With the Blind Auditions all done and dusted, it was time for the coaches to put their teams through the first of the Battle Rounds.
In this stage of The Voice, each coach chooses two singers from their teams to perform a duet. At the end of the song the coach then has tp choose which act should go through to the Knockout Rounds. The remaining performer is then available for the other coaches to "steal" for their team. The coaches are allowed two “steals” each.
First up were Joyful Soundz and Newtion from Will’s team. After they sang the Isley Brothers song, Shout, Will chose Newtion to go through to the next stage. It wasn’t over for Joyful Soundz though because Tom stole them for his team.
Next up was Team Ricky with Jade Hewitt and Christina Matovu singing Til Love Runs Out by One Republic. Coach Wilson declared Christina as the winner of the battle and hoped that one of his fellow coaches would steal Jade, but it wasn’t to be.
Rita put together the “heart-throbs” from her team – Ryan Green and Joe Woolford. After they performed I Won’t Give Up by Jason Mraz, she chose to put Joe through to the next round. Marvin had barely mentioned that Ryan was up for a steal when Will and Tom both hit their buttons to nab Ryan. Ryan said he would like to work with Tom but had to choose Will.
Next, Will put office worker Rozzy Turner and Essex girl Brooklyn up for battle with Paradise City by Guns N Roses. Although both girls rocked it, Will chose to save Brooklyn. Sadly, it was time to say bye-bye to Rozzy when the other coaches didn’t go in for a steal.
Tom chose to keep Rosa Iamele when he put her up against Claudia Rose with Halo by Beyoncé but Rita and Ricky both put in a steal for her rival. After some deliberation, a thrilled Claudia chose Team Ricky.
Speaking of Team Ricky, he was next with his pairing of Shellyann and Hannah Symons, who sang Edge Of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks. Although Mr Wilson chose Hannah, Rita went in for a steal by getting Shellyann’s son Regan to push the button! We got well choked up watching that one!
It was Rita’s second pairing of the night with Clark Carmody and Olivia Wilson singing Everytime by Britney Spears. Ricky said he had a feeling that both were going through to the Knockout Rounds – so when Rita chose to save Craig, Ricky was quick to steal Olivia.
Tom chose to pair Irish ladies Sharon Murphy and Roisin Geraghty-McDonagh to sing Blame It On Me by George Ezra. Tom was touched by Sharon’s performance in the Blind Auditions and decided to save her. After failing to get a steal from the other coaches it was time for Roisin to leave the competition…
Ricky thought Rita had taken a risk by getting singing waiter Mitch Miller and teenager Morven Brown to sing Express Yourself by Madonna. They gave a rousing performance but for Rita, it was Mitch who rocked it. And she was pretty upset when none of her fellow coaches failed to steal Morven.
Next up was Team Tom with Howard Rose and Stephanie Webber singing You Make My Dreams Come True by Hall & Oates. Howard had some what we would call some “unusual” moves but we don’t think it was his dancing that made Tom put him through to the next stage! And Mr Jones was gutted when Stephanie had to leave the competition after the other coaches didn’t steal her.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO2BNwMT4rw
The penultimate battle of the night was Stevie McRorie versus Tim Arnold from Team Ricky. They sang Demons by Imagine Dragon. It was a good pairing and there was very hard to say anything negative about either performers. Stevie got so excited when Ricky chose him that he almost knocked out his coach! Unfortunately it was the end of the road for Tim.
The final battle of the night was the operatic pairing of theatre usher Lucy O’Byrne and Karl Loxley from Team Will. After they sang Memory from the musical Cats, Will said Lucy was the winner. With Ricky having used both his steals, Karl had an even slimmer chance of staying in the competition. Lucky for him, Tom hit his button and claimed him for his team.
With the first round of battles done and dusted, Ricky and Tom were out of steals while Will and Rita had just one left for the next load of battles.
