The beef between Christina Aguilera and her former fellow Mouseketeer Tony Lucca cast a distracting pall over the final live performance episode of "The Voice" Monday night.

Lucca, the last-standing representative of Adam Levine's team, had one last chance to prove to America—and perhaps to Aguilera, his most ruthless critic—that he deserves the $100,000 prize and recording contract at stake in the three-month competition.

"Tony needs a moment again," Levine said ahead of Lucca's performance—meaning he would need to impress the audience the way he did when he put a rock spin on Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time" in response to Aguilera's critique that he was one-dimensional.

Applying a similar formula, he transformed Jay-Z's "99 Problems" into a folksy, acoustic song. Like his other performances, it seemed to be a direct response to Aguilera's criticism; he was not one-dimensional and—just maybe—he had 99 problems, but she wasn't one.

He danced and spun around the stage, got the audience on on their feet and kept the song prime-time appropriate, choosing to mute out the b-word in the song's hook: "I've got 99 problems but a—mmm—ain't one," he sang instead.

When the performance ended, he stood next to host Carson Daly, beaming as he awaited his final critique.

It took mere seconds, however, for Aguilera to throw a match, igniting an explosion that seemed to burn Levine more than Lucca.

"I thought it sounded great—you have a really cool voice," she began, playing with a coffee cup in her hand. "I know your beautiful wife and your daughter and family are here tonight, and I just thought that the lyrical connotation was a little derogatory toward women."

After Cee Lo Green's critical contribution ("I thought it was hard! I liked it"), Levine was able to respond to Aguilera.

"We're not referring to women, we're referring to everything," he snapped, pointing out that he and Lucca had discussed the song lyrics "for hours" and decided that their interpretation was about "life getting at you, things bringing you down."

Aguilera interrupted his explanation to point out that the lyrics state, "if you're having girl problems."

"It's called a metaphor," Levine snapped back.

"If that's how you have to get points," Aguilera replied.

Levine then jumped to his feet and said, “I just want say, I love you, Christina, but Tony, I thought you did fantastic."

He then tore off his button-down, revealing a "Team Xtina"-emblazoned t-shirt. He shoved himself back in his seat, put his foot up and stared ahead in a display of unaffectedness.

Daly tried to skip around the tension, ushering the show along, but he couldn't put out the embers.

Later in the show, Aguilera wielded her own team member's performance as a weapon against Lucca. After Chris Mann, her final contestant, performed, she stood beside him on stage and shouted to the audience, "this is a real man, who respects women.”

Lucca had a final chance to respond. Daly handed him the microphone after he finished performing a tribute to his coach and told him that he could say whatever he’d like.

“I just want to say thank you to all four of you,” he said for the “completely amazing, life-altering experience.” Aguilera appeared to be texting on her cell phone and didn’t look up once throughout his appreciation speech, or after he descended the stairs to give Levine a hug.

There was more to the show, of course, than the feuding.

Jermaine Paul, the soulful former Alicia Keys backup singer, began the show with a powerful rendition of "I Believe I Can Fly," which was accompanied by an orchestra and his own set of background singers.

The audience waved their hands back and forth, and Aguilera got to her feet during his performance.

"Man, my heart is in my throat right now," his coach Blake Shelton said when he wrapped up. "I'm speechless for a lot of reasons."

Backstage, Paul was also choked up and speechless, barely able to complete an interview with Christina Milian.

"I left my heart on that stage," he managed to choke out before his parents swooped in to take questions.

Mann finished the show how he started it. He remained in his classical comfort zone, singing "You Raise Me Up." He also performed "The Prayer," an Andrea Bocelli-Celine Dion duet with Aguilera, who used her moment on the mic following the performance to take that "this is a real man" jab at Lucca.

From Team Cee Lo, rocker Juliet Simms, the only female left standing, put her gritty vocals to work on "Free Bird," which drew unanimous praise.

Luckily for Lucca, coaches will have no say whatsoever when it comes to deciding which contestant will be crowned winner of "The Voice."

Viewer voting continued through the night, and results will be announced on Tuesday's finale episode, which airs on NBC at 9 p.m. ET.

"The Voice" final four let their hair down Thursday and rocked out at a special live concert in Los Angeles, just days before one of them will be crowned the NBC show's winner.

"Voice" fanatics flocked to Universal CityWalk Hollywood and tuned in online to the show, hosted by Christina Milian.

Jermaine Paul, the Team Blake pick who ditched a back-up singing gig with Alicia Keys for a shot at being a frontman, opened up the show by dedicating his performances to his family.

"This has been definitely a spiritual walk for me," he told the crowd. "It feels amazing."

He then launched into Bon Jovi's singalong-friendly "Living on a Prayer."

Jermaine was followed by Team Adam hopeful Tony Lucca, who reprised his unrecognizable version of Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time" that had gotten everybody talking on "The Voice."

Tony had clawed his way back to the top after suffering steep criticism mostly at the hands of his ex-Mickey Mouse Club pal Christina Aguilera.

"I've had a pretty interesting arc on the show," he said from the stage at Universal CityWalk. "I've sort of tapped into something I didn't really see coming... We just get a little more courageous each week and this week is no exception."

Classically trained opera singer Chris Mann, who has developed a devoted following on the show, was up next with a soaring take on Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water."

"Thank you for letting somebody like me be on this show," he said to his fans in the audience.

And finally, Juliet Simms — the dramatic Team Cee Lo success story of Tuesday night's elimination round — closed out the show with a guttural take on the Police's "Roxanne" that evoked gutsy singers like Patti Smith and Janis Joplin, whom she cited as an influence.

Today's concert gave the four a brief respite from the rehearsals and tough competition before they head into their last vocal contest on "The Voice" stage Monday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

The winner of "The Voice" will be revealed on Tuesday's finale, which also will feature performances by Justin Bieber, Hall & Oates, Flo Rida and Lady Antebellum. The finale airs at 9 p.m. ET.

Votes from Monday night's semi-final competition were tallied Tuesday and announced to the eight remaining "Voice" contestants, who learned on live TV whether they would make it to the show's final round.

Coaches, who also contributed to the vocalists' scores, were mostly hands-off, evenly distributing 100 points to their two remaining contestants and allowing audience votes to determine each singer's fate.

Cee Lo Green, however, faced with the toughest choice in the competition, unexpectedly tipped the scales.

The live audience roared when he awarded Jamar Rogers 40 points and Juliet Simms 60—it was enough to push her into the final four and eliminate Rogers.

"It has been well documented and said that I have two of the best" performers on the show, Cee Lo said, acknowledging the tough decision he had to make.

The night before, both contestants gave their best performances of the show. Simms turned the tables on the superstar coaches, who fawned over her after she sang "It's a Man's Man's Man's World," while Rogers was just as impressive with his chill-inducing rendition of "If You Don't Know Me by Now."

His eyes filling with tears, Rogers stood beside Simms, who looked equally emotional as Cee Lo explained that Simms had something that Rogers, whom he called "the consistent front-runner," did not.

"America loves you, sir," he told Rogers.

Adam Levine also distributed his 100 points unevenly, though his move was less surprising. His connection with Tony Lucca, whom he awared 60 points, had been evident throughout the season. Voters echoed his preference, giving Lucca overwhelming support and moving him to the final round over Katrina Parker.

Blake Shelton democratically allowed America to decide whether Jermaine Paul or Erin Willett should move to the final four, by allotting them 50 points each. Voters overwhelmingly picked Paul, who secured 123 points compared to Willett's 77.

Christina Aguilera also gave opera singer Chris Mann and coffee shop vocalist Lindsey Pavao 50 points each. Voters went with Mann, elevating him to the final round.

The four remaining contestants, who will compete for a record deal next week, will perform one more time before it really counts. The group is giving a free concert on the Universal City Walk in Los Angeles Thursday at 10 a.m. — a performance that could preview what's ahead in the finals. The concert will be live streamed on NBC.com and Facebook.

For the first time in five weeks since the season began, judges were unanimously satisfied with each "Voice" competitor who performed in Monday night's semi-final round.

Tony Lucca, clawing his way back after ex-Mickey Mouse Club-pal Christina Aguilera shrugged him off as "one-dimensional," kicked and twisted around the stage, singing — perhaps to Aguilera — "How You Like Me Now?" by the Heavy.

Though the undertones of dissatisfaction were apparent in Aguilera's restrained critique ("It was definitely more slickly done. I thought it was fun. Did Adam teach you those dance moves?") the absence of blatant criticism from his harshest judge was remarkable and set the tone for the rest of the competition.

Katrina Parker, whose voice has teetered between near-perfection and rough-around-the-edges, leaned toward perfection Monday with her performance of "Killing me Softly."

Team Blake's Erin Willit put her powerful pipes on "Without You," sometimes straying off key—but not enough to prompt any of the judges to address it.

Aguilera, the most frank of the four judges skirted around the issues of tone and technique and praised her for being "so emotionally involved" in her song. (Willet ended her song with some tears.)

Jermaine Paul, who somehow, someway was stuck in backup-singing obscurity for his entire career, sang "Open Arms" so perfectly it could easily have been mistaken for a recorded and expertly produced track.

The same went for Cee Lo's Jamar Rogers who sang a chill-inducing "If You Don't Know Me by Now."

Team Christina's Chriss Mann went back to his roots and sang "Ave Maria," unapolegetically, to rave reviews, while the whispery Lindsey Pavao held the mic closer to her lips and impressed everyone with her voice, which had previously been so hard to hear.

Rocker Juliet Simms, who closed the show, had the judges completely dumbfounded following her Janis Joplin-esque "It's a Man's Man's World." They stuttered and praised her, and said things like, "wow," as if she were the super star and they were her fans—which, for the moment, seemed to be the case.

Eliminations resume on Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

Two more contestants were chopped from "The Voice" Tuesday night, reducing Team Adam and Team Cee Lo to two-man line-ups.

Cee Lo Green, who voted auto-shop heartthrob James Massone off the show last night, had to choose between his final two female vocalists, Cheesa and Juliet Simms after "Voice" voters saved Jamar Rogers from elimination.

Adam Levine, who cut Pip during instant eliminations, had the option of saving Katrina Parker or Mathai. Tony Lucca was saved.

Not surprisingly, the battle between Cheesa and Simms was the toughest of the night. Cheesa sang Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone," a performance that was sometimes impressive and sometimes difficult to listen to.

Simms sang "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia, a performance that wasn't perfect either, but good enough to her keep on the talent show. (Cee Lo argued that Juliet's voice was like art imitating life and life isn't perfect.)

Mathai, the petite girl with the big smile tried to charm the judges with "Cowboy Casanova," while Parker earned a top complement from two judges after performing "Perfect." 

Both Blake Shelton and Christina Aguilera said she was the best singer on Levine's team. Levine agreed saving her over Mathai.

Here's where teams stand heading into semifinals, which air Monday, 8 p.m. ET on NBC:

Team Adam: Katrina Parker, Tony Lucca

Team Blake: Erin Willett, Jermaine Paul

Team Cee Lo: Juliet Simms, Jamar Rogers

Team Christina: Chris Mann, Lindsey Pavao

Cee Lo Green had his work cut out for him Monday night.

Besides having to change costumes no less than three times during an instant elimination round of "The Voice," he had to select one of four actually talented contestants to cut from the competition.

While Adam Levine also had to make a cut, judges agreed Monday night, as they have in previous episodes, that Cee Lo might have the strongest team in the competition.

Had Juliet Simms, Jamar Rogers, Cheesa and James Massone paired with different mentors, they might have faced off at the finals and not the quarter-finals where one of them was forced to make an arguably premature exit.

Cheesa, a 21-year-old with Beyoncé-sized aspirations, took a major risk Monday, selecting a Whitney Houston ballad that can only be performed one of two ways: one that produces chills and the other that produces Twitter protests calling for amateurs to keep their hands off iconic songs. She nailed "I Have Nothing" though, winning approval from Christina Aguilera — a singer with comparable pipes who is quick to call out faults in vocalists who take on big songs.

Jamar Rogers, an HIV-positive recovering drug addict from the Bronx sang an emotional rendition of Bon Jovi's "It's My Life," winning unanimous approval from the judges' panel.

James Massone sang "Just the Way You Are" straight into the hearts of his adoring female fan-base, while Juliet Simms, fitted with giant black angel wings, shredded Aerosmith's "Cryin'" in the best possible way. Augilera said it seemed like Simms just "blacked out" on stage, and forgot about what anyone else might think — a second complement from the most difficult-to-please judge, who told Simms two weeks ago that her voice was "dope."

Cee Lo, who wore a wide grin during his special performances of "Dancin' in the Streets" (70's outfit) and "Fight to Win" (space suit — see full clip below) became suddenly poetic and somber when it was time to make the cut.

After reading prepared Cee Lo-esque prose from his smart phone, he announced that he'd have to let "my little brother James go," eliciting shrieks of heartbreak from the audience.

Adam Levine, who was choosing between Katrina Parker, Mathai, Pip and Tony Lucca had a much easier time. They each received mixed reviews from the judges, though Pip was the only performer who had a noticably rough section (1:43 to 1:58 in the clip below) during his rendition of Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know."

"Voice" fans of the world can vote for their favorite remaining performers until 10 a.m. Tuesday. Those with the least amount of votes will sing for their careers, which always makes for a stepped-up hour of television, on Tuesday 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

One of the most burning "Voice" questions to come out of last night's surprise eliminations, will go unanswered.

Despite Carson Daly's best efforts to find out why Christina Aguilera would send Jesse Campbell—one of the show's most pitch-perfect singers—back into semi-obscurity, the mystery continues.

"I do have a strategy," Aguilera said before trailing off into a series of proclamations about being true to herself. "I wish him all the best but I don't want to distract from the fact that I have a very talented team," she concluded. Too little too late.

The "Voice" voters of America, who thankfully made less curious choices than Aguilera did, saved Chris Mann from Team Christina and Jermaine Paul from Team Blake. That left four contestants fighting to stay in the competition. From team Christina: Rocker Lindsey Pavao and blossoming vocalist Ashley de La Rosa. From team Blake: His country darling RaeLynn and powerhouse Erin Willett.

Up first, De la Rosa roared through "You and I" by Lady Gaga, earning praise from Adam Levine, who admitted that he didn't believe in her previously, but does now. Though it wasn't his favorite performance by the 17-year-old, he said, if it were up to him, he'd still vote to keep her around.

Pavao sang a heartfelt "Please Don't Go,"by Mike Posner.

As the cameras turned to Aguilera, her eyes were filling with tears. "I have to go with what's in my heart," she said, after showering each woman with seemingly sincere compliments."And I'm going with Lindsey."

Shelton's pair were up next. Erin Willet showcased her powerful vocals with an energized performance of Tina Turner's "Rolling on the River," while RaeLynn injected a super-sized dose of country twang into a song that probably didn't benefit from so much tampering—The Band Perry's "If I Die Young."

"Gosh, dang, man," Shelton said, vacillating until the credits started rolling and Daly urged him to "give me a name. Just give me a name, Blake."

"I'm going with Erin," he said, letting go of his country prodigy—his last hope for a "Voice"-made country superstar.

The much trimmer competition continues next Monday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

"Voice" fans, coaches and contestants alike were startled at the twist on Monday's show: Blake Shelton and Christina Aguilera would each have to send home one of their team members, in the show's first-ever instant elimination round.

For a crew of coaches who had painstakingly assembled teams from their strongest four singers thus far, that task didn't prove easy.

From Blake's team, country upstart RaeLynn wowed the coaches with a growling version of Jason Aldean's "She's Country" that Blake called "the most proud moment I've had all season.

Erin Willett' inevitably invited some tough comparisons to Adele with her rendition of the British diva's "Set Fire to the Rain" — but she won heaps of praise for it, albeit tempered by Adam's quibbles with her phrasing.

Jermaine Paul pulled out all the stops (and, said Adam, "overembellished… and didn't need to") with his delivery of Phil Collins' "Against All Odds" — a delivery that Blake called the singer's "superstar" moment and that earned him Christina's admission that he was her favorite from Blake's team.

And although Blake called Jordis Unga's performance "perfect" and other coaches praised its vulnerability, at the end of the night, she was the one to go from Blake's team.

"I'm sad, but I understand. I'm proud of what I did here," she said humbly as the show closed.

From Christina's team, Jesse Campbell sang Beyonce's "Halo" to his daughter to raves for his emotional build-up and unique twist on the familiar hit. Adam commented that at first the song seemed like a strange choice but that it made plenty of sense once the crescendo hit.

Ashley De La Rosa, who was just turning 18, sang a slow rock rendition of Jewel's "Foolish Games" that had all the coaches grateful Christina had saved her from elimination last week and raving about how far she'd come.

And indie singer Lindsey Pavao sang an unusual, affecting take on Katy Perry's "Part of Me" that won praise for its style if not its sometimes getting pitchy. Ultimately, Blake pointed out, some pitchy notes didn't matter — because he was already a huge fan of hers.

And Chris Mann broke out of his habit of wanting to sing opera and instead tackled a Coldplay song, to Christina's delight.

Ultimately, despite the plaudits from the coaches and an apologetic explanation from Christina, Jesse headed home with his daughter.

"I'm grateful," the single father told the coaches — and nobody doubted how sincerely he meant it.

As for America's voting? The results will be revealed on Tuesday's show, at 9 p.m. ET, and the contestants at the bottom will get a chance to perform once more in the hopes their coaches will spare them.

Adam Levine and Cee Lo Green tossed safety lines to two "Voice" singers Tuesday night, allowing four others to fall out of competition.

Katrina Parker and Cheesa were saved; Kim Yarbrough, Karla Davis, Erin Martin and Tony Vincent were not.

All six were sentenced to compete in Tuesday night's elimination round after receiving fewer votes than the others who performed the night before. They each sang one song to win the favor and mercy of their coaches who, according to the rules of the game, were permitted to save one of their team-members from elimination.

Adam voted to keep Katrina Parker, who won the unanimous support of other "Voice" coaches following her do-or-die performance of No Doubt's "Don't Speak." Her win pushed soulful singer Kim Yarbrough and coffeehouse vocalist Karla Davis out of the race.

The voting, which put the fate of these three into Adam's hands, was fair. Kim Yarbrough's "Rolling in the Deep" performance Monday night was met with uncomfortable faces from the judge's chairs. Not because she didn't sing it well, but because it's hard to outsing Adele.

Karla Davis—who, to be fair, just started singing a few years ago—sounded breathy and amatuer. Her assigned song, "Airplanes" included a rap section that was blatantly beyond her comfort zone.

Their elimination performances were better, but Parker's superior power, style and potential was apparent to each of the judges.

Cee Lo was forced to choose between Erin Martin, Tony Vincent and Cheesa—a tougher decision than Adam had to make. They too performed better than they did last night or last week, leaving the coaches somewhat frustrated.

"I'm a little pissed off right now," Adam said. "Why did it take this long to sing like it's your last chance?"

Blake Shelton admitted that for the first time Tony Vincent, the theatrical, over-the-top Broadway man, finally won him over and that for the first time, he was able to appreciate Erin Martin's unique Macy Gray-style. Christina Aguilera was also offering praise to each contestant when host Carson Daly hurried her to name which one of the three performed best.

"Cheesa," she said.

And after similar hemming and hawing, Cee Lo named the artist he would save from elimination.

"Cheesa," he said.

"The Voice" coaches surrendered control to the people of America Monday as the talent show shifted to a new voting round.

While the contest's four coaches—Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green—will continue to weigh in, the public will have considerable say over which of the 24 remaining competitors will have his face plastered on the cover of a chart-topping album.

Shelton and Aguilera's six students got first dibs on the stage Monday night. For a live show, everything went remarkably well: No falling, no tripping, no painful notes or lyric botching. And the coaches tended to agree.

"This is not going to be easy," Shelton said as the show began. "It's hard to make a decision."

While each performance was professional, none was particularly mind-blowing.

Jermain Paul, the 33-year-old career background singer who's one of the most talented acts in the line-up was stunted by a poor song. His R&B power was bound by the confines of Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" — a choice blasted by Aguilera and weakly defended by Paul's coach, Blake Shelton.

"The girls liked it," Shelton offered.

Jesse Campbell, another top vocalist— arguably The top vocalist—had a solid performance, but nothing that came close to his audition and gut-busting battle round duet.

RaeLynn, the apple of Shleton's eye, performed a good-enough country interpretation of Maroon 5's "Wake Up Call." Everyone complemented the Texan teen on showing an edgier side than she did during her sweet acoustic audition. But the compliments were all about improvement and potential, with one exception.

"I just came from the Country Music Awards last night," Shelton told her. "You're what everyone talks to me about already. It excites me to know that Nashville is already behind you."

The apple of Christina's eye, Moses Stone, perplexed the other judges who weren't sure how to assess his rap performance on the basis of voice. Aguilera, who spent his entire "Stronger" set dancing in her seat, raising her arms above her head and mouthing the lyrics, snapped back and explained that his performance went over the other coaches' heads.

Aguilera's Ashley De La Rosa, Chris Mann and Lindsey Pavao entertained the crowd with all the requisite bells and whistles—interesting costumes, stage lights, smoke and dancers. But none was exceptional.

The same was true for Blake's other pupils—Charlotte Sometimes, Erin Willet, Jordis Unga and Naia Kete.

Whatever votes are cast (via phone call, text message, iTunes download and new Facebook app, which debuted this week) won't be tallied until polls close tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET. The three lowest ranking contestents will then sing for their lives on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET). The coaches will then drop the ax on the weakest of the three—a threat that might inspire a little more gusto.

Cee Lo Green wept three times in the final battle round of "The Voice," which locked in the four teams that will proceed to the show's live competition.

"I'm a sensitive person, I'm an artist," Cee Lo explained after his second emotional episode.

They were tears stirred by moving performances and some anguish over having to choose who to cut—a call that distressed nearly all of the coaches.

Blake Shelton appeared pained to drop the ax on Jordan Rager, whom he effusively flaunted as the "only real country singer" in the entire program. Rager proved to be less versatile than the show requires and couldn't compete with Naia Kete, who effortlessly and impressively made it through battle.

Adam Levine had a soft spot for Nicolle Galyon, a singer-song writer whose passionate piano playing won his adoration at blind auditions. But when he ripped the instrument away from her, she shrunk as a performer and was unable to fight against Mathai's mighty vocals. (The show is "The Voice," after all.)

And it was all too much for Cee Lo. His team's emotional ballads and heartfelt performances moved him to tears. James Massone—a Boston boy who could have been an extra in "Good Will Hunting" —sang "True Colors" with Wade, an R&B singer with and old-soul sound. Together, they triggered two of Cee Lo's three crying spells.

The weepy artist leaned toward Wade the entire episode, but couldn't dispute Massone's dominance during the pair's final performance.

Shockingly, he was able to hold himself together during the most emotional performance of the night. Tony Vincent and Justin Hopkins—both longtime musicians with young families—collaborated on Journey's "Faithfully."

Perhaps Cee Lo remained composed because he couldn't see the TV-edited close-ups of each man's family as they ripped through the most relevant lines: "They say that the road ain't no place to start a family/ Right down the line it's been you and me/ And loving a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be."

Every judge seemed completely swept up by each man's performance, including Cee Lo, who decided to keep Broadway singer Tony Vincent.

The only judge who didn't seem in any way torn about cutting an act from her team was the ruthless Christina Aguilera who matter-of-factly told hip-hop artist Moses Stone that he was better than the country duo "The Line."

The show moves to its next phase next Monday at 8/7 Central. Here are the teams as they currently stand:

Team Blake
Charlotte Sometimes
Erin Willett
Jermaine Paul
Jordis Unga
Naia Kete
RaeLynn

CEE LO
Cheesa
Erin Martin
Jamar Rogers
James Massone
Juliet Simms
Tony Vincent

ADAM
Karla Davis
Katrina Parker
Kim Yarbrough
Mathai
Pip
Tony Lucca

CHRISTINA
Ashley De La Rosa
Chris Mann
Jesse Campbell
Lindsey Pavao
Moses Stone
Sera Hill

“The Voice” gave competitors a lesson in hard reality Monday, cutting the underdogs in the final battle round before the show’s live competition.

Heartfelt stories mattered little. Talent trumped potential and by the end of the episode, six nice, talented acts, who just weren’t good enough, felt the music industry’s cold ax.

First to be slashed was Nathan Parrett, the 23-year-old former competitive swimmer with a strong voice and limited experience. His coach Adam Levine paired him with 19-year-old Pip, a suspender-wearer with a background in musical theater. Pip’s experience and confidence pushed him ahead of Nathan who was praised again and again for his potential and ability. Being “a natural performer,” — Adam’s characterization of Pip — apparently mattered more. 

Adam later cut Angel Taylor who couldn’t come out of her shell enough to compete with Katrina Parker, the smart chatty insurance worker with a big Adele-voice.

Cee Lo continued the slaughter of the innocents by choosing Erin Martin—the model-turned-aspiring singer over the earnest garage band, the Shields Brothers.

“Power is not talent, it's just loud,” Martin said of the brothers before she and the farm boys took the stage to perform a bizarre rendition of Tina Turner's “What’s Love Got to do With It."

Neither act was flawless, but Cee Lo decided he’d “have the most prospect” with Martin.

Christina Aguilera dismissed Jonathas—the father of two, the immigrant with the big American Dream—in favor of Ashley de la Rosa, a 17-year-old with a big voice.

Blake selected Jermaine Paul, Alicia Keys' backup singer with loads of experience, over Alyx—a younger singer with far less experience and ability. It was an obvious choice, as was his final pick: Erin Willett (powerhouse) over Gwen Sebastian (potential).

With only the strongest still standing, the performances are sure to become much more interesting as the show enters its live performance phase next Monday. Catch it on NBC at 8/7 Central.

During the second week of battle rounds on "The Voice" Monday night, friends faced off, unlikely duet partners found common ground and late-blooming crooners gave their careers one last shot.

Those all made for some tough decisions for the judges, who collectively had to pair up 12 contestants and oust six of them from the show. The same happened last week, and next week the rest will face the same unenviable task of competing against their teammates.

Christina Aguilera challenged Geoff McBride and Sera Hill to a rendition of "Chain of Fools," a tune both were pleased to sing.

"This is the stuff I grew up on," 51-year-old Geoff said, and his young hotel receptionist rival said she was confident because the song "showcases a lot of attitude."

That meant that after the battle, the judges faced a tough call, their first of several: Sera's diva strut  and impeccable technique versus Geoff's calm command of his powerhouse voice. Sera won out — a blow for Geoff, who had admitted earlier, "At my age, 51, this is it for me."

Later, Christina had to choose between two unique young singers who faced very different stumbling blocks.

Lindsey Pavao, a big Nirvana fan, was eager to perform the band's "Heart-Shaped Box," but her shyness concerned her mentor Lionel Ritchie. Her rival Lee Koch, initially intimidated by the song, had to study the song's structure before he could make the number his own.

During their battle, their very different styles split the judges (and Blake Shelton caught flak from the others when he admitted he'd never heard the song before) — but Christina went with Lindsey in the end.

Once it was Blake's team's turn, he pitted brash Jersey girl Charlotte Sometimes against low-key Austin, Texas, native Lex Land.

The duo's approach couldn't have been more different. (Charlotte on Lex: "I want to destroy her." Lex on the task she faced: "I have to perform well and not let another opportunity pass me by because I wasn't assertive enough.")

Lex's mentor Miranda Lambert praised her charge's sense of mystery, but after the battle itself, ultimately Blake sided with Charlotte — though he admitted that she "didn't take the risks" that Lex did during their performance.

Cee Lo Green made two tough pairings Monday night — albeit tough for very different reasons. He pitted the countrified Sarah Golden against the gravelly-voiced Juliet Simms, who was pleased that the pair was assigned Rod Stewart's "Stay with Me."

After some hemming and hawing about their impressive performances, Cee Lo chose Juliet, whose voice is often compared to Stewart's.

And his next pairing was a little more personal, with fresh-faced Chicagoan sandwich-maker Jamie Lono pitted against his new friend, New York-bred former meth addict Jamar Rogers. The song: Foreigner's "I Wanna Know What Love Is."

Jamie's voice cracked during rehearsal, but his mentor Babyface assured him, "You just need to do what your voice tells you to."

During the battle itself, Jamie seemed to hold back out of nerves. That meant Jamar, with his wide-ranging belt and a personal narrative that perfectly meshed with the song, won handily. "You are ridiculously, ridiculously good," Adam Levine told him.

"I feel like there was a reason to be here, and maybe that was to let Jamar go on to win," Jamie said tearily backstage, after hugging his new friend hard to congratulate him. Talk about a gracious loser.

And Jamar said the fact that he was sticking around proved something for other people about the possibility of comebacks.

Another unlikely comeback came from Adam's team.

Despite Geoff's departure from the show earlier in the night, Monday's episode of "The Voice" did sound a note of hope for older aspiring singers when 50-year-old Kim Yarbrough beat the much younger Whitney Myer.

The pair sang Mary J. Blige's "No More Drama" and got quite the compliments.

"I truly felt like I was watching one of those diva concerts," Blake said.

"You could handle each other," Adam added.

And with belters like those, that was saying something.

The last installment of the battle rounds, when another six hopefuls will head home, is set for next Monday, March 19, on NBC at 8/7 Central.

The weeding out process began Monday night on NBC's "The Voice," as coaches paired vocalists for on-stage battles and then cut the weaker halves.

Six singers were voted off—one following a roaring audience reception and more positive reviews over her competitor.

Blake Shelton paired powerhouse Adley Stump, the sorority girl-turned-country singer, with the soft-voiced, singer/song-writer RaeLynn in a contest that seemed stacked in Stump's favor from the very first note. RaeLynn was instantly intimidated.

"I have no idea what I can do to compete against that," the 17-year-old admitted.

But Shelton, who had a sweet spot for the girl he said reminded him of a young Miranda Lambert—Shelton's wife—took pains to emphasize RaeLynn's advantage as a "stylist" who excels in the story-telling singing country music is all about.

The pair sang Tom Petty's "Free Falling," with RaeLynn's voice sounding tiny next to Stump's gut-busting vocals. Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Ms. Powerhouse Christina Aguilera congratulated RaeLynn on being so "brave" to come on stage and perform. They encouraged her to keep working on it, that she had so much time to grow. But then, Shelton picked her over Stump, who would be fine "with her confidence and ability," he said.

He later paired rockers Jordis Unga with Brian Fuente. They performed Alanis Morissette's "Ironic," which tested the limits of their vocal ranges. Their performance was shaky (though not shaky enough to keep Cee Lo from rocking out in his swivel chair). Blake noted his disappointment with both of their performances.

"I wanted a rocker for my team," Shelton said. "I don't know what happened." He decided to go with Jordis who admitted that she had a lot to prove "after that train wreck."

Christina Aguilera paired Chris Mann, a classically trained vocalist with Monique Benabou, a soulful singer with no prior experience. The two faced off singing "Power of Love," and left the judges conflicted. Mann had the skill, but lacked the emotion. Benabou had passion (she started crying and nearly made Aguilera cry during a rehearsal) but had a long way to go technically. Mann won the final vote and Benabou went home, expressing gratitude at the opportunity to compete.

She next placed Jesse Campbell—a man who had to live in a car with his daughter after his wife left him—with Anthony Evans, the son of a super-achieving preacher and author. Both men had velvety gospel voices, though Campbell stood out as the superior vocalist. He easily demonstrated his versatility, perhaps arrogantly telling Aguilera that it didn't matter what key she wanted him to sing in.

"Jesse's trying to do some intimidation stuff," Evans said.

The two sang Alicia Keys' "if I Ain't Got You," which at some points had Aguilera looking like she was losing oxygen.

"There's not a person in the country who wants to make the decision you're going to have to make," host Carson Daley said after their duet.

"Just when you thought one blew you away, the other comes in with an 'ahhhh,'" Aguilera said, belting out a note. She placed her bet on Campbell.

Adam Levine's vote for Tony Lucca, an ex-Mickey Mouse Club star, over jock Chris Cauley, was in-line with the other judges' commentary. They noted that Lucca's experience and skill-level was undeniable.

Cee Lo's pairing was the most even of the night. Hawaiian-born Cheesa was matched with former Air Force member, Angie Johnson. Both women had powerful lungs and a similar style. They took turns straining to out-sing each other during their "Total Eclipse of the Heart" performance. In the end, Johnson went packing and Cheesa remained on the now-11-person team.

Next week the battle round continues on NBC at 8/7 Central.