The battle rounds are finally winding down on "The Voice" -- only one night left -- and soon, the mysterious knockout rounds will start up. In the final battle performances, some talented singers said goodbye and yet another teen songstress managed to stay alive.
Plus, on a personal level, we made a very exciting revelation.
Read on to see how the second-to-last battle round went down.
Alexis Marceaux vs. Daniel Rosa
Team Cee Lo
"What Do You Want From Me," Adam Lambert
It's second-chance Daniel battling against Nawlins native and Katrina survivor Alexis. Cee Lo says he pitted the twenty-somethings against each other because they both have an "indie vibe" and "can put a cool unique spin" on the "Idol" winner's track.
Chelsey: "Would you call Daniel 'indie'?"
Jaimie: "I would not."
Chelsey: "I mean, they both wear hipsta frames."
Jaimie: "Glasses do not a hipster make."
After they chuckle over Cee Lo calling Lambert's song the "story of [his] life," Daniel emerges as the early frontrunner. Classically trained Alexis is enunciating a bit too clearly for Rob Thomas' liking and wants to sound more like Daniel, who lets the pain in his voice come through in his rendition. Cee Lo worries Alexis is playing it safe, feedback she clearly takes to heart.
Jaimie: "Alexis is overdictioning and Daniel is underdictioning."
Chelsey: "They need to level out."
By the second rehearsal, Alexis seems to have lost a lot of confidence, noting that Daniel has the advantage of having been here before. (Note to Alexis: He didn't even get past the blind auditions. You're one step ahead of Daniel 1.0 already.) Daniel, however, starts to let his fear get the best of him, worrying that he can't hit certain notes. Soon, he's the one playing it safe because he doesn't want to risk missing a note. "I just don't want to sound bad," he says, which is shocking because don't most people want to sound bad? We thought so.
Chelsey: "I love Daniel but he worries me, like he's going to break at any moment."
Jaimie: "I agree, but Alexis is being defeatist."
Chelsey: "They're both being defeatist!"
Jaimie: "It's a battle of the self-deprecating. And of the eyewear."
A tearful Alexis worries this kind of thing won't happen for her again before she takes the stage, while a faux-cocky Daniel makes his way to the ring, attempting to run his fingers through his very lubed-up hair.
The two hopefuls take very different approaches to the song, leading to a pretty awkward performance. Daniel's forced raspiness is pretty painful to listen to, like someone doing karaoke to Ray LaMontagne's "Trouble."
Jaimie: "Too much rasp, Daniel. I also don't like the way this duet is arranged."
Chelsey: "A lot of rasp on both sides kinda and me neither -- it's like slow, then fast then slow."
Alexis' voice sounds steady throughout. The quirks she added to the song were more controlled ... in our opinion and some of the coadges'. (Plus, did you see those boots?)
Adam says he loves how Daniel sings "with all of [his] soul" and Blake says he loved Daniel's passion as well, but didn't hear the "weird things" (i.e. "not good things") in Alexis' voice that he did in Daniel's.
Christina says Alexis took risks, which she loves, and thought Alexis "took it a little bit more."
As for Cee Lo, the contestants' coach said he saw improvement in both of them. Alexis can be adaptable, he notes, but Daniel's voice affects him and "hurts him." Apparently, Mr. Rosa's performance hurt so good enough for Cee Lo to go with the second-timer. Sadly, Alexis said her piece without any of the other coadges pressing their buttons.
Afterwards, a determined Alexis said she'd keep on truckin' and an overly emotional Daniel nearly broke down backstage.
Jaimie: "Daniel looked like he was going to blubber and Alexis looked pissed. I do not blame her."
Chelsey: "Annnnd now he is blubbering. Everyone is scared to hurt Daniel's feelings, which is frustrating because that's usually something that I applaud this show for: not necessarily choosing the fan favorites."
Then, Daniel was met with another hug from Cee Lo, who snuck up behind him backstage.
Jaimie: "Cee Lo, you cannot sneak up on someone when you look like a giant marshmallow. And wow, there is SO MUCH headgear happening in the Rosa family."
Chelsey: "The whole family is stuck in the awkward stage of life apparently."
Winner: Daniel Rosa
Brandon Mahone vs. Nicole Nelson
Team Adam
"Ain't No Mountain High Enough," Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
Nicole's rendition of "Hallelujah" led to a four-chair turnaround in the blind auditions, while young Brandon impressed Adam with a soulful-beyond-his-years voice.
Jaimie: "Oh Nicole. I remember you."
Chelsey: "Yeah, she lives in the commune."
Jaimie: "And is cocky."
But at their first rehearsal, Brandon was blown away by Nicole's talent. "I see no weaknesses in Nicole and I'm definitely nervous," Brandon tells the camera.
Jaimie: "I need a GIF of Brandon's eyes. RIGHT NOW."
Chelsey: "Yup."
Jaimie: "His talking voice sounds like Bruno Mars', which I may only be saying due to 'SNL' this weekend."
Nicole says she feels like a billion dollars singing for Adam and Mary J and gets plenty of praise, while Brandon struggles on his first go-round and botches the lyrics. Mary and Adam try to convince Brandon to believe in himself, but that's clearly a struggle. He wants to do this for his family and Mary gets where he's coming from, suggesting he bring that passion to the stage.
A rather long, but important aside:
We decide that Brandon is a modern day Westley Glen Ahmal James (played by Ryan Toby) from "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit." You'll recall Ahmal's initially bashful performance of "Oh Happy Day" that ended with powerful vocals and accompanying clapping. Upon more research, we learn that actor Toby was one-third of the early 2000s R&B group City High, know for the hit"What Would You Do?" This was a pretty exciting evelation for us, so we thought we'd share. It's also worth noting that during the "Sister Act 2" final credits, Whoopi Goldberg & Co. (Toby included) sing "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." Let's just pretend Cee Lo also thought about all this, leading to his song choice.
Another aside:
If the above makes you think we're insane, we understand.
Meanwhile, big-headed Nicole thinks the pairing is unbalanced because she's had "a decade of being on stage" and Brandon barely has any.
At the final rehearsal, Adam sees Brandon has taken all his notes and improved, while he tells Nicole that "less is more." Finally, Nicole realizes she may not have this battle in the bag.
From the top of the song on the big night, Brandon proves himself and his voice couldn't be better suited for "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." Nicole's power, however, is undeniable.
Jaimie: "Brandon sounds GREAT."
Chelsey: "Yeah I'm goin' for Brandon. Everything about Nicole annoys me -- her dance moves. Everything seems cocky."
After the performance, Blake says Brandon has a charm and Nicole is a diva so "maybe" he'd go with her. Christina said Brandon was more playful, while Nicole was too controlled. But due to consistency, she'd go with Nicole. Cee Lo liked Brandon's swagger and thus, he's Team Brandon.
Adam said Brandon's confidence made him proud and Nicole met her challenge by being controlled in her performance. But we're not really listening to all the words coming out of his mouth because all we can think of "American Horror Story: Asylum."
Chelsey: "I just keep thinking of Adam banging Mrs. Tatum."
Jaimie: "Hahaha."
Chelsey: "Oh, and [SPOILER ALERT] dying, I guess."
Despite the way Adam's comments seemed to lean, he goes with Nicole and we are heartbroken when no one attempts to steal high-schooler Brandon.
Jaimie: "I can't believe no one stole him."
Chelsey: "Major dummies."
Adam was equally as surprised and upset. "I'm certainly confused as to why nobody took Brandon," he said after the battle was over. "It broke my heart a little bit because Brandon deserved to go forward."
Jaimie: "Adam. Are you kidding?"
Chelsey: "OMG."
Jaimie: "It's not the other coadges' responsibility to steal. If you want him, pick him."
Chelsey: "Yeah. You can't be mad, ass."
Winner: Nicole Nelson
Devyn DeLoera vs. MarissaAnn
Team Christina
"Free Your Mind," En Vogue
Fifteen-year-old MarissaAnn (ugh, the name) is one of the youngest in the competition, but has a very powerful voice, while 20-year-old Devyn wowed the coadges during the blind auditions when she sang X-Tina's song. This battle just pretty much embodies all that is Team Christina.
Jaimie: "I don't think I will like either of these girls."
Chelsey: "Nope."
The two meet their mentor, Billie Joe Armstrong, and they feign excitement.
Chelsey: "They probably both don't know who he is."
Jaimie: "They're like, 'Ooooohhh! The "American Idiot" guy!'"
Coadge X-Tina tells the two pretty ladies that they need to get more aggressive with their singing. They need to attack the song! She tries to show the girls how to sing the song by singing herself, of course. Billie Joe tells them to embrace the fact that it's a rock song (which it isn't) and tells them it's okay for them to spit on him. We don't need to hear about your fetishes, Billie. Save it for rehab therapy.
Jaimie: "Devyn sounds better. Also, awesome song."
Chelsey: "Devyn kind of looks like Miley."
Jaimie: "Yes, meets Vanessa Lachey."
Chelsey: "Also, is there pee in MarissaAnn's Ethos bottle? Why is it yellow?"
Jaimie: "I truly hope not."
Now it's time for MarissaAnn's two-on-one (sounds "Dirrty") with Coadge X-Teenz and Billie Joe, a.k.a. MarissaAnn's turn to cry about her problems. She's worried about being the youngest in the competition.
Jaimie: "Wow. Those tears appeared very quickly."
Chelsey: "Yeah. Her whole face got blotchy out of nowhere."
Jaimie: "They've started to only show the more emotional sitdowns."
During the final rehearsal, Christina the Riveter listens on as the claws come out and the girls get a bit more aggressive with the song. This is one of those battles that feels 100 percent competition, zero percent duet.
Jaimie: "They're just singing over each other."
Chelsey: "Such a diva battle."
X-Tina tells the girls not to turn it into a cat fight, but I mean, what did she expect when she chose a team that is predominantly young female pop singers? Get your claws out ladies, it's awn!
When the performance begins, both girls are in full-on battle mode. No fake bestie ploy here.
Jaimie: "Oh, MarisaAnn is wearing a leather bolero."
Chelsey: "An essential article of clothing. Also, having the 15-year-old sing the prostitute line. Classy, Christina."
Jaimie: "X-Teens pushes the envelope. I think MarisaAnn definitely sounds stronger and Devyn has no fat on her body."
Devyn then belts out a pretty sick note and we're back on the fence. But it's cool, because it's pretty clear that one of these two lovely ladies will be stolen by another coadge.
Jaimie: "Devyn also looks a little Ashley Judd-y."
Chelsey: "She looks different every outfit/hairstyle change."
Jaimie: "Like Sienna Miller."
Cee Lo and Blake think that MarissaAnn is the winner and they both seem to be calling her Mariss-ann. Adam thinks that Devyn took it. Coadge X-Tina is very proud of both of her ladies, but chooses Devyn.
BUT, just when we're excited that we'll never have to deal with typing out MarissaAnn's name again, Blake comes in for the steal! As unsurprising as this steal was based on the ever-so-predictable structure of this show, Blake still manages to make his steal adorable by simply saying, "I like MarissaAnn!" before pressing his button.
Winner: Devyn
Stolen: MarissaAnn, Team Blake
Ah, another montage of battles not interesting enough to get in the losers' 15 minutes of fame.
Brian Scartocci vs. Loren Allred
Team Adam
"Need You Now," Lady Antebellum
The first of the three rushed battles tonight is single dad Brian against wedding singer Loren. It seems forgettable.
Jaimie: "I don't remember either of these people."
Chelsey: "I think I remember the guy? Who knows."
Winner: Loren Allred
Cassadee Pope vs. Ryan Jirovec
Team: Blake
"Not Over You," Gavin DeGraw
We were very surprised to see former Hey Monday lead singer Cassadee in a battle quickie, seeing as she was such a favorite during the blind auditions.
Jaimie: "They're rushing through CASSADEE!? Ridiculous."
Chelsey: "Maybe the other guy was just so bad, it wasn't even worth it."
Apparently so.
Winner: Cassadee Pope
Joe Kirkland vs. Samuel Mouton
Team: Adam
"You Get What You Give," New Radicals
Adam paired punk-ish singer Joe Kirkland up against "hip hop reggae singer" (also known as "stoner") Samuel Mouton.
Jaimie: "Joe Kirkland looks like Jorma Taccone."
Chelsey: "He was that one that turned four chairs around in the blind auditions and we didn't understand why."
We would have appreciated hearing this battle in full to determine what Joe Kirkland's got that's so special, but no such luck. And onward he goes.
Winner: Joe Kirkland
"The Voice" airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.