Season 23 of The Voice started its Battle Rounds Monday night (March 27). With the latest installment of the high-stakes duets came a new feature called the Playoff Pass. The new addition allows a coach to send one of their teammates straight to the playoffs. Needless to say, it was a coveted prize.
Videos by American Songwriter
Two hopefuls that were fighting for the Playoff Pass were Kason Lester and Walker Wilson, from Team Blake. The two country singers took on 3 Doors Down’s “Here Without You.”
The soft rock song lent well to both of the singer’s voices. After taking on a verse solo, they came together on the chorus in perfect harmony. It gets hard, but it won’t take away my love, they sang.
After they wrapped up the slow-burning performance, the coaches each took a turn giving the pair feedback.
“Proper solid rock performance we haven’t seen yet,” coach Niall Horan said. “Kason, I love your husk. It’s so nice to hear that in a rock song. Walker, for me, your voice just pierces through. There’s a brightness to the tone but there’s also a grit. You matched up really perfectly. It’s a tough one for Blake. I’m gonna lean toward Walker.”
Chance the Rapper then cut the tension by saying, “you guys are the exact same person.” The two long-haired, southern gentlemen nodded in agreement.
“But tonally, like you said, it’s very evenly matched,” Chance continued. “All jokes aside, awesome performance. I’m gonna agree with Niall that Walker had the edge on this one.”
“Yes, you do have similarities, but vocally you are different,” Kelly Clarkson jumped in to say. “I think it was a very evenly matched battle.”
After his fellow coaches gave their two cents on the performance, it was Shelton’s turn to choose a winner.
“This is the easiest, no-brainer, battle I’ve put together in the history of being a coach,” Shelton said. “You guys both killed it. This has been a blast to watch and listen to.”
“I’m gonna lean on my fellow coaches here,” Shelton continued. “The winner of this battle is Walker.”
Unfortunately, no one used their Playoff Pass on Kason.
Check out the battle, below.
Photo by Tyler Golden/NBC
