'The Voice' : Talented Singers Go Home as Friends and Rivals Battle

Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and Cee Lo add to their teams ahead of upcoming live shows

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Published on March 13, 2012 09:45 AM

The battle lines continued to be drawn on The Voice Monday, as judges Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine pitted some of their best contestants against one another – at the same time eliminating talented singers.

From Team Christina, Geoff McBride and hotel-desk clerk Sera Hill faced off in the ring with Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools.” Aguilera told Geoff, “Your power just blew me away.” To Sera, she said, “I have a lot of respect for you as a vocalist.” In the end, it was Sera who was selected to move on to the live shows.

Styles clashed a bit when Team Blake’s outspoken Charlotte Sometimes and subdued Lex Land next battled, singing “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster the People. Christina liked Lex’s “sexy voice” and her “breathy, airy tones.” But Blake heard a pitchy note in her performance and couldn’t take his eyes off Charlotte, which, he says, is “what makes a star.”

Juliet Simms beat out Sarah Golden, singing “Stay With Me,” to represent Team Cee Lo in the upcoming live shows; Team Adam’s Whitney Myer did her best to out-diva Kim Yarbrough with Mary J. Blige’s “No More Drama,” but fell short; and Team Christina’s Lindsey Pavao bested Lee Koch while singing Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box” in what Adam called a “delightfully creepy” performance.

For the final battle of the night, friends Jamar Rogers and sandwich-maker Jamie Lono tackled “I Wanna Know What Love Is” by Foreigner to stay on Cee Lo’s team. Despite Christina’s telling Jamie, “You don’t need to be making sandwiches, you have such a beautiful voice,” Cee Lo picked Jamar, whose past struggle with addiction resulted in his contracting HIV.

“I know your story,” Cee Lo told his tearful protégé and longtime fan. “It’s a story of redemption.”