‘The Voice’ Recap: Kelly Clarkson Saves Queen Latifah’s Teen Singer With Her Steal

Night 2 of the Battle Rounds on Season 30 of The Voice began with Kayleigh Matthews deciding whether she wanted Kelly Clarkson or Riley Green as her new coach. After Queen Latifah chose Lillie Kolich over Kayleigh in the final Battle performance of the October 12 episode, Clarkson and Green both pushed their buttons to Steal the eliminated contestant, leaving Kayleigh with a huge decision.

She wound up deciding to join Team Riley, and will now be one of the seven artists on Green’s team heading into Cut Week.

The night then continued with more Battle Round performances. Latifah, Clarkson, Green, and Adam Levine had tons of tough choices to make as they paired their team members up for duets, with only one moving on.

Scroll down for a full recap of the October 13 performances and for a refresh on where the teams stand now.

Bigcountry vs. Luke Cope (Team Queen)

Latifah’s first Battle pairing of the night was Bigcountry (three-chair turn) and Luke Cope (two-chair turn), who hit the stage to perform “Tennessee Whiskey” by Chris Stapleton.

“Bigcountry, you know I turned for you in the Blinds. Big fan of what you do,” Green applauded. “It’s a tough song to tackle. Your voice felt right on it. Everything about it was great, man, awesome performance. Luke, the high harmonies were perfect. You did some really unique things with your voice. So I guess if I had to lean one way or the other, Luke, I think that was really unique what you did.”

Clarkson called the performance “pretty seamless and cool,” while also praising both guys for their harmonies. “I think you did a really great job, too, of evening it out [and] letting each other shine,” she added. Levine said the harmonies were “pretty magical” and admitted he’d choose Bigcountry as the winner because of he has the personality, in addition to the voice.

Finally, Latifah told her artists, “Y’all rocked that. You sound amazing together. I’m so proud of this performance.” After breaking down what each singer did well, she made her decision, keeping Bigcountry on her team.

Anna McElroy vs. Johnnie Kapua (Team Kelly)

Next up, Clarkson’s team members Anna McElroy (three-chair turn) and Johnnie Kapua (two-chair turn and First-In button pick) went head-to-head with a rendition of “Some Things I’ll Never Know” by Teddy Swims and Maren Morris.

“That was so beautiful. Thank you for letting us into that moment,” Latifah gushed. “Anna, you’re a beast, it just makes no sense. That rasp, that breath is just so beautiful, and where you went with these notes is incredible. Johnnie, you sounded like you got just a touch of the nerves for a second, but then you let the soul come out.”

Levine loved Anna’s “first few notes” of the performance. “Your low register is really amazing and I wasn’t expecting that,” he said, adding that parts of the performance “got away” from Johnnie, and said he would pick Anna as the winner. Green agreed that Anna’s low notes were “shocking” and unexpected to him, while also noting that he’d pick her for his team, as well.

“The ease, Johnnie, of your voice and the notes, it’s so effortless,” Clarkson raved. “You have a special tone about you that I just fall in love with every time you open your mouth. Anna, there’s a certain rasp to your voice that is just so attractive. … Either way I go, no joke, afterwards, I would love to help.” Anna was selected as the winner of the Battle.

Brendan Coulter vs. Keiyana Osmond (Team Riley)

Green’s two “non-major country artists” Brendan Coulter (two-chair turn) and Keiyana Osmond (one-chair turn) were tasked with singing “She Will Be Loved” by Levine’s band Maroon 5.

Clarkson praised Keiyana’s tone and said, “I’m very interested in you as an artist. You’re so intriguing.” However, she said she would “lean a little bit more towards” Brendan because she wants to see more from him.

Levine thanked Brendan and Keiyana for singing his song. “You guys couldn’t be more different, so it really does boil down to where he wants to go. It’s a hard song and it takes everything you got, but I applaud you both for doing a great job,” he added.

Before giving his decision, Green said, “I’m so proud that y’all are on my team. … I’m upset that I paired y’all together because this is so tough, but at the same time, I wouldn’t have gotten to see that. It was awesome.” He called Brendan’s performance “flawless” and told Keiyana he “loves hearing [her] sing.” Green went with his gut and chose Keiyana as the winner of the Battle.

Evan James vs. Luke Curran (Team Adam)

Levine’s first pairing of the night, Luke Curran (two-chair turn) and Evan James (three-chair turn), sang “Wind Up Missin’ You” by Tucker Wetmore.

“Y’all felt locked in from the very beginning,” Latifah said. “This is going to be a tricky one right here. Evan just ran all around the world real quick. Luke just gave it to that microphone. I feel extremely encouraged by both of you and your performances that you can keep going in this competition.”

Green said he liked the arrangement, noting that Evan felt “very comfortable from the beginning” with the song choice, but said Luke “really made it [his] own.” In an effort to help Levine out, he said he would probably pick Evan as the winner.

Although it was tough, Levine had to pick just one of the guys to move on. He admitted both guys had pitch issues during parts of the performance and said he was flip-flopping about who he would pick throughout the song. Ultimately, Evan was chosen as the winner of the Battle.

Hazel Gerson vs. Nina Howland (Team Kelly)

Next, Hazel Gerson (two-chair turn) faced off against Nina Howland (four-chair turn) with a rendition of “Breathe Me” by Sia.

Levine said the performance was “so evenly matched” and told Hazel she “held her own” against a four-chair turn. “I might stick with Nina but Hazel you were so surprisingly great today that … shoot,” he admitted.

Green loved how Hazel started the song, and gushed over how Nina finished it. “Because you’re mom’s looking at me, I’m going to lean a little towards Hazel,” he decided.

Clarkson noted that Hazel was “more outward” with her emotion, while Nina is “more introverted, emotionally, with this song, and you almost draw people in.” Since it was such a tough decision, Clarkson said she was also taking the ladies’ Blind Audition performances into account and made her choice based on who she thinks will thrive in the Live Shows: Nina Howland.

Marcus Ladden Jr. vs. Chari (Team Queen

The final performance of the night was Team Queen’s Marcus Ladden Jr. (two-chair turn) and Chari (four-chair turn) singing “On My Own” by Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald. Since LaBelle was Latifah’s advisor, there was even more riding on the performance!

“I loved every second of that,” Green gushed. “Y’alls vocals were unreal. That was an awesome performance. Queen, good luck. I don’t know how you’re going to do it.”

Clarkson pointed out how different Marcus and Chari’s tones are. She praised Marcus’ “crazy beautiful” runs and raved over how “effortless” singing is for Chari. Levine said Chari’s talent didn’t come as a surprise, as she was a four-chair turn, but applauded Marcus for “overcoming” the tough competition. “That was really exciting for me to see that you stepped up to the challenge,” he assured Marcus, although he picked Chari as the Battle winner.

“I thought it was incredible. I’m so proud of both of you. You have done a phenomenal job,” Latifah told her artists. She selected Chari as the winner of the Battle, but Clarkson used her Steal on 19-year-old Marcus, adding him to her team.

“He’s kind of the whole package,” Clarkson explained. “He has range, he has tone, he has that emotionality that you really want in a singer.”

Here’s where the teams stand in the Battle Rounds so far:

Team Riley Green
Ferryn & Brinkley
Joe Henley
Everett Bounds
Kayleigh Matthews (Steal)
Keiyana Osmond

Team Queen Latifah
Alt Bloom
Lillie Kolich
Bigcountry
Chari

Team Adam Levine
Connor Closs
Evan James

Team Kelly Clarkson
Koumba Diallo
Anna McElroy
Nina Howland
Marcus Ladden Jr. (Steal)

The Voice, Season 30, Mondays, 8/7c, NBC