The Voice aired its first episode of battle rounds, in which the coaches narrow down their teams by pitting members against each other. Other coaches have a chance to steal the losing member for their own team, and coach Blake Shelton used his only two steals in the first round — including one to steal Briana Cuoco, sister of Kaley Cuoco, from Team Christina Aguilera.

Grey and Nic Hawk from Adam Levine's team were the first to battle, singing Jessie J's "Domino." After working with musical mentor Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, Hawk and Grey battled it out in front of the coaches. After a fun performance that left the other coaches torn about the winner, Levine chose to keep Grey on his team. Shelton was quick to use his first steal to get Hawk on his team, asking "Why is Adam such an idiot?"

Amber Nicole and Timyra-Joi of Team Christina battled next, dueting Beyoncé's "Listen." They worked with British superstar Ed Sheeran in rehearsals, and gave a live performance so powerful that Aguilera was left in tears. Aguilera chose Nicole as the winner of the round, and Timyra-Joi went home — though Shelton admitted that he regretted not hitting his "steal" button for the 15-year-old vocalist.

Shelton's Justin Chain and Shelbie Z. performed next, dueting Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson's "Don't You Wanna Stay?" They were assisted by legendary singer Cher in rehearsals, perfecting their pitch and harmonies. During the live performance, the coaches praised those harmonies and felt it was a truly great duet, making it a difficult decision for Shelton. In the end he chose to keep Shelbie, sending Chain home.

Cee Lo Green's team was up next. Green pitted gospel singer Anthony Paul against shy Caroline Pennell to sing Justin Bieber's "As Long As You Love Me." Though their voices and backgrounds were very different, Green and mentor Miguel helped to make them work well together. After an unusual performance, Green chose to keep Pennell on his team. Aguilera moved quickly, using her first steal to get Paul on her team.

Team Adam was up again next. Levine pitted powerhouses Donna Allen and Tessanne Chin against each other. He gave them Emeli Sandé's "Next To Me" to perform. Allen lended her raspy tone to the song, while Chin gave a clearer performance. After an incredible performance by both singers, Levine had a difficult time deciding between the two. He chose to continue on with Chin on his team and was shocked when none of the other coaches stole Allen for their team. "You guys are idiots," Levine told them.

Cuoco and Jacquie Lee from Team Christina closed out the night, singing "House Of The Rising Sun" by The Animals. Each gave a strong performance, but in the end Aguilera chose to continue with Lee, leaving Cuoco up for grabs. Green, then Shelton, pressed their buttons in hopes of stealing Cuoco for their team. Despite a strong pitch from Green and Levine's encouragement to join Team Cee Lo, Cuoco decided to go with Shelton, looking at his record as the deciding factor. Cuoco was Shelton's second and last steal for the battle rounds.

The Voice's battle rounds continue tonight at 9:00 p.m. on NBC.

Leave a comment

Read more about: