‘The Voice’ recap: ‘Performance of the night’ leaves judges scrambling to ‘steal’ one contestant

“The Voice” closes out the Battles rounds next week.

Michael Bublé, Gwen Stefani, Reba McEntire and Snoop Dogg on The Voice. (Tyler Golden/NBC via Getty Images)

Night 4 of Battles on The Voice spotlighted four new duels, including what one coach called “the performance of the night,” and featured another epic “steal.”

Tuesday’s condensed episode — The Voice was one hour instead of its usual two — didn’t leave much room to showcase every Battle that took place. Two of the four face-offs, including a promising Battle between Team Gwen’s Beya and Kay Sibal, only received the highlight reel treatment. Even with the lack of dedicated airtime, the talent level was at an all-time high, which forced deserving singers who may have been snatched up earlier in the round to leave the competition for good.

The coach Austyns Stancil picked is…

After Monday’s episode left viewers hanging with Austyns Stancil’s decision, it didn’t take long to learn if he was the newest member of Team Reba, Team Snoop or Team Michael. The R&B singer, who was originally on Gwen Stefani’s team but lost to Jose Luis in a scorcher of a Battle, went with his gut and chose Snoop Dogg as his new coach.

Snoop, of course, was thrilled he won over Reba McEntire and Michael Bublé, who “fought hard” to persuade Stancil.

The rapper said Stancil “adds a lot of flavor to Team Snoop and he has a hunger. Thinking that you’re gone and knowing you’re back, I need that in the room. I need a dog on my team.”

Standout Battle of the episode

Snoop pitted Dreion against Georgia Starnes, both of whom were four-chair turns and had similar vocal styles and smoothness in tone. Dreion represented the old-school R&B spirit, while Starnes brought a more modern soul, making their duet of “Perfect Combination” by Stacy Lattisaw and Johnny Gill all the more intriguing on the Battle stage.

Their voices were “so well matched,” McEntire said, that she had no critiques to give. Stefani praised Starnes’s “cool, deep voice,” telling her she had a “future” no matter what happened on The Voice. She described Dreion as “one of the greatest singers” she has ever heard. Stefani picked Dreion purely for his voice but chose Starnes because she was the full package.

“You’re going somewhere, I know that,” she promised Starnes.

“You proved that soul has nothing to do with the color of your skin,” Bublé told Starnes after the performance, praising her “rich tone.” He described Dreion’s voice as being “smooth as silk.”

The coaches’ positive feedback didn’t help Snoop with his decision, as he jokingly asked for a commercial break so he would have more time.

Eventually, he felt Starnes gave “a little bit more” when it counted on the big stage.

“Georgia is something far-fetched from the Snoop Dogg catalog but that’s what we like to do. We do what others don’t.”

A ‘steal’ that almost didn’t happen (because of Skittles)

McEntire declared the Battle between Team Michael’s Sofronio Vasquez and Aliyah Khaylyn, both of whom earned four-chair turns during the Blind Auditions, “the performance of the night” — and both singers lived up to the billing. Bublé said he paired two of his best singers together to see what would happen when the lights went up.

What took place was a soulful cover of Celine Dion’s “Power of Love,” which made Bublé’s decision on who to let go that much harder to make. Bublé stuck with Vasquez, an early favorite on The Voice, naming him the Battle winner. That meant Khaylyn was up for grabs. Snoop used his first “steal” to welcome her onto his team, though he narrowly missed the window to press his button because he was eating Skittles.

“She’s on to the big leagues so she deserves a big-league coach,” he said.

A look ahead to next week

The Voice closes out the Battles rounds next week. Only one episode will air due to the election.

Stefani and Snoop have used up both of their steals, with McEntire and Bublé still looking to use their last ones to find that missing singing gem. The Knockouts are fast approaching, so we expect the final Battles to be on another level.

The Voice returns Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.