'The Voice' coaches select 9 "Battle Round" winners, including Nolan Neal & Darby Walker, and steal three artists

The Voice coaches advanced 12 artists to the "Knockout Round" during Monday night's Season 11 broadcast of Night 3 of the "Battle Round."


The "Battle Round" continued with The Voice coaches Alicia Keys, Miley Cyrus, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton selecting a total of nine Battle winners.

The champions were Nolan Neal, a 35-year-old from Nashville, TN; Darby Walker, a 17-year-old from Atlanta, GA; Josh Gallagher, a 25-year-old from Johnstown, PA; Kylie Rothfield, a 24-year-old from Danville, CA; Gabe Broussard, a 15-year-old from Lafayette, LA; Aaron Gibson, a 25-year-old from Atlanta, GA; Dana Harper from Dallas, TX; Belle Jewel from American Fork, UT; and Simone Gundy from Fort Worth, TX.

In the "Battle Round," a coach pairs two of his or her team members up to sing one song simultaneously. The artists must work hard to stand out and deliver a better performance than their opponents.

In this round, each coach is allowed two "steals," meaning an artist who loses a face-off may be stolen by a different coach so he or she can resume competing on The Voice.


The three artists stolen in last night's broadcast were Karlee Metzger, a 22-year-old from Columbia, MO; Josh Halverson, a 31-year-old from Willmar, MN; and Sa'Rayah, a 28-year-old from Chicago, IL.

The night began with Adam pairing up Nolan with Johnny Rez, a 25-year-old from Miami, FL, for a performance of "Sledgehammer." Adam told his team members they captured the spirit of the song and it really wasn't fair to only choose one of them, however, the coach advanced Nolan because they have a strong connection on the show and Nolan can "sing anything."

Johnny was therefore sent home, which was a tough pill for Adam to swallow.

Next up was Darby against Karlee for "Team Miley." The girls sang "Brand New Key," and Miley told Karlee she's transformed on the show and was very centered in her performance. Miley then admitted that although the show is called The Voice, it's also about being able to entertain and have personality. As a result, Miley kept Darby on her team.

But Blake didn't want to let Karlee get away, so the coach stole her for his own team.


Blake then matched up Blaine Long, a 40-year-old from Parkersburg, WV, with Josh G. for a performance of "Stranger In My House." Blake said this Battle broke his heart because he didn't want to let either of them go. Because Josh pushed himself more than Blake expected and Blaine "sold himself short" on the vocal, Blake chose to keep Josh G. on his team.

Blaine was therefore eliminated from The Voice competition.  

One of Alicia's Battles was next. She paired Josh H. with Kylie and asked them to sing "House Of the Rising Sun." Alicia expressed how Josh H's voice is not even in a physical realm and he spreads light through music. Kylie, on the other hand, pushed through the ceiling after previously holding back, so Alicia decided she deserved to win the faceoff.

However, Miley decided to steal Josh H for her team since he is so unique and original.

Gabe's Battle was then shown for "Team Blake" against Christian Fermin, a 20-year-old from Anaheim, CA. The guys belted out "The Reason," and Blake explained Gabe's performance felt "real and personal" while Christian can hit notes beautifully and added some tricks. In the end, Blake selected Gabe as his team member going forward.


As a result, Christian's time on The Voice's eleventh season is over.

Up next was Aaron against Sa'Rayah on behalf of Miley. They sang "I'll Take Care Of You," and Miley confessed these two artists represent why she chose to star on The Voice to begin with. Miley said it was the hardest decision she had to make on the show thus far, but she ultimately chose Aaron as the winner because he is the person she can coach the best.

Alicia and Blake, however, both attempted to steal Sa'Rayah for their teams because of her incredible talent. Blake wanted someone on his team who worked as hard as Sa'Rayah does, and then Alicia pointed out the singer is settled into a place of "determination and fierceness" that she admires. After hearing both cases, Sa'Rayah joined "Team Alicia." 
 
Last night's The Voice broadcast also featured a montage of three Battles. Besides the songs they sang and which person won each Battle, very little of each faceoff was shown on TV.

Dana won her Battle on "Team Blake" after singing "Alive" against Tarra Layne from Pittsburgh, PA.

Belle advanced to the "Knockout Round" on "Team Alicia" after belting out "Bennie and the Jets" against Halle Tomlinson from Chicago, IL.


Simone defeated her fellow "Team Adam" member JSoul from Virginia Beach, VA, after they both sang "You're All I Need To Get By" for their Battle.

Part 4 of the The Voice's "Battle Round," which will feature the round's final match ups of the season, will air Tuesday night at 8PM ET/PT on NBC.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski