The Voice 2022: Fans are torn apart as Blake Shelton kicks off the Battle Rounds between Austin and Tanner

Tanner from The Voice (image via Instagram/@tannerfussellmusic)
Tanner from The Voice (image via Instagram/@tannerfussellmusic)

NBC's The Voice Season 22 returned for an all-new episode on Monday night, October 10, 2022. After six episodes, the Blind Auditions ended, and the Battle Rounds have commenced. Longtime coach Blake Shelton kicked off the Battles by bringing in two of his top contestants, Austin Montgomery and Tanner Fussell, to compete against each other.

After the Blind Auditions ended, The Voice coaches Camila Cabello, Gwen Stefani, John Legend, and Blake Shelton took center stage and performed a rendition of Camila's Havana. Immediately after that, the Battle began, and Blake Shelton brought in Jimmie Allen as his battle advisor.

Blake revealed he chose Austin and Tanner to go against each other because they have different voices. Blake chose Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues for them to duet. Jimmie was blown away by The Voice contestants' performance. Blake didn't comment much on Tanner during the rehearsals, and as for Austin, the coach advised him to loosen up a bit physically.

Austin and Tanner performed their hearts out, hoping to advance to the next round, but that decision was left in the hands of Blake Shelton. Although all the coaches were impressed with their vocals, it was a tough decision. Before Blake could reveal who he chose to advance to the Knockout Rounds, the episode ended.

Viewers will see who the coach chose as the winner of the Battle Round on Tuesday night when The Voice returns for Episode 8. Before the episode, fans who watched the Battle performance took to social media to share their opinions on who they thought should advance.

Read on to learn more about what fans had to say about Austin and Tanner's battle duet.


Netizens make guesses about the Battle Round winner as The Voice, Season 22, Episode 7 ends on a cliffhanger

Taking to Twitter, some fans cheered on Tanner, claiming that Blake Shelton should choose him as the winner. Meanwhile, a few others hoped that The Voice coach would pick Austin. Some added that it was tough to predict who Blake would choose,as both performances were absolutely stunning.


Here's what the coaches had to say about Tanner and Austin's Battle Round performance on The Voice, Season 22 Episode 7

Austin and Tanner made their performance lively and entertained the audience and the coaches alike. They included some ad-libs while the others sang. Overall, it was an enthralling performance, which made it difficult to pick one contestant over the other.

After they finished, Camila Cabello shared that they were both great performers. Gwen Stefani noted that it was challenging to do character-style singing, but she was glad they could pull it off.

Gwen also added that she was curious to see what Austin could do via his vocal range. John Legend shared that he thought Tanner outperformed Austin as the former sounded authentic.

When the episode returns, Blake will choose one contestant to advance to the next round.


The Voice Season 22 will return with the Battle Rounds on Tuesday at 8 pm ET only on NBC. Readers can check their local listings for more information.

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