The Voice UK Round-Up – Did The Right Acts Win The First Battle Rounds?
This year's battle rounds began on The Voice UK at the weekend and we can tell you one thing; they were intense!
After passing the initial blind auditions, each act was paired up with another act from their team. Those two acts then went head to head singing together on stage as they competed for survival on the talent show.It was then the decision of their judge to choose who would stay and who would leave. Each judge was also given one 'steal' which allowed them to take one of the other mentor's acts who wasn't put through.
Did the judges make the right decisions though?
Here's the results and exactly what we thought about each battle round...
Jermain Jackman VS Sarah Eden-Win
Song: 'I Knew You Were Waiting' - Aretha Franklin & George Michael
This was a great duo to start the show and we thought both Jermain and Sarah gave strong performances. Jermain has a very unique voice but it's one we're not super keen on at the moment, maybe it'll grow on us. Personally, we'd have put Sarah through. We felt it was a bit unfair that Jermaine got an advantage just because he'd previously met Will before and was advised to audition for the show by him.
Our verdict: wrong decision.
Lee Glasson VS Jimmy Weston
Song: 'When You Were Young' - The Killers
We were super excited when we heard Lee and Jimmy would be singing 'When You Were Young'. It's one of our favourite songs but we were a little disappointed by the performance. Jimmy seemed a bit over confident to warm to and while Lee was good, there's stronger acts on the show. In the end, Kylie decided to take Lee through to the next round because she said his voice is unique and would be recognisable on the radio.
Our verdict: right decision.
Sally Barker VS Talia Smith
Song: 'Dear Darlin' - Olly Murs
Despite not knowing the song originally, Sally smashed her rendition of 'Dear Darlin' by Olly Murs. She delivered a very heartfelt emotional performance and whilst country singer Talia was great too, she just couldn't compete. We loved the fact that Sally sang the track in a completely different way.
Our verdict: right decision.
Tila & Tavelah VS Beth McCarthy
Song: 'Roar' - Katy Perry
The fact that Beth was going up against twin double act Tila and Tavelah was always going to be tough. She's also the youngest singer in the competition, at just 16 years old, so she definitely had a challenging task ahead of her. While we agree Beth was good, we feel she'd be better in a few years and thought that Tila and Tavelah were stronger. Will was surprised at Ricky's decision to keep Beth but still didn't use his steal.
Our verdict: wrong decision.
Leo Ihenacho VS Steven Alexander
Song: 'Thunder In My Heart' - Leo Sayer
In rehearsals, Leo really struggled practising the song 'Thunder In My Heart'. Steven was ahead to start with but it soon evened out and we'd say that this was the tougest decision on Saturday's programme. They're both equally talented vocally but Ricky decided to save Leo as he liked his stage moves more. Realising that Steven was a worthy competitor, Tom decided to steal Steven for his team.
Our verdict: toughest decision of the show but we're glad both still in.
Kenny Thomspon VS Bizzi Dixon
Song: 'Hey Jude' - The Beatles
Both Kenny and Bizzi put on a great gospel performance of 'Hey Jude' by The Beatles. Whilst both are talented, Bizzi definitely had more stage presence and this is one of the reasons why Tom chose to save him. Kenny's still got an amazing voice but his nerves sometimes made him awkward to watch.
Our verdict: right decision
Callum Crowley VS Tom Barnwell
Song: 'P.Y.T' - Michael Jackson
Callum and Tom took to the stage to perform the Michael Jackson number 'P.Y.T'. In many ways, they're both quite similar and they both did well in the battle round. It was Callum who was saved by will.i.am though, he had the edge in both style and on stage. Will thought that Tom was a little bit too shy.
Our verdict: right decision
Jai VS Nomakhosi
Song: 'Tainted Love' by Soft Cell
It was quite hard to choose between Jai and Nomakhosi. Jai has a very distinct tone which is super unique whilst Nomakhosi has an amazing powerful voice. In the end, Kylie decided to save Jai which is what we'd have done too. Will couldn't see Nomakhosi leave the competition though and as a result, he decided to steal her for him team. He said that he was missing a soul diva in his group.
Our verdict: right decision
Kelsey-Beth VS Emily Adams
Song: 'Fighter' - Christina Aguilera
This was one of our favourite song choices of the night. We love 'Fighter' and we feel that both Emily and Kelsey-Beth did it justice. During rehearsals, Emily kept a lot of tricks under her sleeve and as such, she really impressed Ricky on the night. Emmerdale actress Kelsey-Beth was still super talented but there just isn't enough room for everyone in the competition. She felt the song choice was more suited to Emily.
Our verdict: right decision
Celestine VS Mairead Conlon
Song: 'It's My Party' - Jessie J
Personally, we'd say that this was one of the weakest performances on Saturday's show. It's probably quite a hard song sing but we just feel that it didn't stand out vocally against some of the other battle rounds. Will didn't seem to be enjoying it either but Tom decided to save Celestine. Personally, we'd have saved Mairead as we thought she was vocally stronger. We liked her 'runs' and 'licks'.
Our verdict: wrong decision
Jessica Steele VS Anna McLuckie
Song: 'Good Riddance' - Green Day
Jessica Steele is probably our favourite in the competition and this was one of our favourite battle rounds. For the performance, Anna played the harp so feisty Jess decided to step it up a level and play the piano. Both singers were really talented but we were slightly gutted when we saw that Will saved Anna. Thankfully, Ricky saw Jess' talents and saved her. He admitted that he had a 'soft spot' for both Jess and Anna.
Wrong decision - while Anna's talented, we preferred Jess and are glad she's still in.
Nathan Amzi VS Christina Marie
Song: 'The Power of Love' - Frankie Goes To Hollywood
This has been described by most people as the performance of the night. It was pretty incredible and all four judges gave Christina and Nathan a standing ovation. We'd say it was a pretty hard choice but agreed with Ricky's choice to save Christina. Kylie was the only judge left with the option to steal but she decided not to use it which shocked some of the other judges. We reckon she's got her eyes on another contestant!
Our verdict: right decision
