Written by Giavanna Foster

This week, NBC’s The Voice aired their first week of battle rounds. Celine Dion appeared with John Legend, Luke Bryan, and DJ Khaled as featured guests. They helped the singers on each team prepare for their performances. Here is our exclusive scoop:

The first week of #VoiceBattles is presented by Toyota. Gwen Stefani and Celine Dion talked during the rehearsals. Celine thanked Gwen for inviting her to mentor the singers on her team. Gwen said that Celine Dion is a special person. Everyone on the team expressed their excitement to work with Gwen Stefani and Celine Dion. Celine Dion stated that The Voice is a competition, but only to a certain extent. Celine Dion added that, on this journey of self-growth, the real competition is with themselves.

Felicia Temple and Quizz Swanigan sang “Titanium” by Sia. Felicia and Quizz sang beautiful, soulful melodies throughout the performance. This performance also featured colorful green lighting. Although Gwen mentioned Felicia’s warm and round tone, she felt Quizz was the winner because of his combined age (13) and unique tone. Adam said that he would pick Felicia as the overall winner of this battle. Blake said that he would also pick Felicia because her warmer, rounder tone is more developed. Alicia added that both singers succeeded in this battle round. She told Quizz that he took direction well and, right now, his voice is in an incredible place.

Carson Daly asked Alicia Keys to name the winner of the battle: Quizz Swanigan. After this, Blake Shelton stole Felicia Temple. This battle has over 1.1 million YouTube views.

Lauren Duski and Brennley Brown sang “Better Man” by Little Big Town. Taylor Swift penned this song for Little Big Town. Lauren and Brennley’s performance featured raw, emotional vocals. It also featured colorful blue and white lighting. Alicia Keys said that Lauren and Brennley are both incredible artists. Lauren’s voice is beautiful, raspy, and smooth “like honey”. She added that, at 15, Brennley delivered an authentic performance. Although Gwen mentioned that Lauren’s voice is rich, she would pick Brennley as the winner because of her innocence. Adam added that both artists shined during the performance because Lauren‘s grace and Brennley’s frantic, emotional energy came through beautifully. This combined energy created an unforgettable performance.

Carson Daly asked Blake to name the winner of the battle: Lauren Duski. After Lauren Duski was declared the winner, Gwen Stefani stole Brennley Brown. This battle now has over 740,000 YouTube views.

This week’s The Voice battle rounds eliminated the following singers:

  • Team Adam: Gaby Borromeo, Nala Price
  • Team Blake: Micah Tryba
  • Team Gwen: Savannah Leighton, Kenny P, Sammie Zonana
  • Team Alicia: Missy Robertson, R.J. Collins

Also, several contestants were stolen during the first week of battle rounds. Felicia Temple is now on Team Blake. Brennley Brown is now on Team Gwen. Ashley Levin and Dawson Coyle are now on Team Alicia. Click here to see the updated list of Season 12 contestants.

ARTSNLA congratulates everyone who made it to season 12’s battle rounds. All singers on The Voice are true winners. We will be writing about The Voice next week. Stay tuned.