#7 Geoff McBride VS. Sera Hill

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Christina chose to pair Geoff McBride and Sera Hill for her teams next battle.  While Geoff is a power vocalist with lots of projection, Sera is more of an emotional artist in that she is able to get the audience to connect to the song when she is singing.  Christina has tasked them with singing Chain of Fools by Aretha Franklin.

Geoff got to work with Lionel Richie to prepare for the battle.  The only major critique Geoff received from both coaches was to make sure he makes the audience feel and believe him.  Sera had the opportunity to work with Jewel in preparation for the battle.  The coaches agree that for Sera to win, she needs to bring more emotion to show heart and sincerity.

Right from the start, both Geoff and Sera sounded awesome together.  As the song went on it became evident that Sera naturally connected to the song and really got into it, whereas it looked like Geoff was having to work harder to connect with the song and the audience.

The decision that Christina had to make was not easy.  Both artists are very strong vocalists and either could do well in the live shows.  When it came down to it Cee Lo and Adam would have chosen Geoff, while Blake would have chosen Sera.  In the end it was Christina's decision and although it was tough, I agree with her decision of who to carry on to the next stage of competition.

WARNING!! This is the full video with coaches critiques and decision.

#6 Anthony Evans VS. Jesse Campbell

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With similar vocal styles Anthony (left) and Jesse (right) were paired to sing "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys, by their captain Christina.  Both of the guys are very strong performers, although Jesse's cockiness can detract from his performance.  Due to Jesse's cockiness, Anthony is considered to be the underdog in the pairing.  Because both of these guys are so vocally able, it should make for a good battle.

Christina and Lionel Richie worked with Jesse to prepare for the battle.  The biggest critique was to make sure he didn't outdo himself.  Jewel and Christina worked with Anthony to prepare.  The only worry Jewel had was that Anthony could cloud the emotional prowess of the song by being really technical, she told him to keep it simple to really enforce the emotion.

They performed a breathtaking performance! It was a good battle to end the first episode of battles.  Their voices melded together beautifully and had similar tonal quality which allowed the audience to connect to the entire song emotionally, instead of perhaps only connecting while one of the contestants is singing.  Some of the notes they hit gave me goosebumps and if one of them doesn't win, I imagine they could have a very successful career as a duet.

They were so good Cee Lo couldn't decide, Blake and Adam both chose Jesse, but in the end it was Christina's choice.  It didn't really matter who she chose because they were both sooo amazing, but the range of the man she chose and the overall attitude makes him the better choice to move forward in the competition with him on her team.

This video does not contain the critiques or Christina's final decision.  If you wish to watch the full video you can find it on YouTube.

So if you had to choose who would it be? Or should they become a duet when the show is over?

#3 Chris Mann VS. Monique Benabou

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It's the battle of trained vs. untrained in this duet from Team Christina.  Singing "The Power of Love" by Celine Dion, we have the classically trained Chris Mann and the untrained Monique Benabou, who also admitted that she cannot read music.  This was the first mixed duet and as you will read later this impacted their performance.

Christina had Lionel Richie help her with Chris's preparation and Jewel help work with Monique in preparation for the battle.

Because Chris has had classical training, he has the tendency to get inside his own head and psych himself out, whereas Monique's lack of training allows her to connect to the song so deeply that, while sometimes it could hurt more than it could help, it could give her the edge she needs over Chris.

Because Christina paired a male and a female, it allows them to not only connect to the song individually but to connect to each other as well.  This connection between them bring a whole new aspect to the performance because they are able to work off each others emotions to make their individual performances better.  During the duet, this connection makes it seem like they are the only two people in the room which brings a more pure quality to the performance.

Photo Credit: Lewis Jacobs/NBC © NBC Universal, Inc.

As you can tell this connection was so captivating that their voices are almost irrelevant.  However, this is a singing competition so we can't eliminate how they sounded.  While it started out a little shaky but by the middle of the song they both sounded really good both individually and in their harmonies.  They both have such strong voices and sounded so good, choosing one over the other is impossible for me so I feel for Christina.

Cee Lo and Blake took opposing positions, choosing Chris and Monique respectively based on who they thought really brought it.  Adam was torn, based on his first instinct he chose monique but by the middle he said he really wouldn't have been able to decide.  Christina had a difficult choice because they both sounded amazing and they each had very strong qualities to their performance and character.  While I would agree with whoever Christina chose, I do believe her choice was the smarter choice as she looks at what's to come in the competition.

SPOILER ALERT!! This is the full performance including the critiques, from the judges, and the decision, from their captain, Christina.

Let me know what you thought of their performance and who you would have deemed the winner!