by Todd Betzold

 

As we enter our last week of the battles, we see that love has blossomed on The Voice, and I'm not talking about my love for the show. Read on to find out more as the battles continue.

 

Two singers, one song, one stage...let the fighting begin...again!

 

Adam takes the stage first this week as he puts the humble country boy with a huge voice, Jeff Jenkins, up against the glam rocker with a love for fashion, Casey Desmond. He chooses "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" by Elton John for these two to battle it out to.

Jeff comes into this battle being another one of the frontrunners in the competition, as he got all four judges to turn around in the blind auditions, however, Casey is a strong singer with more experience. As the battle starts, we see that this song is perfect for Jeff. His country twang fits perfect. He has great tone and control. Casey shows why she is up there though, as she stands her own ground and the two of them make for a great duet.

 

In the end, I feel Jeff stole the show with his tone and stage presence. All the judges were yet again impressed by Jeff, including Adam who said there was something mind-blowing about Jeff, so he had to move him on to the live shows. Jeff joins Casey Weston, Javier Colon and Devon Barley on Team Adam.

 

Up next, Team Blake takes the stage when the accomplished pianist and aspiring pop star, Sara Oromchi, goes up against the shy high schooler with the surprising sound, Xenia. Blake picks The Pretenders, "I'll Stand By You," as their battle song.

 

This works out to be a battle of two very shy young ladies, both of whom are still in high school. Blake said he chose the two of them because they are both bashful and he wanted to see whose personality jumps out on the stage. After seeing the battle, neither personality jumped out.

 

Xenia has a very unique and interesting tone, but was so quiet and shy on that stage. Sara showed more confidence on the stage, but she was pitchy and the song choice didn't seem to work for her or Xenia. In my eyes, this was one of the more low-key battles of the show so far, but one must move on and Blake chose that someone to be Xenia, as she joins Patrick Thomas, Jared Blake and Dia Frampton on Team Blake for the live shows.

 

From the low-key battle of Team Blake to the fun and upbeat battle of Team Christina as she puts the college co-ed who can belt with the best of them, Lily Elise, against the backup singer ready to step up into her own spotlight, Cherie Oakley. They'll be singing "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson.

 

Christina chose this song because it has a lot of vocal range and they have to have some lungs in their little bodies and some lungs these two did have. Lily starts the battle out and you can tell she is very confident on that stage. She is walking all around and singing with a lot of heart. Lots of energy is coming from the stage now. What Cherie lacked in confidence, she definitely made up in control as she had a very good performance, but was just outdone on the stage by Lily.

 

After some positive words from the judges, Christina had to decide which one of her babies to move on to the live shows and that person was Lily, who will be joining Frenchie Davis, Beverly McClellan and Raquel Castro for the live shows as they represent Team Christina.

 

The final battle takes place and this is where we see the love. CeeLo brings his team to the stage and sets up a battle between Hollywood's outrageous pop rocker, Emily Valentine, versus the hardworking country singer from Texas, Curtis Grimes. CeeLo has them sing "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum.

 

This is a unique pairing, seeming these two singers are coming from opposite ends of the spectrum, but CeeLo wants to see these two get into the characters of the song. Well, as we watch rehearsals and get backstage footage before the battle, the crush Emily has on Curtis is mentioned over and over again. Apparently in the time from the auditions to the battles, these two have become very close and it is hard for them to battle each other, however, they both want to move on and put it all on the line as they hit the stage.

 

Curtis starts it out and his country twang gets you hooked right away. Being a country song, it is perfect for him to show off his talent. Emily gets her shot and she shows a lot of emotion in her singing. She's hitting the higher notes, as Curtis is showcasing his deep voice. A very good duet on their part, that ends with a long kiss between the two of them, which shocks all the judges.

 

Carson Daly says, "Wait, one of you are going home tonight...apparently not alone." And Blake adds, "He told you all he wanted you to duet, not do it." After the commotion of the kiss, CeeLo must chose one of them to move on and he went with Curtis, as he joins Vicci Martinez, Nakia and Taylor & Tori Thompson on Team CeeLo for the live shows.

 

All 16 singers hit the stage next week, as the live 2-hour shows start.

 

 

The Voice airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

 

(Image courtesy of NBC)

 

 

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