The Blind Auditions come to an end and the Battle Rounds begin on the Oct. 14 episode of ‘The Voice,’ and Gwen has NO shame in using her romance with Blake to get the singers she wants!
The Oct. 14 episode of The Voice picks up with the final night of blind auditions, and all four coaches have just one spot left on their teams. First up is Zoe Upkins, who sings “Angel Of Mine” by Monica. The performance gets Blake Shelton, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson to turn around. After they all give their pitches, Zoe picks John as her coach, and fills up his team. Next up is Matthew McQueen. He performs “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi, and although it takes a bit of time, Kelly and Blake eventually both turn around. Only one star can get Matthew on their team, though, and he picks Blake!
The next singer is Gracee Shriver. She sings “Rainbow” by Kacey Musgraves, and impresses the remaining two coaches, Kelly and Gwen Stefani. Gracee is from Oklahoma, so Gwen uses her relationship with Blake to persuade Gracee to come to her team. “I’m from Oklahoma, too!” Gwen gushes. “Kind of! This is meant to be, right Blake!?” However, Kelly points out that, even though she’s not dating Blake, her husband manages him, so she also has a connection there. Gracee can only pick one woman to be her coach, and she goes with Kelly.
There’s one spot left, and Ty Mauro is hoping to nab it. He performs “Let’s Stay Together,” but unfortunately, it’s just not quite what Gwen’s looking for, and she doesn’t push her button. Gwen is hoping to add a young girl, who she can mentor, to her team, and she finds her in Caroline Reilly. With that, Gwen has her final team member, and the teams are complete! After the blind auditions, this is where the teams stand:
John – Katie Kadan, Will Breman, Max Boyle, Mendeleyev, Marybeth Byrd, Dane & Stephanie, Preston C. Hall, Matt New, Jared Herzog, Destiny Rayne, Khalea Lynee, Zoe Upkins
Kelly – Brennan Lassiter, Alex Guthrie, Shane Q, Hello Sunday, Jake Hoot, Melinda Rodriguez, Injoy Fountain, Brooke Stephenson, Lauren Hall, Damali, Steve Knill, Gracee Shriver
Blake – Kat Hammock, Marina Chello, Cory Jackson, Josie Jones, Cali Wilson, Jordan Chase, Joana Martinez, Zach Bridges, Elliemae, Ricky Duran, Ricky Braddy, Matthew McQueen.
Gwen – Jake Haldenvang, Rose Short, Kyndal Inskeep, Royce Lovett, Elise Azkoul, Calvin Lockett, Kiara Brown, James Violet, Jessie Lawrence, Brennen Henson, Myracle Holloway, Caroline Reilly
Now, it’s time to get to the battle rounds! This season, the coaches each have one save and one steal in the battles. Team John is up first, and they have a familiar face as a mentor — former The Voice coach, Usher. The first battle is between Khalea Lynee and Zoe Upkins. They sing the classic track “The Boy Is Mine,” and it’s the definition of a true battle, as the ladies both bring their A-game. John can only keep one woman on his team, and he picks the person who he thinks can be the most versatile — Khalea. However, it’s not the end of the road for Zoe! John uses his ONE and ONLY save on Zoe, while Kelly and Gwen BOTH try for the steal. Now, it’s up to Zoe to choose which team she wants to be on, and she decides to stick it out with her OG coach, John.
The next battle is between team Blake’s Josie Jones and Kat Hammock. Blake enlists Darius Rucker to help mentor the girls through a performance of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver. The ladies work hard to perfect their parts, and Blake has a tough decision to make. However, he decides to keep Kat on his team.
Team Kelly is up next, and along with her advisor, Normani, she mentors Melinda Rodriguez and Shane Q through a performance of “Too Good At Goodbyes” by Sam Smith. They both absolutely kill it onstage, and Kelly chooses Shane for her team. However, Melinda gets another chance at staying in the competition, as Kelly uses her save and John uses his seal on her. John gives a good pitch, but Melinda decides to stay with team Kelly. Here’s where the teams stand after night one of the battles:
John – Khalea Lynee, Zoe Upkins
Kelly – Shane Q, Melinda Rodriguez
Blake – Kat Hammock
Gwen –
The battle rounds will continue on the next episode of The Voice, which airs on Oct. 15 at 8:00 p.m. on NBC.