Amanda Lee Peers and Taylor John Williams sing 'Jolene' (VIDEO)

Amanda Lee Peters and Taylor John Williams sang 'Jolene' by Dolly Parton on The Voice 2014 Season 7 Battle Round on Monday, October 13, 2014 for Team Gwen Stefani. Who won the battle?

Amanda is stoked to meet Gavin Rossdale, and she seems eager to impress. Taylor is a bit thrown by Amanda’s voice, calling it raw and haunting. He notes that he needs to step his game up if he’s going to be able to compete with her. Gwen notes that Taylor is holding back a bit though, and encourages him to open up. But overall, she remains positive on him. Gavin, meanwhile, is high on Amanda, saying there are flashes of world class skill in her. He notes that her voice is practically from another life. They’ll be singing ‘Jolene’ by Dolly Parton.

In rehearsal, Taylor really steps it up in Gwen’s eyes. However, she feels both Taylor and Amanda lack chemistry with one another. She feels the song is such an emotional number that they both need to look at one another in a believable way. So Gwen brings out the straight microphone stands, believing it’ll serve as a great prop for them. I suppose I could argue that they really shouldn’t have to find chemistry with each other, since a battle should presumably be more about outsinging the other person than putting on a great performance. I could understand if they were selling iTunes versions of the duets, but they’re only selling the individuals. It’s so strange that the show so often pretends that these people aren’t competing against each other. I’m not saying they shouldn’t show love and sportsmanship and all that wonderful stuff that respectful competitors should, but it seems like the competitive aspect is being downplayed.

Preparation video:

Watch the full performance video of Amanda Lee Peers and Taylor John Williams singing 'Jolene' here:

Download MP3: Jolene

Adam loves Taylor, but was genuinely impressed by Amanda. Blake is leaning towards Amanda, saying that she really conveyed the emotion of the song. Pharrell agrees, noting that Amanda got lost in the song. However, he still notes that Taylor is a star. Gwen feels like she might have made a mistake agreeing to be on this show, since she now has to face gutwrenching decisions like this. She openly admits, after a good minute of blabbing, that she’s pretty much just rambling to avoid making the decision.

Battle Round Results

Coach Gwen Stefani selected Taylor John Williams as the winner.

Coach	Steal	Results
	NO
	NO
	NO

Download MP3: Jolene

Note: Text written by Nick Roman

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