‘The Voice’ Season 2: Battle Rounds Begin

Rae Votta | March 6, 2012 8:01 am

The show begins by reminding us that 48 hopefuls remain — meaning, there’s a quite a bit of show still to come this season. Last week the judges finalized their initial teams in blind auditions, and now the boxing ring awaits the intra-team sing-offs that will whittle each team down from 12 to six contenders. We also get our first glimpse of The Voice mentors: Kelly Clarkson, Miranda, Lambert, Alanis Morissette, Jewel, Lionel Richie, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Ne-Yo, Robin Thicke and phew! That’s a long list of famous people.

Team Adam: Tony Lucca vs. Chris Cauley Adam Levine frames the first fight, and pretty much the rest of the show, thusly: “You guys are going to be singing in harmony and secretly trying to destroy each other.” He assigns U2’s “Beautiful Day” to the former Mouseketeer and the guy who looks like Mike Posner the way Mike Posner looks like Justin Timberlake. Adam and mentor Alanis Morrisette comment on the raw quality of Tony’s voice, but note there’s a strain to it. Chris is taken under Robin Thicke’s wing and, in asking for performance tips, is told “stand there and offer it to the people.” In the live performance he really does offer it to the people, but the duet is pretty closely matched. Cee Lo and Christina side with Tony, and Blake opts for Chris, but Adam’s choice is obviously Tony Lucca, because there’s no way the producers would let him throw out a guy with a Disney backstory like that.

Team Blake: Adly Stump vs. RaeLynn Blake gives them “Free Falling” by Tom Petty, explaining they were pitted against each other because they’re so completely different. During rehearsal, Adly pulls out all the stops and RaeLynn worries that she can’t compete. As the youngest contestant on the show, RaeLynn is adorably ecstastic to be paired with her idol Miranda Lambert — to whom Blake makes constant comparisons: She looks like a young Miranda Lambert; she sounds like a young Miranda Lambert… Meanwhile, Kelly Clarkson shows up to mentor Adly, who’s so nervous to be in the presence of the original American Idol that she keeps her eyes closed during most of rehearsal. In the ring, RaeLynn starts off weak and pitchy, but her highly stylized voice takes shape through the song. Adly is a natural powerhouse, but how many of those do we have already this season? Blake goes with RaeLynn as the winner.

Team Christina: Chris Mann vs. Monique Benabou Chris Mann was one of the Warblers on Glee, which already earns him extra points, plus, he’s classically trained. Monique has reason to worry. The pair are put on Celine Dion’s “The Power of Love,” with mentors Lionel Richie (for Chris) and Jewel (for Monique). Since we’ve got our first love song, the pair perform it less like a sing-off and more like a romantic duet — all lustful glances and reaching. On stage, their voices don’t really blend together at all and Chris eventually executes some intricate runs that give him the clear advantage. “A difficult decision,” says host Carson Dale, but it’s no surprise when Christina opts to save Chris for the live shows.

Team Cee Lo: Cheesa Laureta vs. Angie Johnson Cee Lo demands a fight between Cheese and Angie on Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” a/k/a the #3 most overplayed karaoke jam of all time (behind “Don’t Stop Believin'” and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” naturally). Cheesa wants to take the key up a half step, and Angie calls her bluff and raises the stakes to a full step up. It’s our first diva-off of the season! Babyface comes into advise Cheesa, telling her to hit the high notes and hold them. Ne-Yo comes in for Angie, wanting her to go full throttle, but Angie calls up her military experience and says when your finger is on the trigger, you don’t pull until you’re ready to shoot. The battle is an all-out scream fest, and Cee Lo takes Cheesa on to the live shows.

Team Blake: Jordis Unga vs. Brian Fuente Will Alanis come over from Team Adam to mentor Blake’s singers on her own song? Jordis and Brian will sings her classic “Ironic,” which has Brian nervous because it’s a “girl’s song,” and because he’s used to having a band behind him. Kelly Clarkson, his mentor, pushes him to commit and not hesitate on the song. Jordis asks Miranda and Blake what she needs to do to wow them, and Blake points out the worst thing she can do: lose focus and psych herself out in the battle. But she does anyway! The battle is shaky on both ends, but Blake sides with Adam and Christina’s suggestions and gives the round to Jordis, who hopefully won’t continue to psych herself out throughout the competition.

Team Christina: Anthony Evans vs. Jesse Campbell Christina notes that Anthony and Jesse have a lot of similarities, and says their battle is about finding their own unique ways to shine. “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys will be their testing ground, where Anthony stands as the underdog since Jesse got all four judges to turn their chairs during his audition. Jesse gets Lionel Richie as his adviser, who recommends he not “outdo” it and tempers his ambition. Christina wants him to “milk your moments,” which sounds disgusting. With Jewel in his corner, Anthony fights to keep up with Jesse technically without compromising the emotional integrity of the song. It turns out to be the best battle duet of the night, with both singers complementing one another while managing to shine in their own rights. Christina dithers, but eventually judge-favorite Jesse takes the final live-show spot of the night.

Did the right battlers make it to the live rounds? Let us know in the comments below, or on Twitter and Facebook.