The artists who made it through to the Battles on season 28 of “The Voice” were in for a surprise as the competition kicked off on October 13, 2025. Snoop Dogg was the first coach to inform his team of 12 that, in a history-making switch-up, the artists would have to choose their Battle partners instead of the coaches.
He and his fellow coaches — Michael Bublé, Reba McEntire, and Niall Horan — still get to choose the song for each Battle and have one Save and one Steal. After each vocal showdown, the artists’ coach has to choose which singer won and will advance to the Knockouts. The other singer will be sent home — unless they are “saved” by their coach or “stolen” by another. That is, unless they are saved or stolen. This season during the Battles, each Coach has one Steal and one Save.
By the end of the Battles, Team Buble, Team Reba, Team Snoop, and Team Niall will all be cut in half, with just six members left per team. Here’s how it all went down on the first night of the Battles!
Team Snoop Battles — Round One
NBCBATTLE ROUND: YOSHIHANNA VS. NATALIA ALBERTINI
The first duo of artists to choose each other on Team Snoop was 36-year-old single mom Yoshihanna of Sanford, Florida, and 25-year-old New Jersey native Natalia Albertini, who said she makes ends meet as a nanny and waitress on top of her full-time job.
He loved the soul singers’ matchup but admitted to producers, “I probably wouldn’t have set that battle up because it’s gonna make a hard decision for me. But letting them pick has taught me so much about my artists as far as how they think, how they move.”
Both women were floored meeting and working with Snoop’s advisor for the Battles, four-time Grammy winner Lizzo, who’s been friends with the rapper for years. They also both loved Snoop’s song choice, Carole King’s “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman.”
During rehearsals, Snoop said, “they whipped it, flipped it, and dipped it like they were supposed to,” admitting he kept tearing up with joy over their collaboration, and Lizzo said, “When two divas come together and just diva out, I live!”
Snoop was in tears again after their performance, which blew all the coaches away. He noted how much they used Lizzo’s feedback to elevate their collaboration, and in the end, he chose to Yoshihanna to move forward because “she had the most powerful performance.” But just as Albertini was walking offstage, Snoop hit his SAVE button to keep both singers! BATTLE RESULT: Yoshihanna wins & Natalia Albertini is saved by Snoop
Team Reba Battles — Round One
NBCBATTLE ROUND: AARON NICHOLS VS. DARON LAMEEK
Helping out McEntire as an advisor is Nick Jonas, 10 seasons after he first advised Christina Aguilera’s team and later served as a coach on seasons 18 and 20. He and McEntire reminisced about meeting on Broadway 24 years prior, in 2001, when she starred in “Annie Get Your Gun” and was a child actor in the show. He even brought of framed photo of them together backstage.
McEntire’s team was also dumbfounded by the news that they had to pick their partners in the Battles. Though they don’t represent the same genres, 38-year-old country singer Aaron Nichols from Bakersfield, California, and 35-year-old R&B artist Daron Lameek of Queens, New York, decided to pair up — a move McEntire said she agreed with “100 percent.”
“Daron and I couldn’t be more different,” Nichols told producers, “but I also think when it comes to Battles that when you see two people that come from opposite ends of the musical spectrum come together and make a crazy good version of a song, that is a beautiful thing.”
McEntire gave the duo Alvin Bishop’s “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” because it’s been recorded by “soulful and country” artists, she said, and after their first attempt at the song she compared Nichols and Lameek to “peanut butter and jelly — it just blends together!”
Jonas called the duo “vocal giants” and provided some constructive criticism they both appreciated, but warned McEntire it was going to be a tough decision in the end. He was right — the duo’s harmonies and individual talents were so impressive, the coaches were blown away again. In the end, McEntire decided to go with Nichols, and Lameek was in tears as he thanked her for the opportunity. BATTLE RESULT: Aaron Nichols wins, Daron Lameek heads home.
Team Bublé Battles — Round One
NBCBATTLE ROUND: JAZZ MCKENZIE VS. TRINITY
Bublé brought back his fellow season 27 coach, country star and five-time Grammy nominee Kelsea Ballerini — hilariously dubbed Bublérini — to advise his team. The two forged a close friendship while coaching together, and had the top two artists — she coached runner-up Jaelen Johnston and he coached winner Adam David.
The first duo they advised together — 31-year-old Jazz McKenzie of Birmingham, Alabama, and 25-year-old Trinity from Stamford, Connecticut — were the last two singers on Bublé’s team who hadn’t picked partners, so they wound up together. The R&B singers both received four chair turns during their Blind Auditions, so Bublé fretted a bit about having to send one home.
Bublé chose to have the pair sing Jamiroquai’s 1996 hit “Virtual Insanity,” he told producers, “because it’s soulful, it’s a great pop song (and) I waited for a long time to get this song on the show and find the right artists (for it).” Ballerini said it was a “great song choice” because it highlighted both women’s strengths.
Their rendition got all of the coaches grooving in their red chairs (Horan joked that he “dislocated a hip!”) and Snoop, Horan, and McEntire reminded Bublé they all still had their Steals left, indicating they didn’t think either singer should go home. After deliberating, he chose to keep McKenzie, noting her “pitch perfect voice.” But soon as Trinity thanked Bublé, he hit his button to save her — and all three of the other coaches hit their buttons to try and steal her!
They all gave brief speeches as to why they wanted Trinity on their teams (and Snoop even brought out his adorable puppy to try and sway her), but in the end she said that even though she was “a little hurt” by Bublé choosing McKenzie, “I take you back.” BATTLE RESULT: Jazz McKenzie wins, Trinity is saved by Bublé.
Team Horan Battles — Round One
NBCBATTLE ROUND: DUSTIN DALE GASPARD VS. REVEL DAY
Horan brought in his good friend, Scottish pop star Lewis Capaldi, to advise his team, noting that they met in 2017 after Horan saw several of his YouTube videos. He joked that he asked Capaldi to open for him on tour “and then he went on to be a Grammy-nominated artist and left me behind.”
Horan’s team was in “panic mode,” one artist said, after he told them they had to choose their own Battle partners. But 31-year-old soul singer Revel Day from Altadena, California, and 33-year-old Cajun singer Dustin Dale Gaspard of Cow Island, Louisiana, said they’d already talked about collaborating someday. So, they decided to go for it when they had the chance, hoping that the competitive element would just push them both to be even better.
Horan, who admitted he “would have never put them two together,” chose Hozier’s song “Too Sweet” for the pair, which Day said was the perfect choice for their very different voices. Horan and Capaldi encouraged them to have confidence in their individual genres and styles rather than try to chase or one-up the other.
McEntire said she “absolutely loved” their explosive rendition of the tune, and they all agreed that the tune was a bit more in Gaspard’s wheelhouse but that Day did an incredible job. Horan did choose Gaspard to move forward, calling him “the most unique” voice in the competition. BATTLE RESULT: Dustin Dale Gaspard wins, Revel Day heads home.
Team Snoop Battles – Round Two
BATTLE ROUND: KANARD THOMAS VS. KENNY IKO
The second duo from Team Snoop to pair up was 35-year-old Kenny Iko of Washington, D.C., and 35-year-old Kanard Thomas from Columbus, Georgia. Thomas said he and Iko’s voices “complement each other very well” and Iko said he chose Thomas “because I know he loves R&B,” telling Snoop they’d love to perform “something romantic for the ladies.”
The duo has clearly forged a friendship behind the scenes, with footage of them working out, shopping, and grabbing drinks together. Snoop was curious to see if they’d connect just as well on the song he chose for them — Joe’s “All The Things (That Your Man Can’t Do)” — or if they’d let the competition get the best of them, trying to “outsing” each other.
Lizzo loved Iko’s showmanship, as he walked up and sang the ballad right to her, but hilariously said Thomas’ smooth voice was the kind that would’ve prompted women “in the 90s” to throw their bras onstage.
At the top of the song, Iko dedicated the ballad to McEntire, who jokingly called their rendition “dope” and “fire” to sound a bit younger, and said Snoop had a tough decision ahead. Snoop said both singers incorporated his and Lizzo’s feedback and clearly had a hard time choosing a winner. But in the end, he selected Iko, because he saw so much growth between the Blind Auditions and the Battles. BATTLE RESULT: Kenny Iko wins, and Kenard Thomas heads home.
Team Bublé Battles — Round Two
BATTLE ROUND: ROB COLE VS. AUSTIN GILBERT
The final Battle of the night was between two country singers on Team Bublé: 25-year-old dad-to-be Austin Gilbert from Eugene, Oregon, and 34-year-old girl dad Rob Cole from Pembroke, North Carolina. Ballerini told Bublé she thought it would be his toughest matchup as the only two country artists on Bublé’s team.
Bublé chose his “buddy” and former “Voice” coach Blake Shelton’s song “Honey Bee,” and said he loves country music so much that after he got to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, he told his record label he wants to record a country-inspired album. He said he loved the ways the singers improvised on Shelton’s tune, and during one rehearsal, Ballerini said their ending “fell apart” and needed some work.
Producers didn’t show much of the mentorship session with Bublé and Ballerini, but did show how nervous Gilbert was before his Battle, telling them, “I just gotta be on point with everything.” Cole, meanwhile, noted how wild it was that he auditioned during season 25 and got no chair turns, but had now made it all the way to the Battles.
All four coaches gave Gilbert and Cole a standing ovation, and Snoop joked he could feel “the spirit of Blake Shelton” in the room. Bublé said he loved both of their performances, but he chose Cole as the winner. Thanking Bublé, Gilbert teared up — and it got McEntire choked up, too. She hit her button to steal him and he fell to his knees in tears, which got McEntire crying, too, in the sweetest moment of the night. BATTLE RESULT: Rob Cole wins, and Austin Gilbert gets stolen by Reba McEntire.
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