The Battle Rounds have commenced on season 23 of NBC’s The Voice, and viewers have already been treated to some tasty rumbles.
One of the highlights from Monday night’s (March 27) episode was delivered by Gina Miles and Kala Banham, as the Team Niall hopefuls tackled Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love.”
Both artists injected country and pop-pop into Justin Vernon’s 2007 number, a haunting and sad song with a tone that feels like an open wound.
The action on the stage didn’t end with the performance.
“You have a really special gift,” Kelly Clarkson told Miles, the 18-year-old Sacramento, CA native.
Banham, a 24-year-old from Windermere, FL, possesses a voice that “broke my heart,” she added. The compliments kept on flowing. Together, “you’ve got great taste in music, ladies,” Clarkson enthused, and “your voices sound magical together.”
“This is about as evenly matched as we can get here,” said Blake Shelton, remarking that he’d never heard a voice like Miles’. “Man, Gina,” the country star said, “the thought of your voice on a record doing all those crackly weird things that you can do.” And with that, it was clear where his vote would go.
Niall Horan had the tough decision to make, one that he admitted had caused him to lose sleep. Pairing the artists, he admitted, was like shooting himself in the foot. Ultimately, the Irishman went with Miles.
But wait, there’s more.
Clarkson exercised her trigger finger to activate her one steal in the competition. The game continues for Banham.
“Who cares about Niall? Welcome to Team Kelly,” she said.
In doing so, she turned an earlier loss into a win. Clarkson had tried to secure Banham’s services during the Blind Audition, that was until Horan “blocked” her.
Everyone’s a winner. Watch below.
