'The Voice' 2017 Battle Steals, Review: Noah Mac, Kathrina Feigh, Whitney Fenimore And Dennis Drummond

“The Voice” Season 13 premiered its battle rounds on Oct. 16 and 17 on NBC. Coaches Adam Levine, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Hudson and Blake Shelton have each used one of their two steals. Noah Mac, Kathrina Feigh, Whitney Fenimore and Dennis Drummond are the ‘stolen’ artists this week. Meanwhile, Chris Weaver, Keisha Renee, Brooke Simpson and Davon Fleming were three of the strongest battle winners.
In the first week of battle rounds, two artists from Team Blake went to Team JHud (Noah Mac) and Team Adam (Dennis Drummond). Further, Team Adam’s Whitney Fenimore went to Team Miley (who won the ‘steal battle’ against Blake), and Team JHud’s Kathrina Feigh is now on Team Blake. The battles will wrap up next week.

Noah Mac, other ‘steals’ paired with superstar vocals

Seventeen-year-old Noah Mac held his own against the more seasoned Keisha Renee. (She used to be a backing singer for Nicki Minaj.) Blake chose “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” (Hank Williams) for them. Miley Cyrus said he looked hot in his blind audition. However, Miley thought Keisha Renee truly won their battle. Still, JHud thought she could work well with the teenage artist.
Kathrina Feigh, 24, from the Philippines, was paired with blind audition superstar Chris Weaver, who turned four chairs singing “Try a Little Tenderness” by Ottis Redding. Weaver was the first blind audition in “The Voice” Season 13 and one of the most remarkable artists in this batch. Despite turning only two chairs (Jennifer and Blake) in her blind audition, Kathrina proved she has the vocal prowess to go on farther this season. Ariana Grande’s “Dangerous Woman” worked very well for her.
Whitney Fenimore, 28, was in an even battle with rockstar and comeback artist Adam Pearce (who failed to turn a chair last season). Adam seemed to have a stronger connection with his namesake, so his choice was not surprising. After all, it was Levine who convinced Pearce to come back to the show. Miley, who also turned for Whitney in the blinds, was convinced they were meant to work together. Incidentally, Miley’s all-women team seems to have gotten even stronger this week.
Dennis Drummond, 27, chose between Adam and Blake in the blind rounds. He is friends with Season 10 runner-up Adam Wakefield of Team Blake. (Christina Aguilera won Season 10 with Alisan Porter.) Adam Levine wanted Dennis to surprise them and choose him, but Dennis wound up in his team, eventually. Dennis’ battle with Mitchell Lee took him out of his comfort zone, but the tallest guy in the competition showed willingness to hustle to stay longer in the game.

Which coach has the strongest team?

Kelly Rowland, Rascal Flatts, Billy Ray Cyrus and Joe Jonas (recently engaged to Sophie Turner) helped the coaches in mentoring the artists this week. Miley taking her dad to the show echoes her sentiments during the blinds: she really wants to win this season. However, other teams have just about the same ace cards she has — at least for now.
Fans are waiting to see Team Adam’s John Mero, who sang Bruno Mars’ “Versace on the Floor” for his blind audition. It would be interesting to see if he would be just as consistent as the other 4-chair-turners who impressed the coaches in the first week of battle rounds. Like John, Chris Weaver (Team JHud), Keisha Renee (Team Blake), Brooke Simpson (Team Miley) and Davon Fleming (Team JHud) floored all the coaches in the first round of the competition. In case John nails his battle round, each team would have a solid superstar in the Final Four.
Jennifer Hudson is still celebrating her victory in “The Voice UK” earlier this year with artist Mo Adeniran. Now, with power vocals and fantastic stage presence from both Weaver and Fleming, she probably is looking at another big victory. However, rock star and country charmers like Adam Pearce and Mitchell Lee could not simply be counted out just yet.
The battles will continue next week on NBC. The live shows are expected in November. Fans of the contestants must download  The Voice app to vote and keep their favorite in the competition.