NBC
With the Blind Auditions finally behind it, “The Voice” kicked off its Season 29 Battle Round on March 16 — and Kelly Clarkson wasted no time putting her hard-earned Super Steal to good use.
Fourteen contestants from Clarkson, Adam Levine, and John Legend’s robust teams faced off in pairs this week, with only nine remaining by the end of the two-hour broadcast. For the most part, we agreed with the coaches’ difficult decisions, including the eliminations of several promising competitors. (We will say, we didn’t necessarily see the need for the night’s final steal… but we’ll get to that in a minute.)
To prepare their team members for battle, the coaches assembled an eclectic group of celebrity advisors: Clarkson enlisted fellow “American Idol” legend Jennifer Hudson, Legend recruited singer-songwriter extraordinaire Muni Long, and Levine called on Good Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden.
Read on for a breakdown of this week’s “Voice” Battles, including our grades for each contestant.
Mikenley Brown vs. Liv Ciara (Team Kelly)
Adam Levine casually declared this to be “the best Battle Round in the history of the show,” and after watching their virtually flawless performance of H.E.R.’s “Focus,” it’s hard to argue with him. Beginning back to back in perfect R&B harmony, Liv Ciara was the first to step out on her own, confidently treating the coaches to a sampling of her vocal tricks. Mikenley Brown’s voice is a little rougher around the edges, definitely grittier in contrast to Ciara’s more poppy sound, but their voices made magic together. As the song continued, each singer was given ample chances to shine, belting to the gods and vying for their coach’s affection. Fitting for the song choice, Brown and Ciara never took their focus off of one another, making the whole experience more enjoyable… and the final decision more difficult.
Winner: McKinley Brown
(TVLine’s grade: “A”)
This was a close call, but we think Kelly Clarkson chose correctly; the performances were even, but the uniqueness of Brown’s voice gave her a slight lead in our minds. With Ciara now up for grabs, no one was surprise that both Levine and John Legend attempted to steal her for their own teams, but everyone was surprised when Clarkson decided to use her Super Steal to keep Ciara on her team.
Saved by Kelly Clarkson: Liv Ciara
(TVLine’s grade: “A”)
Bay Simpson vs. Hunter Jordan (Team Adam)
If nothing else, at least we can all agree that this battle featured two great heads of hair, and that’s a win of its own for both singers. Musically speaking, Hunter Jordan kicked off the duet of Morgan Wallen’s “I’m the Problem” with a clear, classic country sound, joined by Bay Simpson (and the sparkliest jacket we ever did see) for some lovely harmonies. Simpson has a country sound too, but it comes off a little more youthful, a little more “today” — or quite possibly what’s “next.” There’s also a somewhat breathy quality to Simpson’s voice that intrigues us. Simpson may have been the louder singer in this battle, but what Simpson brought to the stage was more interesting to us. For that reason, our vote would have gone to keep Simpson in the competition, and Adam Levine ended up agreeing with us.
Winner: Bay Simpson
(TVLine’s grade: “B+”)
Eliminated: Hunter Jordan
(TVLine’s grade: “B+”)
Lucas West vs. AJ Robinson (Team Legend)
We may never recover from hearing Adam Levine say that AJ Robinson looked like Woody from “Toy Story” on the stage this week. (Adding “There’s a snake in my boot!” was just the cherry on top.) We will, however, probably quickly recover from this slightly underwhelming face-off to the tune of Hunter Hayes’ “Wanted.” Some young singers perform with a voice far beyond their years, but we were extremely aware that Robinson is only 14 as we heard him sing opposite Lucas West. Robinson may have hit all the right notes, but there was an excitement lacking from his delivery, even during some of his more impressive moments. West kept things cool with a slight rasp and a confident stance, appearing far older than 21 by contrast. We’ll say this was a cute battle, and we nodded in silent agreement when John Legend chose to keep West on his team.
Winner: Lucas West
(TVLine’s grade: “A-“)
Eliminated: AJ Robinson
(TVLine’s grade: “B+”)
Jaali Boyd vs. Bijou Belle (Team Adam)
We weren’t sure what to expect from this somewhat unlikely pairing, but it turned out that The Weeknd’s “Die For You” was a meeting place for Jaali Boyd and Bijou Belle’s varying styles. Boyd got it started with some smooth, chilling low notes, making room for Belle to enter next with a totally different vibe. It felt like Boyd also grew with each turn at the mic, showing off the apparently infinite facets of her voice. When Boyd was firing on all cylinders, this performance was explosive. While Belle also did well, she didn’t deliver the same stand-out moments that we saw — and more importantly heard — from Boyd. Once again, we stand by Adam Levine’s decision to keep Boyd in the game.
Winner: Jaali Boyd
(TVLine’s grade: “A-“)
Eliminated: Bijou Belle
(TVLine’s grade: “B+”)
Blaire Elbert vs. JW Griffin (Team Kelly)
This joint performance of Lee Ann Womack’s “Never Again, Again” felt like a classic throwback duet, almost in the vein of Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, or at least Kelly Rogers and Dolly Parton. Blaire Elbert has a very innocent, youthful country sound, while you’d swear JW Griffin was literally riding on a horse if you had your eyes closed. They were both afforded moments to shine, but Griffin’s felt more impressive, definitely more unexpected. They both gave strong performances, but there was an ease to Griffin’s demeanor that made the whole thing seem effortless, whereas we were very aware that Elbert was leaving all she had on the stage. We support Kelly Clarkson’s decision to keep the more unique sound on her team.
Winner: JW Griffin
(TVLine’s grade: “A-“)
Eliminated: Blaire Elbert
(TVLine’s grade: “B+”)
Adi Arora vs. Grace Humphries (Team Legend)
Another odd couple, Adi Arora and Grace Humphries made for a surprisingly strong pair in their performance of Pink’s “Just Give Me A Reason.” Their delivery gave us plenty of reasons to want to see them both stick around, from his stunning falsetto to the undeniable cry in her belt. We suspected that this was going to be a total mess, so we’re still in awe of how well they pulled it off. It’s the most torn we’ve been since Mikenley Brown and Liv Ciara. (Remember them, all the way back at the beginning of the episode? How time flies.) We weren’t surprised when John Legend chose to keep Humphries on his team, but we had a sneaking suspicion that someone was going to try to steal Arora… and we were wrong.
Winner: Grace Humphries
(TVLine’s grade: “A-“)
Elimated: Adi Arora
(TVLine’s grade: “A-“)
Alexia Jayy vs. Moses G. (Team Adam)
Let’s end on the evening on a high note, shall we? Alexia Jayy and Moses G. were already partying before they even hit the stage for a lively performance of The Commodores’ “Nightshift,” ready to be their extra selves and have a good time. This honestly didn’t even feel like a battle, it felt more like a celebration, and their obvious chemistry showed up in their excellent harmonies. If we must choose one person, however, we preferred what Jayy brought to the table. Even when they sang together, her voice always overshadowed his; whereas it always felt like he was reaching to deliver a big note, it felt like she was releasing something powerful from deep within. When Adam Levine chose to keep Jayy, we nodded in silent agreement, fully ready to bid G. farewell… until John Legend surprised everyone with a last-minute (and we mean very last-minute) steal!
Winner: Alexia Jayy
(TVLine’s grade: “A-“)
Saved by John Legend: Moses G.
(TVLine’s grade: “B+”)
Which singers gave your favorite performances tonight? Were any of your favorite contestants eliminated too soon? Vote for your three (3) favorites in our poll below, then drop a comment with your full review of the night.