The Voice Recap: Third Battle Round Provides Family Drama and the Most "Unique" Match Ever!

Six more singers are sent through to the live shows on the NBC hit reality singing competition in tonight's intense episode

By Tierney Bricker Mar 20, 2012 3:00 AMTags
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These battle rounds are making us sweat, y'all!

Seriously, everyone is just so good this season on The Voice that we actually start to panic a bit when mentors Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton are forced to choose between two singers on the NBC show. 

The third night of battle rounds proved to be just as intense as the first two, with family drama and friendships added into the mix for good measure. So which singers made it through to the live shows? 

Team Christina

Christina decides to give Chris Brown and Jordin Sparks' "No Air" to Ashley De La Rosa and Jonathas. The song has "a lot of powerful and difficult notes," Ashley says with worry, which gives Jonathas confidence. "I am more experienced...so I want to say I have a little step ahead of her," he says. Christina brings in Lionel Richie to coach Jonathas, who feels "very blessed." Christina says Jonathas needs to stop trying to emulate Usher and Brown and make the song his own. Ashley rehearses with Jewel, who tells her that she has an opportunity to shine because she sounds so different, while Jonathas sounds similar to Usher. 

After their duet, Cee Lo says it was "nicely staged" and chooses Ashley as the battle winner. Adam compliments their chemistry onstage, but also chooses Ashley, and Blake agrees with his fellow mentors. In the end, Christina makes it a unanimous decision and sends Ashley through to the live shows. 

Lewis Jacobs/NBC

Team Blake

The country crooner pits ALyX vs. Jermaine Paul on Billy Ocean's "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car." Of her limited experience in comparison to Jermaine, who was a backup singer for Alicia Keys, ALyX says, "Youth is power." Jermaine is feeling pretty confident, saying his experience gives him an edge in this battle. Blake's wife, country superstar Miranda Lambert, comes in to mentor ALyX and is worried that ALyX won't be able to have fun and let go onstage. "Just come out of your shell," she advises. 

Kelly Clarkson mentors Jermaine, and she's impressed by his vocals. "That was amazing! I really hope you win, but if you don't, please come sing with me on tour!" she offers. After their performance, Christina says Jermaine made the song his own, and Cee Lo also chooses Jermaine as the winner. "You took this song and kicked its ass," Adam tells Jermaine. "I gotta say Jermaine." For Blake, it wasn't a difficult decision: Jermaine!

In the second battle for Team Blake, Gwen Sebastian and Erin Willett face off onstage with Pat Benatar's "We Belong Together." The girls say how sad they are to compete against each other as they've become good friends. Gwen, a country singer, is mentored by one of her idols, Miranda, and Kelly coaches Erin, who is dealing with family issues. Her father is in the hospital with pancreatic cancer, but he tells her to stay in the competition. 

Christina says she "really enjoyed" their duet, but favors Erin over Gwen. Cee Lo disagrees with Christina and thinks Gwen won the battle, while Adam selects Erin, but says they were both fantastic. Blake has a hard time choosing, but keeps Erin in the end. 

Team Cee Lo

In a crazy pairing, Cee Lo decides to put Erin Martin and the Shields Brothers up against each other on Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do With It?" "It's probably the most unique pairing," Cee Lo says of this battle, which pits the rocker duo against the more subtle former model. Babyface mentors the brothers and advises them to be more "vulnerable" on the song after he compares them to Wayne's World. Ne-Yo comes in to mentor Erin and tells her he doesn't believe in her emotional connection to the song.

"This battle is like Erin vs. rock and roll," one of the brothers says before the battle. "That was so weird!" Adam says of their performance, before telling Erin her theatrics overshadowed her voice. Blake compliments Erin on her revealing attire and also chooses her vocals. "I f--king loved it. I thought that was entertaining," Christina gushes, before favoring the Shields Brothers. Cee Lo's final decision? He doesn't know how much he could do with the brothers, so he chooses Erin.

Lewis Jacobs/NBC

Team Adam

In the first battle of the night, Adam pits 19-year-old Pip against Nathan Parrett on the late Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good." Tensions were high at their first rehearsal with their mentor. "I think Adam was favoring Nathan just a little bit," Pip says after Adam gushes over Nathan's vocals. Adam brings in Alanis Morissette to mentor Pip and Robin Thicke to guide Nathan. 

During their final rehearsal, Adam tells Nathan he is no longer the underdog, and musical-theater veteran Pip is feeling the pressure. In the battle of "two young guys with old souls," the mentors have a hard time choosing a victor, but Blake leans toward Pip. Christina also chooses Pip, while Cee Lo favors Nathan. In the end, Adam is "baffled" by the decision, but chooses Pip to move forward in the competition. 

In the team's second battle, Angel Taylor and Katrina Parker must face off on Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love" because they both have "vulnerability" when they sing. In rehearsals, mentor Robin tells Angel he needs to physically feel the lyrics of the song. For Katrina,  Alanis helps her learn to calm her nerves in the opening of the song.  After their performance, Blake thinks Katrina "flat-out won" the battle and Christina agrees, thinking the song didn't suit Angel. Cee Lo also favors Katrina. Adam decides to keep Katrina on his team. 

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