'The Voice' Season 2, Episode 8 Recap - 'The Battles, Week 3'

The Battle Round continues after last week's showdowns, which included some less than stellar performances and a couple of standouts. The judges have mostly been nice thus far, so we'll see if any of this week's contestants get destroyed in the ring.

Team Adam is up first, and Pip is going to have to show up against Nathan Parrett and sing "You Know I'm No Good" by Amy Winehouse. Nathan apparently got skipped over in the blind audition airings, but also apparently needs "refinement." He also came out to his dad and hasn't spoken to him since. Booo Nathan's dad.

But Adam is surprised by Nathan's improvement over his blind audition, where Nathan says "adrenaline got the best of me." Alanis and Adam both love Pip though, who looks to be favored. Nathan has a serious issue with nerves, and is very introverted on stage. That could be trouble.

During the actual performance, Nathan gives a great performance, but Pip pretty much sings circles around him. The two of them blend surprisingly well though, and it's a fun performance to listen to. Blake sides with Pip, Christina points out the strengths in both of them, but Cee Lo thinks Nathan "stole it" and channeled Amy's spirit. Adam goes with Pip, though, which isn't a huge surprise. Pip had the stage presence, and sometimes that makes the difference.

Winner: Pip

Cee Lo decides to put Erin Martin up against the Shields Brothers, putting perhaps Cee Lo's two most unique acts together. He gives them "What's Love Got To Do With It?" just to add a little fuel to the fire. "You guys won't be able to hear me" whines Erin. Yeah, well, maybe you should learn how to sing, model girl.

But the Shields Brothers don't impress Babyface all that much either, noting that he was "thinking Wayne's World" while they performed. Ne-Yo doesn't give much love to Erin, saying "there's a lot of cute in the world," and challenging with "what else you got?"

The performance is a complete disaster as far as I'm concerned, but it undeniably has that Cee Lo touch. Erin clearly can't sing a lick, and adds these weird squeaks that have no purpose other than to be quirky. At least she acts the part, I suppose. The Shields Brothers are fine, but don't mix with Erin at all.

Blake likes Erin's outfit. Christina likes the squeaks, for some reason. Cee Lo notes that he doesn't know what else he can do with the Shields Brothers' "shtick," though, and ends up picking Erin. The voting audience will destroy her in the live rounds, I promise you.

Winner: Erin Martin

Team Christina time, and she puts Ashley de la Rosa up against Jonathas and gives them "No Air." Ashley also appears to have been skipped over in the edit of the blind auditions, and is a nice girl who does charity work. Good for her.

The two have some issues in rehearsals, as Jonathas has trouble staying in character and committing to the meaning of the song, while Ashley isn't singing as strongly as Christina thinks she's capable of. The actual performance is unimpressive, and it seems that Jonathas might even lose the pitch for a few measures.

After some deliberation, Christina ultimately gives it to Ashley, and probably deservedly so.

Winner: Ashley de la Rosa

Alyx and Jermaine Paul (Alicia Keys' backup singer, if you'll remember) of Team Blake get "Get Out of My Dreams" by Billy Idol. Alyx's attitude is already showing through, and so are her nerves: she is unable to walk out the door without  telling Blake how seriously she's taking this.

Anyone else annoyed by Alyx thus far? I even refuse to give her dumb name the proper capitalization. "Sometimes you just gotta say, what the hell!" says Alyx after that middling performance. She could not possibly be more annoying. Fortunately, everybody sides with Jermaine, including Blake.

Winner: Jermaine Paul

Team Adam time, and it's going to be Angel Taylor vs. Katrina doing "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis. Robin Thicke thinks Angel has a chance to win the whole thing. Alanis coaches up Katrina's confidence, which seems to help in the actual performance, as Katrina starts off strong. Angel hands in there, and definitely has a more interesting tone.

Blake thinks Katrina "flat out won this round," while Christina says Katrina had an "Adele-like" sound. Cee Lo also sides with Katrina. Adam, head in hands, goes with Katrina and sends Angel packing. That's a shame.

Winner: Katrina

Blake puts Gwen Sebastian and Erin Willett together and gives them "We Belong Together" by Pat Benatar, which is only going to make me think of "Talladega Nights." The performance is Erin's rich tone versus Gwen's twangy attitude, and the choice is pretty clear.

The mentors are pretty split about it, but the leaning is definitely toward Erin. Sure enough, Blake ends up going with Erin as well. Solid choice. Sadly, Erin's father passed away between the time of the taping and now. Hopefully Erin gets some mileage out of this competition, as she wants to make her father proud.

Winner: Erin Willett