‘The Voice’ season 26 episode 9 recap: Team Reba opens ‘The Battles Part 3’ with ‘one of the best performances’

Casey Durkin/NBC

Tonight on “The Voice,” the Battles continued 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.

“The Battles Part 3” began with what became the best performance of the round so far. Reba pit her four chair turn artist Danny Joseph against single chair turn artist Deon Jones for a goosebumps-giving rendition of “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.” In the rehearsal space, Reba revealed that both of the artists had ranked the song as a number one choice to perform and due to their soul and rock & roll influences, she decided they’d be perfect on it together. Reba described Danny’s style as a “rock & roll hardcore singing style” compared to Deon’s “sweet and pretty” vocal ability, but she sees the two as a “perfect marriage.”

Reba was looking for the guys to be “show dogs” in their performance, knowing that it’s a “tough song to sing” that has “got to have a lot of power behind it.” After receiving a standing ovation from the coaches panel, Gwen told them that she was “literally blown away,” calling them both “such characters visually.” She complimented Danny’s style and Deon’s “vintage” tone, appreciating that they volleyed off one another. She gave the edge to Danny ultimately, but called it “one of the best performances we’ve seen.” Michael said that Deon’s take on the song “got hotter and hotter” and then echoed everything that Gwen said before he was able to. Snoop said they sang the song with “the same conviction and same passion that James has” and made a point that he doesn’t have to choose between either of them and loved them both.

Reba’s take on the battle was that Danny came out with “raw energy and gravel,” ready to tell a story, and that Deon’s “energy just goes by your gut and your heart.” Because she could only choose one, Reba went with Danny as the artist to remain on her team. She said that he “stands out” because he’s different from anyone else in the competition. Before Deon could exit the stage, Snoop began to cheer for him, saying “Way to go, Deon,” but Gwen was the coach that threw her hat in the ring and hit her Steal button to save him from elimination and bring him over to her team. Gwen noted that he can “almost do anything with his voice” and that he’s a great singer and performer.

The other battles shown in episode 9 were: Jake Tankersley beating Brad Sample from Team Snoop with “Stuck on You,” Felsmere over Cozy Len from Team Gwen with “Summer Breeze,” Shye bested Jamison Puckett from Team Buble with “Love Yourself,” Lauren-Michael Sellers winning over Creigh Riepe from Team Reba with “You Will Be Found,” and Jose Luis defeating Austyns Stancil from Team Gwen with “Lay Me Down.” Reba, Snoop and Michael all chimed in for a triple Steal to save Austyns, but we were left with a cliffhanger to find out his decision on Tuesday night.

The updated teams:

TEAM SNOOP  – ChrisDeo, Christina Eagle, DREION, George Starnes, Jake Tankersley, Mary McAvoy, Michael Alexandersson, Mikaela Ayira, Torre Blake

TEAM REBA – 323, Adam Bohanan, Danny Joseph, Frankie Torres, Jaukeem Fortson, Katie O, Kendall Eugene, Lauren-Michael Sellers, Tanner Frick, Tate Renner, Tsola

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

TEAM BUBLE – Aliyah Khaylyn, Cameron Wright, Cassidy Lee, Edward Preble, J.Paul, Jeremy Beloate, Kamila Kiehne, Kiara Vega, Shye, Sloane Simon, Sofronio Vasquez

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.