The Voice

Live shows have finally arrived on The Voice's second season.

Who were your favorite singers from Team Blake and Team Christina on the first night of the Top 24 on The Voice? Who's most likely to go home tonight?

More importantly, how is it even decided who will go home?

So, America will pick its three favorite contestants, out of six, from each team that got to perform on Monday, and those six will move on to the next round.

The also-rans with one from each team moving on. Christina and Blake will get to pick the one remaining singer on their team to advance to the Top 16.

Confused yet? Nice. Anyway, let's get on to the performances!

Team Blake Shelton

1. Jermaine Paul, "Livin' on a Prayer." A bit over-produced, and not his best, but he was pretty good. The coaches seemed pleased, if not simply wowed.

Jermaine Paul - "Livin' on a Prayer" (The Voice)

2. RaeLynn, "Wake Up Call." What she sang vocally was an improvement over her Battle Round effort, but the performance might've been over the top.

RaeLynn - "Wake Up Call" (The Voice)

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In the fourth and final week of The Voice's Battles, there were some mediocre efforts, but by and large, the duets were strong enough to lead to some tough calls.

The Battle Round, as we've discussed, forces aspirants to crank out songs that aren't necessarily in their vocal wheelhouse, putting some at a slight disadvantage. 

Still, that's the name of the game, and from a viewing standpoint, they're hard to beat, as they help showcase both the show's unique talents and A-list coaches.

Which six contestants advanced to the next round, and which six succumbed to the sudden death format? Whose team is strongest as of now? Let's take a look:

James Massone vs. WADE - "True Colors" (The Voice)

James Massone vs. WADE - "True Colors"

In this battle of Team Cee Lo members, James was the tortoise, steady as he goes, coming through even if he didn't dazzle anyone and may not go a lot further.

Wade has much greater power and range, and thus potential, but James made the fewest mistakes (none) and that was good enough to win this Voice battle.

Nicolle Galyon vs. Mathai - "Love Song" (The Voice)

Nicolle Galyon vs. Mathai - "Love Song"

Nicolle's calling card all along her piano playing, and after coach Adam took that out of the equation, she became a lot more generic, and Mathai got the nod.

In a surprising move, Adam revealed how disappointed he was in the duet overall, even though it was his own team, but Mathai was a lock to advance.

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"I wish they would've done that on the show I was from." - Kelly Clarkson

In week three of The Voice's Battles, there were some clunkers, but by and large, the duets were so strong that a number of standouts went home by default.

While the Battle Round forces aspirants to belt out songs that aren't necessarily in their wheelhouse, they help showcase both the talent and the A-list coaches.

Watching Blake, Christina, Cee Lo and Blake really get in there and TEACH the singers how to work with each other and the songs is a uniquely cool touch.

There's also the added pressure that only Sudden Death format brings. Even if you bring your best, you could be gone, as we saw in this week's battles ...

Pip vs. Nathan Parrett: "You Know I'm No Good" (The Voice Battle Round)

Pip vs. Nathan Parrett - "You Know I'm No Good"

This Team Adam matchup was one of the night's best, and despite Nathan coming through big time, fan and judge favorite Pip knocked it out of the park.

The two of these guys sounded excellent together in what was the first of a handful of truly good duets this week, but Pip got the nod from Mr. Levine.

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In a sneak peek at next Monday's episode of The Voice, Gwen Sebastian and Erin Willett step into the battle ring to belt it out all in an effort to survive.

Erin and Gwen have very different voices, which is one of the great things about The Voice's battle rounds, in which they duet in a sudden death song!

Two go in, one comes out, with a spot on Blake Shelton's team at stake. The soundtrack? Pat Benatar's "We Belong." Watch the teaser clip below ...

The Voice Battle Round Sneak Peek: Erin vs. Gwen

As The Voice battle rounds go, Jamie Lono vs. Jamar Rogers was a rout.

Jamie has talent, but "I Want To Know What Love Is" did not suit him. For the first time all night, it seemed like a contestant was overmatched by the song itself.

It's possible Cee Lo Green felt that Jamar was the better singer by any measure and stacked the deck a bit with the song choice. We'll never know, and so be it.

The performance itself was good, as Jamar overpowered Jamie, but Lono at least went out on a high note (pun intended) because he actually sounded decent.

Granted, he felt more like a backup singer to Jamar, but still. Watch:

Jamie Lono and Jamar Rogers - I Want To Know What Love Is (The Voice Battle Round)

Who do you think turned in the best performances of the week in Week 2 of the Battle Rounds? Follow the links to watch the rest of last night's showdowns:

• Kim Yarbrough vs. Whitney Myer
• Juliet Simms vs. Sarah Golden
• Charlotte Sometimes vs. Lex Land
• Lindsey Pavao vs. Lee Koch
• Geoff McBride vs. Sera Hill

In a Battle Round matchup on The Voice Monday evening, Kim Yarbrough squared off with Whitney Myer, who sounded off at the start, but then really got things going.

She never could compete with Kim's voice or pure stage presence, however, so it looked as though she was done from the start. Such is life in a sudden-death duet.

Kim wasn't too much of an opportunity to really showcase her voice, even, but she did the best with what she had, and the two did sound pretty strong as a pair.

In the end, Adam Levine chose Kim to advance. The right call? Watch:

Kim Yarbrough and Whitney Myer - No More Drama (The Voice Battle Round)

In a Battle Round clash of Juliet Simms vs. Sarah Golden, who would Cee-Lo pick?

In a battle of strange costume choices, this would have been a toss-up, but Juliet showed command of the song and rocked out hard from the start on "Stay With Me."

Her gritty performance was just too much for Sarah, who seemed like a weak pop artist in need of serious auto-tune compared to the raw power of her adversary.

Cee-Lo, not surprisingly, gave the nod to Juliet. Agree? Disagree? Watch below:

Juliet Simms and Sarah Golden - Stay With Me (The Voice Battle Round)

Who would Blake Shelton choose in a battle of Charlotte Sometimes vs. Lex Land?

Lex may not have helped her cause in this take on "Pumped Up Kicks." She was trying to be sultry and understated, but that often made her hard to hear.

Never a good sign in a singing competition, or at least in a sudden death duet.

Charlotte's tone, and personality, helped her here conversely. The two did not sound that terrific in tandem and Blake made a seemingly obvious call with her.

Watch the Battle Round performance below and see if you agree with Blake:

Charlotte Sometimes and Lex Land - Pumped Up Kicks (The Voice Battle Round)

In a battle of Lindsey Pavao vs. Lee Koch, both did justice to Nirvana on The Voice.

Lee channeled his inner Paul McDonald as well as Kurt Cobain on "Heart Shaped Box", and Lindsey showcased her impressive range throughout the performance.

There wasn't a lot of singing together, making it easier for both to shine and also hard to determine who shone brightest, since both were so exceptional this week.

In the toughest call of the night, Lee got the nod. Agree? Disagree?

Lindsey Pavao and Lee Koch - Heart-Shaped Box (The Voice Battle Round)

The fun Battle Rounds are back for a second week on The Voice!

Things got emotional and downright gritty this week, and in the first matchup on Monday night, Sera Hill did her best to overwhelm Geoff McBride from the get-go.

Geoff sounded sharp both in his practice and the battle itself, and she went on to miss a pretty big note on "Chain of Fools," so it was far from a runaway.

Christina Aguilera gave it to Sera. Do you agree with that call?

Geoff McBride and Sera Hill - Chain of Fools (The Voice Battle Round)