It's early in his 26th season The Voicebut Monday night's (October 21) start of the Battle rounds has coaches wondering if they've already identified one of the season's frontrunners. With the blind auditions on the back burner, coaches Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg, Michael Bublé and Reba McEntire advised their teams on strategy, then had the incredible task of pitting two of their chosen singers against each other.
Stefani selected two promising teenagers for her team, 15-year-old Buffalo, New York native Sydney Sterlace and 19-year-old Pittsburgh singer Sloane Simon, assigning them to perform Billie Eilish's “Birds of a Feather.”
Sturlais stood up first, looking a little nervous as she looked, “I want you to stay/ 'Till I'm in the grave/ “Till I rot and die and bury/ 'Till I'm in the coffin you carry. ” Simon proved she was equally up to the task, jumping into the second verse with airy, confident vocals as she stared down her rival.
The women then sang directly to each other as they duetted on the song's wistful chorus, “Birds of a feather, we should be stick together/ I know I said I'd never believe I wasn't better off alone,” switching positions and expertly worked the stage as they blended their voices and did their best to stand out during individual tracks with impressive runs and blistering ad-libs.
Proud coach Stefani rose to her feet (along with McEntire) as Bublé told the pair their song was “really beautiful” and Gwen admitted she was totally “momming out right now.” Bublé said he could sense some nervousness in Sterlace's vocals, noting that she wasn't as settled as her fighter, “nor should you be. You're 15. Besides the fact that your voice was great, I liked that you were going to Sloan,” he said.
Snoop added that he was “thrilled” with the performance, dubbing both singers “true professionals… don't let age dictate what you could be because we were all young once upon a time.” Snoop called them equally good, suggesting Stefani choose the singer she can “grow up with,” even as the No Doubt and solo star lamented, “how can a mom choose between her daughters?”
McEntire also said she was impressed with both, but suggested her vote would go to Simon, agreeing that Sterlace has a few more years to develop her craft. “You will bloom like the most beautiful rose ever,” he said. “Because you're a pretty bud right now.”
Stefani said her heart was in her throat over the tough decision, recalling that she was excited by Sterlace's blind audition and wanted to hear more, while being blown away by Simon's “brilliant personality”, confidence and tone. It may have helped that Simon wore, quite literally, a silver sparkly dress with matching stacked heels.
In the end, Stefani focused on Sterlace's budding stage presence rather than her already established vocal talents. “You've come so far since our rehearsals. I'm shocked,” Stephanie said, doubling down on McEntire's rose metaphor. “I keep hearing that word 'bud,'” joked veteran toker Snoop. Stephanie said the reality was that Simon is “a bit more ready… you have this star personality”.
Faced with a difficult choice, Stephanie followed the “strange voice” in her head and chose Sterlace. And even as McEntire praised Simon's “voice of an angel”, in her pitch to steal, Sloane ended up choosing Bublé – who also called her voice “angelic” – as her new team leader.
New episodes of The Voice air Monday and Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC, then stream on demand via Peacock the following day.
Watch Sterlace and Simon face off below.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/sydney-sterlace-sloane-simon-the-voice-duet-billie-eilish-birds-of-a-feather-1235807666/