As The Voice finished its Season 26 Battles Monday night, we got one duet after another that would’ve barely qualified as a Tiff. But toward the end of the evening, things picked up in a big way, ultimately leaving us high from a face-off that that was a genuine knockout. Read on, and we’ll discuss all of the showdowns


Team BublĂ©: J.Paul (Grade: B-) defeated Kamila Kiehne (Grade: D) on “Toxic” | Not an auspicious way to start an episode. J.Paul and Kamila’s Battle immediately veered into train-wreck territory, with Britney Spears’ hit being altogether the wrong song for him, and his teenage competitor messing with the melody so much that it often sounded like the song didn’t have one. That said, J.Paul was the clear winner. Even on a mismatch of artist and number, you could tell that he knew what he was doing.

Team Gwen: Camryn Brooks (Grade: B) defeated Rowdy Shea (Grade: C) on “I Remember Everything” | Though this Battle was an improvement over the first one, it wasn’t exactly a roof rattler. Rowdy served a reminder that he has a perfectly nice but altogether average country voice. That was all the opening that Camryn needed to stand out. The clear-as-a-bell quality to her vocals was lovely, even if she never quite managed to deliver the emotional intensity for which her coach had been looking.

Team Reba: Tate Renner (Grade: B+) defeated Tanner Frick (Grade: B-) on “Need a Favor” — Tanner stolen by Michael | On paper, these two so closely resembled one another, even vocally, that I wondered at first how the heck I was supposed to tell them apart. But the longer they sang Jelly Roll’s smash, the clearer the distinction between them became. Tanner is like a cover version; Tate, an original. His voice packs into it a lot more personality and emotion than his opponent’s does.

Team Snoop: Mary McAvoy (Grade: B) defeated Michael Alexandersson (Grade: B+) on “I Only Have Eyes for You” | The moment Michael flipped back his enviable hair and started belting like a mod Dean Martin, I figured it was all over for Mary. But she quickly let me know that I’d underestimated her. She may not be the most electric performer I’ve ever seen on the Voice stage, but she does have a gorgeous vocal. Kinda Diana Krall-like. Still, for my money, Michael and his Tarzan hair had the star power.

Team Reba: Katie O. (Grade: B+) defeated 323 (Grade: A-) on “Lonesome Loser” | Was it just me, or did you wanna turn the volume up on this Battle, too? Regardless, it was a goodun. Katie’s voice was strong and clear enough to cut through even the harmonies. But 323 was stronger. Individually, they sounded great, the scared guy from the Blinds actually loosened up, and together, their harmonies were layer upon layer of gorgeousness. Gwen even called 323 her fave trio ever on the show. (Sorry, Girl Named Tom.)

Team BublĂ©: Cameron Wright (Grade: A+) defeated Cassidy Lee (Grade: A) on “Hero” — Cassidy stolen by Reba | Taken way out of her lane, Cassidy delivered a real ear-opener of a performance, deploying a “What’s this now?” rasp that gave some welcome grit to Mariah Carey’s ballad. By contrast, entirely in their lane was Cameron; they were so comfortable with the genre, it felt like, “Stand back, lemme show ya just 99 of the 2,104 tricks I can do with my vocal” — and all 99 were impressive.