‘The Voice’ season 22 episode 9 recap: The Battles continue with advisors Charlie Puth, Jazmine Sullivan, Jimmie Allen, Sean Paul [UPDATING LIVE BLOG]
“The Voice” Season 22 battle rounds continued on October 17 with guest advisors Jimmie Allen for Team Blake Shelton, Sean Paul for Team Gwen Stefani, Charlie Puth for Team Camila Cabello and Jazmine Sullivan for Team John Legend. Which artists will advance one step closer to the $100,000 prize?
Below, read our minute-by-minute “The Voice” recap of Season 22, Episode 9 to find out what happened Monday, October 17 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite artists on NBC’s long-running reality TV show, which coach you’re rooting for and who you think will ultimately join “The Voice” winners list for this 22nd season. Carson Daly hosts the Emmy-winning program. Here are the current team breakdowns:
SEE Everything to know about ‘The Voice’ Season 22: Battle advisors announced
TEAM LEGEND: Omar Jose Cardona, Parijita Bastola, Kim Cruse, Morgan Taylor, Peyton Alredge, David Andrew, Valarie Harding, The Marilynds, Emma Brooke, SOLsong, Kara McKee, Lana Love, Nia Skyfer
TEAM GWEN: Jay Allen, Ian Harrison, Tanner Howe, Kique, Alyssa Witrado, Sadie Bass, Cara Brindisi, Rowan Grace, Daysia, Kayla Von Der Heide, Julia Aslanli, Destiny Leigh, Justin Aaron
TEAM CAMILA: Morgan Myles, Andrew Igbokidi, Orlando Mendez, Chello, Ava Lynn Thuresson, Devix, Zach Newbould, Reina Ley, Sasha Hurtado, Sydney Kronmiller, Constance Howard, Eric Who, Grace Bello, Steven McMorran
TEAM BLAKE: Bodie, Kevin Hawkins, Bryce Leatherwood, The Dryes, Kate Kalvach, Brayden Lape, Ansley Burns, Madison Hughes, Eva Ullmann, Hillary Torchiana, Benny Weag, Austin Montgomery, Jaeden Luke
SEE ‘The Voice’ winners: All seasons
Keep refreshing/reloading this “The Voice” live blog for the most recent updates.
8:00 p.m. – “Previously on ‘The Voice’!” In Episode 8, the battle rounds kicked into high gear. On Team Blake, Austin Montgomery defeated Tanner Fussell. Team Gwen’s Rowan Grace defeated Jillian Jordyn. Team Legend’s Valarie Harding defeated Dia Malai. But the most exciting battle of the night was Team Camilla’s Morgan Myles vs. Steven McMorran. Morgan won the battle, but Steven remained in the war when his coach used her one and only save on him. But enough about last week. Let the battles continue!
8:01 p.m. – The night kicked off with Team Camila’s Ava Lynn Thuresson against Orlando Mendez. They worked with Camila and Charlie on the classic song “Rocket Man,” but a country version that Camila thought would adapt well to their natural styles. Charlie said that Orlando “has a lot of colors” in his voice and that it’s powerful and likened Ava Lynn’s voice to Taylor Swift’s. Camila gave them the advice of singing the song on the treadmill in order to center in on their breathing and emotional intent.
8:06 p.m. – Gwen called the battle exciting, complimenting Ava Lynn’s head voice and noticing Orlando’s character on stage. John thought it was an interesting take on the song, hearing Ava Lynn’s range and felt like Orlando’s presence was impressive. Blake thought Ava Lynn “did more,” but that Orlando had the standout moment with his big note. Camila thought Ava Lynn came out of her shell compared to where she was at rehearsal and was surprised by Orlando’s performance because she hadn’t noticed all her delivered in the rehearsal. Camila thought they had different strengths, but decided that her winner was Orlando.
8:14 p.m. – Next up was a session with Gwen and Sean with her guitarists Cara Brindisi and Jay Allen on the song “Leather and Lace.” Gwen thinks they both fit into the folky genre of the song and told them she’s looking for their personality to come out. Sean could immediately notice that both artists have been in front of audiences before. Gwen wanted Jay to go into the tender parts of his voice more and advised Cara to stick to the traditional melody so as to not alienate the audience.
8:24 p.m. – John called Cara “so perfect” and relaxing, but found Jay more compelling because of the rasp in his voice. Blake got wrapped up in the hypnotic way that Cara sings, but he also would have chosen Jay because he was more relaxing. Camila didn’t disagree, noting Cara’s delicate and gentle voice but also feeling the “star quality’ from Jay. Gwen said that Jay had to work on bringing down the power of his voice and he succeeded and that Cara had to find her own confidence. Calling it a hard decision, Gwen said that in that moment her winner had to be Cara.
8:30 p.m. – But Gwen did not want to see Jay go and so she hit her save button in order to keep him around on her team! Unfortunately, Blake wasn’t going to let her keep Jay so easily so he hit his steal button!
8:37 p.m. – With the power in his own hands, Jay opted to go in the direction of the country music business and choose the Nashville legend, Blake!
8:39 p.m. – John’s first pairing of the night with Jazmine was Emma Brooke vs. Nia Skyfer on “she’s all I wanna be.” John chose it for them because of the angsty energy of the song that he wanted them to tap into. John told Nia that her big notes are pinched and she needs to open her vocal up. He also thought that Emma’s attitude on the song was “a little too sunny” and so it didn’t match the lyric of the song.
8:48 p.m. – Following their performance, Blake commented that they couldn’t be more different as artists. He thought Nia’s performance was loose and energetic compared to Emma’s more poised stature that he’s drawn to. Camila thinks Nia’s vocals “came up” from the blinds and that Emma is more polished with impressive long votes. Gwen thinks Emma has stage presence from her facial expressions, but that Nia’s stage energy draws you in. John said that they’re both good at what they do and acknowledged that the song was closer to Nia’s natural style. On the other side, he thinks Emma can do anything and she can sell the story with just her expression. His choice was to give Emma the win, wanting to see how she’ll do in the next round.
8:59 p.m. – Next, attention turned to Team Blake with their advisor Jimmie for a session with Bodie and Jaeden Luke as they rehearsed “As Long as You Love Me.” The Justin Bieber song was an unexpected choice for the two artists, but made it a challenge for them to make it sound like something they’d write. In stripping down and rearranging the song, they were able to make it more approachable for their voices.
9:11 p.m. – Camila called it “a sexy arrangement” of the song, calling Jaeden’s tone beautiful and special and saying Bodie was “flawless” and better than she remembers him being. She also boldly claimed she’d steal either of them. Gwen was also blown away, saying that it showed the depth that they each have. John said he’d pick Jaeden’s tone over Bodie’s, but that his execution isn’t always there so he’d actually pick Bodie as the winner. Blake told Jaeden that he didn’t expect him to step up in the way he did and Bodie used his full voice and made it work with Jaeden’s. All things considered, Blake selected Bodie as his winner.
9:17 p.m. – Without hesitation, both Camila and Gwen hit their steal buttons for the chance to steal Jaeden. Camila appealed to the “left of center” vibe he has and continued the joke that they keep flirting with each other. Gwen reminded him that they share musical taste and she’s a fan of his style and voice. Flattered by both pitches, Jaeden decided he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with Camila.
9:24 p.m. – For the next match up, Camila brought together Reina Ley and Grace Bello to work through “Time After Time.” She wanted to give them the opportunity to be emotional on stage. Charlie thought their voices paired really well together, but Camila wanted Grace to work on her vocal support from the core. Charlie reminded them that you don’t have to be pitch perfect in order to deliver a strong performance.
9:33 p.m. – Gwen thought Grace used her soft voice to settle into the song well, but called Reina’s warm tone rich and called her the winner. John likes Grace’s tone, but noticed Reina’s security in the melody and was impressed by that. Blake noticed that Grace seems to have lost confidence since the blinds and compared to Reina who has so much confidence it became hard to compare them. Camila said they had an even performance, but the winner had to be Reina because her voice and control is so impressive for her age.
9:45 p.m. – Team Gwen got the final spot of the night for “No More Drama” between Justin Aaron and Destiny Leigh. Sean said that Justin did what he had to do in rehearsal, blowing him away with his soulful voice. Gwen likes Destiny because she has power and dynamics with a pretty tone. Both Sean and Gwen noticed the moments when Destiny got in her head mid-vocal and her lack of confidence compromised the vocal. Gwen called out Justin’s accuracy and how it impressive it is that it doesn’t even sound like he’s trying.
9:54 p.m. – John called the performance “electrifying” because Destiny brought energy and passion to the performance while Justin was hitting the high notes flawlessly to show off his range. Blake said Destiny made it a tough decision because of how consistent as a vocalist Justin is, but she made leaps in performance in order to get “toe to toe” with him. Camila was the third coach to give Destiny props simply for being able to match Justin, but said that he offers more than his technical command and said his tone is great, too. Gwen completely agreed that Destiny’s stage presence is powerful, but that Justin has a gift in his voice. She stuck by vocal and gave the win to Justin, but once again she hit her save button and this time it wasn’t challenged so Destiny remained on Team Gwen as well.