The Voice - Battle Rounds 1

Tonight was my favorite rounds of The Voice. The crazy and wildly entertaining battle rounds!

First, we found out the high profile mentors that the coaches would be bringing in:
Xtina- Lionel Richie, Jewel
Adam- Robin Thicke, Alanis Morissette
Cee Lo- Ne-yo, Babyface
Blake- Kelly Clarkson, Miranda Lambert

2 members of Team Adam were going first, Adam picked Tony Lucca to go against Chris Cauley. They were to sing "Beautiful Day" by U2. Great song!
Tony Lucca- Brought in Alanis to mentor him. In battle he showed a great rock edge to voice that I thought really worked for the song. His performing reminded me of Train's Pat Monahan.
Chris Cauley- Brought in Robin Thicke to mentor him. Gave him great advice about performing for the song and the lyrics. That is more my style so I really liked this advice. In battle I found Chris more smooth in his vocals.
My vote- I liked Tony's rock vocals edge. Adam picked Tony.

Blake picked Adley Stump to go against RaeLynn which is really interesting since they both do country. He gave them "Free fallin'" by Tom Petty.
Adley Stump- Kelly Clarkson brought in to mentor her. In battle, she showed a strong voice and some good performing as well.
RaeLynn- Blake's Honeybee Miranda Lambert was brought in to mentor her. In battle, she showed a very unique voice from her opening note. She was a little overshadowed but showed she had some fight to her. I liked seeing that.
My vote- I really think that RaeLynn's unique voice makes her stand out more but I Blake will go with Adley by a hair because of her confidence. I was happy to see that Blake picked RaeLynn.

Xtina picked operatic singer Chris Mann to go against Monique Benabou. She gave them "The power of love" by Celine Dion to strut their stuff with.
Chris Mann- Lionel Richie was brought in to mentor him. Lionel Richie!! That's just crazy. Chris was worried about the nuances in Monique's voice that he might not show. In battle, his voice immediately stood out and is just something really special to listen to. He does have to pull back on power though to let more nuance come out.
Monique Benabou- Jewel was brought in to mentor her. They agreed that passion in her singing is her weapon. I sing with passion & emotion and love to see singers do it too. In battle, Monique sounded good but was overshadowed with the matchup. I thought she did a good job though.
My vote however goes to Chris Mann. Just too much uniqueness there. Xtina picked Chris.

Cee Lo picked Angie Johnson to go against Cheesa. Battle of the powerhouses! He picked "Total eclipse of the heart" by Bonnie Tyler for them to do battle with.
Angie Johnson- Ne-yo was brought in to mentor her. In rehearsals, Cheesa wanted the song brought up and Angie decided to ask for it even higher! That worried Cheesa since she had a money note to hit. Angie showed her soldier spirit and was ready for battle. In battle, she sounded really good. I'm a fan.
Cheesa- Babyface was brought in to mentor her. She was worried that the note might be too hi and that it'd be over for her if she couldn't hit it. In battle, she did really good and DID hit the note. That high note in her section may have been an unfair advantage and the deciding factor.
My vote- I knew she'd be good but I thought Cheesa did a lot better than I expected. I'm an Angie fan but I think Cheesa did better. Cee Lo picked Cheesa.

Blake picked Jordis Unga to go against Brian Fuente. He picked "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette for them to sing.
Jordis Unga- Miranda Lambert came to mentor her. I'm a big fan of Jordis and she was seriously over thinking the performance, the song and what she needed to do to win. She has all the talent she needs, she just needs to cut loose and everyone will hear & see it. In battle, she started off good but kind of was all over the place.
Brian Fuente- Kelly Clarkson was brought in to mentor him. She told him to commit to the song and the notes he was going to sing. Good advice! In battle, he sounded good but he and Jordis didn't have good harmony. Even Blake said something afterwards.
My vote- Jordis of course but she'll have to pick it up! Blake picked Jordis.

Xtina picked Anthony Evans to go against Jessie Campbell!! She gave them "If I ain't got you" by Alicia Keys. They showed just a brief clip of this battle in the commercial teasers and wow, I was looking forward to this battle! After the battle, they should've just stopped the show and called these two the co-winners. What a vocal performance by these two. They each tried to outdo each other and we the viewers were the beneficiaries. WOW!!!
Anthony Evans- Jewel was brought in to mentor him. In battle, he sounded real smooth and hit a crazy high note that was a showstopper.
Jessie Campbell- Lionel Richie was brought in to mentor him. He was rather overconfident and showing off which I didn't like seeing. In battle, he sounded great and I really liked his performing style.
My vote- Jessie. Xtina picked Jessie.

The show ended with a vocal explosion but the whole night of battle round night 1 was great. It was a great night of singing and performances. Bravo.