‘The Voice’ Battle Rounds Episode 1 Recap: Who Made it Through?

NBC

NBC’s singing competition show The Voice is moving through the rounds, and the coaches have started cutting down their teams in hopes of finding the correct performers to go through to the finale.

Coaches Nick Jonas, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton and John Legend spent six episodes finding the best of the best and convincing them to join their teams. Once they each had ten contestants, it was time to move on to the “Battle Round” of the competition.

Kelly Clarkson was absent from the first episode of the round, as she was not feeling well and had to call in a replacement. Country star Kelsea Ballerini hopped into the red chair for Clarkson, and the show continued.

The Battle Rounds Have Begun

The second round of The Voice has officially begun, and the competition was definitely at a high level for the first night of the new round.

Clarkson was still there in spirit, and she was able to choose which contestants would compete against one another, work with her advisor Luis Fonsi, and was only a phone call or text away for Ballerini.

The rules for the Battle Rounds are clear; each coach pairs their contestants up, chooses a song, and then they watch them compete and decide who wins. On top of that, each coach has a steal and a save that they can use in order to either keep their team members or take them away from another coach.

Who Competed in the First Night of Battle Rounds?

The first battle of the night was between Gean Garcia and Ryleigh Modig, who are both on Team Kelly. For their song, Clarkson chose “pov” by Ariana Grande, and either way, this battle was going to be a tough one to choose a winner for, as both contestants are talented and fan-favorites. Modig came away with the win this time around, and Legend and Jonas both tried to get Garcia onto their team. Modig chose Team Legend, and both contestants moved on to the next round.

Also this time around, Legend played a special song for the contestant, this time called “Welcome to Team Legend (The Battles Remix),” to the great chagrin of the other coaches.

The next battle of the night went to Team Blake and was between Connor Christian and Aaron Konzelman, who sang “I Ain’t Living Long Like This” by Waylon Jennings. Connor Christian won the battle, and Konzelman wasn’t stolen or saved, so he was eliminated from the competition.

Next up was Team Nick’s Dana Monique versus Devan Blake Jones singing “Stuck With U” by Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber. Monique came away with the win, but Jonas didn’t want to let Jones go, so he saved the contestant and sent him to the four-way knockout round.

Following that battle was the first of the night for Team Legend. His contestants, Christine Cain and Pia Renee performed “Baby” by Brandy, which was fitting since Brandy was their battle advisor. Pia Renee won the battle, and Christine Cain was eliminated from the competition.

The next song was “You Say” by Lauren Daigle, and it was performed by Team Nick’s Awari and Jose Figueroa Jr. Ultimately, this battle went to Jose Figueroa Jr., and Awari was eliminated from the competition.

The last battle of the night was between Team Blake’s Avery Roberson and Ethan Lively who sang “Just Got Started Lovin’ You” by James Otto. Lively, who was only a one-chair turn at the Blind Auditions, came away with the win, but Roberson was ultimately stolen by Team Kelly after Ballerini checked in with the coach over text message.

The Voice airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

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