‘The Voice’ season 26 episode 11 recap: Reba and Michael use the final steals in ‘The Battles Part 5’

Tonight on “The Voice,” the Battles concluded 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 and Reba used her first one in “The Battles Part 2” on October 22. Then, in “The Battles Part 3” on October 28, Gwen used her second steal and Snoop used his first in a three-way contest alongside Reba and Michael. Snoop then used his second in “The Battles Part 4,” leaving Reba and Michael with one steal apiece heading in to the final night of battle match-ups.

When Reba brought Tanner Frick and Tate Renner together for a battle of “Need a Favor” it was with the expectation that it would highlight both of their gritty styles, but for her it meant having to choose between two very similar male country vocalists. During rehearsal she admitted to the guys that her goal with this pairing is that whoever she doesn’t pick to keep will get stolen by another coach. Following their performance, Reba was pleased that they worked through their harmonies, but decided that her winner was Tate because of the “raspiness in his voice.” In his own commentary, Michael commented on the depth of Tanner’s vocal “arsenal,” but ultimately kept quiet about picking one over the either because he was aware he had a steal available. When he got to hit his steal for Tanner, Michael felt like it was “a piece of the puzzle” he didn’t have on his team, meaning he was happy to have a country performer in his own arsenal for the season.

The last battle of the round was Cameron Wright vs. Cassidy Lee on the Mariah Carey mega ballad “Hero.” Cassidy was a one chair turn for Michael and she expressed some insecurities about her voice during the rehearsal. Michael stressed that the song isn’t out of her “comfort zone” even though she thinks it is, cementing that she doesn’t need to “try to be something you’re not” and should just live in her own “unique style.” Cameron, on the other hand, was a four chair turn that Michael sees as one of the strongest voices in the entire competition.

When making his decision, Michael told Cassidy that he was uncertain about how she would perform, but thinks that she “crushed it” and the growl she brought to the song “moves” him. He told Cameron that they “have all the ability to do all the runs” and shines because they “settled themselves down” from misplacing any of them needlessly. He acknowledged that it wasn’t an easy choice, but he stuck with Cameron because they “executed perfectly with style.” With Cassidy now up for grabs, Reba was able to put action to words after telling her that the performance was “comforting” and “felt like a hug.” Reba explained that Cassidy impressed her and “really touched” her heart, appreciating that she was able to hold her own despite singing next to such a dynamic vocalist.

The other battles shown in episode 11 were: J.Paul over Kamila Kiehne from Team Michael with “Toxic,” Camryn Brooks over Rowdy Shea from Team Gwen with “I Remember Everything,” Mary McAvoy over Michael Alexandersson from Team Snoop with “I Only Have Eyes for You,” and Katie O over 323 from Team Reba with “Lonesome Loser.”

The updated teams:

TEAM SNOOP  – Aliyah Khaylyn, Austyns Stancil, ChrisDeo, Christina Eagle, Georgia Starnes, Jake Tankersley, Mary McAvoy, Mikaela Ayira, Torre Blake

TEAM REBA – Adam Bohanan, Cassidy Lee, Danny Joseph, Frankie Torres, Jaukeem Fortson, Katie O, Kendall Eugene, Lauren-Michael Sellers, Tate Renner

TEAM GWEN – Camryn Brooks, Deon Jones, Felsmere, Gabrielle Zabosky, Jan Dan, Jose Luis, Kay Sibal, Mor Ilderton, Sydney Sterlace

TEAM BUBLE – Cameron Wright, Edward Preble, J.Paul, Jeremy Beloate, Kiara Vega, Shye, Sloane Simon, Sofronio Vasquez, Tanner Frick

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.