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Like those old episodes of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom where the straggler impala gets picked off by the hungry lioness, The Voice‘s Battle Rounds are compelling (though not necessarily comforting) viewing.

Only the strongest voices — or at least those attached to the youngest, doe-eyed-iest, most social-media-approved bodies — survive the two-person, one-song contests.

And while I understand those who wince at the inherent cruelty of whittling a pool of 48 singers down to 32 (eight Battle “losers” get second chances via The Steal), it’s nevertheless a necessary evil. I mean, let’s be honest: After three consecutive weeks of Blind Auditions,...

The Academy held its first Oscars concert on Thursday night at Royce Hall at UCLA.  It better not be the last. Long overdue, the event featured live performances of every nominated score and original song nominee from this year's Academy Awards.  Hosted by Common (who made it clear he was thrilled to be there), each composer spent a few minutes speaking to noted film critic Elvis Mitchell before conducting the Academy orchestra's performance of their work.  Each original song was performed by a mix of different artists except, of course, the ones they are most associated with.  Those stars are being saved for Sunday night. Five-time nominee Alexandre Desplat was the first major performance as he conducted a selection from "Philomena." It's been awhile since I've heard his composition, but the live performance didn't sway me that it could (or should) be a potential upset spoiler in the category.  Personally,...

Who says there’s no life after The Voice?

Season 5′s Top 5 results telecast felt like an aggressive response to the blogosphere complaint that NBC’s reality-singing behemoth has yet to produce a viable chart-topper — this week’s Top 10 iTunes milestones for covers by three current semifinalists notwithstanding. (Cue Xtina rageface, followed by an indignant, “Excuse me, but I’m No. 10 on Billboard right this very second, bitches!” No, girl, we’re talking about contestants, not coaches.)

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But yes, while it’s true that no alumni of the...

In the spirit of total honesty, I have to make a confession: Whenever Cee Lo Green serves up his usual blend of word salad on The Voice, my brain goes all fuzzy like an old black-and-white TV set with faulty bunny ears. (Cut to all of the show’s teenage contestants: “What do you mean by black-and-white TV set? And what does a TV have to do with bunnies?”)

But on tonight’s Live Playoffs results telecast — which whittled the Season 5 field from 20 vocalists down to a lean, mean 12 — the henna-headed, eccentric coach delivered a message that not only made sense,...

Did you ever get so excited by a primetime network broadcast that you wanted to pick up your TV set and hurl it against a wall* — the way a heavy-metal guitarist in the throes of an arena encore might destroy his instrument to the cheers and whistles of the crowd? (*If your answer is “no,” just ride this recap out till the end of the next paragraph, Ok?)

That insane urge swelled up inside me during tonight’s installment of The Voice‘s Season 5 Live Playoffs, prompted by the perfect storm of a fine but somewhat sleepy opening 100 minutes, followed...

Did you hear the one about Blake Shelton going to a Halloween party and encountering a woman dressed up as…Blake Shelton? TVLine’s got exclusive video of The Voice‘s country coach sharing this amusing tale — as well as other Oct. 31-ish musings from Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and the Season 5 Top 20.

Video | The Voice‘s Most Wide-Open Season Ever? Plus: Mourning Matt Cermanski

Which scary movie traumatized an 8-year-old Xtina? What hit FX series inspired Adam’s best costume ever? And what candy does Cee Lo dig the most? Get the answers to all...

Carlito Olivero performs a hat trick. Khaya Cohen gets her dance on. Lillie McCloud proves she’s still got the best hair in the competition. And Restless Road appear to engage in silent harmonizing.

Yes, folks, The X Factor‘s Season 3 Top 16 photo shoot is in the books, and we’ve got exclusive first look at the corresponding video footage.

Video | The Voice‘s Most Wide-Open Season Ever? Plus: Mourning Matt Cermanski

Press play below to see glammed-up versions of the four acts in each category — Boys, Girls, Over 25s and Groups — but do it quickly! Tonight’s telecast...

Tonight’s installment of The Voice (9/8c on NBC) will feature another intense (and very tuneful) fight for survival between an early front-runner and a recipient of a Battle Rounds “Steal” — and we’ve got your first look.

Video | The Voice‘s Most Wide-Open Season Ever? Plus: Mourning Matt Cermanski

Yes indeed, folks, embedded below is full video of the Knockout Round performances by Team Adam’s Lina Gaudenzi (tackling Etta James’ “I’d Rather Go Blind”) and Preston Pohl (covering Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry”).

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Press play below to...

With all apologies to God, the Seventh Commandment just went the way of Crystal Pepsi, the personal pager and NBC’s Smash. I mean, seriously, who can enthusiastically support laws against larcenous behavior now that “The Steal” has found its way to The Voice‘s Knockout Rounds?

Now, before you cry “blasphemy!” let’s remember that Christina Aguilera has the voice of an angel — and she supports this blatant brand of thievery. And it’s also worth noting that The Steal has another proponent in Blake Shelton, a fine, upstanding fella whose recent crusade against the Westboro Hatemongering Association* puts...

The men dominated the second week of battle rounds on The Voice Monday night as rock and pop music took center stage during several powerful duets, including a credible cover of one coach's own hit.

Christina Aguilera had her soulful team members Josh Logan and Michael Lynch perform a rendition of "Harder to Breathe," a 2002 Maroon 5 hit written by frontman Adam Levine for his group's first record. Levine seemed entertained by their confident performance as Cee Lo Green pointed out the similarities to the original.

"You almost sounded identical," Green told Logan, a 33-year-old father from Manchester, N.H.

The men dominated the second week of battle rounds on The Voice Monday night as rock and pop music took center stage during several powerful duets, including a credible cover of one coach's own hit. Christina Aguilera had her soulful team members Josh Logan and Michael Lynch perform a rendition of "Harder to Breathe," a 2002 Maroon 5 hit written by frontman Adam Levine for his group's first record. Levine seemed entertained by their confident performance as Cee Lo Green pointed out the similarities to the original. "You almost sounded identical," Green told Logan, a 33-year-old father from Manchester, N.H.

‘The Voice’ delivered another night of intense competition Oct. 21. With the battle rounds coming to a close, the judges were on high alert for any potential steals — and Adam knew just who he was looking for.

Destinee Quinn 20, and Lina Gaudenzi, 23, battled for a spot on Team Christina with “Not Ready To Make Nice” by The Dixie Chicks. Christina Aguilera said she chose the song to bring both girls a little out of their comfort zone, and the winner would depend on how willing they were to let go. Both girls were very connected with the song during the performance, but Adam Levine found a few technical glitches. Ultimately, the choice came down to emotion versus range. For Christina, it was Destinee’s emotion that won the battle. But Adam swooped in and stole Lina before Carson Daly could even get a word in edgewise!

Read on to see the...

The Battle Rounds continue on during Monday's (Oct. 21) episode of Season 5 of "The Voice," which coaches Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton and CeeLo Green continuing to whittle down their teams by pitting one of their artists against another. Who makes the cut and who gets the boot? Let's find out.

Battle #1: Team Christina's Josh Logan vs. Michael Lynch

Xtina paired the two gents up because of the soul she thinks both carry in their voice, tasking them to take on Maroon 5's "Harder To Breathe," which ought to make Adam uncomfortable. During rehearsals, Michael admits he doesn't know the song very well and struggles with the verbose lyrics. Christina grew irritated because neither seemed to know the song with enough comfort to actually entertain a crowd with it. Not exactly a wise move considering the guy who created it will only be feet away from you.

They...

We interrupt your regularly scheduled The Voice recap with a Public Service Announcement about Adam Levine‘s Battle Rounds Rehearsal Beard™: Dude, you can put on a hideous Hawaiian shirt and allow your carefully manicured stubble to devolve into a mangy mess, but it does not negate your hotness. It’s entirely possible, however, that your common sense, taste level and critical ear may have been moderately damaged by said errant mane.

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How else to explain why Season 5 of NBC’s...

On NBC’s The Voice, the battle rounds continue tonight and the competition is going to be fierce. This season has seen not only the return of Christina Aguilera and CeeLo Green, but also an influx of mega talented singers from a variety of genres. Country music may have dominated last season’s competition, not so much this go-around. After the jump, you’ll find a breakdown of the current teams, as well as some of the thoughts the competitors shared recently with theTVaddict regarding their experiences thus far.

The current team standings are:

Team Adam: Grey, Tessane Chin, Ashley Dubose, James Wolpert, Barry Black, Preston Pohl, James Irwin, Will Champlin, and Matt Cermanski

Team Blake: Nic Hawk, Shelbie Z, Briana Cuoco, Ray Boudreaux, E.G. Daily, Holly Henry, Austin Jenckes, Cilla Chan, Emily Randolph, Brian Pounds, and Brandon Chase

Team CeeLo: Caroline Pennell, Monika Leigh, Kat Robichaud, Cole Vosbury,...

With the Battle rounds in full swing, things are getting tense in The Voice-box.

In this exclusive preview of next week’s matchups, artists Matt Cermanski and Brian Pounds feel the pressure to live up to their famous mentors, Ryan Tedder and Cher.

Looks like the judges are starting to feel the pressure of Blake’s triple win too — Christina looks more damsel in distress than diva when she’s faced with a difficult decision. Adam scores such a sensational steal, even he can’t believe it.

Watch a sneak peek of week five battle rounds here:...

The Voice has wrapped its Season 5 Blind Auditions. The X Factor‘s Four-Chair Challenge is in the books. But it’s not over till Reality Check has added a dollop of critique and a pinch of cheekiness to the proceedings — or so I like to think.

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In this week’s installment of what my mom has called “The Most Important Program on the Internet Right This Second,” my cohost Melinda Doolittle and I take a deep dive into The Voice‘s final set of Battle Rounds-bound contestants, including the Kris Allen-esuqe Matt Cermanski,...

Oh my, we are just burning through the last of these blind auditions! Let’s sit around the campfire and chat about some of the best (and oddest) moments from this week’s “The Voice” on NBC. 1. Escaping the Katy Perry curse. I remember Matt Cermanski from last season’s blind auditions. He performed the lung-busting, not found in nature “Teenage Dream” and fell prey to the Katy Perry curse that haunts “The Voice” stage (Fyi: Most who sing Katy Perry on this show are goners!). However, this time around Matt’s subtle, sincere take on “Have a Little Faith in Me” landed him.

The Voice‘s Tuesday-night “Best of the Blinds” episode was comprised mostly of recycled footage from the last three weeks of auditions. But a few quickie previews of the Season 5 Battle Rounds revealed every single matchup on Team Adam — and at least half of the pairings on Teams Blake, Xtina and Cee Lo.

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Without further ado, here’s a rundown of the Season 5 Battle Rounds lineup spilled by the good folks at NBC:

Team Adam

Tessanne Chin vs Donna Allen

Preston Pohl vs Barry...

Rewind from October 7 courtesy of NBC The coaches finalized their teams last night on The Voice! Watch all the auditions below and don’t miss the best of the blind auditions tonight at 8/7c. The Voice Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NBCTheVoice Twitter: https://twitter.com/NBCTheVoice #TheVoice Google+: https://plus.google.com/+TheVoice/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/nbcthevoice Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/nbcthevoice/ Tumblr: http://nbcthevoice.tumblr.com/ Vine: @NBCTheVoice Brandon Chase: "Wanted" Brian Pounds: "Wagon Wheel" Lupe Carroll: "If I Were a Carpenter" Michael Lynch: "Bailamos" Shawn Smith: "Chicken Fried" Tamara Chauniece: "1 + 1" Grey: "Catch My Breath" Matt Cermanski: "Have a Little Faith in Me"...

It was an evening full of lessons on The Voice – in perseverance and in embracing coach Cee Lo Green's unique brand of quirky flirtation.

In the final night of Season 5's blind auditions, the coaches picked the last singers for their teams. And Green used his soulful charm on Tamara Chauniece, the daughter of two ministers who recorded her first gospel record at 11.

The 23-year-old Texan charmed both Green and Christina Aguilera with a lilting version of Beyonce's "1 + 1."

"Both my mom and dad are ministers. But I ended up a sinner," Green confessed, seeking to win Chauniece over. "But...

It was an evening full of lessons on The Voice - in perseverance and in embracing coach Cee Lo Green's unique brand of quirky flirtation. In the final night of Season 5's blind auditions, the coaches picked the last singers for their teams. And Green used his soulful charm on Tamara Chauniece, the daughter of two ministers who recorded her first gospel record at 11. The 23-year-old Texan charmed both Green and Christina Aguilera with a lilting version of Beyonce's "1 + 1." "Both my mom and dad are ministers. But I ended up a sinner," Green confessed, seeking to win Chauniece over.

With only eight spots left to fill on all four teams, the final night of ‘The Voice’ blind auditions proved to be the most intense yet.

The Voice coaches were extra picky Oct. 7 as the blind auditions came to a close. All four were looking for something special to round out their 12-member teams, and everyone — especially Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton – were willing to fight for the singers they wanted.

‘The Voice’ Blind Auditions: Final Team Members

Adam Levine only had two spots left to fill on his team, and it was returning contestant Matt Cermanski – singing John Hiatt‘s ”Have a Little Faith in Me” — who claimed first of those two right off the bat.

“He was mine from the first note,” Adam said.

Taking the second spot was wedding singer Grey, who belted a powerful rendition of Kelly Clarkson’s “Catch My Breath.” Three out the...

Christina Aguilera probably gets the toughest blogosphere feedback of any coach on The Voice – she’s too mean! she makes it all about herself! she sometimes wears tiny spaceships on her head! — but I’ve got to be honest: More often than not, when Xtina fails to hit her button, I’m in full and enthusiastic agreement.

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This isn’t to say Xtina has the strongest Season 5 team; I really need to sit down and stare at each coach’s 12-member lineup...