Entertainment

Usher Uses His Final Steal & The Battles End

by Kristie Rohwedder

Hello, final night of The Voice Battle Rounds. These past couple of weeks have been real, huh? We've shared some laughs, some tears, and some froyo. As much as I'll miss you, I must say that I'm stoked to meet your pal, Battles: Round Two. What are you going to do with all of your free time, Battle Rounds? Going to go on a vacation? Going to catch up on Scandal? Whatever you choose to do, I'm happy for you. You deserve it. You've been working hard, Battle Rounds. Thanks for the memories. XOXO, Kristie.

Aaaaaand I'm back. What was the highlight of Tuesday night's episode of The Voice? Predictably, it was the final performance. Ah, The Voice. You may switch up your format at the drop of the hat, but there’s one thing about you I can always depend on: you will do what you can to save the best performance for last.

Team Shakira’s Cierra Mickens and Emily B. sang “Brave," and wow. Did they put me in a terrific mood! They had such great chemistry throughout the Battle. I mean, they started the song off with a sweet fist bump (warmed Shak's heart, warmed my heart) and they kept that "we're in this together" vibe throughout. Yeah, there were big notes, there was harmonizing, et cetera. Vocally, they did a solid job. BUT THEIR ENERGY WAS SO NICE.

What did Shak's colleagues have to say? Adam noted that they crushed the ending, but that they were out of the pocket a bunch. Ah, the infamous pocket. Thanks to this show, I've looked up what "the pocket" means an embarrassing number of times. When Adam complimented Cierra’s final note of the song, Cierra’s mom cheered from the audience. Adorabs. Because of that final note, Adam said he'd pick Cierra. On the flip side, Blake thought Emily had the big note of the song, so he’d give it to Emily.

Usher would not choose. He said it was a draw. (OOH, Ursh. I was onto you. You still had that last steal to dole out. Your refusal to choose between the two just about guaranteed you'd scoop up whoever Shak didn't save. High five!)

It really was either gal's game. What's that? You want to know which lady I thought had the Battle in the bag? [Shrugs] I'm with Usher. 'Twas a draw!

So who did Shak pick? Emily. Cierra said her goodbyes and started offstage. The other coaches gave Usher the ol’ “WTF, man? HIT YOUR BUTTON” stare. Cierra looked defeated. The other coaches looked anxious. I paced around my apartment.

Well, just as Cierra was offstage, Usher hit the button. I was worried Carson would run in and be like, "Sorry, Usher. Sorry, Cierra. According to a Voice rule we never addressed during Voice orientation, you're too late." But that didn't happen. Cierra was the newest addition to Team Usher. HOORAY! Cierra was ecstatic, Shakira stood up in her chair and cheered, and I once again high five’d Usher in my mind.

NEXT MONDAY: BATTLES: ROUND TWO WITH CHRIS MARTIN!

Image: Tyler Golden/NBC