The battle rounds for The Voice season seven finally came to a close last night (Oct. 21) with three of the more solid performances seen this year. Pharrell Williams, Blake Shelton and Adam Levine showed off the best of the rest of their teams, while the final coach Gwen Stefani waited to finally use her final steal until the last available moment.
The show actually kicked off with the weakest performance, a rendition of the relatively hokey standard "On Broadway." But The Voice finally kicked things up a notch with the most solid performer from the relatively weak Team Blake, Reagan James, coming into the arena to dominate. And the show ended on a high note - literally.
Check out the final three battle round performances below, and weigh out the options of who really should have won each battle.
Brittany Butler v. Ricky Manning, "On Broadway": First off, this was a really dorky song choice courtesy of Pharrell, so thank you, I guess? The one good thing about this George Benson song was that it allowed for Ricky Manning and Brittany Butler to show off their personalities. Though Butler really sizzled and shined in her audition and Manning was the weakest on Team Pharrell, the singers swapped places during the battle rounds. Maybe it was because Butler was singing way too low for her register or focusing too much on the technicalities of her performance, but Manning just outshined her. He gained a swell of confidence and it showed through and through.
Who technically won the battle? Ricky Manning shoulder-wiggled his way into a secure spot on Team Pharrell.
Who should have won the battle? It feels like Brittany Butler has a more unique tone to her voice, and I just don't think this song was enough in her wheelhouse. But, in the end, she was out-performed by Ricky, so Pharrell made the right choice (for today).
Kensington Moore v. Reagan James, "Team": Both Kensington Moore and Reagan James are teens, so it's pretty fitting that they would tackle the most unique teen performer out there today, Lorde, with her hit "Team." For the two pop vocalists, this song was actually a suitable choice, which is more than I can say for a lot of the songs during the season seven battle rounds. Both James and Moore were able to establish their vocal differences and flares - with Moore's remarkable dynamics and vocal control and James's cool, collected whisper on display. There's just a je ne sais quoi going on with James, and she really stole the show away from Moore, however, despite the power behind Moore's vocals.
Who technically won the battle? Reagan James. She was actually the superior performer.
Who should have won the battle? During rehearsals, Kensington Moore had to take a day out due to health issues, and there will always be a question of how much that hurt her prospects. But, in the end, Reagan established herself as the true star of this "Team." Plus, she was a hot commodity for Gwen Stefani's final steal of the competition, so if Blake didn't keep her around, she would have gotten scooped up right quick.
Beth Spangler v. Mia Pfirrman, "I Turn To You": Wow, this battle. It's so hard to match the vocal talents of Christina Aguilera (a once and future Voice coach), so like Stevie Nicks pointed out, you shouldn't really even try. Despite that advice, both Beth Spangler and Mia Pfirrman went into full diva-mode for "I Turn To You," a standout track from Aguilera's debut album that shows off the full breadth of her range. And they held up to her standards, surprisingly. On the relatively weak Team Adam, both Spangler and Pfirrman were bright spots, and they ran through this song like it was nothing, throwing out power arms in every direction. It's hard to pick out just one standout moment, though Spangler's real power note near the end of the song (and fans of the track know which note) was a real stunner.
Who technically won the battle? Mia Pfirrman, by a hair.
Who should have won the battle? It seemed like Beth Spangler was the real star of this performance, so it's curious that Adam picked Pfirrman. Maybe I'm too distracted by all of Spangler's runs and, admittedly, Pfirrman does have a more interesting tone... but I think she was still out-sung. And so did Gwen Stefani, who used her final steal for Beth.
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