The Voice continued its new round, the Cross Battles, and featured 16 more artists performing for America's votes during Monday night's two-hour episode on NBC.
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For the first time in The Voice history, coaches Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, and John Legend are able to each select an artist from his or her team in real time to compete live against an artist from a different team in a series of faceoffs.
Eight pairs of artists were chosen through a schoolyard-pick type of format to perform on Monday night.
The Voice host Carson Daly kicked off the night by asking Adam to choose a team member to compete in a Cross Battle.
Adam picked LB Crew and then chose to challenge Kelly's team. Kelly therefore selected Jej Vinson to compete.
LB sang "Wade In the Water," while Jej performed "Versace On the Floor" by Bruno Mars.
Adam said both men are "phenomenal" but LB "picked the best possible time to have the best possible performance." Adam said LB took him to church and showed how smart he is vocally.
"I am blown away by you, man, and you are incredible! You're not going anywhere," Adam said.
Kelly noted this was the best Cross Battle viewers have seen this far on the show.
Kelly gushed about how Jej is talented enough to attack a song by one of the most famous performers right now while still making it his own.
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"If Bruno Mars saw that, he'd be like, 'Oh, I should do that lick.' Your runs are so incredibly powerful, but seamless and not trying too hard and I cannot wait to see you on this show. I'm so impressed by you, Jej," Kelly explained.
For an unbiased opinion, John called them both fantastic vocalists but said LB had a slight edge because of his power, "command" and "control of the stage."
Blake admitted he was leaning more towards LB in this Cross Battle as well because the performance was simply stunning.
The next Cross Battle began with Adam choosing his team member Calvin Jarvis to challenge someone from John's team. John then picked Julian King to perform.
Calvin sang "New Rules" by Dua Lipa, and then Julian belted out a bilingual version of "Hello" by Adele.
Adam thought Calvin went from someone who's a great singer to "a frontrunner" because his performance was "unreal."
Adam complimented his poise and said he brought something new to the table.
Lionel told Julian his vocal tone is "so special and beautiful" and he made outstanding choices in how he interpreted Adele's song.
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Kelly thought Calvin won out "a bit" due to his song selection and the interpretation of the song given it's difficult for voters to determine who has the better voice in each Battle.
Blake agreed with Kelly that Calvin probably won that Cross Battle.
For the next Cross Battle, Blake chose his team member Carter Lloyd Horne to battle someone on John's team. John selected Jacob Maxwell, another "heartthrob," as a result.
Carter took the stage with "Way Down We Go" by Kaleo, followed by Jacob with "You're Still the One" by Shania Twain.
Blake told viewers to go back and watch Carter in the "Blind Auditions" to show how far he's come. Blake also loves his unique, baritone voice.
John appreciated Jacob's beautiful and rich tone, but Kelly refused to pick a winner of the Battle.
Next up was Kelly, who asked her trio, The Bundys, to perform against someone on Blake's team. Blake therefore selected Andrew Sevener.
The Bundys chose to sing "The Letter" by The Box Tops, while Andrew sang "Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde" by Travis Tritt.
Kelly gushed about The Bundys' sibling harmony and said they have a beautiful thing that's not present on the show.
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"You burned the place down with your voice. It was unbelievable... Country music fans are losing their minds right now," Blake explained.
Adam agreed Andrew had acted like he was three people on the stage, so he gave him props for standing his ground against the talented trio.
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Shawn performed "Lay Me Down" by Sam Smith, followed by Karly with a performance of "Down" by Marian Hill.
John said Shawn already did the Triple Axel in the Blinds but he was blown away by his vocal dexterity in the lower, bass range.
John didn't know Shawn had "so many weapons," but the coach was pleased he used them in this round.
Blake thanked Karly for bringing "a breath of fresh air" to The Voice because she's so unique. He added she had her best performance on the show thus far.
Adam agreed with Blake that Karly was incredible, but Kelly loved Shawn's spirit. She admitted it was "an odd pairing" and knew it would be tough for America to vote for a winner.
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Carson then asked Adam to introduce his last remaining artist, Kendra Checketts. Adam chose to challenge John, who selected Jimmy Mowery to compete.
Kendra took the stage with "Cold Water" by Major Lazer, and Jimmy opted to sing "Mercy" by Shawn Mendes.
"I believe wholeheartedly you have one of the most powerful, strong and beautiful voices in this competition. You were last but not least... You are so gifted and it seems so effortless," Adam explained.
John complimented Jimmy on making great choices and executing the lyrics beautifully and powerfully.
For an unbiased opinion, Blake chose "to brag on Kendra" because she did so well. Blake was upset she wasn't on his team, and Kelly pointed out she found Kendra's tone "captivating."
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Kelly was up for the next Cross Battle and chose Rebecca Howell as well as a "Team John" challenge. John's last remaining artist Beth Griffith-Manley was therefore picked to compete.
Rebecca belted out "Any Man of Mine" by Shania Twain, while Beth decided to perform "I Put a Spell On You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins.
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Kelly said Beth "killed it" but Rebecca is "a force" to be reckoned with and she's so consistent and always on key. Kelly also loved her vibrato.
John argued Beth had an "Oh my God" moment because there was pain and angst in her voice. John loved how she gave "raw energy" when she's typically very polished.
"Rebecca, you were a shock for me tonight in a good way," Blake added. "[You] took [that song] to the next level."
Blake, however, couldn't believe Kelly let Beth go from her team because she's "ridiculous."
While Adam agreed Beth was incredible and "put on a clinic," he gushed of Rebecca, "The shock of the season so far for me is to see you come up as, I think, maybe the strongest country singer in this competition right now."
And the final Cross Battle of the season belonged to Team Blake's Gyth Rigdon and Team Kelly's Abby Kasch.
Gyth delivered a performance of "Goodbye Time" by Blake Shelton, and then Abby followed that up with "Cupid's Got a Shotgun" by Carrie Underwood.
Blake said Gyth "nailed" an old-school country song and predicted, "This guy is going to be in the finale."
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Kelly was "floored" by Abby's rock-country vocals, saying everyone could feel the song in her whole body and her energy is awesome to watch.
Adam thought Abby was fantastic and spirited, but he predicted Gyth "will be in the finale" because he transported fans to a different place.
Voting opened at beginning of Monday night's broadcast, and the artists with the most home viewer votes within each Cross-Battle pairing will advance to the next round.
Carson will reveal the remaining set of results on The Voice's Tuesday night episode on April 23 at 9PM ET/PT.
In this round, Adam, John, Kelly and Blake are each allowed one "Save" and one "Steal." The coaches only have 10 seconds live to make a decision after the results of any given Cross Battle are announced.
An artist can be stolen from an opposing coach's team, while the "Save" allows a coach to keep a certain, beloved team member on his or her own team going forward.
"In another unprecedented first, coaches could enter the Top 24 live show with uneven teams as America decides the winner of each Cross Battle," according to NBC.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
