I didn’t catch The Voice live last night, but sometimes that’s for the best. Don’t you guys like this show better when you can fast-forward through half the crap? I didn’t love the duets this week as some of the other duel episodes we’ve seen so far, but it was still a good episode.

Team Blake: Liz Davis vs. Nicole Johnson singing “Baggage Claim”

For this battle, I was partial to Nicole’s sweet voice based on the blind auditions. My problem with Liz is that she has a decent voice, but I think there are a lot of girls like her singing country music. She’s sort of a wannabe Carrie Underwood. I think Nicole has something a little different to offer. Winner: Liz Davis

Team Adam: Kayla Nevarez vs. Alessandra Guercio singing “Wide Awake”

I felt like there was a good chance of a steal after this performance. Both girls are great singers, and Adam picked a good song for them. I prefer Kayla’s voice, but Alessandra had great stage presence. I felt like Alessandra overdid it in parts, and overall I liked Kayla best. Winner: Kayla Nevarez

We have a steal! Christina snapped up Alessandra for her team, which I thought was great. Both girls ended up where they belong.

You know what? I really hate that we’re not seeing all the battles. We spent so long on all the blind auditions, which I enjoy, but I’ve been loving these duels. We zipped right through:

Team Cee Lo: Mycle Wastman winning against Ben Taub singing “Too Close”
Team Adam: Michelle Brooks-Thompson winning against Adanna Duru singing “Crazy In Love”
Team Christina: Laura Vivas winning against Beat Frequency singing “Poker Face” (That was a no-brainer – Beat Frequency was Christina’s weakest team member.)

Team Cee Lo: MacKenzie Bourg vs. Emily Earle singing “Good Time”

I love this song, but I don’t know that a Carly Rae Jepsen tune is really showing off anyone’s vocal abilities. This is a fun, summer pop song. It ended up being really fun though, and I thought MacKenzie seemed super comfortable, fun, and he was able to change the song up a bit. The song wasn’t in Emily’s wheelhouse as much, and it showed. Winner: MacKenzie Bourg

Who did you guys like this week?