‘The Voice’ season 26 episode 8 recap: Team Bublé stuns in Louis Armstrong cover during ‘The Battles Part 2’
Tonight on “The Voice,” the Battles continued with coaches Michael Buble, Snoop Dogg, Reba McEntire and Gwen Stefani pitting two of their 14 acts against each other in head-to-head match-ups. In this round of the competition, only one of the battling artists advances as a member of their team while the other is eliminated… unless another coach uses a steal to save them and bring the artist over to their team. Michael and Gwen both used their first of two steal options during “The Battles Premiere” on October 21.
For the centerpiece showing of “The Battles Part 2” evening, Michael paired his two “character voices” on the Louis Armstrong classic “What a Wonderful World.” When introducing the song to Edward Preble and Mark Shiiba, Michael referred to Louis as “the most important artist in the history of American music” because he “changed music forever” when he “invented something that has never been heard before.” Because he sees Edward and Mark as such unique artists, he knew they could handle “one of the greatest songs ever written” with the finesse it needed.
During rehearsal, Edward expressed his passion for the kind of music Louis made and it was important for him to “do it justice.” Similarly, Michael recognizes a “camaraderie” between himself and Edward because they “share the same heroes” in terms of their musical influence. Meanwhile, Mark was the artist that Michael used his only Coach Replay on during the Blind Auditions, picking him up because he has a “special” and “different” voice that he knows how to use.
Following their stunning duet of the song, Snoop said he was “in a trance” because they “made it [their] own version.” He challenged Michael to pick Mark over Edward because it would be the unexpected choice for Michael to help bring his tone “to life.” Reba added that it was a smart pairing because they’re so different, but worked so well and she also thought Mark did better because it was “refreshing” and “out of the box.” Gwen was more “mesmerized” by Edward because he “got into it on stage” and was ultimately “more curious” about him as an artist.
Michael acknowledged that the song is “pretty scary” because it “exposes” the artist’s vocal and that he could hear the nervousness in Edward’s voice. He told Mark it was “such a great performance” because he did “such a great job as a storyteller.” Taking it all into consideration, Michael shocked the other coaches by choosing Edward as the winner because of his “potential” and “how he carries himself.” Even though Snoop and Reba both thought he won the battle, neither coach used one of their steals to save Mark.
The other battles shown in episode 8 were: Adam Bohanan over Kevin James Graham from Team Reba singing “Lose Control,” ChrisDeo beat MisterMoon from Team Snoop on “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,” Jeremy Beloate defeated Torion Sellers from Team Buble on “Just the Way You Are,” Torre Blake beat Suede Lacy from Team Snoop with “What You Won’t Do for Love,” and Gabrielle Zabosky won instead of Frankie Torres from Team Gwen singing “Never Tear Us Apart,” but Reba saved Frankie from elimination with use of her first steal of the round.
The updated teams:
TEAM SNOOP – Brad Sample, ChrisDeo, Christina Eagle, DREION, George Starnes, Jake Tankersley, Mary McAvoy, Michael Alexandersson, Mikaela Ayira, Torre Blake
TEAM REBA – 323, Adam Bohanan, Creigh Riepe, Danny Joseph, Deon Jones, Frankie Torres, Jaukeem Fortson, Katie O, Kendall Eugene, Lauren-Michael Sellers, Tanner Frick, Tate Renner, Tsola
TEAM GWEN – Austyns Stancil, Beya, Camryn Brooks, Cozy Len, Felsmere, Gabrielle Zabosky, Jan Dan, Jose Luis, Kay Sibal, Mor Ilderton, Rowdy Shea, Sydney Sterlace
TEAM BUBLE – Aliyah Khaylyn, Cameron Wright, Cassidy Lee, Edward Preble, J.Paul, Jamison Puckett, Jeremy Beloate, Kamila Kiehne, Kiara Vega, Shye, Sloane Simon, Sofronio Vasquez
The four-time Emmy Award-winning musical competition series “The Voice” is in its 26th season featuring five stages of competition: Blind Auditions, Battle Rounds, Knockouts, Playoffs and Live Performance Shows. In the coaches’ chairs, Reba is the defending champion after winning season 25 with Asher HaVon, the show’s first openly LGBTQ champ. She is joined by Gwen, in her 8th season, and Snoop and Michael, both competing for the first time.