Spoiler alert! This story reveals some results from The Voice Battles that aired October 13 and 14. Season 28 episodes can be streamed with a Peacock subscription if you need to catch up.
The Voice may have announced that Season 29 is when they’re really revamping the game, but the season currently airing on the 2025 TV schedule has already been full of twists and turns. First we got the Carson Callback card in the Blind Auditions, and now they’ve changed the way Battle pairings are chosen. I actually love the new rule, but I’m afraid it may be to blame for one of the Season 28 frontrunners seeing an early exit.
Rather than having The Voice coaches choose which of their team members will face off in the Battles, this season — for the first time ever — the artists are choosing their own partners. It’s so interesting to see who the Season 28 contestants are pairing with, and already we’ve seen some duets that the mentors say they’d have never put together.
I Love The Unexpected Duets The New Twist Provides
Michael Bublé, for instance, never would have paired Four-Chair Turns Trinity Giselle and Jazz McKenzie together on Night 1, but he had no say in the matter when they partnered up. They killed their version of Jamiroquai’s “Virtual Insanity,” and while McKenzie was named the winner, Giselle remained on Bublé’s team when he used his Save (despite all three of the other coaches trying to steal her).
Reba McEntire’s Aaron Nicholls vs. Daron Lameek was another duo that the country queen said she’d never have pictured, but their “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” was such a delightful blend of their respective genres.
The Twist Worked Against One Niall Horan Duo
Those are two examples of song choices that worked for both artists, but Niall Horan didn’t have the same luck on Night 2 with Camille Tredoux and Kayleigh Clark. Clark is a straight country singer, while coaches compared Tredoux’s voice to Joni Mitchell or Janis Joplin in the Blind Auditions, so when Kelsea Ballerini’s “Cowboys Cry Too” was picked for them, it definitely favored Clark’s style. Check out their battle below:
Both singers sounded amazing, to be honest, but that song was just clearly so much more in Kayleigh Clark’s wheelhouse. In past seasons, I just don’t see Camille Tredoux being eliminated so early, because there’s no way Niall Horan would have made these two frontrunners sing against each other. I also think a more neutral song would have allowed Tredoux to showcase her talents more to earn either a Save or a Steal.
I had Camille Tredoux highlighted for a long journey on The Voice, and I wasn’t the only one surprised by Tuesday’s results. Fans on X commented:
- That song was NOT fair for Camille. She deserves a save or steal. Give her a REAL chance! – danielfarish
- This was not the song for Camille. – houseofwarwick
On one hand I love how the Season 28 twist on the Battle round is giving us matchups based on artist chemistry that the coaches often wouldn’t have thought to attempt. I love that it keeps the coaches honest, too, because they can’t simply pit their favorites against their least favorites to curate the team they want.
Clearly, though, there is a downside to the new rule, and it became obvious anytime two powerhouses went up against each other. I wish both Kayleigh Clark and Camille Tredoux had been able to advance, and now I’m just hoping another twist will come along in the Knockouts to bring Tredoux back.
With everything we’ve seen so far this season, I feel anything is possible. Tune in for more Battles at 8 p.m. ET next Monday and Tuesday, October 20 and 21, on NBC and streaming the next day on Peacock.
