The Voice's Battle Round commenced and featured nine artists surviving the cut during Monday night's Season 16 broadcast on NBC.
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The Battle Round kicked off on Monday night with coaches Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson, and John Legend narrowing down their teams through a series of team-member faceoffs.
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In each Battle, a coach pairs two of his or her team members up at a time and chooses a song for them to sing together. While the duo must blend their different sounds in a duet, the goal is to out-perform the other for only one spot on the team moving forward.
However, Adam, John, Kelly, and Blake are each allowed two "Steals" during this round, which means he or she may select two losing artists from opposing coaches' Battles to join his or her own team for the upcoming "Knockout Round" and potentially beyond.
The artists who lost their respective Battles but were stolen by other coaches in last night's episode were Matthew Johnson, a 25-year-old from Jacksonville, FL; Rod Stokes, a 35-year-old from Moss Point, MS; and Beth Griffith-Manley, a 46-year-old from Detroit, MI.
For the Battles this season, Charlie Puth is serving as Adam's team advisor, Kelsea Ballerini is working with Kelly's team, Khalid is helping out John's team, and Brooks & Dunn is mentoring Blake's team.
For "Team John," the first Battle pairing was Matthew Johnson and Shawn Sounds.
The guys sang "Never Too Much" by Luther Vandross and received a standing ovation from all four coaches.
Adam called them both "incredible singers" and said it was "like a tennis match."
Adam didn't understand why these two vocalists were paired to begin with, and John admitted it was "a rookie mistake."
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Blake thought the Battle was "unbelievable" and it would be unfair to say one person won over the other.
Kelly noted the singers were "phenomenal," that Matthew was "a light to watch" while Shawn's runs were so "crazy cool."
John said the guys exuded energy and a love for music. Although they're both "fantastic singers," John could only pick one to move forward, and so he selected Shawn.
"Shawn just lit the whole room up. He was just a little bit ahead and I can do great things with him as his coach," John said.
However, Adam and Kelly both opted to steal Matthew for their own teams. Adam complimented Matthew's singing, presence and joy. And Kelly called Matthew "outstanding," saying he's also a great human.
Matthew ultimately decided to join "Team Kelly."
The next Battle of the night belonged to Mikaela Astel, a 14-year-old from Queens, NY, and The Bundys.
The Battle represented Kelly's team, and the two artists sang "Songbird" by Fleetwood Mac.
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Adam told The Bundys their performance was "graceful," and the judges didn't blame Mikaela at all for being a bit overwhelmed. Blake told Mikaela this is what she's meant to do.
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Kelly complimented the "piercing tone" of Mikaela's voice, but she named The Bundys the winner of the Battle.
Blake's team was up next and he decided to match Rod Stokes with Gyth Rigdon.
The two men took the stage with a performance of "Drunk Me" by Mitchell Tenpenny.
Kelly was blown away by Rod taking on the high harmony and said he slayed the song. John insisted Gyth "really can sing" though and the Battle could go either way.
John said he'd pick Gyth because his voice may have more flexibility, but Adam thought Rod took this Battle based on his own personal taste.
Blake called it "an impossible decision" because they both "gave it 150 percent." He had a hard choice to make but ultimately named Gyth winner of the Battle.
Adam then opted to steal Rod for his own team because the coach loved all of his performances thus far.
Blake wasn't happy Adam will have "a country guy" on his team going forward.
Adam then asked Domenic Haynes to battle Trey Rose, a 26-year-old from Hugo, OK, with a performance of "I Need A Dollar" by Aloe Blacc.
Blake thought it was "an incredibly even Battle," and he took his hat off to both artists.
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Blake loved Trey's falsetto but appreciated Domenic's growl and how he navigated through the pocket.
Kelly agreed both singers were intense in different ways but she would pick Trey if the decision had been up to her.
Adam said both men executed his tips and advice perfectly. Adam noted Domenic's growl was great but Trey brought so much energy, passion and excitement to the stage that he almost threw himself off of it.
Adam made his decision based on heart rather than technical aspects, so he named Domenic the winner. Adam called Domenic "indispensable" and "spectacular."
Adam was surprised no one stole Trey because he was fantastic. Kelly, however, was looking for something specific in order to add a different flavor to her team.
Representing John's team, Maelyn Jarmon was paired with Savannah Brister, a 17-year-old from Memphis, TN, for a Battle.
The women were asked to sing "When We Were Young" by Adele, and all four coaches got up on their feet for them.
Adam noted they really shared the song together but the coaches all "lost [their] minds" for Maelyn in the Blinds. However, Savannah proved to be incredible.
Kelly could tell Maelyn is "a seriously trained singer" with "unreal" control of her voice, but Kelly loved the raw talent coming from Savannah.
John told the ladies they really embraced the song and there was a subtlety, warmth and kindness to the performance.
John advanced Maelyn because he predicted she'd excel in this competition and never let him down. John expected Maelyn would deliver at all times.
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And the last Battle of the night belonged to Jej Vinson and Beth Griffith-Manley on behalf of Kelly's team.
The pair performed "Jealous" by Labrinth, and all four coaches gave them a standing ovation.
John initially wanted both artists on his team and he said they sounded great on this song.
Adam complimented the pair's unison and said it was perfect.
Adam sided with Jej because there were times he upstaged her, and Blake agreed Jej was impressive because he went note for note with a female.
Kelly called the performance "on point" and declared Jej the winner of the Battle. Kelly said it was one of her favorite Battles ever on her team.
However, John chose to steal Beth for his own team, saying she carries herself with dignity and will do very well in the competition.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
