NBC’s ‘The Voice’ preview: Maiya Sykes, Elyjuh Rene battle on Team Pharrell

Tomorrow night marks the Battle Rounds on NBC’s “The Voice,” so why not take a minute or two to preview this part of the competition?

We’ll start by saying that we are no fan of the format of this round itself. It just feels unnecessary to pit off singers against each other in a way that is so unnatural to the real world. Still, we’ve been complaining for around three years now and nothing has changed. Therefore, nothing probably ever will when it comes to this format. We’ve just got to accept it and move on.

The video at the bottom features Maiya Sykes and Elyjuh Rene facing off in a battle on Pharrell Williams’ team, and the song choice is sort of an eye-roll: Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You.” Not only is she the adviser for Pharrell this season, but this song has been done a billion times on singing shows. We know all the words just from hearing covers of it over the years.

We actually don’t think that the winner here is that close. Elyjuh is just captivating to watch. He’s got a huge range, but he also performs, carries around the stage well, and seems completely comfortable in front of the camera. Maiya is very good and could be stolen, but we feel like we’ve heard similar singers on the show before. Elyjuh seems more likely to make it around the Top 8 or so this season, though even he would have a harder time winning unless he really gets some creative song choices later on.

What did you think about this video, and who is the likely winner to you? Share below, and click here to get all of our “Voice” preview coverage right now. You can also head over here to join our CarterMatt mailing list, where you can get more TV updates on all we cover. (Photo via NBC.)

http://youtu.be/PRzNMUPELMI