Voice coaches Shakira, Usher, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton each began whittling down their sixth-season teams from 12 to eight artists with the start of the season's "battle" rounds.
Kat Perkins, Jake Worthington, Sisaundra Lewis, Dani Moz, TJ Wilkins, and Stevie Jo advanced to The Voice's upcoming "Battles: Round Two" after winning their first respective "battle" round face-offs against fellow contestants Patrick Thomson, Lexi Luca, Paula DeAnda, DeShawn Washington, Biff Gore, and Jake Barker.
The artists squared off in the initial "battle" rounds after The Voice coaches each selected two members of his or her individual singing team to perform a duet performance that would end with the coach eliminating one of the singers from the competition.
However, similar to previous seasons, each coach is allowed two "steals" all season in which two losing face-off contestants may be added to a different coach's original six-member team of "battle" round winners.
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During Monday night's broadcast, three contestants were stolen: Patrick, Biff and Jake.
"Team Adam's" Patrick was stolen by Shakira, while "Team Usher's" Biff and Jake were both stolen. Biff was taken by Blake and Jake was stolen by Adam.
Kat and Patrick were paired up by Adam and required to sing "Whenever I Call You Friend" by Kenny Loggins and Stevie Nicks.
Jake and Lexi, partnered up by Blake, sang "It Goes Like This" by Thomas Rhett. Blake also paired up Sisaundra and Paula, who were told to sing "Do What U Want" by Lady Gaga featuring Christina Aguilera.
"Team Shakira" members Dani and DeShawn faced off with their performance of "My Kind of Love" by Emili Sande.
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Usher called for TJ vs. Biff and Jake vs. Stevie Jo face-offs. TJ and Biff were asked to sing "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" by The Temptations, while Jake and Stevie Jo took the stage with "Higher Love" by Steve Winwood.
The Voice's sixth-season "battle" round will continue Tuesday night on NBC.
Below are NBC-supplied descriptions of the artists who survived last night's elimination rounds.
"Team Adam"
- Kat Perkins
Kat started a rock band with her husband, but they divorced six months later and she decided to take a break from the music business. She's currently a full-time nanny for a family of five, with whom she created an unofficial band with for fun. The Voice is the first time Kat has gone solo and can't wait to step out on her own.
- Jake Barker (Stolen from "Team Usher")
Jake was primarily focused on athletics until he posted a video of himself singing on YouTube. It got a huge response and he has been at it ever since. He moved to New York to pursue his dream and is currently bartending to pay the bills.
"Team Blake"
- Jake Worthington
Jake is a true country kid who loves fishing, mudding and four-wheeling in his free time. He broke his back playing football and had to take it easy for a few months, which allowed him to discover his true passion -- music. After not making it on a team in Season 5, Jake is back to prove he has what it takes.
- Sisaundra Lewis
Sisaundra was born into a family of migrant workers and grew up singing in church. She's had some success singing jingles for commercials, touring with Cirque du Soleil and working as Celine Dion's vocal director. Now Sisaundra is ready to step into the spotlight as a solo artist.
- Biff Gore (Stolen from "Team Usher")
Biff is the proud father of six kids. He most recently worked for an organ transplant company helping consult with donor and recipient families. He auditioned for The Voice to follow his true passion - music.
"Team Shakira"
- Dani Moz
Dani has always focused on musical theatre. After graduating high school, she got a communications degree in Boston. For three years, she worked at a public relations office during the day and gigged at night. She recently moved to LA to focus on music, and hopes The Voice will make the move worth it.
- Patrick Thomson (Stolen from "Team Adam")
This small-town Zach Galafanakis look-alike grew up around music. Patrick's mom was in a folk band, and he taught himself to play guitar and saxophone. Although he's currently working as the assistant manager at a retail mobile phone store, Patrick is ready to launch his career as a solo artist.
"Team Usher"
- T.J. Wilkins
Growing up in South Central L.A., T.J.'s mom encouraged him to get into music to avoid gang violence. Her encouragement helped him win a singing competition, where he had the opportunity to play with his biggest idol, Stevie Wonder. Now he wants make it on the national stage to help get his mom into a safer environment.
- Stevie Jo
Stevie's parents both played in heavy metal bands when he was younger and always dreamt of making it big. His parents may have influenced his love for music, but not the genre: Stevie loves to sing R&B. Music has always been a source of inspiration for him, and he's on The Voice to make his parents' dream his reality.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski