It seemed like the theme for battle round three of The Voice season seven was to match up two singers who have no real business dueting with each other. With the exception of a two battles courtesy of Team Pharrell Williams and Team Adam Levine, this episode was made up of David and Goliath battles with one singer far more in his or her wheelhouse than the other.
Thusly, this was the most inconsistent battle round of the season... the highs a performance of "Knock on Wood" and a take on Beyoncé's "Halo," were stunning bookends for the show... everything else (courtesy of Team Gwen Stefani and Team Blake Shelton) was pretty wishy-washy.
Speaking of which, what is going on with Team Blake this year? The country crooner and The Voice veteran has three wins for the show but this year he's just falling way behind pace. So far, the majority of his battles have been brushed through in the editing and his team's performance of "You're No Good" this week was so mismatched, it makes you wonder what he and Little Big Town are even thinking.
That being said, let's take a closer look at the battles and examine who should have and who did win.
Damien v. Kelli Douglas, "Knock on Wood": Whereas Kelli Douglas absolutely sparkled in her blind audition (despite nerves), Damien really failed to leave a mark on the show. But the roles seemed completely reversed for their battle round, tackling the classic '60s hit "Knock on Wood." Despite Douglas' slim figure (which Gwen Stefani felt the need to comment on), the camera loved Damien, clearly showing who the producers favored and who was probably always going to win. They both were well immersed in the song and sizzled, but the added camera time and solo time for Damien made him a clear favorite.
Who technically won the battle? Damien, by a landslide.
Who should have won the battle? Though Kelli Douglas was a clear favorite at the beginning of the show, she was really outperformed here by Damien and Adam made the right pick for his team.
Jessie Pitts v. Ryan Sill, "I Need Your Love": First things first, this was overall not a very good performance, especially in comparison to the slaying that Damien and Kelli Douglas did to "Knock on Wood." This Calvin Harris/Ellie Goulding vehicle is just not the best for showing off a real vocal. Jessie Pitts' tone more closely matched Goulding's original, with what Pharrell described as a "powdery, angelic" voice. Ryan Sill, meanwhile, gave a solid vocal and contributed to the sensual performance well but he failed to really strike out as anything wholly unique. In the end, neither of these people are "The Voice," so it's just a matter of who will just move on for a few more weeks.
Who technically won the battle? Ryan Sills.
Who should have won the battle? Jessie Pitts. Her tone was far more unique and her performance was a little more magnetizing - and that's why Blake Shelton stole her back from Gwen (even if he doesn't know who Ellie Goulding is).
Blessing Offor v. Katriz Trinidad, "Do I Do": A Stevie Wonder song was so in Blessing Offor's comfort zone that Pharrell's song choice of "Do I Do" didn't even seem fair... I mean, how could a girl hit all those low notes and make her way against a man who does songs like this every day of his life? But Katriz Trinidad, who stunned with her audition song "At Last" is not a normal performer and she went toe-to-toe with Offor and even surpassed him. When Offor went in to his talk-singing mode, it was more awkward than scatting and it didn't live up to what The Voice can show. But both Adam Levine and Gwen Stefani attempted to steal Offor to their team, and Levine was the one who won out.
Who technically won the battle? Katriz Trinidad.
Who should have won the battle? The judges seemed to think this was a closer call than I did, but Trinidad just out-sang Offor during something that was far more difficult for her.
Ethan Butler v. Matt McAndrew, "Yellow": If the performance of "Knock on Wood" was amazing and "I Need Your Love" was bad, then Ethan Butler and Matt McAndrew's take on Coldplay's "Yellow" was just totally OK. Neither Butler nor McAndrew really shined in their blind auditions so this was always going to be so-so at best. McAndrew, the mop-topped Harry Potter glasses wearing 23-year-old was clearly more comfortable here, so he outperformed Butler by just a margin. But make no mistake, both of these guitar-wielding dudes were pretty wooden.
Who technically won the battle? Matt McAndrew
Who should have won the battle? Matt McAndrew. Maybe it's just because he was more comfortable in this Coldplay song than the more soulful Ethan Butler could have ever been, but Adam Levine made the right choice here.
Bree Fondacaro v. Taylor Brashears, "You're No Good": Gwen Stefani was right in her critique... neither of these girls really did that well on this song, and it's not really clear what Blake Shelton was thinking because they just did not mesh well together. In a night of so-so battles, this was the so-soiest by far. Bree Fondacaro could barely squeak out a note and though some may think her smoky vocals are sexy, they just came across as weak to me. Meanwhile, Taylor Brashears sold this song but she couldn't really mesh her country fried rock style with the Linda Ronstadt original. Overall, this one was pretty floppy and there was no clear winner.
Who technically won the battle? Taylor Brashears sold it more, simply overpowering Bree Fondacaro with her attutide and projection.
Who should have won the battle? Blake Shelton made the right decision here. Even though this song wasn't anything like what Brashears does she still sold it, and it will be nice to see her do some real classic country soon.
Danica Shirley v. Toia Jones, "Halo": Oh lawdy, gear up for some Beyoncé. These two bombastic divas from Team Pharrell seem to be the only ones of the night who could even touch "Halo," and they ended the show on a high note - literally. Danica Shirley, who seemed to have her audition montaged, is a welcome addition to the show, powering through the song with a smooth yet controlled sense of confidence and power. And then you have Toia Jones who can run through some notes like the best of them, and she was on in full force here. Both of these women were true stars of the night, and chalk it up once again to smart editing from The Voice to end (and begin) the show with the two best battles of the night.
Who techinically won the battle? Pharrell opted for Danica Shirley's more quiet take on "Halo."
Who should have won the battle? Maybe Toia Jones didn't show as much restraint, but she sure could sing better than 90 percent of the kids on this show, and it felt like this performance was really hers. She should've stuck on the superior Team Pharrell, but both Adam Levine and Gwen Stefani opted to steal her. After a battle, she wound up on Team Adam.
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