The Voice Makes A Change Causing Disadvantage
In an effort to change things up this season, The Voice introduced a brand-new phase of the competition to replace the longstanding knockout rounds.
This phase, called the cross battles, occurred live and pitted contestants against singers from opposing teams, rather than their own teammates. Viewers then voted for the winners in real time, meaning that by the end of it all, the teams were left uneven.
Adam Levine had the fewest team members left standing after the cross battles, with a total of four.
John Legend and Kelly Clarkson each kept six contestants on their teams, while Blake Shelton maintained a full team of eight.
A Brutal Elimination Follows
After the cross battles, the field of Top 24 contestants was trimmed down to the Top 13. Shelton kept six artists on his team, Clarkson kept two, and Legend kept three.
Levine was originally only left with Mari Jones on his team, who wasn’t even chosen by America’s vote. Instead, she was saved by Levine himself, since each coach had the chance to use one save.
He later picked up a second team member after LB Crew from the Comeback Stage won the first Instant Save of the Season and chose Levine as his coach.
#VoiceSave IS OPEN. pic.twitter.com/CvMJYU4f81
— The Voice (@NBCTheVoice) May 1, 2019
There Is No More Team Adam
Moving into Tuesday night’s (May 7) episode, fans knew that the Top 13 contestants would soon become the Top 8. Based on how Levine’s team had fared since the cross battles, the outcome didn’t look good for his team going into the elimination…and it wasn’t.
Four members of Team Blake, one member of Team Kelly, and two members of Team John were revealed to be safe. Team Blake’s Oliv Blu, Team Kelly’s Jej Vinson, and Team John’s Celia Babini received the lowest number of votes and were immediately sent home.
Then, host Carson Daly announced that Team Blake’s Kim Cherry and Team Adam’s only two contestants, Jones and Crew, would be left to compete in the Instant Save. In the end, viewers chose Cherry as the winner, leaving Levine without anyone on his team.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA5Wd5dN3gg
Adam Speaks Out Against Cross Battles
Since the cross battles left Levine with such a small team in comparison to others, there’s no denying that it placed him at a disadvantage late in the competition. Even the day before he was left teamless, Levine had some harsh words to say to an ET reporter about the show’s new round.
“I did not like it,” Levine said with his arms crossed. “I hated it. I hope they change it immediately, cause I think it sucks.”
He then went on to say, “I hope this moment contributes to them never coming back.”
Based on the fans’ reactions to the cross battles on Twitter, it seems that they agree with Levine.
https://twitter.com/DR_RUSH619/status/1123091794487418880
Hate the Cross Battles. Please don’t do it next season. I turned it off last night. #TheVoice
— Tracey Mrozek (@jtc_Tracey) April 17, 2019
@NBCTheVoice hate the cross battles.👎🏻Loved old format .. with the coaching sessions, immediate saves & steals. A lot more drama. This just feels like Idol.
— melissa moon (@MMoon_WREG3) April 23, 2019
But the longtime coach made it clear that he understands why The Voice tried to implement a new phase into the competition this season.
“However, you try things and you don’t always succeed with them, and that’s part of life, and that’s part of having a show that’s been around this long,” he said.
You can listen to Levine speak more about what he truly thinks of the cross battles in the interview below.
Do y’all agree with what he had to say? Do you think the cross battles should never come back?