#3 Chris Mann VS. Monique Benabou

Photo Credit

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!