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In case you missed it, The Voice is officially back for another season, and—just like the famous chairs the coaches sit in—the program is promising plenty of twists and turns.
Season 29 of the beloved NBC singing competition premiered on Monday, Feb. 23, kicking off with the first round of “Blind Auditions.” However, things were a little different this time, with the inaugural episode adopting the new Battle of Champions format and several rule changes along with it.
And this week, we’re recapping Episode 2 live so you don’t miss a single second of the seat-turning action!
What are the new rules for Battle of Champions?
Those already familiar with The Voice know the show typically has celebrity “coaches” with strong backgrounds in the music industry on a panel, whose task is to build a winning team of singers. For the first few episodes, the aforementioned “Blind Auditions,” the coaches are seated with their backs to the singers, in chairs that only allow them to turn around if they hit a big red button on their seat, declaring they want said singer on their squad.
While the general format remains the same, this season is different in that the panel of coaches is made up exclusively of three celebs who’ve won the show in the past—hence the whole “Battle of Champions” thing—Kelly Clarkson (a four-time winner), Adam Levine (a three-time winner) and John Legend (the Season 16 winner). According to NBC’s official website, the rules will also change a bit throughout this season, the outlet stating that “each of the competition’s four rounds will deliver a first-ever element, so there’s something to love for fans old and new. ”
These changes could be seen as early as the first Blind Audition episode, with the competition introducing the “Triple Turn competition,” in which the coaches will “attempt to score the most 3-Chair Turns, with the winner gaining a special advantage in the next round … Coaches will end the Blind Auditions with 10 artists each. ”
What happened on the premiere episode?
The first episode of the season introduced us to 11 new singers, with the coaches eager to lay the groundwork for their 10-person teams. When all was said (or should we say, sung) and done, 10 of the 11 singers cemented their spots, and the three coaches ended the night with multiple new team members apiece.
Going into the second Blind Audition episode, the teams were as follows (we’ve also included which coaches hit their button for which singer):
Team KellyJulia Golden (Clarkson and Legend)Abigayle Oakley (Triple turn: first point for Clarkson)Jonah Mayor (Clarkson and Levine)Liv Ciara (Clarkson and Levine)Aaron LaVigne (Clarkson and Legend)Team LevineAlexia Jayy (Triple turn: first point for Levine)Bay Simpson (Levine)Jeremy Keith (Triple turn: second point for Levine)Team LegendLucas West (Legend and Levine)AJ Robinson (Legend)JW Griffin
The first to the stage was Griffin, a 25-year-old bread delivery driver from Georgia who sang “Long Haired Country Boy” by the Charlie Daniels Band for the coaches.
Clarkson was quick to hit her button, followed shortly by Legend, then Levine—kicking the show off with yet another triple turn. Levine said Griffin’s voice was “one of his favorites he’d heard on the show,” while Clarkson applauded his storytelling ability with the song. Meanwhile, Legend loved Griffin’s tone, touting his own CMT Award as a reason to choose him.
After an energetic battle, Griffin ultimately chose Clarkson to be his coach, giving the singer her second triple turn point and tying her with Levine.
Nicolette Capua
Next up was 23-year-old Capua from Staten Island, who noted her preferred genre was “straight up pop.” With this in mind, she chose to perform “you broke me first” by Tate McRae.
While Capua did a fantastic job with the song, and the audience was behind her, none of the coaches hit their button. Still, Clarkson complimented Capua, calling her a “talented singer.” Levine also commended her performance, but gave her notes on her song choice, suggesting that, should she return in the future, she pick a different song.
Tia Durant
32-year-old Durant, a South Carolina resident and former banker with big dreams of being on the stage, followed Capua with a performance of “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight & the Pips.
Clarkson and Levine pushed their buttons quickly at almost the same moment, while Legend stepped back and allowed the two to fight over Durant. After Clarkson and Levine poked fun at Legend for missing out, they made their cases to convince Durant to join their team.
In the end, Durant also chose Clarkson to be her coach.
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