It’s Night 1 of the Battle Rounds on The Voice now that each of the coaches — Adam Levine, Alicia Keys, Blake Shelton and Miley Cyrus — have full teams with the conclusion of the Blind Auditions. So the time has come for the competition to heat up in earnest as members of each team face off against each other singing duets — and then face their fate. Stay or get cut.
But first, the coaches enlist the help of top recording artists, who act as advisers. Miley teams up with Joan Jett, Alicia with Charlie Puth, Adam with Sammy Hagar, and Blake with Bette Midler.
Parade.com has a sneak peek at one of tonight’s Battles as Christian Cuevas and Jason Warrior duel to a rendition of Adele‘s “Hello.”
The performances are so outstanding, it will be difficult for Alicia to make a decision of which of her two artists to keep. But there is a good chance that after the decision has been rendered that one of the opposing coaches will steal either Christian or Jason, and neither will be going home. Each judge has two steals during the Battle Rounds.
CHRISTIAN CUEVAS
In the Blind Auditions, Christian, a 20-year-old college student from Orlando, Fla., performed Michael Bolton‘s “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You.” He got a three-chair turn from Adam, Alicia and Blake.
Blake told him: “I am absolutely hypnotized by the personality that is coming through. The one thing that the record industry looks for is a voice that doesn’t sound like anybody else. You sold me. Whether you chose me as your coach or not, I am a fan, man.”
When Alicia asked Christian where the emotion behind the song came from, he answered, “I am thinking about my dad. He passed away about a year ago and every day you live with the idea of: How am I supposed to live without my dad?”
After which Alicia said, “I really felt you. When I first came out, I was 19 years old. I could tap all these emotions, when I saw you, I was like, ‘Wow, I know you.’ You’ve either got it or you don’t got it, and you’ve got it.”
Adam pitched Christian, saying, “The emotional, sincere way that you were singing, and the thick, incredible quality of your voice, I couldn’t have been more excited to turn around and see how you engaged this crowd and made everybody feel good and empowered. I want someone who conveys what is going on in the deepest recesses of their heart and of their soul. You just blew my mind.”
JASON WARRIOR
For his Blind Audition, Jason, a 21-year-old Chicago native performed Stevie Wonder‘s “Living for the City.
He got a two-chair turn from Alicia and Adam. He was the first person that Alicia hit her button for in the competition.
Adam told him, “We need to hear a lot in 90 seconds. You needed to make sure everything is in there. That shows a lot about the drive that you have to do this. I want to help you be better in every aspect of what you do. I know how to win this show. I’ve won three times.”
Alicia said, “I am so proud of you. I heard all that energy and all that soul. You weren’t thinking about anything else but how you were going to shine and not hold back and that moved me. For me, it’s all about what we learn on the journey. How we can become the most powerful empowered version of ourselves.”
So who does Alicia keep and who does she let go? Tune in tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC when the Battle Rounds begin on The Voice to find out.
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