'The Voice' recap: A look back and at what's in store

‘The Voice’ recap: A look back and at what’s in store

By Amy Reiter

Oct. 3, 2012 12 AM PT

“The Voice” brought us one hour of filler … er, highlights … Tuesday night, recapping the best performances of the blind auditions, showing us bits of banter between the coaches, some small portion of which we hadn’t seen before, and hinting at what the battle rounds might have in store.

It’s shaping up to be “the most exciting season of ‘The Voice’ yet,” Carson Daly optimistically declared at the outset. And who knows? It may well be. Each of the four coaches -- Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton -- has some undeniably impressive talent on his or her team. Levine and Aguilera did seem to triumph a tad more frequently in the big blind-audition showdowns, but Shelton and Green had a few stealth victories as well.

So really, it’s anyone’s game at this point. And lest we forget, the coaches will be able to steal one another’s discarded contestants, so eight of these 64 singers so fiercely fought over will not ultimately remain with the coaches they’ve chosen.

Interactive: Highlights from last season

You remember how the steal will work, right? During the battle rounds, after two singers from a coach’s team go head-to-head and that coach chooses which singer to keep and which to shed, the eliminated contestant will be available to the other coaches to “steal.” If more than one coach wants to steal a contestant, the contestant will select which coach’s team to join, as in the blind auditions. Each of the four coaches will have two extra slots to fill this way, raising the teams from eight to 10, though many of the 40 who emerge safely from the battle rounds will soon be eliminated in the new “knockout” rounds.

Are we excited about the newly goosed, attenuated format? Well, yes and no. Though I fear it could draw out the competition so that it feels lax and flabby (and endless), I’m looking forward to more competition and interplay between the coaches. Plus, it’s good to know talented singers may get another shot at staying in the spotlight even if their coaches favor the team members against whom they’ve been matched.

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So we head into next week’s battle rounds refreshed and ready for toe-to-toe singing action and bonus button pushing. The coaches and their teams will be joined by guest mentors Mary J. Blige (Team Adam), Matchbox 20’s Rob Thomas (Team Cee Lo), Michael Bublé (Team Blake) and Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong (Team Christina -- his taping was before his iHeartRadio Music Festival rant and subsequent trip to rehab).

And of course by Green’s peachy parrot, Lady. Assuming Shelton doesn’t eat it.

Are you looking forward to the battle rounds -- and the new coach steals?

ALSO:

‘The Voice’ recap: The blind auditions wrap up

“The Voice” recap: Cee Lo surges; Blake stagnates

“The Voice” recap: An experienced singer gets dissed