‘The Voice’ recap: Alicia Keys, Pharrell Williams show how it’s done

One of the pleasures of the battle rounds on “The Voice” this season is watching guest advisor Alicia Keys and new coach Pharrell Williams figure out a way to unlock the deeper talents lurking within the contestants on Team Pharrell, to help these singers move beyond whatever fears or perceived limitations are holding them back and toward their full potential.

It happened on Monday night’s show with Griffin and Luke Wade, when Keys suggested the duo sing an Aretha Franklin/blues version of the song they were struggling to make their own, and again Tuesday night, when she suggested vocalists Jordy Searcy and Taylor Phelan slow a song down to make it come “more alive.”

When one of the singers expressed misgivings about changing his approach, Williams told him that taking chances and risking imperfection is what helps an audience connect to you. “The voice is what gets you here,” he told the singers, “what keeps you here is telling your story while you sing.” It’s all about how “genuine” the audience perceives you to be.

It’s also all about confidence, and with Williams and Keys in their corners, the singers on Team Pharrell seem to gain it big-time. “You’ll get it,” Williams often reassures his contestants. And they do.

Here’s how the battles broke down on Tuesday night:

Jordy Searcy vs. Taylor Phelan (Team Pharrell): Williams assigned these indie rock/pop singers the Script’s “Breakeven (Falling to Pieces)” and then helped them use the song’s challenges to learn and improve (see above). The battle seemed dead even. Gwen Stefani said she got so lost in the performances, she wasn’t thinking about a winner, but veteran coaches Adam Levine and Blake Shelton thought Phelan’s stage presence and way of attacking his vocals may have tipped the balance in his favor. Williams seemed torn, but eventually picked Phelan to move forward, saying he thought his “ambition” was more apparent. Searcy, sadly, went home unstolen.

Alessandra Castronovo vs. Joe Kirk (Team Adam): Given that we’d barely had to a chance to glimpse Castronovo sing back during blind auditions, whereas Kirk, a four-chair turn, had been given ample screen time, you might have predicted that she was being paired with him, on Rihanna’s “Stay,” just to help propel him to forward. (Levine said it was to see how each would do in an “unlikely pairing.”) But Castronovo’s voice was rich and smooth, and she was by far the more effortless performer. Williams, who described Castronovo’s stage moves as “purring,” and Stefani, brought to tears by the battle, said they had no idea who had won. Shelton, though, thought Kirk had delivered “one of the most perfect vocals” he had ever heard. Levine, after struggling to reach a verdict, chose Castronovo, predicting that she’d continue to “blossom and grow.” Kirk, only 18, was left sobbing – and, curiously, it was Williams, not the young singer’s own coach, who walked him out and gave him a pep talk. “Keep going,” Williams urged. “If you stop now, the ‘no’ is right.” What a coach. “I feel like I let him down,” Levine later said of Kirk. You think?

After fast-forward battles in which Levine chose Rebekah Samarin over Clara Hong and Shelton picked Grant Ganzer over John Martin and Tanner Linford over Justin Johnes, it was on to the final battle of the evening …

Menlik Zergabachew vs. Troy Ritchie (Team Gwen): Stefani explained that she was pairing reggae singer Zergabachew, who had chosen her over Shelton during blinds, and upbeat Ritchie, for whom she was the only coach to turn, on Hall & Oates’ “Maneater” because each singer’s voice had its own “character and uniqueness.” Whoever was able to “make it feel natural … will win the battle,” she said. Ritchie approached the song with bounce; Zergabachew’s signature move seemed to be the hair-flinging headshake. Levine thought both singers had risen to the challenge and made the “biggest leap” since the blinds. Shelton called it the “best battle of the day.” And Williams said he was impressed with Ritchie and congratulated Zergabachew, whose parents had emigrated to the U.S. from Ethiopia, on doing that country proud. Stefani, after saying she wished she could put the singers “in a blender” and “make one person” – “That sounds like a horrible idea,” Levine chided – declared Ritchie the winner. Levine and Williams instantly went for the steal. “You have a serious, serious voice that needs to be heard,” Levine told Zergabachew. Williams said he enjoyed working with people who didn’t sound like they looked. Zergabachew elected to join Team Pharrell, later explaining Williams “said all the right things. The vibe was right, man.”

With all due respect to Levine, given Williams’ record so far for helping his team members grow, Zergabachew probably made the right call.

What did you think of night two of the blinds?