Worries Emerge Over New Voice Round
After the battle rounds wrapped up on the current season of The Voice, fans were expecting to see the knockout rounds, which have been a staple of the show since Season 7. But at the conclusion of the battles, the show announced it would be introducing a new round called the live cross battles.
In a nutshell, here’s how the new round works:
- A coach picks an artist from his/her team and then challenges an artist from another coach’s team.
- The two singers each perform a solo.
- Viewers are left to vote on the winner between the Monday night and Tuesday night shows.
- The winner is revealed on the Tuesday night show.
- Coaches can use one save and one steal throughout the rounds.
🚨 THIS IS MAJOR 🚨
Join us for the most exciting surprise in Voice history April 15 on @NBC. 🎉 https://t.co/6cMYVCeMug
— The Voice (@NBCTheVoice) April 7, 2019
For the first time ever, fans get the chance to vote at such an early stage in the competition, which has the power to change a lot. It can also result in coaches having uneven teams, as one coach may end up having all of his/her contestants eliminated.
The first cross battles aired on Monday night (April 15), and reactions were mixed. Some fans enjoyed the new format, saying they appreciated the show’s effort to introduce something fresh after so many seasons on the air.
But most viewers were less than pleased with the cross battles. Some complained about sound issues that hampered the artists’ performances, while others just weren’t impressed with the new format.
@NBCTheVoice the worst episode of the Voice in all the years it has been on, the cross battles were a disaster and the song choices were karaoke style. Each vocalist performed without their "ears", so amateur, so dissatisfied 😨
— Linda Fiabane (@LHalfpop) April 16, 2019
Not A Fan At All Of These Cross Battles! How Quickly Can You Bring The Original Format Back! #TheVoice
— Stape@28 (@LoriStapleton5) April 16, 2019
https://twitter.com/SheilaM44230905/status/1117987332425158657
Who Is Safe On Team Blake?
One big concern among viewers was that the cross battles would end in a popularity contest. The thought is that people tend to vote for singers they think are attractive, or for their favorite coach, rather than the “voice” itself.
Country fans and fans of Team Blake were especially concerned following the first cross battles. The longtime Voice coach had four contestants compete in the introductory round, including fan-favorite country singer Dexter Roberts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7BHsz-XsCE
The results show aired on Tuesday (April 16), finally revealing the fate of Shelton’s team to viewers.
Team Blake contestants won three out of their four cross battles, with Roberts, Kim Cherry, and Oliv Blu all being chosen as winners by fan vote. The only Team Blake contestant who did not win the fan vote was Selkii, who performed “Torn” against Team Adam’s Mari.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sSddS9kXmI
How The Team Stands Now
But even though Selkii lost the cross battle, Shelton has a ton of faith in her talent, which is why he chose to use his only available “save” in order to keep her on the show and on his team. That means that Team Blake walked out of the first round of cross battles without losing any of its members!
Y’all can feel free to breathe a sigh of relief now.
Only time will tell if the other remaining Team Blake singers will fare as well in the second cross battles. Those will air on April 22, with the results coming the following day. But no matter how that round turns out, Shelton knows he already has four incredibly talented artists on his team!
Just in case you haven’t seen the cross battles yet or need a refresher on how they work, watch the Voice‘s video about the new round below.